getting off of zoloft
 

I take Zoloft 100 mg and it is making me more anxious than ever. How do I get off of it without getting so sick. My doctor just said go down 25mg week. Yeah and I couldn't get off the floor I was so dizzy so I went back on them. help?

Listen to the doctor. Going off SSRIs needs a weaning schedule. DO NOT go off Zoloft cold-turkey.

Di d you just get sober? That will cause serious anxiety in itself.

Stay sober and stay in close contact with your medical team until you find a solution.

*edit to say: I just looked at some of your other posts. Smoking marijuana will definitely cause anxiety and will affect how medications work. Does your doctor know about your pot use?

If it's any comfort to you, getting the right meds and their respective doses sometimes takes a while and is not pleasant from the patient's perspective.

But the end results are worth it.

That was my experience.

How long have you been on them? It can take a few weeks, up to a month for SSRI's like zoloft to kick in, and there can be some odd side effects at first. If it's been a couple weeks and they are still making you feel like this, then I would ask them to put you on a different one.
I know I had to go through a couple before I found one that worked for me. I also felt like I was in a cloud and couldn't focus on anything for the first ones I tried.

Zoloft is tough to come off of. Even if you reduce it slowly, you're still probably going to have symptoms. It just takes time. I had the dizziness and electric shocks feeling for a week or so each time I reduced it, but it does get better.

I agree with others who said to be honest with your doctor if you're using weed. It can definitely turn up your anxiety. If it didn't used to, maybe it does now that you've got an SSRI on board. For psych meds to work you have to keep your brain clean. If anxiety is an ongoing problem, maybe your doctor can prescribe something for it.

I hope you feel better soon!

My experience with SSRIs is complicated by the fact that my depression is bipolar depression, not major depressive disorder, although the depression I've experienced over the years is horrible.

SSRI monotherapy, even when other antidepressants didn't work well for me. In fact, there were times when, looking back, it pushed me into hypomania. Bipolar 2 used to be underdiagnosed, but is probably overdiagnosed now. Worth a discussion with your P-Doc to see if you are experiencing the start of mania.

I still used SSRIs to combat my Seasonal Affective Disorder, which laid on top of my Bipolar 2. My docs used to marvel how easy it was for me to go on and off them every winter, but everyone's different. I can't understand how others can go on and off benzos so easily!

Totally agree with others that all SSRIs, including Zoloft, take a while to work, and the initial side effects are not pleasant, for me including a lot of gastrointestinal effects as well as anxiety, dizziness, and a weird feeling that my head was floating and was going to fall off. I did switch to different antidepressants over the years, none of which had nearly the same effect upon starting. Everyone is different. Some people do very well on Zoloft.

It's good that you have a good relationship with a psychiatrist, who should be the one to help you out with the anxiety, and any medication adjustments. I strongly concur with advice that this should be your source of information.

I have heard you MUST taper off and wean off slowly because it can be dangerous otherwise. Patience and do not rush the process..