Hello guys,

I have been a lurker on surviving antidepressants for a while now. I’m now writing about what I’ve been going through.

For context I’m a 23 year old man. I initially went on sertraline 50mg back in 2023 for anxiety and dpdr and never thought this would lead to one of the hardest battles of my life.

I had side effects on the medication such as numbness (emotional and sexual), loss of who I was, brain fog, difficulty concentrating etc.

I tried to come off cold turkey in November 2023 and couldn’t deal with the symptoms. I went back and stabilised. Then I attempted again in January 2024 and got down to 25mg. I stayed here until August where I attempted to wean down to 12.5mg and once again could not deal with the withdrawal. I went to the doctor who wanted to increase my dose and put me on venlafaxine but having done my research I knew it was withdrawal and I refused to go on a medication that is one of the worst to get off. My goal was to get off plain and simple. So I asked for Prozac 10mg around November 2024. In December 2024 I reduced my dose from 10mg to 5mg and went through very difficult withdrawal with depression, fogginess, no motivation and hopelessness being my most difficult symptoms (I had not been depressed before). Once I felt I could reduce again in April I reduced slowly with the liquid about .2mg every few weeks until I got down to 1.2mg in August 2024. This is where I jumped off. Since then it’s been a rollercoaster of symptoms and it’s fair to say after 11 months off I am in protracted withdrawal. My main acute symptoms were soul crushing depression, brain fog, not being able to think straight, insomnia, hopelessness, eye twitching. These changed as time went on and I got into windows and waves. I have dealt with no libido and numb genitals, eye twitching, eye floaters and memory problems. Over the past few months I have had windows where I felt maybe 50-68% back to myself in them. The waves still feel so long and never ending when I am in them. I have had instances where I have drank alcohol and in the beginning it would give me no buzz just increased brain fog afterwards. Then around 5 months into withdrawal it started giving me week long horrible activated waves where my pupils were big, clammy hands, anxiety and panic and I felt so out of it. These waves were brutal but came to an end eventually. I stopped trying to drink alcohol about 3 months ago due to this. I started a job in February and don’t know how I’ve managed to work on some days but have done and I’m proud of myself for it. Over time my sleep has normalised more. My libido, motivation and decent mood has come back in windows but the waves still bring a lot of symptoms back. I came back from a trip this week and was plunged back into panic and the symptoms I had after having alcohol even though I haven’t touched it in months. I don’t know why but I am so out of it, pupils big and hands clammy this week and I don’t know what the trigger was. My brain feels broken or damaged. It’s been a very hard week. I hope that I can get some guidance and hope on my situation. All I want is to write my success story and move on with my life. This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced. If you read this to the end then thank you.

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.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Hello guys,

I have been a lurker on surviving antidepressants for a while now. I’m now writing about what I’ve been going through.

Good to have you here.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

For context I’m a 23 year old man. I initially went on sertraline 50mg back in 2023 for anxiety and dpdr and never thought this would lead to one of the hardest battles of my life.

I had side effects on the medication such as numbness (emotional and sexual), loss of who I was, brain fog, difficulty concentrating etc.

I tried to come off cold turkey in November 2023 and couldn’t deal with the symptoms. I went back and stabilised.

This is very common, I had similar side effects on Sertraline. I think I found the former useful at the time and the latter not so much. Often when we experience WD symptoms from stopping CT, restarting the drug with make them go away.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Then I attempted again in January 2024 and got down to 25mg. I stayed here until August where I attempted to wean down to 12.5mg and once again could not deal with the withdrawal. I went to the doctor who wanted to increase my dose and put me on venlafaxine but having done my research I knew it was withdrawal and I refused to go on a medication that is one of the worst to get off. My goal was to get off plain and simple. So I asked for Prozac 10mg around November 2024. In December 2024 I reduced my dose from 10mg to 5mg and went through very difficult withdrawal with depression, fogginess, no motivation and hopelessness being my most difficult symptoms (I had not been depressed before). Once I felt I could reduce again in April I reduced slowly with the liquid about .2mg every few weeks until I got down to 1.2mg in August 2024. This is where I jumped off.

