Looking for advice on swapping Venlafaxine for Sertraline.

[ttid2020]

Hi😊

I have been tapering off of Venlafaxine over the past 6 weeks and am suffering terribly from nausea, headaches, tearfulness & upset stomach. My doctor wants me to change over to Sertraline but I'm reluctant to take another tablet that will cause me to suffer from withdrawal symptoms in the way the Venlafaxine has. Does anyone have any info on coming off of Sertraline?

Thank you.

[Pugglesworth]

I'm not a doctor, but I'll give you my experience.

We're all different when it comes to meds. I'm on Zoloft (sertraline) at the moment, but I'm tapering off due to nausea. I was taking Celexa (citalopram) for years; however, that started making me sick (my pharmacy changed manufacturers) so now I'm searching for a new med. Effexor (venaflaxine) is a Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) and Zoloft is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). Both work on the Central Nervous System (CNS) in slightly different ways. Because of that, stopping these meds directly isn't recommended. What is recommended is tapering off so your CNS can get used to the loss of the medication. Some recommend cutting your dosage in half every week, some recommend cutting by a quarter every other week and the slow taper method of ten percent every month.

Always work with your doctor when changing medicine amounts, timing and types.