Hi all,

 

I'm new to the group. But just wanted to share my story/seek advice.

 

I started Sertraline 25 mg in 2016. Eventually titrated up to 100mg. Stayed at that dose till 2022 when I did a doctor supervised taper. Taper ended in Nov 22. Started having terrible depression, irritability and crying spells. So, I went back in 25 mg in Jan 2023. Started getting tremors. Assumed it was withdrawal so I titrated back up to 50mg. Then a slew of symptoms started. Vertigo, brain fog, muscle weakness, fatigue, muscle weakness. Because I was already back on sertraline, it never occurred to me that it could still be protracted withdrawl or 'kindling'. Doctor titrated me up to 100mg. Stayed super unwell. Eventually tapered off again end of 2023. Have been feeling unwell since. It's been over 3 years of this. I'm just desperate to get my life back. I've read online about microdosing to a low dose of liquid zoloft. Do you think it's worth a try? I dont have much left to lose. I already had to stop working, moved back in with my parents and stopped dating due to my lack of functioning.

Hi @BeezQueen7

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

I'm new to the group. But just wanted to share my story/seek advice.

Good to have you here and thanks for sharing, you will get lots of support here for sure. :)

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

I started Sertraline 25 mg in 2016. Eventually titrated up to 100mg. Stayed at that dose till 2022 when I did a doctor supervised taper.

Can I ask, how did you feel on 25mg, were you ok for some time? Until you were not? Again on 100mg, were you ok?

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Stayed at that dose till 2022 when I did a doctor supervised taper.

Why did you taper here? Things were good at 100mg, but then stopped being good?

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Taper ended in Nov 22. Started having terrible depression, irritability and crying spells.

Sounds like WD to me! Im guessing your taper was pretty quick?

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

So, I went back in 25 mg in Jan 2023. Started getting tremors. Assumed it was withdrawal so I titrated back up to 50mg. Then a slew of symptoms started. Vertigo, brain fog, muscle weakness, fatigue, muscle weakness. Because I was already back on sertraline, it never occurred to me that it could still be protracted withdrawl or 'kindling'. Doctor titrated me up to 100mg. Stayed super unwell.

Unfortunately if you RI you should do so at a much lower dose than you did. Here is our guide on RI for your information.

Reinstating an Antidepressant

Increasing your dose was the wrong way, as you note, and leads to further harm unfortunately. Im sorry to read this.

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Eventually tapered off again end of 2023. Have been feeling unwell since. It's been over 3 years of this.

Im not sure how quickly you came down? It is also hard to say what might have been best in this situation. Possibly going back to a lower dose and sitting there might have been best. But you were not to know any of this!

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

I'm just desperate to get my life back. I've read online about microdosing to a low dose of liquid zoloft. Do you think it's worth a try? I dont have much left to lose. I already had to stop working, moved back in with my parents and stopped dating due to my lack of functioning.

You have been off a long time now.

Adding Zoloft back in, the purpose of this is to address your brains dependance for the drug, the drug was removed too quickly and it misses.

Over the last 3 years your brain will have been working hard to adapt to the drug missing.

It is possible a small RI would help. It is VERY risky however this far out.

A lot of what you are experiencing is harm that only time will heal. I know that one is hard to hear. Im sorry.

So it is a tough call. Only you can make that. If you want to try a RI, we will help with that. But honestly, Im not sure I would. Im not you and can't tell how bad things are, but this far out, it may make things worse.

Have you felt any windows? Any improvement at all in this time?

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Chippy

Thanks Chippy. I couldnt figure out how to respond to your direct quotes, so I'll do my best to respond to your questions on here

Initial 25 mg dose in 2016 didn't do much for me. 100 mg was good at numbing the pain and panic of a very traumatic life event.

The 100mg helped with mood, panic etc but I had a stone's demeanor. Very dopey, tired and blunted affect.

