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Old 11-06-2023, 06:16 PM   #1
MyOneAndOnly
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Default Cold Turkey stories. The drugs, not the Thanksgiving leftovers.

A month ago I stopped taking Sertraline (Zoloft), cold turkey! I've been on it for years. I've tried to get off it half a dozen times, but would always end up back on it, because the withdrawal felt so bad.


It's been BAD. Headaches, extreme fatigue, brain fog, wild mood swings, horrible nausea. The worst dreams i've had in years. Last night i had a long dream where one of my friends died. And I was forced to carry around his dismembered body in a duffel bag for a week. I didn't kill him. Somehow his will stated that I had to do this. By the end of the week he had deteriorated into a pile of mush and bones. The dream only ended cause my alarm went off. It took me 15 min awake before I was convinced it didn't happen.

Aside from the nightmares, though, the worst of it seems to have ended a week ago. I feel almost back to normal now. I would compare it to having Covid, except it lasts for weeks or months instead of 4 or 5 days.

Why stop taking a Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor? Cause it makes me feel nothing. Like... I stopped feeling such extreme anxiety, which was good. But I also stopped having any kind of desire for sex. People would treat me like shit at work and I would think "oh well" and I would just let it happen. Also over years kind of just stopped being excited about anything. What it didn't do was stop suicidal ideation, body dysmorphia, and a whole lot of other issues i live with. It stopped me from overreacting to those things, back when I was a mess and trying to kill myself. But it didn't really stop any of it. Just kind of made me feel kind of numb 90% of the time.

And I blame all that on the SSRI.

If you choices are die or go on meds. Choose the meds. you can always get off them in the future. Although, the longer you're on them, the nastier it will be.

 
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Old 11-06-2023, 06:28 PM   #2
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why did you decide to go cold turkey rather than taper off? glad you are free!

 
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Old 11-06-2023, 06:35 PM   #3
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I am on Zoloft for OCD, but the fact that I'm dependent at this point does make me a bit nervous. My OCD was absolutely crippling though.

 
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Old 11-06-2023, 08:06 PM   #4
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I am on Zoloft for OCD, but the fact that I'm dependent at this point does make me a bit nervous. My OCD was absolutely crippling though.
I have OCD as well. Which was maybe the one thing Zoloft helped with the most.

 
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Old 11-06-2023, 08:07 PM   #5
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why did you decide to go cold turkey rather than taper off? glad you are free!
every time I've tried to taper it seemed to feel just as bad as cold turkey. And then I'd eventually give up and go back to full dose

 
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Old 11-07-2023, 02:21 PM   #6
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I think I've talked before about my attempt to come off sertraline. I've been on and off SSRIs since eighteen. It used to be citalopram/Celexa, which wasn't too bad when I came off it, mostly just headaches and a feeling of like electric "zaps" down my arms, which cleared up after a week or so.

I started sertraline about ten years ago, went up to 150mg. In 2020 I tried to come off it by tapering down, but had terrible withdrawals. One of the worst bits was regularly becoming lightheaded/dizzy and feeling like I was about to pass out, which happened a few times a day. In the end I had a really long and scary panic attack, and after that I just gave in and went back on it, back up to my previous dose.

Like you, one of my reasons for stopping it was a sense that it was making me quite numb in several ways. Now I feel I am just stuck on it.

Last edited by Elijah Moon : 11-07-2023 at 02:50 PM.

 
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Old 11-07-2023, 03:03 PM   #7
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I think I've talked before about my attempt to come off sertraline. I've been on and off SSRIs since eighteen. It used to be citalopram/Celexa, which wasn't too bad when I came off it, mostly just headaches and a feeling of like electric "zaps" down my arms, which cleared up after a week or so.

I started sertraline about ten years ago, went up to 150mg. In 2020 I tried to come off it by tapering down, but had terrible withdrawals. One of the worst bits was regularly becoming lightheaded/dizzy and feeling like I was about to pass out, which happened a few times a day. In the end I had a really long and scary panic attack, and after that I just gave in and went back on it, back up to my previous dose.

