Come off sertraline and feel like I’m dying physically

[Happyharry2003]

Hi
I’ve been on sertraline for three years and also drugs that chemically brought on menopause as well as hrt (for 3 months). It turns out that I wasn’t prescribed the menopause medication correctly and it actually made me very ill - vomiting, sever body aches and chills. I’ve also felt for a long time that sertraline has just totally numbed me and due to also being in mitazapine for 6 months prior to setraline I’ve put on about 4-5 stone.

About 4 months ago I made the decision to come off everything other than the pill so I could lose some weight and work out what my body needed rather than a different doctor each time prescribing me with yet another pill that would make me put on weight.

I was on 100mg and moved to 50mg daily (dr told me to do one day on 100 and one on 0g for a few months which I knew was wrong due!). I did this for two months and then went to 25mg. Every time I dropped I felt like I was dying - sweats, skin crawling, Brian zaps, absolute panic and hallucinations. I couldn’t face doing this any longer every day I dropped a small amount so I decided to just drop totally to 0g a week and a half ago. Somehow I’ve kept going at work but it was a miracle I didn’t make a terrible mistake or crash the car due to dizziness. I’m now on annual leave. What can I do to help me get through this? I do not want to go back on as then I’ve got to go through this all over again at some point and I’ve got this far but at the same time I just feel like other than lying on my bed with a fan on, I can’t do anything. I’ve wasted so much of my children’s lives being on anti depressants and coming off them. I don’t want to waste any more. I don’t want to ask the doctor as it’s partly due to them im in this mess in the first place.

If I could hear from someone who had been through this and is now out of the other side I could perhaps get through but everything I read on line says I could feel like this for weeks, months of even years and it terrifies me.

OP this sounds awful, I'm on Sertraline 150mg and did try going cold turkey at one point and but couldn't hack it so went back on.

I would see how you go because you could either see it as a sign that your body is detoxing from the medication and that it's worth sticking it out or you could go back on a low level with a view to weaning yourself off more slowly next time?

There might also be supplements you could take/dietary changes that would support your body through the process.

I'm on it for life. No regrets.

Thank you. I will look into seeing what supplements I can fine. Re being on it for life - I put on 4 stone and i can’t shift it. I’m more likely to have health issues due to excessive weight than the original depression I had so it’s swings and roundabouts but I totally get what you mean. Coming off it has been worse than any depression or anxiety I’ve ever experienced and I’ve had some right old episodes of them in the past! Today is the first morning I haven’t woken up crying in pain from the electric shocks so I can only take it step by step. In fact jsut writing that must mean I’m getting a little better as I wouldn’t have written that when writing the original post

Does anyone know what supplements may help? Dr Google is a mine field

May I ask why people come off of antidepressants? Surely if they are working and your okay then why come off of them?

I have had drug addiction issues and I got off heroin and methadone but I’m on 100mg of Sertraline and my HRT and as Sertraline are an SSRI then they go very well with HRT and I have zero anxiety now, I have no desire to come off of them during this perimenopausal period, which could last years.

I’m just curious OP as to why you wanted off, are you prone to depression? Did they effect you mentally or physically?

Could you try an alternative to Sertraline?

Also are you really sure the weight gain is down to that?? That’s an awful lot and you’ve obviously been having quite a time of it so there could be other reasons. Does your GP agree sertraline is to blame? If not I’d go back on it, try some lifestyle changes and see where you get to.

I’ve also gained a load of weight on sertraline. My GP claims it’s not the cause but it makes me feel hungry; like a constant, burning hunger and when my mental health is already poor I don’t have the strength to resist the hunger pains. 🤯

I think that ideally you would have come off this much much more slowly- 10% reduction in dose per month maximum. So more or less over the course of a year to wean off. The brain needs to adapt and reset. I am not really sure what you can do to alleviate what you are going through, but it should pass eventually. My DD has been on sertraline and is now on citalopram so we have had some experience with these meds.

@Nahhh

I’ve also gained a load of weight on sertraline. My GP claims it’s not the cause but it makes me feel hungry; like a constant, burning hunger and when my mental health is already poor I don’t have the strength to resist the hunger pains. 🤯

I think this is it rather than the pills causing weight gain directly.