In 2022, I decided to taper off because the fatigue and dopiness was affecting my productivity and work. I was hoping to go off the sertraline in the hopes of having more energy and wakefulness so I could be more productive. Instead the protracted withdrawal made me completely disabled. Ahh the dramatic irony.

I would like to try the re-instatemrnt if you would be so kind as to advise. My family is going on a vacation in the summer, and I would love even a glimmer of a hope of being able to go. My functioning level right now is a zero and it's really impacting my parents mental health seeing me like this. Also, I've heard some people's withdrawal lasts 6 + years. I can't risk that. I am desperate to try anything that has even a chance of working.

Thank you,

BeezQueen

Welcome to the forum.

Reinstatement this far out, whilst also likely being quite sensitised by going back on it to a high dose and causing further symptoms, is quite risky.

I would urge you to proceed with a lot of caution, and start very, very low if you do decide to reinstate. It's also worth giving it some time (weeks, not hours or days) to see if it starts to help (Unless you have a significant, immediate negative reaction to reinstatement).

Personally, at a bit over 2 years drug free, I wouldn't advise it, but I can see why you'd feel like you wanted to try. I'm saying this because at 2 years off I was still very bad, whereas at 3 years off I am not recovered but doing considerably better, and I was quite a severe case symptoms-wise. Withdrawal can last 6+ years in extreme cases, but this is very uncommon.

Everyone will likely give you slightly different thoughts on a starting dose, but really the lower the better. I would potentially try 0.1mg and see how you react to this, possibly even less given how long it's been. I'd be interested to hear some more thoughts from other members who are more experienced with reinstatement though.

10 hours ago, Chippy said:

Hi @BeezQueen7

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Good to have you here and thanks for sharing, you will get lots of support here for sure. :)

Can I ask, how did you feel on 25mg, were you ok for some time? Until you were not? Again on 100mg, were you ok?

Why did you taper here? Things were good at 100mg, but then stopped being good?

Sounds like WD to me! Im guessing your taper was pretty quick?

Unfortunately if you RI you should do so at a much lower dose than you did. Here is our guide on RI for your information.

Reinstating an Antidepressant

Increasing your dose was the wrong way, as you note, and leads to further harm unfortunately. Im sorry to read this.

Im not sure how quickly you came down? It is also hard to say what might have been best in this situation. Possibly going back to a lower dose and sitting there might have been best. But you were not to know any of this!

You have been off a long time now.

Adding Zoloft back in, the purpose of this is to address your brains dependance for the drug, the drug was removed too quickly and it misses.

Over the last 3 years your brain will have been working hard to adapt to the drug missing.

It is possible a small RI would help. It is VERY risky however this far out.

A lot of what you are experiencing is harm that only time will heal. I know that one is hard to hear. Im sorry.

So it is a tough call. Only you can make that. If you want to try a RI, we will help with that. But honestly, Im not sure I would. Im not you and can't tell how bad things are, but this far out, it may make things worse.

Have you felt any windows? Any improvement at all in this time?

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Chippy

I also meant to mention that I was hoping to go on something whether the symptoms were from rebound or not because I'm too anxious to go out and too depressed to be motivated to do anything. (So even if I wasnt suffering from muscle weakness or dizziness and all the other withdrawal symptoms, I'd be seeking out a script for an SSRI anyway). Would it be better to try an all new one or stick to the micro dose of sertraline?

Edited April 15Apr 15 by BeezQueen7

12 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Thanks Chippy. I couldnt figure out how to respond to your direct quotes, so I'll do my best to respond to your questions on here

Thats ok @BeezQueen7

All you need to do, is highlight the bit of text you want to quote, the press the 'quote selection' button that pops up :)

If you hit quote at the bottom of the post, it quotes the whole post, which is sometimes useful. Just ignore the + button, no one uses it really. :)

The new version we just updated to, the quote selection button is being a bit tempramental, if it plays up, refresh the page!