Like you, one of my reasons for stopping it was a sense that it was making me quite numb in several ways. Now I feel I am just stuck on it.
The dizziness is the worst. I nearly passed out a bunch of times last month.

It's really hard to get off it because of the withdrawl. My last therapist was no help and would say things like "is your life better now or before the SSRI?" But my life was completely different from before taking SSRI. Most of what's changed wasn't the SSRI. I was my decisions. The SSRI just gave me space to do it. And I don't like being addicted to it, always having to ensure my scipt is filled. getting sick if I miss a day or two. I hated it.

 
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Old 11-07-2023, 03:38 PM   #8
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Yeah, it sucks. When I was having the withdrawals people were telling me the dizziness, etc could've been from anxiety over Covid/lockdown, when I knew that didn't explain the symptoms. I know what stress/anxiety feels like to me and this was something very different. Plus it gradually all went away once I got back on sertraline, while all the Covid shit was still happening.

I keep telling myself I'm going to come off it again but I keep putting it off because I'm worried about having to go through all the same stuff.

 
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Old 11-07-2023, 09:25 PM   #9
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This kind of stuff has scared me off antidepressants (though I don't think I'm depressed, just anxiety/OCD prone. But my opinion of them is bad.) It can't be as safe as suggested to alter your chemistry in such a heavy way.

I hope your collective med adjustments go smoothly!

 
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Old 11-07-2023, 09:41 PM   #10
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Every recreational drug I've ever quit was done cold turkey. The worst physically was Xanax. I felt better in a week, but was shaky, twitchy, sleepless, and emotionally couch-bound for that week. I know that's not the safe way. I was taking between 3-6 mg in a 24 hour period for the better part of a year. Now I take maybe 3 mg total in an entire year, only for the worst of the panic attacks that I cannot ride out. I don't feel euphoria from them anymore, but it quiets my nervous system when in acute terror.

The hardest emotionally and also second worst physically was cigarettes. It took me about a month to really stop thinking about smoking constantly. I locked myself away whenever I could during that month while I practiced new coping skills. I haven't smoked in 6 years. I smoked for 4 years, quit for 4, then picked it back up and smoked for 4 more years before stopping 6 years ago. It was easier to quit the second time, but not by much.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 01:49 AM   #11
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years and years ago (nearly 20 years ago) i was trying to quit an antidepressant for maybe the 3rd or 4th time. i felt like things at that point were finally pretty stable and i didn't have a good reason to be on it anymore. i tried tapering, at least one of the times was cold turkey. after the initial crappy period (weeks), i felt like, "ok, cool.. this is pretty... good?" and then inevitably, eventually something challenging or stressful would come up and i just couldn't deal. i'd just get so depressed that i could barely function. my overall spirit just seemed quite brittle. so i went back on and and have never stopped taking them. basically, i felt like trying to quit for the sake of my "ideals" or whatever was counterproductive. it's weird to accept that i'm still taking these things. they do seem sort of like bumpers in the lanes of bowling to a certain degree, keeps me out of trouble to some extent. (and that's not to say that i've never experienced depression while on them of course, i just seem to be able to climb my way out better because i'm on them)

its a different type of medicine that what you describe and the impacts on it are not like you describe. it's basically impossible for me to assess objectively, but i'd say maybe to some extent my emotions are 10-15% muted? maybe? but also maybe that is just what happens when you live life for an additional 20 years. big events like a child being born and a parent dying... at a certain point, i found myself thinking, "shouldn't this be impacting me more? shouldn't i be feeling really intense emotions right now? i don't feel very much" but at a certain point in each of those experiences, i absolutely felt extreme emotions, it just took longer to arrive. and i think i'd attribute that simply to age and having trained myself not to ride the waves of my emotions but largely to stay in command

to summarize, trying to tinker with it f'd things up for me so i've just stayed on and it's worked out well. and yet on a certain level, i still don't like that i take it and generally don't talk about it with anyone

