coming off sertraline

[LJB98]

Hi all!

I have been taking 100mg Sertraline since October 2022.

I have recently decided to try coming off them as my low mood was very much circumstantial and am in a much better place now in terms of my anxiety and depression.

Under advice from a doctor I am decreasing by 25mg every two weeks. So since last Sunday I’m am now taking 75mg.

I do feel a bit low again and have a bit of anxiety this evening with no clear cause. I’m not sure if it is psychosomatic or what.

I was just wondering what other peoples experiences were of trying to come off sertraline?

[Ellamaye]

I never liked sertraline but my doctor swapped me immediately to mirtazapine and I'm happy with that x

[SHEPHER in reply to Ellamaye]

Why did you not like sertraline. I am realy struggling on it

[Hidden]

I have bad side effects coming off all antidepressants . I have to come off very slow - I come off 10% per month. In order to do that, I have to compound my medication into liquid form. Cymbalta had terrible side effects. I would look up side effects if coming off antidepressants. Maybe think about coming off real slow. Then see how you feel.

[ynes2021]

I have not tried to come off sertraline but would like to in the future

[Kinlay]

I always go lower and slower than most doctors recommend. If you are feeling it at this point, I would NOT go down any more until you normalize. Remember it takes up to 6 or even 8 weeks for the full effects of a med to kick in, so why wouldn't the same be true in reverse?

If it were me, I'd actually go back up halfway, so I'd only be cutting down 12.5 mg at a time. I'd use a pill splitter to make this work, and/or ask the doctor for smaller dose tablets to make weaning down easier.

Another way to understand why you are feeling it now is half-life: sertraline (Zoloft) is half out of body in 26 hours and 99% out of body in 5.4 days. Keeping a higher level in your body as you wean off makes the change less abrupt and has definitely been proven to make withdrawal easier. And I always err on the side of caution. Good luck!