As I am sure you are well aware, your taper has been way too fast and getting off at 1.2mg was too soon. This on top of a nervous system already destablised from your initial CT will have caused you to be in PWD.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

My main acute symptoms were soul crushing depression, brain fog, not being able to think straight, insomnia, hopelessness, eye twitching. These changed as time went on and I got into windows and waves. I have dealt with no libido and numb genitals, eye twitching, eye floaters and memory problems. Over the past few months I have had windows where I felt maybe 50-68% back to myself in them. The waves still feel so long and never ending when I am in them.

These are all very typical symptoms in WD. It is really great you can recognise windows of improvement, clear signs of your system healing and recalibrating.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

I have had instances where I have drank alcohol and in the beginning it would give me no buzz just increased brain fog afterwards. Then around 5 months into withdrawal it started giving me week long horrible activated waves where my pupils were big, clammy hands, anxiety and panic and I felt so out of it. These waves were brutal but came to an end eventually. I stopped trying to drink alcohol about 3 months ago due to this.

It is strongly reccomended not to drink when in WD. I think it really wise you stopped. When considering your timeline, in many ways you should probably consider yourself 3 months off of all the drugs, as drinking may well have set you back a bit. I say this not to be negative, more to be optimistic, that way you don't need to think 'I'm 11 months off how long is this going to take', think to yourself 3 months ago was a reset, clean living, no drinking, start a fresh and let your body heal unhindered. Also 11 months is still early days, lots of room for improvement from here anyways.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Then around 5 months into withdrawal it started giving me week long horrible activated waves where my pupils were big, clammy hands, anxiety and panic and I felt so out of it. These waves were brutal but came to an end eventually. I stopped trying to drink alcohol about 3 months ago due to this.

Prozac has a long half life of many months so this may just be delayed WD, but certainly drinking doesn't help things.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

I started a job in February and don’t know how I’ve managed to work on some days but have done and I’m proud of myself for it. Over time my sleep has normalised more. My libido, motivation and decent mood has come back in windows but the waves still bring a lot of symptoms back.

Fantastic to read! Hang onto those windows in the waves. More to come.

8 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

I came back from a trip this week and was plunged back into panic and the symptoms I had after having alcohol even though I haven’t touched it in months. I don’t know why but I am so out of it, pupils big and hands clammy this week and I don’t know what the trigger was. My brain feels broken or damaged. It’s been a very hard week. I hope that I can get some guidance and hope on my situation. All I want is to write my success story and move on with my life. This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced. If you read this to the end then thank you.

Im very sorry to read this, it is common to have a worsening some months after WD starts, but bare in mind you only stopped drinking 12 weeks ago, it might be due to that. As I said above, give your body the very best platform you can to heal. Keep stress as low as you can, learn acceptance and distraction techniques, your job will help with this, and trust your body to heal itself, which it will. Time if your friend. You should be very proud of youself, working in WD is very hard and many can't manage this.

You will heal, and I look forward to reading your success story! :)

 

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.

Welcome to the forum.

It does sound like you've made progress in recovery, and it's good that you're able to work and somewhat function even though it's difficult.

Hi friend!

I relate a lot to your symptoms… I also was on fluoxetine (generic of Prozac).

I think we even have had contact on Reddit, I recognize your story.

I also still have days were my pupils are HUGE. I don’t have sweating hands or panic, but it feels like I am “lighter” and I have a chemical better mood. Very unnatural.

Also my main symptoms are emotional blunting, head pressure, anhedonia, etc so I also recognize that part!

Hang in there… I hope we both heal soon ❤️‍🩹

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

It does sound like you've made progress in recovery, and it's good that you're able to work and somewhat function even though it's difficult.

14 hours ago, Chippy said:

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.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

Good to have you here.

This is very common, I had similar side effects on Sertraline. I think I found the former useful at the time and the latter not so much. Often when we experience WD symptoms from stopping CT, restarting the drug with make them go away.

As I am sure you are well aware, your taper has been way too fast and getting off at 1.2mg was too soon. This on top of a nervous system already destablised from your initial CT will have caused you to be in PWD.

