come off of sertraline cold turkey (doc was going to take me off them anyway)

[susanmarlin]

feeling very very dizzy and brain fogged and irritable could someone tell me how long the symptoms will take to ware off - I was on 50mg/day for around a year and a half

[Suzie40]

A couple of weeks maybe. You shouldn't stop them so abruptly, but I'm guessing you know that already. You're more likely to get depressed again if you go cold turkey.

[susanmarlin in reply to Suzie40]

thanks - strangely enough I wasn't put on these for depression-more like I was at my wits end with feeling unwell for 8 years - I think they thought this would solve my probs - but it didnt

[Gambit62]

Best people to ask are your doctor and your pharmacist (particularly if the reason you are trying cold turkey is because the relationship with your GP has broken down ... and like Lucy says - you really shouldn't try just stopping them - you need to come off them in a phased manner.

[susanmarlin in reply to Gambit62]

don't really trust anything docs say anymore - had it up to there what with my b12 anemia and my thryroid problems also

[Gambit62 in reply to susanmarlin]

Can really understand where you are coming from - I have pernicious anaemia (PA) as well - but don't have thyroid. have you joined the psa forum? or the psa? I haven't been formally told that I have PA but had a blood test when I was in hospital with a broken ankle and my levels were so low they sent me home with injections - don't know precisely what the level was but it must have been really low.

There are a lot of symptoms of B12 deficiency that look very similar to depression but most definitely aren't. Unfortunately in this country the levels at which they actually start treating you for B12 deficiency are much lower than the levels at which you can start experiencing problems. Are you on B12 injections or a formal treatment at the moment? Even if you are in injections the regime in this country doesn't result in injections frequently enough for most of us but GPs know so little about the condition that they assume that the fact that you are still experiencing low mood and tiredness mean that you must be depressed so you get anti-depressants instead. I find that I need injections about every 2 months otherwise I go back to being a zombie, unable to concentrate on anything etc, etc ... and I also start to lose my balance and get periods of disassociation - for me this is all quite new and it's only really in the last few months that I've started to appreciate the impact that PA is having on my life as opposed to depression. Weirdly enough the last injection was one thing that brought it home to me. Before I had I was just so tired I couldn't cry or anything and wasn't aware just how much things at work were getting me down ... so although the injection gave me my energy back on one level all that really happened was that I had enough energy to cry. I run regularly - can still manage something approximating though probably more of a sustained fall! and I can't lift my feet and that lifted only to be replaced by having to resist the urge to stop and curl up in a little ball.

In a nutshell - what you are feeling may not be depression but it could be the continuation/recurrence of the strange tiredness and fogs that come with B12 deficiency and your doctor just isn't recognising that. If you are not a member of the PAS forum do join ... and you would probably find it really useful to look at the PAS site and join the Pernicious Anaemia Society as well.

[susanmarlin in reply to Gambit62]

everything you said I agree with I am in the pas and it was them that said I probably am not depressed and its down to my b12 and or thyroid - I have nothing to be depressed about (apart from being unwell for 8 years that nobody can seem to crack the case)

[Gambit62 in reply to susanmarlin]

Have you read 'pernicious anaemia: the forgotten illness' - its very well written and might give you something to go back to your GP with as they really don't seem to understand the condition at all. Think I was very lucky to get to talk to a locum a few months ago who did seem to understand at least somethings and said I shouldn't wait 3 months for injections and that is now on my record but a lot of GPs won't change the regime that is 3months, though the PAS is campaigning on that.

Think you need to try and get as clear as you can on arguments that you could use with your GP to say ADs probably aren't approporiate - do you have a close family member or partner who could help - read the book and go with you to appointments ... and it is definitely something to make sure you get a double appointment for.

[susanmarlin in reply to Gambit62]

thankyou for all your advice - as you said I am getting injections every 3 months and my doc will not change regime even in tears to her she wont change

[Gambit62 in reply to susanmarlin]

I'm really sorry to hear about this though I know that you are, unfortunately, far from alone in the reaction of your GP. Unfortunately the bursting into tears is probably reinforcing her misconception that you are depressed, rather than the reality of just being so tired and confused. May be a change of tack and going to her with some evidence from the PAS that 3 monthly injections are inadequate for a significant number of PA patients might help to educate her.