12 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

nitial 25 mg dose in 2016 didn't do much for me. 100 mg was good at numbing the pain and panic of a very traumatic life event.

The 100mg helped with mood, panic etc but I had a stone's demeanor. Very dopey, tired and blunted affect.

Yes, this is how it helps, dopes you up, removes all your emtions. It's the blunting that does that.

13 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

In 2022, I decided to taper off because the fatigue and dopiness was affecting my productivity and work. I was hoping to go off the sertraline in the hopes of having more energy and wakefulness so I could be more productive. Instead the protracted withdrawal made me completely disabled. Ahh the dramatic irony.

This is common, the most common reason tbh people want to come off. Unfortunately as you found out, coming off too quickly causes problems.

13 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

I would like to try the re-instatemrnt if you would be so kind as to advise. My family is going on a vacation in the summer, and I would love even a glimmer of a hope of being able to go. My functioning level right now is a zero and it's really impacting my parents mental health seeing me like this. Also, I've heard some people's withdrawal lasts 6 + years. I can't risk that. I am desperate to try anything that has even a chance of working.

8 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

I also meant to mention that I was hoping to go on something whether the symptoms were from rebound or not because I'm too anxious to go out and too depressed to be motivated to do anything. (So even if I wasnt suffering from muscle weakness or dizziness and all the other withdrawal symptoms, I'd be seeking out a script for an SSRI anyway). Would it be better to try an all new one or stick to the micro dose of sertraline?

I need to highlight a few things.

On a personal level, I don't belive these drugs are the answers to life problems. I also don't believe we need to medicate, what is a normal natural (sometimes very distressing) human response. The medical community have directly, and often indirectly, shared this false message, that there is a chemical inbalance in us, something that needs treating, but the reality is this is not true.

As I said in my intro post, the evidence that these drugs work is very slim. The research is well, bad. If they do anything, there is a placebo effect, and then there is the emotional numbing you felt. That can of course be helpful. But tolerance builds and eventually this stops working. When this happens the drugs often start to have a paradoxial effects, and make you much worse! Looks like withdrawal. Its awful.

Then of course there are all the long term effects of being on these drugs, side effects, risk of poly pharmacy and of course wd and pwd!

Now that is just if you have not been harmed. Now you have, these drugs are really not your friend. Once your nervous becomes destabilsed, as yours now has, adding in a different drug or just any psycho active substance can be a disaster.

Most of what you are now suffering with is probably WD and WD injury (ABIND it is sometimes refered to as) not a 'mental health' condition. The only way to treat the injury is time, good healthy living and coping skills. The coping skills and life style change you can learn and make in WD, I truly believe can help make life much better after WD, and I know many of us believe that if we had them in first place, we wouldn't have tried ADs!

With regards to the WD, adding back in some drug can help with this. We don't do this to treat anything, we are just addressing the brains need for the drug and helping soften the symptoms, that need has produced. Time will still be the biggest factor here.

RI this far out, is very risky indeed. You need to think hard about if you want to take that risk, having understood everything clearly I have said here.

If it works, and doesn't make you worse, then it is really only a cruth to ease things for you, and make the job of adapting easier. Obviously having been off 3 years, the brain will have done alot of this already, but we have no idea how much it will have managed.

Honestly this far out, its a big risk, and a long shot. So I won't talk about how to yet. But if you can confirm you understand everything Im saying here and that you still want to try, then we will help you do it as safely as possible.

Chippy

24 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Thats ok @BeezQueen7

All you need to do, is highlight the bit of text you want to quote, the press the 'quote selection' button that pops up :)

If you hit quote at the bottom of the post, it quotes the whole post, which is sometimes useful. Just ignore the + button, no one uses it really. :)

The new version we just updated to, the quote selection button is being a bit tempramental, if it plays up, refresh the page!

Yes, this is how it helps, dopes you up, removes all your emtions. It's the blunting that does that.

