Sertraline - coming off it - tips and advice

[abitfunny]

Hi all,

I’ve been taking 50mg since August last year during a bad bout of depression whilst living at my mil’s house with my husband and our son. It was a very dark period of my life and sertraline truly pulled me out of a hole, quite literally!

During this time I had therapy and worked on myself a bit. Lots of meditating and getting myself out there with things I enjoy etc. We also relocated to Norfolk of January this year and settled in very well. I’ve been feeling better for a while, though not 100% but I’m not really one for using the word recovered. I still have wobbles but not to the point where I’m worried I’ll do myself harm. We also want to start trying for another child this year and whilst I’m aware I can still take sertraline, I want to see how I’ll get on without it.

I spoke to my gp this morning on the phone, who advised me to take a tablet every other night for one week, then a tablet every two nights for one week and finally a tablet every three nights for a week, then stop completely. This sounded quite extreme for me? As I’ve read posts where people have came off it over a few months.

Just looking for your experiences really?

My psychiatrist said to stay on it for 6 months after feeling better and then come off slowly, starting with every other day.

I started coming off in April/May time and I got very dizzy if I spaced them out anymore than alternate days. I gradually just spaced them out a bit more, so now I just take one if I start feeling dizzy, which is about every 5 days. I feel like I'm slowly weaning myself off, but it could take a while.

I had a false start in January when I tried to come off too soon. It was a disaster (started crying at the drop of a hat) and I knew it wasn't the right time. I think you will know if it isn't the right time for you, and there's nothing wrong with going back on them and trying again in a couple of months.

Is it possible to lower the dose to start with instead of just spacing out the tablets? I take 30mg but it’s one 20mg tablet and one 10mg, so when I’m ready I can go down to 20, then 10 before starting to put gaps in between. Worth asking the doctor maybe?

Its great you are feeling so good. It’s quite a low dose you were on so withdrawal side effects won’t be so bad so reverse titration doesn’t need to be so long. Follow the drs advice but if you feel you are struggling do speak to them again, especially if your wobbles seem bigger or more difficult as you reduce. The maximum dose is 200mg, that would take several weeks to reduce to stop taking them.

When stopping treatment with sertraline the dose should be gradually reduced over a period of at least one to two weeks in order to reduce the risk of withdrawal reactions