These are all very typical symptoms in WD. It is really great you can recognise windows of improvement, clear signs of your system healing and recalibrating.

It is strongly reccomended not to drink when in WD. I think it really wise you stopped. When considering your timeline, in many ways you should probably consider yourself 3 months off of all the drugs, as drinking may well have set you back a bit. I say this not to be negative, more to be optimistic, that way you don't need to think 'I'm 11 months off how long is this going to take', think to yourself 3 months ago was a reset, clean living, no drinking, start a fresh and let your body heal unhindered. Also 11 months is still early days, lots of room for improvement from here anyways.

Prozac has a long half life of many months so this may just be delayed WD, but certainly drinking doesn't help things.

Fantastic to read! Hang onto those windows in the waves. More to come.

Im very sorry to read this, it is common to have a worsening some months after WD starts, but bare in mind you only stopped drinking 12 weeks ago, it might be due to that. As I said above, give your body the very best platform you can to heal. Keep stress as low as you can, learn acceptance and distraction techniques, your job will help with this, and trust your body to heal itself, which it will. Time if your friend. You should be very proud of youself, working in WD is very hard and many can't manage this.

You will heal, and I look forward to reading your success story! :)

 

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.

Thank you for the reply. I hope we all heal soon.

1 hour ago, Sophia said:

Hi friend!

I relate a lot to your symptoms… I also was on fluoxetine (generic of Prozac).

I think we even have had contact on Reddit, I recognize your story.

I also still have days were my pupils are HUGE. I don’t have sweating hands or panic, but it feels like I am “lighter” and I have a chemical better mood. Very unnatural.

Also my main symptoms are emotional blunting, head pressure, anhedonia, etc so I also recognize that part!

Hang in there… I hope we both heal soon ❤️‍🩹

Hey thanks for the reply. Maybe ya, withdrawal is so hard and feeling like your missing out on living life especially at my age is so difficult. Feels like I’m losing my best years. Hope we heal soon too. You came off fluoxetine around the same time as me. Have you seen improvements?

On 6/21/2026 at 3:34 PM, Wildgoose said:

Hello guys,

I have been a lurker on surviving antidepressants for a while now. I’m now writing about what I’ve been going through.

For context I’m a 23 year old man. I initially went on sertraline 50mg back in 2023 for anxiety and dpdr and never thought this would lead to one of the hardest battles of my life.

I had side effects on the medication such as numbness (emotional and sexual), loss of who I was, brain fog, difficulty concentrating etc.

I tried to come off cold turkey in November 2023 and couldn’t deal with the symptoms. I went back and stabilised. Then I attempted again in January 2024 and got down to 25mg. I stayed here until August where I attempted to wean down to 12.5mg and once again could not deal with the withdrawal. I went to the doctor who wanted to increase my dose and put me on venlafaxine but having done my research I knew it was withdrawal and I refused to go on a medication that is one of the worst to get off. My goal was to get off plain and simple. So I asked for Prozac 10mg around November 2024. In December 2024 I reduced my dose from 10mg to 5mg and went through very difficult withdrawal with depression, fogginess, no motivation and hopelessness being my most difficult symptoms (I had not been depressed before). Once I felt I could reduce again in April I reduced slowly with the liquid about .2mg every few weeks until I got down to 1.2mg in August 2024. This is where I jumped off. Since then it’s been a rollercoaster of symptoms and it’s fair to say after 11 months off I am in protracted withdrawal. My main acute symptoms were soul crushing depression, brain fog, not being able to think straight, insomnia, hopelessness, eye twitching. These changed as time went on and I got into windows and waves. I have dealt with no libido and numb genitals, eye twitching, eye floaters and memory problems. Over the past few months I have had windows where I felt maybe 50-68% back to myself in them. The waves still feel so long and never ending when I am in them. I have had instances where I have drank alcohol and in the beginning it would give me no buzz just increased brain fog afterwards. Then around 5 months into withdrawal it started giving me week long horrible activated waves where my pupils were big, clammy hands, anxiety and panic and I felt so out of it. These waves were brutal but came to an end eventually. I stopped trying to drink alcohol about 3 months ago due to this. I started a job in February and don’t know how I’ve managed to work on some days but have done and I’m proud of myself for it. Over time my sleep has normalised more. My libido, motivation and decent mood has come back in windows but the waves still bring a lot of symptoms back. I came back from a trip this week and was plunged back into panic and the symptoms I had after having alcohol even though I haven’t touched it in months. I don’t know why but I am so out of it, pupils big and hands clammy this week and I don’t know what the trigger was. My brain feels broken or damaged. It’s been a very hard week. I hope that I can get some guidance and hope on my situation. All I want is to write my success story and move on with my life. This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced. If you read this to the end then thank you.