This is common, the most common reason tbh people want to come off. Unfortunately as you found out, coming off too quickly causes problems.

I need to highlight a few things.

On a personal level, I don't belive these drugs are the answers to life problems. I also don't believe we need to medicate, what is a normal natural (sometimes very distressing) human response. The medical community have directly, and often indirectly, shared this false message, that there is a chemical inbalance in us, something that needs treating, but the reality is this is not true.

As I said in my intro post, the evidence that these drugs work is very slim. The research is well, bad. If they do anything, there is a placebo effect, and then there is the emotional numbing you felt. That can of course be helpful. But tolerance builds and eventually this stops working. When this happens the drugs often start to have a paradoxial effects, and make you much worse! Looks like withdrawal. Its awful.

Then of course there are all the long term effects of being on these drugs, side effects, risk of poly pharmacy and of course wd and pwd!

Now that is just if you have not been harmed. Now you have, these drugs are really not your friend. Once your nervous becomes destabilsed, as yours now has, adding in a different drug or just any psycho active substance can be a disaster.

Most of what you are now suffering with is probably WD and WD injury (ABIND it is sometimes refered to as) not a 'mental health' condition. The only way to treat the injury is time, good healthy living and coping skills. The coping skills and life style change you can learn and make in WD, I truly believe can help make life much better after WD, and I know many of us believe that if we had them in first place, we wouldn't have tried ADs!

With regards to the WD, adding back in some drug can help with this. We don't do this to treat anything, we are just addressing the brains need for the drug and helping soften the symptoms, that need has produced. Time will still be the biggest factor here.

RI this far out, is very risky indeed. You need to think hard about if you want to take that risk, having understood everything clearly I have said here.

If it works, and doesn't make you worse, then it is really only a cruth to ease things for you, and make the job of adapting easier. Obviously having been off 3 years, the brain will have done alot of this already, but we have no idea how much it will have managed.

Honestly this far out, its a big risk, and a long shot. So I won't talk about how to yet. But if you can confirm you understand everything Im saying here and that you still want to try, then we will help you do it as safely as possible.

Chippy

24 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Thats ok @BeezQueen7

All you need to do, is highlight the bit of text you want to quote, the press the 'quote selection' button that pops up :)

If you hit quote at the bottom of the post, it quotes the whole post, which is sometimes useful. Just ignore the + button, no one uses it really. :)

The new version we just updated to, the quote selection button is being a bit tempramental, if it plays up, refresh the page!

Yes, this is how it helps, dopes you up, removes all your emtions. It's the blunting that does that.

This is common, the most common reason tbh people want to come off. Unfortunately as you found out, coming off too quickly causes problems.

I need to highlight a few things.

On a personal level, I don't belive these drugs are the answers to life problems. I also don't believe we need to medicate, what is a normal natural (sometimes very distressing) human response. The medical community have directly, and often indirectly, shared this false message, that there is a chemical inbalance in us, something that needs treating, but the reality is this is not true.

As I said in my intro post, the evidence that these drugs work is very slim. The research is well, bad. If they do anything, there is a placebo effect, and then there is the emotional numbing you felt. That can of course be helpful. But tolerance builds and eventually this stops working. When this happens the drugs often start to have a paradoxial effects, and make you much worse! Looks like withdrawal. Its awful.

Then of course there are all the long term effects of being on these drugs, side effects, risk of poly pharmacy and of course wd and pwd!

Now that is just if you have not been harmed. Now you have, these drugs are really not your friend. Once your nervous becomes destabilsed, as yours now has, adding in a different drug or just any psycho active substance can be a disaster.

Most of what you are now suffering with is probably WD and WD injury (ABIND it is sometimes refered to as) not a 'mental health' condition. The only way to treat the injury is time, good healthy living and coping skills. The coping skills and life style change you can learn and make in WD, I truly believe can help make life much better after WD, and I know many of us believe that if we had them in first place, we wouldn't have tried ADs!

