Came off antidepressants ... don't feel great

[ditzyglamour]

Hi,
I was on sertraline and was feeling great. But, I put on a lot of weight and could only assume it was the medication as it coincided.

I made a half thought out decision to wean myself off sertraline and loose the weight. For about a month I was still feeling great, I didn't notice a dip in my moods. So, I assumed I was 'cured' and that I didn't need the antidepressants anymore anyway.

Life has changed for me in a positive way, on paper I should be on top of the world. BUT now I think the sertraline has completely left my system, I feel low and anxious again. I'm loosing weight but slowly. I just feel sad again. I've no reason to be!

I don't really know the point of this thread. I feel a failure going back on antidepressants and I'm scared about the weight gain. I guess I want to know if anyone has experienced similar and if anyone has any advice on what I should do?

I haven't spoken to my doctor. I'm due to go there in a month for another review-and repeat prescription. She has no idea I'm off the meds.

Thanks in advance

Sounds like you came off them too quickly. I went and saw my GP at the start of the year to come off Citralopram and have only just stopped them.

Sertraline was hard to come off for me as I had terrible withdrawal symptoms even with a very slow taper. I switched to fluoxetine for a few months then came off that with fewer withdrawal symptoms. Go to your GP for help. Good luck with it.

What dose were you on ditzy and how long for? How did you come off them?

I was on sertraline for nearly two years first time round, when I came off them, I just stopped. However I think they had stopped working for me shortly before I stopped taking them as I never had any withdrawal. I went nearly three years then crashed again and currently back on them. I want I be on them long term now, I’m past my feelings of failure using them and I don’t want to go through the relapses again.

Thanks for your replies.

What is fluoxetine and is it better/the same?

I have no get up and go and I need that as I have kids plus am self employed. It can be easy to slack when I haven't got a boss watching over me- I can't afford to slack in my job but I'm struggling.

Well done to those who have come off completely. Are you feeling ok now??

I was on it a year.. maybe less? I was on 100mg. Did increase to 150 but felt over anxious so the 100 was the right dose for me. I just decreased by 50 to 0 in a few weeks. Tempted to see how I go on 25mg?

It needs to be a very slow taper so 125 for a few weeks, 100 for a few weeks, 75 for a few weeks, 50 for a few weeks, 25 for a few weeks and 12.5 for a few weeks. It takes a full 7 days for a dose increase or decrease to level out in your system and I’d allow a further week before changing again.

I would get advice from the GP but yes, I would think going back on it might be the way forward.

Fluoxetine is In the same class of antidepressants as sertraline - they are both SSRIs. So it will act in a similar way. It stays in the system a long time, which means it could be easier to taper off. So could be worth asking your GP about this.

Good luck - coming off ADs is hard!