Advice to come off Sertraline please

[ruth1988]

Hi all,

I would like some advice on how best to wean myself off Sertraline. I've discussed it with a doctor but he was pretty useless to be honest.

I was on 50mg but am now taking 25mg every other day. I don't know what the next step is. I feel OK at the moment but drained of energy and daily headaches. I'm getting married in 5 weeks and ideally I want to be off sertraline and feeling OK!

Any advice on next step please? Do I start taking it a few times a week then once a week? Or just come off it?

Thanks in advance.

[Jodz]

Why are you coming off it ?

[ruth1988 in reply to Jodz]

I don't feel I need it any more. It was always a short term solution for me, I was going through a really rough patch but I've come out the other side now. Also, although it has been a huge help I haven't felt 100% myself since being on it. I feel slightly detached and I don't want to feel like that on my wedding day.

[ruth1988 in reply to ruth1988]

Thirdly, we are hoping to try for a baby soon and I would rather not be on any meds if possible.

[Jodz in reply to ruth1988]

Ok I was curious as I’m coming up 6 weeks on Wednesday. It’s made a massive difference to me . I had a bad day last week , but the support on here was fantastic .

How long have you been on it ?

Yes that’s fair enough about falling pregnant.

How exciting a wedding 👰

[laverdasf1000 in reply to ruth1988]

Hi ruth1988, Congratulations on the forth coming wedding, hope you have a wonderful day and a long and happy marriage. I am on 25mg of Sertraline daily, I have been on it for a number of years and never quite managed to get off it. My wife died in 2017 and that was a big set back for me. However the Sertraline helped, I think the dose was increased for a few months at that time. I think if you are down to one every three days you are close to being off it altogether. I was told by a GP that one a day is a very low dose. I think it would be OK to stop taking it altogether but monitor how you feel. As we all know, that take this kind of medication it can take up to three weeks to have any effect. I am not a medical person but I assume it takes a similiar period of time to stop having any effect. I would suggest try coming off it altogether but without getting too hung up about it. Best of luck with everything.

[ruth1988 in reply to laverdasf1000]

Thanks for your reply both and for the congratulations.

So sorry to hear about your wife, I hope you're doing OK.

I took my last 25mg on Sunday, decided to just stop and see. I've had a headache every day and have no energy at all but mentally I feel OK so far. I'm hoping I've got away with any nasty side effects. I was only on sertraline for 6 months, I should have gone on it way sooner though! I was scared to go on anti depressants so I avoided it for about a year, but once the initial side effects eased it was a huge help for me.

Good luck to both of you.

[laverdasf1000 in reply to ruth1988]

Glad to hear you are off the Sertraline. I am sure as the weeks pass you will feel better without it in your system.

All the best for the big day, best of luck.

Andy