Hi Wildgoose,

Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry that this taper process has been so difficult for you. I am in a very slow Prozac taper. So glad to hearing you are experiencing windows of feeling better. I am trying to build my arsenal of tools to calm my nervous system. I hope that you are doing something similar or can experiment with some different tools to give you at least brief periods of respite while your body gradually recovers.

I see small improvements and my baseline is higher than for instance 3 months ago. But it so so terribly slow….

I had excruciating head symptoms. Those are a bit milder and that’s a huge win. But still lot of healing is needed.

Have you seen improvements?

2 hours ago, Sophia said:

I see small improvements and my baseline is higher than for instance 3 months ago. But it so so terribly slow….

I had excruciating head symptoms. Those are a bit milder and that’s a huge win. But still lot of healing is needed.

Have you seen improvements?

My initial symptoms were dark depression, eye twitching, insomnia, no libido, numbness.

The symptoms have changed as time has gone on so I guess that’s a good thing? The waves bring them back but the windows show progress. My sexual symptoms have improved a lot and insomnia is mostly gone, eye twitching gone too and I can feel for people again in the windows. The whole idea of having to live life on withdrawals terms is one of the hardest things. I have to be careful about what I eat and I can’t just go out for a drink with my friends. It is excruciatingly slow, like watching a plant grow. This panic and cns triggered wave seems to be lifting a bit today. I really hope we can both recover and get back to living life on our own terms.

2 hours ago, Sophia said:

I see small improvements and my baseline is higher than for instance 3 months ago. But it so so terribly slow….

I had excruciating head symptoms. Those are a bit milder and that’s a huge win. But still lot of healing is needed.

Have you seen improvements?

I also felt that blank mind numbness like my brain was damaged but that seems to have improved a good bit and I feel a lot more in my body during windows.

23 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

blank mind numbness like my brain was damaged but that seems to have improved a good bit

Yes I feel this…. Also like brain is bruised, or I have a severe concussion. Some days parts of my brain feel hollow / like air… especially the inside. Also have severe dry eyes (+ no tear reflex), facial tingling, tingling in toes, brain fog, cognitive issues, blunting / anhedonia, low libido, weird hunger and saturation cues.

I also notice in windows I have more humor, empathy and optimism. In waves I feel so incredibly stuck and damaged. I only was on the meds for 7 weeks… which is a hard pill to swallow…

I have like you.. when I drink alcohol I feel nothing. I try to avoid it but every few weeks I also try sometimes some caffeine or alcohol to “test” where I am.

I try to live as normal as possible but I do feel alien. I can’t engage well at work and I am still trying to get back to work as I am on partial sick leave but the symptoms make it so hard for me to predict my baseline and my tolerance…

Very jealous of people who have no clue about this and still have a “virgin brain” (like myself 12 months ago, lol).

10 minutes ago, Sophia said:

Yes I feel this…. Also like brain is bruised, or I have a severe concussion. Some days parts of my brain feel hollow / like air… especially the inside. Also have severe dry eyes (+ no tear reflex), facial tingling, tingling in toes, brain fog, cognitive issues, blunting / anhedonia, low libido, weird hunger and saturation cues.

I also notice in windows I have more humor, empathy and optimism. In waves I feel so incredibly stuck and damaged. I only was on the meds for 7 weeks… which is a hard pill to swallow…

I have like you.. when I drink alcohol I feel nothing. I try to avoid it but every few weeks I also try sometimes some caffeine or alcohol to “test” where I am.

