Full Zoloft Withdrawel

[k&ajsmom]

Today is day 5 off of 100 mgs of zoloft. I have never been so sick in my life, I would never ever suggest doing this and I wish I had pushed my doc to do this another way but he insisted strongly. I have severe tachy alternating brady with no relief in posture changes.Pvcs and hot and cold flashes, extreme tremors and unbearable gi issues. I ve been under 4 blankets with a heat pad on my head and then had to sit outside in the cold the next minute barefoot to cool off. My skin is clammy and temp is way low...ugh Let alone the outbursts of sobbing and despair ugh my poor family dealing with me today.

Overall I feel like I have the flu on steroids. Has anyone gone through this???? How long does this last, Im afraid Im not gonna make it and have to go to the er, but really what could they do. Sorry to vent but Im literally scared to death right now. I wanna take a xanax and sleep but Im afraid with the bradycardia how thats gonna go....any words of encouragement would be forever appreciated. Thx =(

[HopeSprings]

It's awful, I know. I went through it with Klonopin and with Paxil. I wish you were given the advice to taper off. The Paxil withdrawal lasted about a month and was excrutiating, but got better with time. Not that it will last a month for you - we're all different. I hope you get through this quickly and feel better soon.

[deirdra]

I really feel for you. I weaned slowly off mine but still had some withdrawal so I can't even imagine what you are going through cold turkey. Most people say that withdrawal lasts about 2 weeks or so. I can't really be of much help but just wanted to let you know that it does get easier and that the withdrawal symptoms do ease a little each day. I unfortunately had to go back on mine as I started to get POTS symptoms back about three months later. Maybe you should let your doctor know how badly you are being affected to see if he could offer any suggestions x

[Jacquie802]

Hang in there as best you can. Why did your doc have you stop cold turkey?

[Guest Hugues SC]

If you went from 100 mg to nothing without tapering off slowly, it must be awful. Usually, doctors will get their patients to wean off slowly.

I weaned from effexor before, and even if done slowly it was tough

This year I have tried on 3 or 4 occasions to start another SSRI or SNRI, I always had to stop because of major problems. And every time I had to stop it was the same horrible drop, with symptoms similar to yours

Sometimes I have 10 majors symptoms and, since I feel like I'm dying... I always end up trying this or that to get through it, but I have found (at least for me) that sometimes the best thing to do is to let your body deal with it's own struggle

I think you are doing exactly the right thing, if you're cold, stay under a ton of blanket, eat, sleep, rest, close everything (tv, music, etc) if you need to

maybe electrolytes drinks like Gatorade can help, of course the ER if you feel like you are never going to be able to stay hydrated, they would give you IV fluids I guess

Hope this helps!

[k&ajsmom]

Thank u guys for the support, to be honest its hard to even type my hands aren't cooperating...ugh so I hope its like some of you have said and it starts to ease off a little sooner rather than later. I would never have gone cold turkey if he didnt insist upon it. I think he was afraid of either serotonin syndrome of just the side effects I was getting that became severe. I started having uncontrollable twitching about two weeks ago that was getting steadily worse. Then immediatly started having bradycardia alternating with tachy (the tachys normal for me but not the brady) However I was getting relief from the tachy, nausea,syncope and pvc's finnally and am so bummed to be off the zoloft cause of that. As much as I never wanna deal with this again I think I wanna try a new ssri at a MUCH MUCH lower dose. Dont wanna give up just cause of one horrifically failed attempt.

I go back to see him tuesday and he said he would figure out where to go from here but geeeeezz.....this is ridiculous. I will make sure he knows just how miserable this is as I assume he himself has not experienced a cold turkey withdrawel off this stuff, especially as a potsy.

I have not gotten up except to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth since yesterday and my cardiac symptoms are just that much worse laying here.

