2 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

I had a few bad days and then recovered, which for me is great. I seem to have found what, for now, is my sweet spot, somewhere between 2.7% and the low 3% range. That may change in the future, but for now, it seems to be working well for me.

Wowsers that's living the dream! If you're having tolerable WD side effects for a brief time and then able to live your life relatively normally, then I call that a huge win. Who cares how long it takes, being comfortable is where it's at IMO. I think figuring out how to do all this is the hardest part.

Congrats!

@j1290 I know, right !?!?! Someone said to me, "are OK with being sick 3 or 4 days every month?", and I said I sure am. Only those of us that have gone through a year or two of being brutally sick every single day can really appreciate how awful it could be. Yes, I am really grateful and at this point I don't care how long it takes. Thanks for commenting. It's nice that you understand what I am saying.

I'm so glad you found a taper rate that suits you. Most of the month feeling good is a good month.😊

Wombat

@Wombat Thank you for stopping by and your good thoughts.

Fatigue has hit me like a truck with this latest Gabapentin cut, which is so different from my usual jittery, sleepless withdrawal pattern. Instead of bouncing off the walls, I’m completely exhausted, which is very unusual for me. I’ll take this fatigue anytime, though, because anything is better than the sleeplessness and jitters. It makes no sense to me, but I’m actually incredibly grateful for this reaction. It’s a welcome change from what I usually experience.

31 minutes ago, RachelSusan said:

Fatigue has hit me like a truck with this latest Gabapentin cut,

I tapered Wellbutrin, but man, can I relate! The fatigue was ridiculous. I was just completely sapped of energy.

Compared to having my CNS overly sensitized on the daily, however, it wasn't so bad 😆

Always great to hear an update!

@j1290 Good to hear from you. Thanks for telling me you understand. It is different for me this cut, but like I said, very happy to accept it.

I can imagine it would be far easier to be with than the anxiety and over stimulation.

Good to read your update xx

Hi RachelSusan, so good to hear this cut went ok. Hopefully the tapering off this medication will be gentler than the sertraline.

Wombat

@Tracey I'm so pleased you came by to say hello. I do have to agree with you, fatigue is far better than anxiety and over stimulation. Practically any thing is better than that. I hope you see some recovery very soon.

xo

@Wombat Thank you very much for stopping by. I do hope my Gabapentin taper is better than my sertraline taper was. Any of the anti-depressants are hard tapers. We all know how debilitating all these tapers are.

Last I read you were holding on your cut Hopefully you are recovered from you last cut and perhaps the next one might not be as bad? I hope for the best for you.

19 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

Fatigue has hit me like a truck with this latest Gabapentin cut, which is so different from my usual jittery, sleepless withdrawal pattern. Instead of bouncing off the walls, I’m completely exhausted, which is very unusual for me. I’ll take this fatigue anytime, though, because anything is better than the sleeplessness and jitters. It makes no sense to me, but I’m actually incredibly grateful for this reaction. It’s a welcome change from what I usually experience.

Sorry to hear @RachelSusan wish things were easier, but at least you are finding this new symptoms more managable. Hope it settles soon all the same.

@Chippy Thanks Chippy. Appreciate you coming by.

Hi @RachelSusan , You are in my thoughts and prayers! 🤗🙏💞

@Golden Thank you for stopping by and your warm thoughts. I appreciate it.

xo

On 9/4/2026 at 8:15 AM, RachelSusan said:

Fatigue has hit me like a truck

This is how I have been feeling lately after my failed attempt to crossover Gabapentin from capsule to liquid. I agree that it is much better than the anxiety that plagued me during my Bupropion taper.

Rest and recover. We will get there one small step at a time. ❤️🤗

@Golden Thanks for stopping by. The Gabapentin is hard. I think it might even be harder for me than coming off the antidepressant was.

This last cut left me mostly fatigued, but in the past I’ve had the opposite experience, amped up, anxious, nauseous, terrible insomnia, and what felt like the worst case of the flu ever. And it just seemed to go on forever.

That’s why I’m being so cautious with this resumed taper. For me, I’m finding that very small cuts, around 3%, seem to be much more manageable. I really wish I had known that the last time I tried to taper, a few years ago.

I guess we can keep each other posted on how things are going. It’s always nice to have someone else who understands what this is like.

14 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

@Golden Thanks for stopping by. The Gabapentin is hard. I think it might even be harder for me than coming off the antidepressant was.

This last cut left me mostly fatigued, but in the past I’ve had the opposite experience, amped up, anxious, nauseous, terrible insomnia, and what felt like the worst case of the flu ever. And it just seemed to go on forever.

That’s why I’m being so cautious with this resumed taper. For me, I’m finding that very small cuts, around 3%, seem to be much more manageable. I really wish I had known that the last time I tried to taper, a few years ago.

