7 hours ago, NOW said:

I have tapered down to 12.6 mg and will be ready to switch to 20mg/ml liquid Sertraline. Symptoms are under control. I feel good. I continue to experience symptoms if/when I consume too many carbohydrates. I swear by the idea of intermittent fasting and a low-carb diet.

Congratulations! Good luck with the switch!

I'm glad that your symptoms are under control. I hope that the switch goes reasonably smoothly.

Hi Nemina.

I eat at 4 pm. Then I don't eat until 10 am the next day. I eat two meals between 10 am and 4 pm.

@NOW I have tried intermittent fasting but 16 : 8 ...trouble is in a wave I find it messes with my blood sugars ( not had that proved ) but I will become very shaky if I don't eat regularly....has this ever affected you ..are your two meals quite substantial

Edited May 3May 3 by Beehive

Hi @Beehive

Yes, I eat a pretty large meal for my first meal of the day and another medium to large-sized meal for dinner at 4 pm. I eat enough calories, or at least I am able to maintain my weight and feel satiated.

I don't get shaky any more. In the past, when I consumed more carbs, I would get shaky in between meals. I tried out a continuous blood glucose monitor (CGM) to test my glucose levels in relation to my symptoms. I figured out that shakiness happened a few hours after eating carbs, which also coincided with a huge dip in my glucose level per the CGM readout. Sheakiness stopped with my current diet.

I would say that it probably does not work the same way for everyone. I think that eating later and keeping a shorter fasting period, like 6 pm to 8 am (14 hours), or any other variation that works, could be beneficial for each individual.

I think that during a wave, healthy routines can be very beneficial.

@NOW Thank you for your reply ,I had heard about carbs and blood sugar levels .I'm glad you have found something that is working for you ,makes all the difference in withdrawal when you are able to have some control .My diet isn't that bad but could be a lot cleaner .As I said its good to have a discipline and routine and I suppose getting the food right can make a big difference to withdrawal. Some people do well on plants others carnivore or keto I suppose its a case of what suits you .,I do believe it contributes greatly to improved healing. 🙏

Hello.

I have returned from a one-month trip to Europe hosting family and friends. Everything went well. Upon my return, I began cross-tapering to liquid Sertraline. It's day 4. So far so good. Fingers crossed 🤞.

16 hours ago, NOW said:

Hello.

I have returned from a one-month trip to Europe hosting family and friends. Everything went well. Upon my return, I began cross-tapering to liquid Sertraline. It's day 4. So far so good. Fingers crossed 🤞.

Glad the trip was good. Congratulations on day 4 of the cross taper. Hope it continues to go well.

Day 9 of cross-taper. Still doing fine. 2 mg {0.1ml} mg liquid and 10.5 MG tab sertraline.

Hi @NOW

No, I wasn't holding at 12.5 mg for four years. I was tapering during that entire period, but my signature is abbreviated. On the previous site, one of the moderators felt my signature was getting too long, so I was asked to shorten it. Because of that, I removed most of the intermediate reductions and only kept some of the milestones.

I held at 12.5 mg until January 2017, then began a much slower taper. I continued making gradual reductions throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019, eventually reaching 1.875 mg by January 2020.

I can definitely see why it looks like I stayed at 12.5 mg until 2020, though. That's just an artifact of shortening my signature. I hope that clears up the confusion. 😊

I came over to your thread to answer your question so you'd have the information here as well. After reading your question, I also went back and updated my signature to try to make that part a little clearer for anyone else reading it in the future.

How are you doing with your taper these days? I know you're approaching the lower doses, and I hope things are continuing to go smoothly for you.

Hi @RachelSusan, thank you for being patient with my questions. My taper is going steadily. I am about where you were in 2016. Thank you for updating your signature. If I follow a similar pattern, I won't be done for 6 years, which sounds like a very long time. We shall see.

I hope your gabapentin taper is going well. Appreciate you.

Sincerely; @NOW

@NOW Please ask as many questions as you'd like. That's exactly why I'm here. ❤️

I really hear you about the thought of six years. When I looked ahead during my Zoloft taper, it felt like such a long time. Now that I'm tapering gabapentin, I find myself having some of those same thoughts again.

One thing that helped me was reminding myself that the time is going to pass either way. If I can make small reductions and not be symptomatic with each cut, then I'd much rather take the extra time and continue living my life than try to rush and end up feeling miserable.

That said, I also understand why six years can feel overwhelming. If someone is symptomatic most of the way down, six years would feel like a very long time. That's a completely understandable way to feel.

I was also wondering how you're doing. Are you still reducing by about 2.5% each week? If so, has that pace kept you mostly symptom-free, or are you noticing any withdrawal symptoms? My hope for you is that, because you've been so thoughtful and patient with your taper, you'll continue to do well as you move forward. One step at a time really does add up, even though it doesn't always feel that way when you're looking at the whole journey.

Hi Rachel. I will try to remember your encouragement about time. It's passing every day; might as well reduce the dose.

I switched to a 5-6% reduction every 2 weeks. So far it's working. It's giving the nervous system more time to recover than the previous 2.5%/week track did. I will continue to post my dose reductions. I appreciate your support. @NOW

Hi @NOW,

I'm really glad to hear you've found a pace that seems to be working better for your nervous system.

I'm very pleased to read that you'll continue posting your dose reductions. I think it will be helpful for all of us to see how things go for you over time.

I hope the rest of your taper is as uneventful as possible.

Edited August 5Aug 5 by RachelSusan
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