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lesleyB
09-01-08, 18:52
Has anyone come of sertraline and if so how slowly did you do it, every time I feel better my GP wants me to come of them and last time cut me down from 100mg straight too 50mg and I ended up having to go back up again. Now he wants me to come of them again after 4 months:ohmy:
Lesleyb

joy
09-01-08, 21:37
i dont understand why he wants you to come off. all the advise says you should stay on meds for at least a year from feeling better. i think i would tell him you are still having bad moments and dont want to come off.

joy

Bill
10-01-08, 05:18
I think he's encouraging you to prove to yourself that you can cope with your fears without medication.

My wife used to take Sertraline. It's not addictive but it should be reduced gradually. What he says seems reasonable. Just remember percentages. 100mg down to 50mg is a 50% drop which is too much. Reduce by small percentages over a week or 2 at a time to give your body time to adjust and I'm sure you'll be fine.:hugs:

lesleyB
10-01-08, 11:08
Thank you Joy and Bill, my doc has given me another 3 months on 100 mg and then wants to review me; I will tell him I am having some bad moments still. I mentioned to him that the jump from100 to 50 mg was too much and he just said there is not a 75mg so I will have to discuss this with him further.
Lesleyb:hugs: :hugs:

joy
10-01-08, 12:59
Sorry Lesley I didnt mean to say you shouldnt come of meds but only you know how you feel . If you want to reduce to 75mg in the future I guess a pill cutter is the answer.

Love Joy

PS stilll waiting for sertraline to work!!!

lesleyB
11-01-08, 10:30
Hi Joy,I know what you mean, am going to talk to my doc next time I see him and ask about pill cutting. Sorry your not feeling better yet hope you will soon.
Lesley:hugs:

davidthegnome
09-02-08, 06:46
I'm not a Doctor and can only relate my personal experience.. but coming off of zoloft was hell for me. The method they (physicians) generally use is (IMO) completely absurd and just plain stupid. I've been on it, with brief periods of time off of it since I was thirteen - ten years now.

About a year and a half ago, I decided I wanted to stop taking it. So I went to see a psychiatrist and was weaned down, with therapy and such. The speed with which they took me off of it was probably a good part of what caused the breakdown of my nervous system afterwards. Three months - is just not long enough for someone who's been on it for an extended period of time. In my case, years.

I'd suggest not cutting down by any more than 5 MG at a time. Pill cutters can help with this.

It makes me angry beyond reason that I see this so often mishandled. I often wonder whether many physicians and psychiatrists use the incorrect methods on purpose - in order to keep their customers. Honestly I don't trust any psychiatrist I've ever met and very few Doctors. It is very evident, in an overwhelming number of studies (likely NOT funded by the FDA, of course, we know they've got their hands in the pharma cookie jar) that the best method is to go far slower than they do, generally.

50 miligrams at once? Don't do that to yourself. Get a second opinion, or a third. I'm back up to 150, thanks to my ignorance before in following a psychiatrist's medical advice. I was completely off of it for some time before the drug actually left my system - before my brain began to really suffer the consequences. But I can tell you, they are severe if you do not do it right.

The medical industry ought to be ashamed of themselves for the way this has been handled. It makes me so angry when I read things like this. Unfortunately, the number of well-informed practitioners are largely outnumbered by the uninformed, the incompetent, and the corrupt.

These are my opinions... and my advice based on my experience. Good luck and God bless you.

lesleyB
09-02-08, 20:34
Hi Thanks for your advice, my doc now feels i should stay on a maintenance
dose of 50mg for however long I need it, I still have to cut down though and I will suggest to him that I come of more slowly this time. My counselor said she would phone him about this as she thought it was bad to cut down by 50mgs straight away.:shrug:
Take care
Lesleyb

joy
09-02-08, 21:24
Probably a bad idea to drop by 50mg so time for the pill cutter mate! still confused why the doc wants to cut you down if you are fine on 100mg.

Love Joy

lesleyB
11-02-08, 12:05
Yes Joy I can't understand it either, I will stand my ground this time another month and a half on 100mgs then we will see.
Love
lesleyb:flowers:

joy
11-02-08, 13:18
maybe if you do some internet searching where it says you should stay on a dose that suits you for a least a year after remisssion from symptoms and print it out!!! Think your GP seems a tad anti meds,

Love Joy

lesleyB
14-02-08, 10:53
Yes Joy I will do that, I think he is anti meds as soon as I feel better he wants me of them:huh: I think some docs need extra training in mental health issues, although he seems sympathetic he seems to think all will be well if I give up working, not so ,this is only half the problem.:wacko:
Love
Lesley

joy
14-02-08, 11:24
Cloud cuckoo land!!!

Joy

joannap
14-02-08, 12:01
in my experience doctors want you to come off a'depressants approximately 3-4 months after feeling better if you have only had a few episodes - i suppose i can see the sense in it in that they are really only designed as a crutch to help you through. however - more therapy etc should be in place as so many people relapse and then have to back on them.

in chronic cases of anxiety/depression you are advised to be on them for 3-5 years and some people will require a maintenance dose for life. i suppose the success rate lies within how far we can take recovery ourselves - i do feel recovery is available to everyone but our own life circumstances/how far and able we are willing to implement what is necessary for recovery is a personal thing.

i know that i have felt terrible - at rock bottom with constant intrusive thoughts etc but when i accept and give into it and actually embrace it - the turnaround in my symptoms is amazing - i literally improve within days so it just goes to show that meds are only part of the treatment - they cannot change your thoughts/stresses in your life and so this part is down to us.

jaynef
29-03-08, 23:18
hiya im new to this site and have not been able to introduce myself yet ,but i was reading about your medication sertraline and im on the same you ,mention your doctor says there is not 75mg ,but i take that by taking one and a half tablets maybe this wou;d help you?

kjh
03-06-08, 22:41
I am new to the board as of today so I am a little lost. My name is Kathy. I slowly came off of my 200mg of Zoloft over a 4 month period. I did fine with no side effects. I still felt fine for 4 more months and then began to feel depressed again. Overwhelmed by the things going on in my life. 2 boys moving home from college, need new roof from hail storm, cars on the blink, I need to return to work to increase our income but feel totally unable to function. I restarted the Zoloft at 100mg, up to 150mg for a week, and now on 200mg for a week. I still feel awful. I thought since it worked so well before, I could count on it again but nothing is better. We added 150mg of Wellbutrin this week as I used it before with my Zoloft. Am I crazy to give up already or is there still a chance the Zoloft will work?

I don't know how to get back here after I leave, but I will try to navigate the board. I am very new at this. Thanks.

lesleyB
05-06-08, 14:31
Hi kjh,welcome to the forum you will get lots of help here.I think you should hang in there a while , although I must say that after going back up too 100 mg again I don't think I feel as good as before I cut down to 50 mg ; but I feel better on 100 mg than on 50mg and I manage.
Take care:bighug1:
Lesleyb