Tapering off sertraline

Well done, it's a great feeling to come off the meds. Sounds like you did it in the right way x

50mg is a low dose anyway, so I'd just cold turkey it!^

Hi ladies. Hoping for some advice… I’ve been on sertraline since July last year. Long story short, this was due to me having SEVERE side effects from a medication I was given for Labyrinthitis. This resulted in my mental health plummeting and I ended up admitting myself into a mental health hospital. Whole thing was beyond traumatic and still can’t believe it all happened. Anyways, I was originally on 50mg then was upped to 100mg then upto 150mg. I was given the go ahead from my doctor to reduce to 100mg which I did and I felt completely fine. I had a follow up appointment this week with the hospital who said they are happy to reduce my dose from 100-50. I was told to do this straight away and start on 50mg that day, which I did. I’m on day 3 of 50mg and woke up this morning feeling really anxious, teary and just overall crap. Is this normal to see withdrawal effects soo quickly? Also, will this pass? My mental health has been really good for the last couple of months and I’m proud of how far I’ve came but I don’t want to do anything wrong when it comes to the reducing of the antidepressants. Also, want to make clear that the severe depression was due to the medication I was previously on and wasn’t normal for me. Any advice is welcome, thank yous x

And have others have said it can be that last little bit that causes issues

I'd do it even more gradually. So 6/7 days on old dose 1 day on the half dose. Then 2/7 on half dose and work your way up to 7/7 on half dose. Then I'd half the tablets again and start again. Slowly works for me

Definitely taper off and reduce dose, I have 2 friends who went cold turkey the side effects were awful one friend just couldn't function at all the dizziness was that bad .

I've been on Sertraline for 3 years now, previously I was on it for 6 months and tapered off fairly quickly without ill effect, but in that 6 months my situation had changed and I felt I no longer needed it as a crutch.

At the moment I'm not out of the woods with regards to the reason I'm taking it any kind of tapering wouldn't help as I have nothing positive enough to replace it with IYKWIM.

But when I am ready, I agree with you and I'll taper but probably not drag it out.

Weird of your GP to say that! I've had a few missed days cos our pharmacy is so bad at filling prescriptions (at least 5 days!) & by the end of day two I start feeling really strange & day 3 I feel awful. I'm on 50mg too. I'd taper off exactly as you are.

Good luck & don't feel bad if you discover you want to go back on them at some point.

Well done! It does feel brilliant to be off the meds. ☺️

Doctor told dh to taper. He decided to stop cold as he wanted to make sure he had some left just incase.

He was fine and still is years later luckily. I dont think its one size fits all though and i probably would have tappered off

Once you've cut the 50mg in half, drop to every other day, then 1 day in 3, one day in 5, once a week. I found a slow taper essential to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

A GP saying it's ok to just stop is utterly bonkers and completely wrong!

I did it slowly. 50mg then on to 25mg for about two months, then down to 12mg by cutting the pills in half (did this for about 2 months) then took 12mg every other day for a few weeks before stopping.

Worked well for me but do it slowly.

Odd GP advice - I think I'd be looking for a new GP - even if seeing a different GP in the same practice

Stopping or coming off antidepressants - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Taper and space them out. So reduce dose more slowly but every other day etc. It helps the brain adapt more gradually

I’m not fully off yet but nearly - suggest going slowly. I had no trouble reducing from 100mg to 75mg to 50mg to 25mg (each 2 weeks apart) but 25mg to zero was truly awful, so much so I had to go back onto 25mg after 3 weeks (after consulting with the Dr).

Since then I have done a much slower taper with complete success - no adverse side effects with each stage and have spent several weeks between stages. I cut the 50mg tablets into 2 to get 25mg, then into 3, then into 4. I’m now doing 8 (they fall apart a bit so one has to pick out similar sized pieces). Might be unnecessary but after last time I’d rather be over cautious. Intend then to stop.

I basically started to forget to take mine. I was on 50mg, so was basically taking them every other day or every 3rd day. Eventually I realised I hadn’t taken any in a month when my online pharmacy reminded me I was due a repeat. I honestly didn’t have any noticeable side effects doing that, but am very obviously side effect free from all the weird neurological symptoms they gave me. I wasn’t planning to come off them, but once I was off I was done. I’ve been totally fine since and that was probably 2 years ago now.

It took me months with the guidance of the pharmacist. Then started getting withdrawal again, about two months after stopping completely.

Gosh yes, the brain zaps if you withdraw too quickly are awful. I reduced the dose first for a few weeks, then I took one every other day for a while. When it felt right I cut it down again to one every few days. I think you'll know what feels right for you. Just don't suddenly cut the whole dose out. It won't feel good- I don't know why your GP told you that!

I went from 100mg to 50 then quit and didn’t have any issues :) hope this helps x