Thx for yoour experiences, it gives me some hope that some of you guys have dealt with this and Im gonna get through it. I new it wouldnt be fun but to be honest I had no clue it would be this bad. Sooo I will continue snuggling my giant bottle of gatorade and heating pad and wait for some light at the end of tunnel. It seems to be the nature of everything with this condition, hurry up and wait. It certainly is teaching me the definiton of patience.... <sighhhhhhhh>

PS.....Is bradycardia something that is caused by withdrawel in any of your experiences???.....Im not sure if this is from the zoloft or a new "symptom" of pots since it started only 12 hours after my first missed dose

[diamondcut]

I havnt had that pleasure of coming off of an SSRI yet, but i think you are very brave to be seeing it through how you are.

I agree if you feel it is just too much, or you cant keep fluids down, thats what ER is for. I think many of us think its a hassle going down there as we have to explain so much as to whats going on with our bodies. Only once have i had a Dr in ER know what pots is, but that what they are there for! So dont hesitate to get down there if it gets really bad for you, maybe peace of mind just being monitored there will relax you.

[Guest Alex]

Hi,

I came off ativan in the past and had a horrible withdrawal, while stopping Lexapro (an SSRI) after only 1 week felt like a blessing. I couldn't tolerate it at all, at the lowest dose possible. I'm tapering off klonopin right now, and it's like you said - it feels like having the flu on steroids.

If you've been on Zoloft for a long time, maybe you should persuade your dr to help you do a gradual taper, as to the best of my knowledge SSRI's just like benzos, or beta blockers should not be stopped cold turkey unless used for a short time and at a low dosage.

Take good care of yourself and keep us posted.

Best,

Alex

[cmreber]

I haven't experienced this and don't have anything to add, but I just wanted to say hang in there and hope you feel better!

[abbyw]

First of all, I am so sorry that you are dealing with this k&ajsmom, it is absolutely awful, and I really hope it gets better really soon.

Second, this is a really important post for me, (sorry for being self-centered), because I just tried weaning off of Effexor (sort of testing to see if maybe my POTS went away ? and to see what felt worse, the side effects of the med or POTS itself). I was weaning really slowly from 75mg, and I was cutting my pills smaller and smaller once every few days. I was experiencing some withdrawal symptoms, mostly headaches, but bearable. As soon as I got used to one dose, I would lower again. The day that I dropped to 37.5 ( 1 pill, as opposed to a pill and a third) - WHAM! major tachy. I felt like a weak, jittery, shaky, leaf. I couldn't stay standing. I was curled up in bed all day, moaning. I automatically assumed that the tachy was an indication that this was not withdrawal symptoms, but POTS, and that I could not go off the med. After one day, I was back up on the med.

Could it be that tachy is a withdrawal symptom and not POTS?

I really hope that you find some relief soon! I know that I have read Benadryl helps with withdrawal from Effexor- maybe contact your dr. and see if there is something you can take to help.....

Thanks,

Abby

[k&ajsmom]

ugh, day 6........just got a call from my pharmacist, she was just calling to se ehow I was ( gotta love her, she so sweet) anyways she says she gone cold turkey on zoloft before and Im looking at about another 2 weeks of this before I see relief. I am having major tachy today, even though initially I woke up with brady ( 50 bpm) as soon as I got moving it shot up and wont come down even laying down... I also have unstable bp. 84/78 one minute then 124/81 the next. I have never had bp this high ( even though it looks like a normal bp) my pulse at the time of the higher bp was 144....doing nothing. I was up all night having major allergy attacks. WOke up sneezing and wheezing every 20 minutes.

Abby, It is why we post our experiences, so we can help eachother, who else knows what we r going through?! thank god we have eachothers experiences to compare to or I know I atleast, would feel so alone.

I dont think a normal person would have tachy as a withdrawel symptom, I think its more on the lines of withdrawel aggravates our already super sensitive systems. For me, my pots liked the zoloft its the rest of my body that didnt, and I took the zoloft away so my pots is rioting as well as having normal withdrawel symptoms. I have no idea however once Im done withdrawing if the tachy will level out or if it will remain high. I suspect it will remain high unfortuantly...ugh

Will keep ya posted, thx for the encouragement and support everyone.

