Hi all, my journey with Sertraline 100 mg

started 6 or so years ago for very bad anxiety when I was going through a very difficult time in my life. It was good to get some relief from the anxiety- however I developed ME/CFS and gut issues shortly after. In my journey of healing from the fatigue/gut issues I learned that SSRI’s can indeed cause these issues or atleast contribute to them. So I worked on a plan to come off. It was a taper: 100/75/50/25/18/15/12 a month or two between drops. When I hit 12 mg I got withdrawal effects ie: morning terror/fear, nausea, anxiety, hot/cold chills, flue like symptoms and fatigue. After 1 week I reinstated to 15 with no luck then to 16 with no luck. That was in march 2026, and it pretty much has stayed the same- with brief windows of energy or no nausea. My fatigue seems to be worsening and it it very hard to leave the house- except some days to walk my dog around the block. I reduced to 15.5 recently at my doctors request, to try to keep up the taper- but when I felt “fluey” after that I told him that I am going to hold my dose until I stabilise. It’s been around 5 months of feeling like this- with that small decrease 6 weeks ago. So holding at 15.5 mgs now. Hoping its the right thing to do.

Thankyou.

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.

 

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

4 hours ago, SarahK said:

Hi all, my journey with Sertraline 100 mg

started 6 or so years ago for very bad anxiety when I was going through a very difficult time in my life. It was good to get some relief from the anxiety- however I developed ME/CFS and gut issues shortly after. In my journey of healing from the fatigue/gut issues I learned that SSRI’s can indeed cause these issues or atleast contribute to them.

I think asides from Placebo the main action for ADs and definitely Sertraline from my experience, is they numb your emotions, and whilst this can be a relief and useful (I had this exact experience), the harms these drugs can cause, not just from tapering too quickly but actually whilst taking them, means the potential benefits don't outway the risks IMO. As you suggest here, I suspect you didn't develop ME/CFS/Gut issues randomly but they were/are in fact adverse reaction to the drug itself. I wonder how many others are in the same situation. I am so sorry to hear.

4 hours ago, SarahK said:

So I worked on a plan to come off. It was a taper: 100/75/50/25/18/15/12 a month or two between drops. When I hit 12 mg I got withdrawal effects ie: morning terror/fear, nausea, anxiety, hot/cold chills, flue like symptoms and fatigue.

When tapering we suggest a rate of no more than 10% of your last dose per month, or a hyperbolic taper. Your first few cuts may have been fine and inline with a hyperbolic taper, however as the dose reduces it is important to slow the taper due to the increased effect on the brain the lower doses have. Tapering Information

5 hours ago, SarahK said:

When I hit 12 mg I got withdrawal effects ie: morning terror/fear, nausea, anxiety, hot/cold chills, flue like symptoms and fatigue. After 1 week I reinstated to 15 with no luck then to 16 with no luck. That was in march 2026, and it pretty much has stayed the same- with brief windows of energy or no nausea. My fatigue seems to be worsening and it it very hard to leave the house- except some days to walk my dog around the block. I reduced to 15.5 recently at my doctors request, to try to keep up the taper- but when I felt “fluey” after that I told him that I am going to hold my dose until I stabilise. It’s been around 5 months of feeling like this- with that small decrease 6 weeks ago. So holding at 15.5 mgs now. Hoping its the right thing to do.

Often an updose soon after a reduction can solve WD symptoms but like RI there are no guarantees unfortunately. When a taper is too fast it is very destablising for the nervous system plus WD symptoms can be delayed and stack as a result. It is possible you were feeling the built up effects of previous reductions not just the more resent one. Some have luck with further updoses to try to 'catch up' to where the brain is dose wise, but again this is a risk. We notice that when the brain is dysregualted from reductions it can sometimes no longer handle previous doses, and further attempts worsen you. As you have been holding for 5 months it doesn't make sense to try this anyway. Hypersensitivity and kindling

I agree, I think your best course of action now is a long hold. I would reset the clock and not think of the 5 months but instead think of 6 weeks, as that was when you last reduced. Long holds can be many months, sometimes 12-18 months. We always like to see symptoms that you rate to be 1-3/10 (10 being severe and 1 being mild) for an extended period of time before tapering again. We call this WD Normal.