I try to live as normal as possible but I do feel alien. I can’t engage well at work and I am still trying to get back to work as I am on partial sick leave but the symptoms make it so hard for me to predict my baseline and my tolerance…

Very jealous of people who have no clue about this and still have a “virgin brain” (like myself 12 months ago, lol).

Yeah I get that. I had to cut out alcohol completely 4 months ago due to it causing horrible symptoms for a week or more afterwards like a really panicky and intense wave. I hope that I can one day enjoy a pint of Guinness again (I’m Irish lol). I also work in a place that solely sells alcohol which does not help. If this experience can bring more resilience and perspective after it’s over I’m hoping i might feel like it was slightly worth it (emphasis on slightly). But right now ifs hard to see that.

Hi @Wildgoose I'm half-Irish (my mother)!

13 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

If this experience can bring more resilience and perspective after it’s over I’m hoping i might feel like it was slightly worth it (emphasis on slightly)

It will make you a stronger, more resilient, and more flexible person when its all over. I also found it made me more empathetic to others' suffering. Its hell when you're going through it, and there are days when it doesn't seem worth it, but you will recover!

33 minutes ago, mstimc60 said:

Hi @Wildgoose I'm half-Irish (my mother)!

It will make you a stronger, more resilient, and more flexible person when its all over. I also found it made me more empathetic to others' suffering. Its hell when you're going through it, and there are days when it doesn't seem worth it, but you will recover!

Hey, thanks for that. I certainly hope so! How long did it take you to recover?.

25 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

Hey, thanks for that. I certainly hope so! How long did it take you to recover?.

I took me about three years from starting my last taper to when I could say I was recovered and reacted normally to what were once triggers. But there were a lot of ups and downs and hard times on the way.

Hey guys, it’s been a week since I went into work after coming back from travelling and been hit with anxiety, panic, dilated pupils, increased depression. The panic and anxiety have died down but my pupils are still quite big and affecting my vision. I feel more chemically numb the last few days. Just wanting to know if this is normal?? I’ve had this 2/3 times in w/d but only after taking psychoactive substances (never from out of the blue). I had about 3/4 solid days before this happened.

Thanks.

Edited June 24Jun 24 by Wildgoose

4 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Hey guys, it’s been a week since I went into work after coming back from travelling and been hit with anxiety, panic, dilated pupils, increased depression. The panic and anxiety have died down but my pupils are still quite big and affecting my vision. I feel more chemically numb the last few days. Just wanting to know if this is normal?? I’ve had this 2/3 times in w/d but only after taking psychoactive substances (never from out of the blue). I had about 3/4 solid days before this happened.

Thanks.

Hi @Wildgoose

I have those symptoms too :(

@Wildgoose it's normal, insofar as it is normal that symptoms come and go, past ones flare up etc. during withdrawal.

As for specifically dilated pupils, I've seen others say this happens to them, so it would seem to be a symptom of withdrawal, but I have no personal experience of it.

13 minutes ago, Luke said:

@Wildgoose it's normal, insofar as it is normal that symptoms come and go, past ones flare up etc. during withdrawal.

As for specifically dilated pupils, I've seen others say this happens to them, so it would seem to be a symptom of withdrawal, but I have no personal experience of it.

Hey Luke, I hope that it is just a wave and passes soon. Thanks for that. Every time I go through something like this I fear that something has gone wrong and it’s the start of something new.

Hey guys, hope ye are doing okay. It’s been 9 days since I came back from holidays and had intense panic, feeling out of it, big pupils and clammy. I had a few days off from work and felt a bit better but today I was quite anxious and went into work and I felt weird, anxious, and hot. I got home and my pupils are big and I still feel weird. I feel very bad right now and I’m worried that this isn’t withdrawal and something else has happened. Can anyone give me some perspective or insight on this please? I don’t understand why I’m feeling like this.

I’ve tried to do everything today to calm my nervous system but I’m panicking again and I’m Scared. If this is a wave then that’s fine but it doesn’t feel like a normal wave. My pupils are big, my body activated and I have anxiety and panic.