I wanted to come off them as I was on such a cocktail of pills that various doctors kept prescribing and prescribing. The final nail was being told to go on sleeping pills and the sertraline was the likelihood of my insomnia. I was on hrt, Lupron (American name but the same) for possible endometriosis which makes the body go through a chemical hysterectomy, the pill and sertraline and every one of them had weight gain as a side effect and I still get awful despite all of them and didn’t want to have to add more to the mix! I wanted to properly find out what I needed after months and months of virtual appointments with nobody doing any tests - just prescribing more pills over the phone. I also going the sertraline meant I had no labido at all and no ‘highs’ in life. Just a brain of mush and no inspiration to do anything.

I may find I need to go back on some/all of them but I just wasn’t comfortable with what was happening to body.

I was on Prozac from 17-35yrs old so I certainly don’t have a problem with staying on something long term - if it works

@Marv1nGay3

I think that ideally you would have come off this much much more slowly- 10% reduction in dose per month maximum. So more or less over the course of a year to wean off. The brain needs to adapt and reset. I am not really sure what you can do to alleviate what you are going through, but it should pass eventually. My DD has been on sertraline and is now on citalopram so we have had some experience with these meds.

I hope your DD is doing ok. I was tapering until I got to 25mg but each taper was so horrendous I just thought I might as well just give up totally. The side effects are no worse going from 25mg to 0 than it was from 50mg to 25mg.

I think I will have to just keep going now I’ve got this far. If nothing else, at least I actually ‘feel’ things now which I haven’t for the past three years of bleurghhh

@Happyharry2003 magnesium seems to be an important supplement for people who feel anxious or depressed, apparently the majority of us are deficient in it.

I think Sertraline can be linked to weight gain because serotonin is involved in appetite and satiety. Also, there is evidence that antidepressants affect the gut in a similar way to antibiotics.

The worst of the side effects last about 2 weeks. The whoosy feeling (look up waves and windows) gets less frequent amd eventually goes. I'd say it was around for about 6 weeks.

I recommend Epsom Salt baths and magnesium too. Also the best success I had when I came of citalopram was to take up a form of exercise. That became my addiction! Pick something you love as you are more likely to do it. Mine was swimming as I could also switch off in the pool and be totally immersed literally and metaphorically in something.

Thank you so much for your reply. That’s great to know. I’ve just hit two weeks and yesterday noticed I only got the electric shocks (wtf - they didn’t mention those when I started on them!!) in the evening yesterday rather than all day. I was so pleased! I’m absolutely terrified of it all coming back to all day long every day though so I’m not thinking I’m out of the woods yet but I don’t feel like I am dying any more which I did literally every day for the first 1.5 weeks.

Today is the first time for a long time I’ve even through about a short walk so that is a good sign too. I’m so hopeful that I’m out of the worst - I’m still dizzy, nauseous etc but don’t feel like I’m being poisoned quite so much

Thank you for the advice!

After feeling suicidal the last couple of days I’ve had to go back on the sertraline. Feel like a total failure as I can’t ever see me being off them now. I just wanted to lose weight and feel less foggy but the results of no sertraline were too dangerous. I would never have gone on them if I’d known my body would basically not function ever again without them

You came off the Sertraline way too quickly. Do it in tiny fractions, and wait two weeks between each drop in dosage. If you do it that suddenly, you’ll get awful withdrawal symptoms and rebound depression.

The Lupron will have made you pile on weight and generally fucked up your system. I was on Zoladex for 6 months pre-hysterectomy and it was the worst 6 months of my life. That is not the time to come virtually cold turkey off an SSRI!!

@Happyharry2003

After feeling suicidal the last couple of days I’ve had to go back on the sertraline. Feel like a total failure as I can’t ever see me being off them now. I just wanted to lose weight and feel less foggy but the results of no sertraline were too dangerous. I would never have gone on them if I’d known my body would basically not function ever again without them

I totally agree OP and I wish GPs were honest about anti depressants side effects and withdrawal issues

I was put on sertraline for anxiety caused by a health problem that would have been solved with a few weeks of physio. Instead I went through brutal side effects when going on sertraline; then I felt like a zombie and put a lot of weight. It is the health issues caused by the weight gain that gave me the final push to give up the meds.

I was on 50g and came off it over 4 months with only occasional side effects (nausea and bizarre waves of panic).