With regards to the WD, adding back in some drug can help with this. We don't do this to treat anything, we are just addressing the brains need for the drug and helping soften the symptoms, that need has produced. Time will still be the biggest factor here.

RI this far out, is very risky indeed. You need to think hard about if you want to take that risk, having understood everything clearly I have said here.

If it works, and doesn't make you worse, then it is really only a cruth to ease things for you, and make the job of adapting easier. Obviously having been off 3 years, the brain will have done alot of this already, but we have no idea how much it will have managed.

Honestly this far out, its a big risk, and a long shot. So I won't talk about how to yet. But if you can confirm you understand everything Im saying here and that you still want to try, then we will help you do it as safely as possible.

Chippy

24 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Honestly this far out, its a big risk, and a long shot. So I won't talk about how to yet. But if you can confirm you understand everything Im saying here and that you still want to try, then we will help you do it as safely as possible.

Thanks Chippy, I appreciate you explaining everything clearly. I do understand the risk and I have a neurologist appointment at the end of April so I will also weigh the pros and cons with him as well. But I am interested to hear from the people in this group who have direct knowledge about RI and microdosing. It is insight that even many doctors lack. The way I view things with taking the risk is this: I'm already completely disabled. Unable to work, unable to have a social life, unable to have a love life. My symptoms dont really show signs of letting up. And time is precious. My parents might not have many years left and I want to be there for them in a meaningful way, rather than as their sick doctor they need to tend to. I realize I could get worse. But I've been eating well, meditating, walking, etc for the past 3 years with no major improvement and I'm aching to feel some kind of semblance of normal again.

7 minutes ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Thanks Chippy, I appreciate you explaining everything clearly. I do understand the risk and I have a neurologist appointment at the end of April so I will also weigh the pros and cons with him as well.

It is my pleasure. Hope it helped. Not sure what your neurolgist appointment is for? Im guessing you are ruling out any other issues?

They won't understand a low dose RI. It will baffle them! lol

8 minutes ago, BeezQueen7 said:

But I am interested to hear from the people in this group who have direct knowledge about RI and microdosing.

Ok. Well I think I've done enough to share the risks with you.

A few things.

These drugs are way more powerful then they need to be at 'clinically significant' doses. The amount they effect the brain, reduces as the dose increases. So each mg of drug isn't proportionally more than the last in terms of effect. With Sertraline once you get above 50mg the effect on the brain is lessened massivley and above 80 up to 100 it really flattens out. So this understanding is important to grasp.

In terms of where to start dose wise. You were on a very high dose of 100mg at your peak. But given the time off the drug I would go sub 1mg. I would start at 0.5mg. The reason for doing this isn't to help you, it is more to check you don't react badly. It may help. But I suspect you will need more than this with zoloft. We can increase the dose over time if you react fine to the RI. You should hold that 0.5mg dose for 14 days and see how you are. If it goes ok we can increase the dose slowly.

To make this dose up you will need to make up a liquid from your pill, and buy a few basic things to do this. I can help with this What size tablet do you have?

Chippy

4 minutes ago, Chippy said:

To make this dose up you will need to make up a liquid from your pill, and buy a few basic things to do this. I can help with this What size tablet do you have?

Thank you! I have 25 mg tablets. That's the lowest they come in. Another option is getting my GP to write a script for liquid zoloft from a compounding pharmacy, but I'm not sure which method is more cost effective.

Just now, BeezQueen7 said:

Thank you! I have 25 mg tablets. That's the lowest they come in. Another option is getting my GP to write a script for liquid zoloft from a compounding pharmacy, but I'm not sure which method is more cost effective.

Ok, it would be best if you stick to the tablet. Your body might not react well to the change in brand. You want the same brand too. Zoloft, no generic manufacture.

You will need to get some 10ml needless syringes. Get a pack and stick to the same brand.