[k&ajsmom]

abby,

I think I wanna take back the above opinion in regards to tachy as withdrawel. Ive done a lot of research today being that I cant get off my couch. Bp is crashing severely now...yay lol anyways, from a lot of non-potsyforums and medical studies it would appear both tachy and brady are fairly common side effects of discontinuation of various ssri's and snri's, some worse than others. Of course I still think ours is probaly still abit exageratted being that we have pots and related conditions. Ive read that replacing your ssri with prozac is a successful way to discontine, because prozac has less side effects and a much longer half life with a very low risk of withdrawel symptoms. Upon reading this I remembered 10 years ago being on 40 mgs of prozac and ot of ingnorence I went cold turkey, and had a few days of moodiness but that was it. I wish I had remembered this sooner, but really I wish my doctor had thought to try it instead of sending me off the deep end. Im gonna bring it up at my appointment tommorrow and see what he says.

[k&ajsmom]

ps. excuse my horrific spelling and grammer...my brain hurts lol

[HopeSprings]

Could it be that tachy is a withdrawal symptom and not POTS?

I agree that it could be a withdrawal symptom or the POTS worsening. The only way to know would be to continue with the taper, stay off the medication for a while, and see where you are at that point. Once you've safely ruled out medication side effects or withdrawal (discontinuation syndrome) then you'd be in a better position to understand where your POTS is naturally.

Hang in there K&AJ'smom - I feel for you. Glad you got some reassurance from the pharmacist.

[k&ajsmom]

Thx Naomi, I totally agree, hindsights a wonderful teacher, just not a very timely one lol

[FarmerAmy]

Are you still feeling miserable? Be sure to let your doctor know ASAP. I think we are too used to feeling miserable and toughing it out. I have experience with psych meds and withdrawal--it is awful. But you should not be suffering the way you are. Your doctor needs to help you get off the zoloft in a less painful way.

I have suffered through things the way you are now and I figured I just had to tough it out. But several times my husband or my mom have urged me to call the after-hours number with my doctor because I was feeling terrible. I'm so glad I did because each time I called we changed our plan and things became a lot more bearable.

I hope you feel better soon!

[abbyw]

Agreed, it feels humiliating to be the "annoying patient", but if there's anything that the doctor can do to make this better, it is a shame for you to be suffering.

[k&ajsmom]

thx guys, I just got home from the doctors. Today has been a nightmare. It started about 3 am with getting up to use the restroom and realizing I couldnt walk. I had strenght and feeling and no pain but it was like my sense of balance was gonna. I would take 3 steps and drift hard to the left or right and just topple over. Good times. crawled back to the couch and veritgo hit me but was able to sleep it off. It lingered when I woke up this am but not nearly as severe.

So I go to the doctor and and tell him everything and mind u I had to sit in the hallway on my way back to the room till they brought me a chair...ugh and anyways he says I have had a reaction to serotonin...not exactly serotonin syndrome but similair. He said he thinks it caused some nerve damage and refuses any ssri because it would become premanent if it hasnt already. He also said some of what Im feeling is just my nervous system fighting it innappropriatly of course.

He wants me to take Lamectil. I am not so sure about this desicion. Its a drug used for epilepsy and bi=polar disorder. He syas which he is not treatin me for but will calm my system and help me gain control of this. He also says rest and rest some more. Which is all I do anyways so no help there. I also dont think I can afford Lamectil, its pricey so Ive called him to see if there is another alternative. He also said no more xanax, which I have stoped already due to low bp, but says it just not a good fit for whats going on.

Has anyone heard of Lamectil? Its sounds scary lol Ive never heard of a drug like this for POTS????

again please excuse my spelling and rambling, Im a little.....loopy right now

[jknh9]

I hope you're feeling better! I'm on 100 mg of Zoloft myself and I couldn't imagine stopping cold turkey. I have heard that Benadryl can sometimes help with side effects of weaning off an SSRI, but I've never tried it myself.

I haven't heard of Lamectil, is it another AD?