I guess we can keep each other posted on how things are going. It’s always nice to have someone else who understands what this is like.

I was so anxious to be off Zoloft and Xanax that I regularly did 10% cuts, sometimes even a tad more. Close to the end of my Xanax taper in 2025 my PCP wanted me off the drug, so I may have ended it a little sooner than I might have. It hasn't been easy, but I'm glad I'm off the drugs. It's good to hear your taper is going well. Wishing you the very best!

Terry

@Terry Thanks for stopping by. I’m so pleased to see you. It’s really nice to hear that you’re off both Zoloft and Xanax, although I’m sure getting off hasn’t been easy. Congratulations on making it through that part of the journey.

When I originally asked my doctor to help me come off Zoloft, I was surprised when he suddenly took a very different approach and wanted me off quite quickly. I actually wished at the time that I had never told him about my plan to taper. He even wrote the prescription in a way that limited how much I could take. I ended up finding another doctor who was willing to let me taper at a pace that felt manageable for me.

How intense are your residual symptoms now? I hope things are becoming more manageable for you and that you’re able to find some good stretches along the way.

20 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

How intense are your residual symptoms now? I hope things are becoming more manageable for you and that you’re able to find some good stretches along the way.

The intensity of symptoms has decreased from what it was during tapering. The anxiety and heart palpitations that sent me to the ER three times then have lessened. I like to think things are VERY, VERY gradually getting better. It's nine years since I began this journey, and I'd like to have a few good years left. (I'll soon be 83 so that may be expecting too much. 🙂)

It sounds like you're doing a really careful taper of your Gabapentin, keeping side effects to a minimum. I wish you the very best along the way!

I originally wrote this on another member’s page, but I decided to share it here on my own page as well. I haven’t talked very much about just how severe my withdrawal from Zoloft became, and I think it’s important to share that part of my story. When you’re in the middle of something this overwhelming, it can be very difficult to believe that you’re going to come out the other side. I want others to know just how bad it was for me, and that despite all of it, I did recover. Sometimes hearing that someone else made it through can give you a little hope when you need it most.

There was also a period when I was so bad that I couldn’t even form sentences in my head. I could barely speak, and when I did, everything came out very slowly. I would even lose track of what I was trying to say halfway through. I was really frightened about my cognitive function and honestly wondered if my brain would ever come back.

It eventually did. My thinking returned to normal and is as good as it was before. And now I can write again, which is something I really enjoy. I never would have believed that during the worst of it.

I’m sharing this because I want people who are struggling with severe cognitive symptoms to know that recovery is possible. I went through a period when I genuinely feared that I had permanently lost part of myself. I hadn’t. My brain recovered, my thinking returned, and I am able to live and function normally again.

Thank you @RachelSusan I too have severe cognitive impairment right now. I remember when I spoke with Mark H, he said during his withdrawal he couldn't work out how to get on a bus i.e. how to pay, what stop to get off because his cognition was so impaired. I have heard many people recover from this symptom so I'm confident that I will too.

@Terry

Thank you so much for your kind words about the Gabapentin. I’m really happy to hear that things have eased up for you, even if the progress has been painfully slow. I know how meaningful those little changes can be when you’ve been dealing with this for such a long time (I'm 10 years in including both the Zoloft and Gabapentin taper). And 83? I’m not going to let you use that as an excuse to lower your expectations! 😄 I too hope you have many good years ahead of you and that you continue to see more improvement. You’ve come this far, and I’m really rooting for you.

@Sminismoni I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Hold onto your confidence that this will improve, I truly believe that it will. Wishing you patience and gentleness as you move through this part of your recovery. Thank you for writing, I appreciate it. 💜

Was just reading this on the internet in regard to my Gabapentin taper:

 If the medication is reduced too quickly, it can trigger rebound hyperexcitability—essentially a flood of nerve electrical activity.Uncontrollable spasms, twitching, severe shaking (tremors), and spikes in anxiety are classic, well-documented symptoms of gabapentin withdrawal syndrome. It means your nervous system is reacting to the removal of a long-standing chemical support. Crucial Next Steps. Because you have been on this medication for a decade, your nervous system is highly sensitive to changes. Pause the taper, A decade of use often requires an incredibly gradual micro-taper (sometimes reducing by tiny fractions over many months or a year) to give your nerves time to safely recalibrate without misfiring.

I know the above and I'm doing ok with this taper. I am getting some random spasms, twitching in the middle of the night but it is minor. Also I had to laugh when it said reducing for a year. Ha, I will be reducing for many years. But if I can do it with no or minimal symptoms then that is what I will do. I have no desire to white knuckle it all the way down.