I started sertraline only a few weeks ago and already want off. But now that I've read up on withdrawal symptoms I've freaked myself out and want off this ride as safely as possible.

I've suffered from anxiety my whole life, and never took anything, just sort of suffered through, but over the last year, it's been a slow car crash of having to quit my job, then stopping going out at all until I had a complete breakdown (crying and not being able to eat or sleep for weeks up to that point) 3 weeks ago and ended up on the hospital.

I was diagnosed with GAD, PD, SA, and Agoraphobia. I was giving sertraline and told to step up 25mg a week until I reached 100mg. And 15mg of mirtazapine for sleep which i cut in half and used for a week before stopping because i realized it was also an antidepressant and i was sleeping somewhat better. It has not gone well. I've had mild to severe vertigo since starting it and the anxiety I feel now is very different than my normal anxiety.

Am I being too cautious and drawing it out too much if I start tapering 10% after only 3 weeks on the drug? I dropped from 75mg to 50mg because i couldn't get out of bed from thevertigo. I immediately felt the difference between 75mg and 50mg, so now I'm scared of dropping from 50mg down to 25mg then down to 0mg.

I know medical advice is not a thing on here, but I just want some support.

I wish they had just sedated me a bit at the hospital so I could sleep and had a clearer head before starting on an antidepressant.

 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.

 

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!

8 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I know medical advice is not a thing on here, but I just want some support.

I wish they had just sedated me a bit at the hospital so I could sleep and had a clearer head before starting on an antidepressant.

I hope that this site is supportive for you. Sadly, doctors just assume these drugs are all totally safe so they rarely see it as a big deal to just throw them into the mix and see what happens, as they don't believe significant, long term harms are possible.

Honestly, it's very difficult to say whether or not you're being too cautious. There's a balance to be struck between coming off too quickly, and being on a drug you don't tolerate well for far too long.

8 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I immediately felt the difference between 75mg and 50mg, so now I'm scared of dropping from 50mg down to 25mg then down to 0mg.

That does suggest that you're sensitive to the effects of changing doses around. You may also be quite sensitised by starting and stopping mirtazapine, which also increases the risk of reacting badly to further changes.

When you say you could feel the difference, what exactly has changed?

It's also important to keep in mind, that at lower doses, drops can have a larger effect/be more severe. This is thought to be related to receptor occupancy:

The older SA forum used to recommend 25% drops if someone had been on a drug very short-term. It's difficult to say whether or not this would be too much for you, and I'd be keen to hear what you feel having gone from 75mg to 50mg.

Unfortunately, we do have members here who took these drugs very short term, and who tapered too quickly and had significant issues for a long time, so you're right to be cautious, definitely.

It gets difficult to work out what is what, as you were only on 75mg for a couple of days, so working out what is withdrawal and what is reacting adversely to a big dose increase is challenging. There's no singular "right answer", and you're going to have to really listen to your body.

You may be able to tolerate dropping faster than 10% a month, but slower than halving your dose twice to 0mg.

Have you noticed any changes day by day since dropping to 50mg?

I think in the meantime, I'd give 50mg another couple of days and then re-evaluate, and while you do that, hopefully some others will also give their thoughts for you to consider @Chippy @LostinCanada @SarahMc

 

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

Hi @Anxiouslywaiting Welcome to the forum, glad you found us. Sorry you are having such a rough time atm.

9 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I started sertraline only a few weeks ago and already want off. But now that I've read up on withdrawal symptoms I've freaked myself out and want off this ride as safely as possible.

Try not to let your fear drive your choices now.

9 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

And 15mg of mirtazapine for sleep which i cut in half and used for a week before stopping because i realized it was also an antidepressant and i was sleeping somewhat better. It has not gone well. I've had mild to severe vertigo since starting it and the anxiety I feel now is very different than my normal anxiety.

Did this start when you stopped the 7.5mg of Mirtazapine? I can't quite tell what happened and when? I assume you didn't take 15mg ever? Can you add this to your signature please?

9 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

Am I being too cautious and drawing it out too much if I start tapering 10% after only 3 weeks on the drug?

Maybe, maybe not. I have seen folk struggle to get off these drugs from short term use, however generally a much faster taper could be possible.

9 hours ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I dropped from 75mg to 50mg because i couldn't get out of bed from thevertigo. I immediately felt the difference between 75mg and 50mg,

So you reduced from 75mg to 50mg because of the Vertigo? Did this help anything? What happened when you reduced? Or did the Vertigo start when you stopped Mirtazapine?

Chippy

Thank you both for replying so quickly. I just feel so adrift with my mental breakdown and then being put on these drugs. I feel very frantic still inside. Withdrawal issues weren't even mentioned when they gave me the pills. Or that mirtazapine could contribute to anything negatively.