Hey @Wildgoose I’m sorry you’re struggling. For me, I’ve found that my symptoms have morphed a lot through the WD process and every wave feels different from the last one. So just because this feels a bit different than previous waves doesn’t mean it’s not WD related. As you said above, every time you go through this you worry it’s something else. I think it’s important to try to put those worries aside and not feed your anxiety further. This will pass in time.

I don’t feel anxiety and panic, but I do have big ass pupils sometimes. I get it especially when my brain feels very lightweighted and I feel sort of tingling in my face.

In the beginning my pupils were constantly big, but lately it comes and goes. I hate it as well… I look drugged when I have it. Like I popped an xtc pill.

I know @poulette38 has it as well. We all took fluoxetine / Prozac… maybe it’s a specific receptor in the eye or something that fluoxetine targets. I also got it on the meds immediately as a side effect :(

Edited June 28Jun 28 by Sophia

@Wildgoose @Sophia

Here what chatgpt says about SNA dysregulation during wd :

"Dilated pupils (mydriasis) during SSRI withdrawal are probably a manifestation of the temporary disturbance of the autonomic nervous system, in particular an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

How pupils are normally controlled

The size of the pupils depends on two iris muscles:

The sphincter muscle tightens the pupil. It is controlled by the parasympathetic system.

The dilator muscle enlarges the pupil. It is controlled by the sympathetic system.

At all times, these two systems are in balance.

What happens during withdrawal from an SSRI?

Serotonin is involved in brain circuits that regulate the autonomic nervous system, particularly in the brainstem and hypothalamus. When the SSRI is decreased or stopped:

serotonergic neurons function differently during an adaptation period;

the interactions with the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems are temporarily modified;

the sympathetic system may become relatively more active, or the parasympathetic less effective.

In both cases, the result can be dilated pupils.

Why is this often accompanied by other symptoms?

People who have mydriasis during weaning often also report:

palpitations;

excessive sweating;

tremors;

increased sensitivity to light (photophobia);

a feeling of adrenaline rising;

sometimes slightly blurred vision, especially close-up.

All these symptoms are consistent with a relative increase in sympathetic activity or a temporary decrease in parasympathetic tone.

Is it dangerous?

In the context of an SSRI withdrawal syndrome, moderately dilated pupils, which respond normally to light and are associated with other withdrawal symptoms, are generally considered to be benign and transient.

On the other hand, it is necessary to consult quickly if the dilation is accompanied by:

severe eye pain;

sudden decrease in vision;

red eye ;

fixed pupil that no longer reacts to light;

or if a single pupil is significantly more dilated than the other without explanation.

Why it can last

Recovery is not immediate, because the brain must gradually readjust the sensitivity of many receptors, not only those of serotonin. As long as this balance is not regained, the autonomous control of functions such as heart rate, perspiration, digestion or pupil size can remain fluctuating.

Studies on the withdrawal syndrome show that these symptoms are most often reversible, even if their duration varies a lot from one person to another. In some people, they disappear within a few weeks; in others, they may persist for several months before gradually subsiding."

Have you got vision problems too ?

Sometimes just to read 1 page of a book at night hurts my eyes, as if the page of the book emitted a dazzling light that doesn’t exist. Then I have to stop reading. I have significant photophobia. Do you have this?

On 6/28/2026 at 1:15 PM, poulette38 said:

@Wildgoose @Sophia

Here what chatgpt says about SNA dysregulation during wd :

"Dilated pupils (mydriasis) during SSRI withdrawal are probably a manifestation of the temporary disturbance of the autonomic nervous system, in particular an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

How pupils are normally controlled

The size of the pupils depends on two iris muscles:

The sphincter muscle tightens the pupil. It is controlled by the parasympathetic system.

The dilator muscle enlarges the pupil. It is controlled by the sympathetic system.

At all times, these two systems are in balance.

What happens during withdrawal from an SSRI?

Serotonin is involved in brain circuits that regulate the autonomic nervous system, particularly in the brainstem and hypothalamus. When the SSRI is decreased or stopped:

serotonergic neurons function differently during an adaptation period;

the interactions with the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems are temporarily modified;

the sympathetic system may become relatively more active, or the parasympathetic less effective.