-Grind the pill into a fine powder

-Place the powder into a dark glass jar with a lid

-Using the 10ml Syringe add 50ml of water (tap, distilled, bottled is all fine)

-Shake/stir vigorously

-Wait 20 minutes and then shake/stir vigorously again

-Then immediately draw out 1ml of the liquid, which will be 0.5mg of active ingredient.

-Discard of the rest of the liquid and make a fresh batch up daily

Hope that all makes sense? Any questions let me know.

If you react badly I would stop immediately. You may feel a little worse, wait 4 days to assess this. Keep in contact with us here about how you are doing. Don't jump the dose up. Keep it that way for at least 7 days. Min. :)

Chippy

26 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Hope that all makes sense? Any questions let me know.

Yes, that makes sense. Do I need to dilute the solution even more once I have the 1 ml? Ie - it's not gonna burn my throat will it? Also, I assume I could use a 1ml medicine dropper to measure instead of a syringe?

Just now, BeezQueen7 said:

Yes, that makes sense. Do I need to dilute the solution even more once I have the 1 ml? Ie - it's not gonna burn my throat will it? Also, I assume I could use a 1ml medicine dropper to measure instead of a syringe?

No you just take the 1ml of the water, it will contain a tiny amount of the drug in it (0.5mg) plus a tiny amount of the fillers they put in the pill. Nothing that will hurt your throat.

You just use the 10ml syringe and draw out the 1ml with that. You could buy some 1ml syringes to draw the dose with, but I don't think you'll need it. You just go to the 1ml mark on the 10ml syringe. :)

Best to measure the water and dose with the same syringe or at least the same brand of syringe for accuracy.

On 4/16/2026 at 4:23 AM, Chippy said:

Grind the pill into a fine powder

It's a capsule, not a pill. Is it okay to empty the capsule and repeat the other steps?

2 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

It's a capsule, not a pill. Is it okay to empty the capsule and repeat the other steps?

Yes if it contains a powder. I assume it’s still 25mg?

21 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Yes if it contains a powder. I assume it’s still 25mg

Yes, it's powder and still 25mg.

3 minutes ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Yes, it's powder and still 25mg.

Then this is fine. Is it still Zoloft or have they given you a generic version of sertraline?

Hi Chilpy, you were right - the neurologist didnt know much about protracted withdrawal. He diagnosed me with Functional Neurological Disorder. But also acknowledged zoloft could have something to do with triggering it.

I'm almost at 2 weeks of .5 mg of zoloft. I havent noticed any changes. Just feeling more headache-y than usual, but nothing unbearable. Should I stay at this dose and continue to monitor?

Oh, I should mention another side effect that i'm getting is pins and needles in my fingers and toes. This one is new for me. Never had it as part of the withdrawal side effects. Is this normal?

On 4/16/2026 at 1:03 AM, Chippy said:

It is my pleasure. Hope it helped. Not sure what your neurolgist appointment is for? Im guessing you are ruling out any other issues?

They won't understand a low dose RI. It will baffle them! lol

Ok. Well I think I've done enough to share the risks with you.

A few things.

These drugs are way more powerful then they need to be at 'clinically significant' doses. The amount they effect the brain, reduces as the dose increases. So each mg of drug isn't proportionally more than the last in terms of effect. With Sertraline once you get above 50mg the effect on the brain is lessened massivley and above 80 up to 100 it really flattens out. So this understanding is important to grasp.

In terms of where to start dose wise. You were on a very high dose of 100mg at your peak. But given the time off the drug I would go sub 1mg. I would start at 0.5mg. The reason for doing this isn't to help you, it is more to check you don't react badly. It may help. But I suspect you will need more than this with zoloft. We can increase the dose over time if you react fine to the RI. You should hold that 0.5mg dose for 14 days and see how you are. If it goes ok we can increase the dose slowly.

To make this dose up you will need to make up a liquid from your pill, and buy a few basic things to do this. I can help with this What size tablet do you have?