Sorry to hear you haven't been well. I hope you can come off the medication if that's what works for you

@Happyharry2003 sorry you had to go back to on, I had a similar experience myself but right now you just need to focus on doing whatever it takes to feel better. If it helps I'm working with an integrative psychiatrist and she says that GP's were lied to about how long it takes to come off of antidepressants. It's 6 months if not longer and you need support to come off them. What dose have you gone back on?

I'm actually glad to hear you are back on the meds, though very sympathetic to your predicament.

OP you are on them for a reason, and as you say, have needed the benefits provided by anti depressants for many years. Even with tapering (which was done way too quickly I agree), you are presumably dealing with the same issues that required the ADs, so it was never going to work.

You are 100% not a failure. You need now to discuss the meds with your doctor & perhaps seek a referral to a psychiatrist. You can consider options with them. I can absolutely understand that the 4 stone weight gain is very upsetting. But there are ways to manage that, beyond coming off meds.

Whatever you do, please make sure you have good medical support 💐

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to me on Christmas Day. I really appreciate your kindness.
The comment about Lupron - I’ve not ever spoken to anyone else on it (synarel) and I’m sorry you went through it but it’s also reassuring to hear someone else put on weight and had problems. I know gp’s have a terrible time at the moment and there are people with really serious illnesses who can’t be seen but I think the lack of any support or info re what the synarel effects would be have been the problem. I felt so awful after it and in so much pain I just couldn’t bare to have any other drugs in side me - which I know is irrational but all part of the problem! Did you manage to lose the weight? Did you feel ok in the end?

I’m back on 100mg as that was the dose I was on before and ok. My bloody amazing husband spent the whole of Christmas Day telling me I was needed, talked me out of suicide and managed to keep it all going for my chidlren and cook them Christmas dinner and keep them all happy. I could not do another day like today so I decided I had to go back on them. I guess it’s best to be fat and alive than skinny and suicidal! Yes that’s very blasé of me to say but I only came off them to try and lose weight. I ended up suicidal so I guess it doesn’t really matter if I have to stay on them forever if they’re keeping me alive. I just miss the old me that had a sense of humour, was quick and interesting. Anti depressants make me feel like I’m in fog. But I guess at least they keep me alive.

Thank you again for taking the time to help a complete stranger today

I have been on sertraline for 15 years. 10 of those at 50 - 100mg then last 5 years 200mg. I have put on weight too but I know that's my hormones (48 and menopausal) plus my taste for sweet things and midnight snacks because of insomnia. Please be careful about coming off cold turkey like this. If you need it for your mental health then take an honest look at why you may have gained weight. There could be many other reasons. Please take care. I very very slowly came off pregablin 2 years ago and the withdrawals was absolutely awful. I had to do it milligrams at a time as too much was awful. You can get a pill cutter on Amazon very cheap which can then be used to chip the smallest milligrams away. If you're determined to come off I would say taking it super slow is better than cold turkey xx

Don't feel sentenced to a lifetime taking it- the bad feelings you had are from withdrawing far too fast.

As soon as you get adverse symptoms you have to up your dose again and go slower. For example, on your 100 starting dose, I'd have gone to 75 a day. If 75 gave you symptoms, then alternate 75 and 100 until the symptoms stop. When you get down to 75 a day with no symptoms, try alternating 75 and 50, then go to 50 daily.

By the time I worked down to stopping, I was taking half the smallest tablet every other day, then every third day, then twice a week. Only then did I stop- but I had no adverse symptoms at all.

I was extremely careful having been warned by a friend who had a similar experience to you.

Could you have misunderstood the first doctor's advice? Could he have meant alternating 100 and 50, rather than 100 and 0?

don't give up- it will get better.

I may well have misunderstood the doctors advice. I find it very hard
To talk to doctors about this over the phone as I don’t find phone calls easy at the best of
Times and trying to explain it all in a five minute slot is impossible.
I’m wondering about trying to see someone privately so I can speak face to face. I can’t really afford it but then again can’t afford not to invest in improving my mental
Health. Had anyone had experience of going privately?

This is v common, it’ll get better slowly. Someone I trained with works in this area, she has a website here:

baylissa.com/withdrawal-resources/

She does private practice, but is a specialist therapist, not a doctor.

That's poor service, Harry. How about discussing it a pharmacist first? the ones near me will still do a medication review with you, if you book.