There are a number of skills that can be useful in WD acceptance being the most important one IMO. There are a number of topic on this site which you might like to read, this one is a good start. Acceptance is key - Why does acceptance feel impossible?

 

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.

Hi @SarahK, welcome to the forum.

I have struggled immensely with fatigue as a result of a psychiatric drug and seriously exacerbated by withdrawing it. Far beyond the threshold where an ME/CFS diagnosis would be considered (and doctors certainly tried), however I repeatedly insisted that it was not ME/CFS in my case.

So, I can confirm that psychiatric drugs absolutely can cause fatigue, especially with dose changes and in withdrawal.

Does your fatigue follow a push/crash pattern, very typical of ME/CFS? I found that it does not for me, and for a long time was pretty much constant with fluctuations in intensity. Now, it comes and goes in general. For me, it is unrelated to doing too much.

52 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi @SarahK, welcome to the forum.

I have struggled immensely with fatigue as a result of a psychiatric drug and seriously exacerbated by withdrawing it. Far beyond the threshold where an ME/CFS diagnosis would be considered (and doctors certainly tried), however I repeatedly insisted that it was not ME/CFS in my case.

So, I can confirm that psychiatric drugs absolutely can cause fatigue, especially with dose changes and in withdrawal.

Does your fatigue follow a push/crash pattern, very typical of ME/CFS? I found that it does not for me, and for a long time was pretty much constant with fluctuations in intensity. Now, it comes and goes in general. For me, it is unrelated to doing too much.

I get this too.

The doctor considered ME/CFS before I knew it was WD.

Dear Chippy - thanks so much for your really thoughtful reply- which is so helpful and confirms my decision to hold- and also how to decide when the symptoms are manageable enough for another small cut. I will definitely take your advice about hydration and walking- which I try to anyway- have to force myself out- but my dog appreciates it! I am taking magnesium glycinate and fish oil- and seem to tolerate - although when feeling so bad anyway, how would I know.

Is this the best way to reply to comments? I wasn’t sure 🙏🙏🙏🙏

3 hours ago, SarahK said:

Dear Chippy - thanks so much for your really thoughtful reply- which is so helpful and confirms my decision to hold- and also how to decide when the symptoms are manageable enough for another small cut.

My pleasure, I am glad to see it helped.

3 hours ago, SarahK said:

I will definitely take your advice about hydration and walking- which I try to anyway- have to force myself out- but my dog appreciates it!

It is great you have a dog, gives you that sense of purpose and motivation to get out and walk and of course such great companionship too!

3 hours ago, SarahK said:

I am taking magnesium glycinate and fish oil- and seem to tolerate - although when feeling so bad anyway, how would I know.

It is hard to tell if you can't compare how you were before taking and after. We always suggest adding in one at a time and a low dose so you can judge how you react. If you decide to try without my advice would be to do this in reverse, reduce one at a time and see how you feel. The body doesn't like sudden changes. If you think you tolerate then perhaps you are fine to keep taking.

3 hours ago, SarahK said:

Is this the best way to reply to comments? I wasn’t sure 🙏🙏🙏🙏

This is perfect. We each have a single topic to document our journey. You can go and speak with others on theirs and we have a number of subject specifc topics that you can also post on.

One tip for using the site, is if you highlight a part of a members post, a small 'quote' box will appear, click this and it will add that as a qoute to the reply box. You can do this as many times as you like before hitting send. You reply in the white area underneath rather than in the grey quote box.

Glad you found us, we are all here for you.

Chippy

On 8/7/2026 at 6:05 PM, Luke said:

So, I can confirm that psychiatric drugs absolutely can cause fatigue, especially with dose changes and in withdrawal.

Thanks Luke, it’s reassuring to know that this can cause fatigue, I do get PEM as I had chronic fatigue before tapering the meds. I guess I am hoping to get back to my baseline once through withdrawal, or this awful wave. Hopefully I will stabilise soon. It makes sense that we are exhausted/ fatigued since the nervous system is maxing out in this process. But I acknowledge that the drugs do some damage to the mitochondia and gut. A gastroenterologist told me that my gut ussues were likely due to Sertraline.

Wishing you best health.