My family has a history of a relatively rare form of type 1 diabetes - late onset which happens in 30-40s. My mother encouraged me to take part in a study about 10 years ago that was working on identifying the gene - so I know that although she has it she didn't pass it on to me. My brother wasn't persuaded but he has since developed diabetes. His GP assumed because of his age that it was type 2 and he just wasn't responding to the drugs and his GP assumed it was because he wasn't sticking to diets etc but he was. So my brother did some research on the internet which showed that type 1 diabetes responds to different drugs from type 2 and he was able to point to the research my mother was involved in and had identified her as having type 1 so the likelihood was that he had type 1 and needed a different treatment as a result. He went to see the GP armed with this who put him on the type 1 regime of drugs and he responded immediately and was able to get his blood sugar levels under control. Which shows that some GPs are prepared to listen and learn because they know it is impossible to be the expert in everything. I really hope that you manage to find a way of getting your GP to listen.

I live in fear of going to the surgery before 3 months and being told I can't have injection - which nearly happened to me last time. It's awful and I really don't understand why there is so little understanding and stupidity around what is a life threatening condition if untreated. I'm going to write to my MP tomorrow because I am so disgusted. It probably won't have any effect but at least I will have done something.

[susanmarlin in reply to Gambit62]

thankyou - you have a ver valid point about the tears ( I was and am just so worn out) she said I wasn't coping - I will go in next time with a different way of explaining things

[Gambit62 in reply to susanmarlin]

Just trawling through some things on the Pernicious Anaemia Society website and came across a post about changing GP because care received wasn't adequate and what was the best way to go about it - and that suggested contacting an organisation called healthwatch to find out if they could recommend local GPs that would be better

healthwatch.co.uk/

Just in case you don't manage to get through to your current GP

[Kazzaram]

Honestly, try reducing them by taking 25 mg per day ( cutting tablet in half if you need to - you can even buy a tablet cutting tool) and staying on this for one or two weeks. Then drop down to half again for a further two weeks. This really would be better for you. Good luck

[susanmarlin in reply to Kazzaram]

this is v helpful to me - will start tonight halving my 50 mg tablet - thanks

[Hidden in reply to Kazzaram]

I would agree with this, deciding for yourself is good but you do need to take account of the need to reduce and then cut out rather than doing it in one go which your body cannot cope with.x

[Hidden]

I agree. I am on sertraline too. If I miss more than 1 dose I feel very peculiar. The safe way to do it is to wean yourself off slowly. Easier on you too. Don't try to be a super hero!

[coatpin]

The reason why they suggest you dont do this, is, because the drug is replacing the chemical that isnt being produced by the brain. And just going cold turkey can cause the depression worst than ever, and then taking more meds to bring you back up which can take longer.

These drugs are like class a drugs,,, someone can have very bad withdrawal maybe even fits. That is why you should do it with your doctor. Even then I dont think they have personal experience of how delicately it should be done.

Electric shocks through the body, being more emotional, tears, visual disturbances, dizzy you name it, Just dont drive,,, as you wouldnt be covered on insurance.

[susanmarlin]

thanks to all that replied - update - have taken 1x50mg last night cos I was feeling so spaced out - am feeling a lot better today - and will visist doc to wean off gradually - have learned a big lesson here

[Hidden in reply to susanmarlin]

I think weaning off is the only safe way but not necessarily with the GP overseeing, just do it gradually

[susanmarlin in reply to Hidden]

thanks - have halved my tablet to 25mg will do this for 2 weeks then half again - see how it goes

[Hidden]

This is quite relevant to another thread I made on this site recently. I'm sorry to hear your withdrawal symptoms are severe, and hope they pass for you soon. Does your GP know you've stopped them altogether?

[susanmarlin in reply to Hidden]

no - we had talked bout coming off them in jan - so did it in feb - but after 3weeks of feeling ill - will make an apt and half the 50mg tablet as mentioned it one of the replies above

[Hidden]

I agree it is likely to take a couple of weeks but think you can help lessen the negative symptoms by compensating with some other form of helpful behaviour, such as exercising, mindfulness or creative self-expression if you have the energy. Also make sure you eat properly and keep your sugar levels stable because fluctuating levels play havoc with mood. Otherwise just take care of yourself. Well done for deciding to come off the meds and taking responsibility yourself for your actions.

Suex

[susanmarlin in reply to Hidden]

thanks v kind of you - but don't think I could excercise just now

[bethgsd]

hi i tried coming of sertraline just before xmas, dropping down from two tablets to one , but like u had similar brain fog, dizziness and my lesg fely weak , being a dog walker this wasnt good, so i managed to take myself to one then down to half , and just this week have come off them completly , feeling a bit tired and heady but nothing like before!

[susanmarlin in reply to bethgsd]

yes - I ended up phoning doc and she told me to drop a tablet every week for 6 weeks and then id be totally off of them - told her id dropped myself from 50mg/day to 25 myself so am halving my tabs - and will drop one every week - just hope that 6 weeks will not be torture with the dizziness - felt so ill