Weaning off Sertraline

[Boyce3600]

Has anyone done this and if so how did you titrate down? Do u feel better? Worse? The same?

[adrienneb]

I have tried, unsuccessfully in the past, before my PD diagnosis. I tried twice, once by simply cutting the dose in half for a couple of days, then stopping altogether. Not a good plan. I developed shooting pains in the back of my head, which felt like neuralgia. Re-started the sertraline and the pains went away almost immediately. The next time, I did some research into "SSRI discontinuation syndrome", and tried to lower the dose extremely slowly, over several weeks. (I was on 100 mg a day at that time, along with fluoxetine.) Same thing happened a couple of days after I got nearly off the med (I think I was on about 25 mg every other day) Terrible pains in the back of my head, which nothing seemed to help. They were shooting, and occurred every few seconds. So I gave up. Now I am on 150 mg a day, with no fluoxetine, and am loathe to try to discontinue it, as my PD is stable, and my long-standing depression is the best it has ever been. I am convinced that I will take sertraline for the rest of my days. (Warning: I am a retired physician, who admittedly "had a fool for a patient", so I would definitely not do this without your physician's help. I have learned my lesson, and now listen to my MDS!)

[Boyce3600 in reply to adrienneb]

Ohhhhh I hate that you had to deal with that! My husband has been on 100mg day for probably 18 months or so. Our PCP who prescribed it said to cut it to 1/2 tablet every day for a week and then 1/2 every other day for another week and then to stop it. However, based on what u experienced (I know everyone is different and u are not giving advice and I will double check with PCP), but perhaps I could cut it to 1/2 and stay there for longer than a week and then go to the next every other day regimen. I also talked to tbe Pharmacist and she said it builds up in system and stays there for quite a while and it could take months or longer for all of it to leave the body, once weaned off. We r seeimg PCP next week for a physical and I will discuss it further then. I know someone who has been on 200 mg a day for years and has never had an issue.

The reason I wanted to wean off is cause first of all ANY meds my husband has ever taken have given him side effects he couldnt deal with, even "minor" meds. This one I am not sure of, but he stays in a confused state and it definitely has not improved his depression or apathy or lack of facial expression. He is like a zombie; I hate to use that term. On other hand i don't want to open another whole can of worms with other problems from not being on it. Neither he nor I could withstand that!!! I appreciate ur input. I will keep u posted. Best wishes and God Bless you.

[jt12]

I also tried weaning myself off of Sertraline, but after a couple of days of irritability, agitation and crying spells, I put myself back on it. I have research ed if you can safely wean yourself off of anti depression and/or anxiety medication and it can be done only if you haven’t been on them very long. In my case, I unfortunately have been on them for over 15 years, and in that case, it’s not advisable unless your doctor has any other recommendation or alternative to help with the emotional instability that comes with PD. Oh, the annoying perils of this disease.

[Boyce3600 in reply to jt12]

How did u wean off and was it very long before u had the emotional issues afterwards?

[jt12 in reply to Boyce3600]

I cut the 25 mg pill in half, but I started the issues a day after.

[Boyce3600]

Oh no!! Meds beget meds