Chippy

Absolutely succinct and correct. Chippy’s the man

4 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Hi Chilpy, you were right - the neurologist didnt know much about protracted withdrawal. He diagnosed me with Functional Neurological Disorder. But also acknowledged zoloft could have something to do with triggering it.

I'm almost at 2 weeks of .5 mg of zoloft. I havent noticed any changes. Just feeling more headache-y than usual, but nothing unbearable. Should I stay at this dose and continue to monitor?

Functional neurological disorder is really just “i have no idea but as part of the medical community i cannot in my hubris actually admit that so I’m going to write this”

Essentially.

1 hour ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Oh, I should mention another side effect that i'm getting is pins and needles in my fingers and toes. This one is new for me. Never had it as part of the withdrawal side effects. Is this normal?

This is probably an effect of reinstatement as that’s the last variable you were playing with. I think chippy is going to advise the same thing here and say you want to stay on the dose for at least 4 weeks or maybe longer to judge the side effects and the benefit if any. If the side effect profile is low or zero then you can matter the choice to step up a little bit in dose and do the same monitoring as your first bit

@BeezQueen7 Sorry to hear everything you've been through including your current situation. Hope your reinstatement goes well 🤗

5 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Hi Chilpy, you were right - the neurologist didnt know much about protracted withdrawal. He diagnosed me with Functional Neurological Disorder. But also acknowledged zoloft could have something to do with triggering it.

I'm almost at 2 weeks of .5 mg of zoloft. I havent noticed any changes. Just feeling more headache-y than usual, but nothing unbearable. Should I stay at this dose and continue to monitor?

20 minutes ago, Catbird said:

Sorry to hear everything you've been through including your current situation. Hope your reinstatement goes well 🤗

Thanks Catbird. It really has been hell and I wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy. I am glad that communities like this exist though.

10 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Hi Chilpy, you were right - the neurologist didnt know much about protracted withdrawal. He diagnosed me with Functional Neurological Disorder. But also acknowledged zoloft could have something to do with triggering it.

I'm almost at 2 weeks of .5 mg of zoloft. I havent noticed any changes. Just feeling more headache-y than usual, but nothing unbearable. Should I stay at this dose and continue to monitor?

7 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Oh, I should mention another side effect that i'm getting is pins and needles in my fingers and toes. This one is new for me. Never had it as part of the withdrawal side effects. Is this normal?

Hey @BeezQueen7

Unfortunately the medical comminity like to make up random 'disorders' to help them explain what they don't actually understand. Gives them something to try to treat with more drugs. 😶 You are experiencing protracted withdrawal IMO.

Ok, well it is good you have not reacted really badly to the RI. Im pleased to see. Unfortunately it may be that as you increase your dose, these adverse effects increase too. We don't know for sure, but there is certainly correlation between ADRs and dose.

What to do now is up to you. You could hold here and observe. You could double to dose to 1mg and see how that goes. I was guessing you might end up on 5-10mg eventually if things went ok for you, and that would be all you needed, but there are no rules. We just try things carefully and observe, weghing up the risks. All we and you can do. It is seen that RI can take some time to show it's full affect and I would have never exepected it to be a magic cure, just it may help the WD. Perhaps there will be a dose that helps a bit but the adverse effects are bareable still, so worth price of admission.

I would certainly play this very cautiously, you had ADRs before and are showing signs of this now at 0.5mg.

Hope those thoughts help you decide how to proceed.

Thanks Chippy. I might stay at the 0.5 for another week and assess the pins and needles side effect. If it lessens or stays the same, I think I'll bumble up to 1 mg.

4 hours ago, BeezQueen7 said:

Thanks Chippy. I might stay at the 0.5 for another week and assess the pins and needles side effect. If it lessens or stays the same, I think I'll bumble up to 1 mg.

Sounds cautious which is wise. I approve. 😀