I've updated my signature to reflect the mirtazapine use. I'm sorry my post was so confusing. I find I'm very scattered mentally and my thoughts are rushing around in my head in panic.

I stopped the mirtazapine the night i upped my sertraline dose to 75mg on sept 4th . The mild vertigo started Friday sept 4th in the afternoon prior to my evening uppage . So I don't think stopping contributed to the vertigo, but maybe the severity?

I did two dosages at 75mg sertraline Friday and Saturday night. Sunday night I stepped down to 50mg because i couldn't stand up without the whole world heaving and i thought that upping to 75mg was the culprit.

The next morning at the 50mg dose the vertigo had subsided enough for me to be able to physically get out of bed and sit on the couch. the vertigo is much more mild the last few days but still there. However, my anxiety is much higher, and I feel stuck. I don't know if 50mg is going to be enough to help the anxiety that led to the breakdown/agoraphobia in the first place. The first two weeks on the drugs the side effects were manageable enough that I had been able to leave the house and do a walk around the block, but now with the vertigo, I have to lay down multiple times a day and don't feel safe enough to go outside to walk. Even now laying in bed if I move too quickly it's gentle heaving.

I'm also struggling with staying hydrated and eating, the night sweats side effects are so bad I wake up absolutely soaked and had lost my appetite before my breakdown and it still hasn't comeback. I have to force food into my mouth and can't have any distractions or I get overwhelmed and have to stop eating.

I just wish there was a clear cut answer for what I should do. I've started doing meditations from YouTube and reading self help books about anxiety. I had one therapy appointment to deal with this whole situation, but I feel like I barely finished explaining everything before the hour was up.

Inside I'm still saying "help me, help me, help me" over and over again.

Thank you for having this forum and putting in the time and emotional labour of helping people like me deal with ssris.

Edited September 11Sep 11 by Anxiouslywaiting

1 hour ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I stopped the mirtazapine the night i upped my sertraline dose to 75mg on sept 4th . The mild vertigo started Friday sept 4th in the afternoon prior to my evening uppage . So I don't think stopping contributed to the vertigo, but maybe the severity?

I did two dosages at 75mg sertraline Friday and Saturday night. Sunday night I stepped down to 50mg because i couldn't stand up without the whole world heaving and i thought that upping to 75mg was the culprit.

The next morning at the 50mg dose the vertigo had subsided enough for me to be able to physically get out of bed and sit on the couch. the vertigo is much more mild the last few days but still there. However, my anxiety is much higher, and I feel stuck.

As Luke and Chippy suggested, I think it's difficult to tell which changes caused which issues since there have been quite a few dose and med changes in the past few weeks. It does seem obvious, though, that you've had an adverse reaction to the drugs, and that reaction has continued since stopping the mirtazapine.

1 hour ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I don't know if 50mg is going to be enough to help the anxiety that led to the breakdown/agoraphobia in the first place. The first two weeks on the drugs the side effects were manageable enough that I had been able to leave the house and do a walk around the block, but now with the vertigo, I have to lay down multiple times a day and don't feel safe enough to go outside to walk. Even now laying in bed if I move too quickly it's gentle heaving.

I'm also struggling with staying hydrated and eating, the night sweats side effects are so bad I wake up absolutely soaked and had lost my appetite before my breakdown and it still hasn't comeback. I have to force food into my mouth and can't have any distractions or I get overwhelmed and have to stop eating.

I'm a bit confused now as to whether you want to come fully off the sertraline? We're not in a place to comment on proper doses to "treat" mental health issues. Almost everyone on here would say that these drugs are not the answer and will only make things worse for you, since that has been our experience. It looks to me like the side effects you're experiencing are not manageable so I would gently suggest that you may want to come off the sertraline (as safely as possible), but of course the ultimate decision is yours.

1 hour ago, Anxiouslywaiting said:

I just wish there was a clear cut answer for what I should do. I've started doing meditations from YouTube and reading self help books about anxiety. I had one therapy appointment to deal with this whole situation, but I feel like I barely finished explaining everything before the hour was up.

Inside I'm still saying "help me, help me, help me" over and over again.

We are not therapists, but just from my own personal experience I would say that these mental health journeys can be long and difficult but I really think the only way out is through. I.e. rather than looking for a drug that will take the anxiety away, we really have to look deep within ourselves and try to address the root cause of the anxiety itself.

Have you heard of Drew Linsalata? He had severe panic disorder and agoraphobia, was on an antidepressant for a while but didn't like how it made him feel, then came off and found ways to manage his anxiety without drugs. He has a podcast I've found helpful called The Anxious Truth and a lot of other resources available online: https://theanxioustruth.com/.