To taper SSRI and simultaneously start HRT?

[headphoney]

Has anyone done this?

I take 75mg sertraline for PMDD and peri symptoms. I want to taper off sertraline due to gaining a lot of weight on it. Previously tried to taper slowly but my mood was horrific.

I want to try HRT as an alternative. Someone suggested tapering the sertraline while simultaneously starting and gradually increasing HRT.

Anyone had any experience with this?

I have been on and off both SSRIs and HRT. If you can stand it, I would wholeheartedly recommend coming off one before going on the other. My reasoning being that unless you return to your baseline in between, you don’t actually know what your starting point is. Both sets of meds come with a vast array of potential side-effects, in addition to their potential therapeutic benefits. For your own long term healthcare decision making, you need to be able to evaluate whether the impact is net positive to you, whether any undesirable side effects (or even positive effects) are the result of the introduction of a particular medication, rather than being a side effect of the withdrawal of a previous one.

Thats just my experience though. If your personal history means, for example that you might become a serious suicide risk without any meds, then that would obviously skew the decision-making!

Good luck with your decision and I hope the med-change brings you all the benefits you are hoping for.

Btw, it’s only anecdotal, obviously, but I found my mood was awful coming off SSRIs initially, and the first PMS week I was convinced I’d not be able to continue without them, but actually, as my body adjusted over the following weeks/months, it’s not been that bad again.

“Give it time”, is one of those awful things medics say and in your head you want to scream ‘if you only knew what every minute of every day felt like, you wouldn’t be asking me to endure it for longer’, but I hate to say it actually has been helpful for me to take time with meds changes.