[k&ajsmom]

Yes I believe it is Jk, Im really unfamiliar with this one. I know its a sodium channel blocking class of antiepileptic drugs. Other than that Im clue less. I guess I have some research to do but my heads swimming and Im not sure Id understand it anyways. The doc said his intintions were to control norepinephrine and some "other things" he suspected to be going haywire right now. However I am hesitant to trust this since I dont understand how this med correlates to that. Or maybe he just thinks Im crazy after all hahaha <nervous laughter>

Thx for ur concern I am not feleing any better yet but am hanging in there. =))

[abbyw]

Hey k&ajsmom - I was worrying about you and how you're doing. Keep us posted!

Abby

P.S. I have also read that Benadryl helps with withdrawal symptoms. Did the doc specify why he thinks its serotonin syndrome and not withdrawal?

[Jacquie802]

Hope you're feeling some relief from all your symptoms soon. Lamictal is an AED-antiepileptic drug. Be careful with this one bc it is known to cause Steven Johnson's Syndrome-severe rash. Why does your dr believe this med will help? I know in some cases it's used to treat bipolar disorder, but I never heard of it being used for dysautonomia.

[k&ajsmom]

Thx so much for your concern abby, it truly means alot to me. I asked him specifically if it was withdrawel and he said....some it is but not alot. The emotions of course are and maybe some minor things such as fatigue and stomach upset but mostly he says he believes its serotonin because my symptoms seems neurological and that is caused by a bad reaction to so much serotonin. He says specifically the twitching is neuro and he is very nfmiliar with this being a symptom of serotonin syndrome and can be a residiual symptom that can last forever or just occassionally. He says also I shouldnt be on a ssri again becuase it will increase the chances that it will become a definant permanent issue......however then he put me on lamactil and when I told him I wasnt sure if I could afford it he says the option is elavil...which is an ssnri?????????? I questioned him on this and he says it is a similar drug in its actions on norepinephine and adrenaline to the lamactil....so Im terriable confused because they seem to be completely different compounds.....???? with the one increasing serotonin availability...ugh

Jacquie, I am familiar with that "deadly rash syndrome" and quite frankly it is scary to think about. He says its a low enough dose it shouldnt be aproblem and its rare, but as we all know, potsy seems to always be the .1 percent..haha lucky us. I asked why this drug and he said because it helps regulate norepinephrine and adrenaline and will help me calm my system from the serotonin syndrome and help me reboot to calm norm.(whatever that is) Im not sure what to think really since I have NEVER heard of this route being taken and am really scared of this drug. However the elavil seems worse....aside from the Steven-Johnsons syndrome lamactil has far less side effects. I have heard of cardiac envolvement with elavil and hallucinations...one specific side effect being heart block, although again rare....I am not a gambler. And it increases serotonin, although not as much as a strictly ssri, I think any would be bad considering the above mentioned symptoms. He assures me it would be fine but recommends Lamactil first if I can afford it. I I guess I may become a guinea pig for this med but it may take me a little while to gather my courage.

[k&ajsmom]

Ps....btw the doctor confirmed benedryl as an aid not only for my severe allergies but with withdrawel, however I am already on zyrtec and claritan and benedryl seems to flip on me and cause nervousness, agitation and insomnia....just another wierd med reaction lol

[k&ajsmom]

pss..geesh Im scatter brained...I am feeling better with the withdrawel or serotonin (whatever lol) today...not marginally but some progress. It seems to come in 5 to 6 hour waves of illness now. I will feel like death and then like a switch as been flicked off I feel just potsy again.The twitching comes in waves of severe to hardly noticable. But the worst is bp and hr swings for sure now. I woke up today with a hrate of 49 and stood up to 160, this makes me very nervous and sets my anxiety off and makes me scared to push myself even off the couch. My 6 day headache seems to have finnally become bearable...thank the lord.... I am definatly horrifically decondtioned and am really struggling with this and think its just making me so much worse.

Will keep everyone posted...and I cant thank u enough for the sopport..it has been rough the last 2 weeks..... DOnt know what I would do without this forum