In both cases, the result can be dilated pupils.

Why is this often accompanied by other symptoms?

People who have mydriasis during weaning often also report:

palpitations;

excessive sweating;

tremors;

increased sensitivity to light (photophobia);

a feeling of adrenaline rising;

sometimes slightly blurred vision, especially close-up.

All these symptoms are consistent with a relative increase in sympathetic activity or a temporary decrease in parasympathetic tone.

Is it dangerous?

In the context of an SSRI withdrawal syndrome, moderately dilated pupils, which respond normally to light and are associated with other withdrawal symptoms, are generally considered to be benign and transient.

On the other hand, it is necessary to consult quickly if the dilation is accompanied by:

severe eye pain;

sudden decrease in vision;

red eye ;

fixed pupil that no longer reacts to light;

or if a single pupil is significantly more dilated than the other without explanation.

Why it can last

Recovery is not immediate, because the brain must gradually readjust the sensitivity of many receptors, not only those of serotonin. As long as this balance is not regained, the autonomous control of functions such as heart rate, perspiration, digestion or pupil size can remain fluctuating.

Studies on the withdrawal syndrome show that these symptoms are most often reversible, even if their duration varies a lot from one person to another. In some people, they disappear within a few weeks; in others, they may persist for several months before gradually subsiding."

Have you got vision problems too ?

Sometimes just to read 1 page of a book at night hurts my eyes, as if the page of the book emitted a dazzling light that doesn’t exist. Then I have to stop reading. I have significant photophobia. Do you have this?

On 6/28/2026 at 1:15 PM, poulette38 said:

@Wildgoose @Sophia

Here what chatgpt says about SNA dysregulation during wd :

"Dilated pupils (mydriasis) during SSRI withdrawal are probably a manifestation of the temporary disturbance of the autonomic nervous system, in particular an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

How pupils are normally controlled

The size of the pupils depends on two iris muscles:

The sphincter muscle tightens the pupil. It is controlled by the parasympathetic system.

The dilator muscle enlarges the pupil. It is controlled by the sympathetic system.

At all times, these two systems are in balance.

What happens during withdrawal from an SSRI?

Serotonin is involved in brain circuits that regulate the autonomic nervous system, particularly in the brainstem and hypothalamus. When the SSRI is decreased or stopped:

serotonergic neurons function differently during an adaptation period;

the interactions with the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems are temporarily modified;

the sympathetic system may become relatively more active, or the parasympathetic less effective.

In both cases, the result can be dilated pupils.

Why is this often accompanied by other symptoms?

People who have mydriasis during weaning often also report:

palpitations;

excessive sweating;

tremors;

increased sensitivity to light (photophobia);

a feeling of adrenaline rising;

sometimes slightly blurred vision, especially close-up.

All these symptoms are consistent with a relative increase in sympathetic activity or a temporary decrease in parasympathetic tone.

Is it dangerous?

In the context of an SSRI withdrawal syndrome, moderately dilated pupils, which respond normally to light and are associated with other withdrawal symptoms, are generally considered to be benign and transient.

On the other hand, it is necessary to consult quickly if the dilation is accompanied by:

severe eye pain;

sudden decrease in vision;

red eye ;

fixed pupil that no longer reacts to light;

or if a single pupil is significantly more dilated than the other without explanation.

Why it can last

Recovery is not immediate, because the brain must gradually readjust the sensitivity of many receptors, not only those of serotonin. As long as this balance is not regained, the autonomous control of functions such as heart rate, perspiration, digestion or pupil size can remain fluctuating.

Studies on the withdrawal syndrome show that these symptoms are most often reversible, even if their duration varies a lot from one person to another. In some people, they disappear within a few weeks; in others, they may persist for several months before gradually subsiding."

Have you got vision problems too ?

Sometimes just to read 1 page of a book at night hurts my eyes, as if the page of the book emitted a dazzling light that doesn’t exist. Then I have to stop reading. I have significant photophobia. Do you have this?

I have weird vision changes especially recently as one eye is more dilated then the other. I’m feeling a bit better in the last few days though. Hope this goes away for us soon.