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 03:30 AM   #12
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aw crap. i just allowed my primary dr to prescribe me sertraline or whatever last week. i've always resisted any head meds because of my "ideals" too. i tried seroquel 15 years ago but that was basically a hard drug

he started me with 50 mg but i've cut them in half so far. took it for the third time today but you all make it sound awful and maybe i don't even want to start.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 03:20 PM   #13
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aw crap. i just allowed my primary dr to prescribe me sertraline or whatever last week. i've always resisted any head meds because of my "ideals" too. i tried seroquel 15 years ago but that was basically a hard drug

he started me with 50 mg but i've cut them in half so far. took it for the third time today but you all make it sound awful and maybe i don't even want to start.
I can't really function without it, for what it's worth. My quality of life is significantly better.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 04:20 PM   #14
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also sertraline here, since 2000, off and on. everything is clearly fun.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 05:23 PM   #15
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I would probably be dead without sertraline

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 06:01 PM   #16
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It's hard for me to untangle the effects sertraline has had due to factors like other medications I've been on at the same time. I do know of many people it has helped through some desperate situations, so it's not my aim to deter anyone from taking it if it's been suggested for them.

I just think people need to be aware of the potential difficulties in discontinuing it down the line, especially if you end up taking it for years. It wasn't something I was made aware of till I tried to stop.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 06:52 PM   #17
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I was under the impression this was the cold turkey thread, not the Zoloft thread. How embarrassing!

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 07:00 PM   #18
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Alcohol was a tough one but I managed to kick it while in the nuthouse, and I've gone fourteen years without a drink now. It took me being locked up and unable to get access to alcohol for me to finally stop, and in time I realised alcohol had been a common theme in most of my problems.

Nicotine was actually fairly easy when I successfully quit, back in 2015. All the attempts before that were extremely rough. The day after I quit I read the book 'Easy Way to Quit Smoking' and I think that helped maintain my resolve. I never crave cigarettes now, and I don't like the smell. I didn't bother with vapes, gum, patches etc. just pure cold turkey.

Illegal drugs haven't been an issue in many years. I have no interest in them, but if I had to take a drug it'd be low doses of ketamine, as that seemed to cheer me up for a few days and lessen social anxiety.

 
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Old 11-08-2023, 07:06 PM   #19
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I was under the impression this was the cold turkey thread, not the Zoloft thread. How embarrassing!
depressing, really

 
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Old 11-10-2023, 10:25 AM   #20
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i think we just outed big pharm

let's do a class action lawsuit

 
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Old 11-10-2023, 01:11 PM   #21
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i think we just outed big pharm

let's do a class action lawsuit
If it helps me retire early, i'm all for it

 
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Old 11-12-2023, 04:03 PM   #22
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Be careful with this stuff guys especially Xanax is so messed up.

 
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Old 11-13-2023, 08:57 PM   #23
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i'm on several psych meds (no narcotics) and i have weened downed my doses significantly over the years, but with almost all of them, I hit a point where within 1-2 weeks i'm thinking of suicide daily and 2-3 weeks i'm seriously contemplating. it really is like a light switch... not quite because it does take a bit but like... not that long, and it doesn't matter what is happening in my life. so now i'm stuck on moderate/low doses of five meds. being on them all at one point made sense (if you don't know my story... I promise) but now clearly doesn't but like ????

complex ptsd and psychiatry broke my brain (also MDD and a few other acronyms), but it's working pretty well these days. the meds are all generic and cheap. I'm reliant on meds anyway for asthma. things could be worse. but it grinds my gears I'm on essentially the same meds as when I was in and out of psychiatric hospitals regularly.

but yeah like

cymbalta 120 --> 60
remeron 45 --> 7.5
seroquel 400 --> 200
lamictal 400 --> 150
wellbutrin I don't mess with

I guess it's still a win looking at it this way. Once in a while I try again to go down, sometimes successfully. getting off remeron is THE WORST with the suicidal stuff but it's been a really really long time since I tried and I'm taking soooo little of it, I might try again.

My psychiatrist always tells me let's wait until your mood is 8/10 before we ruin it again.

Last edited by reprise85 : 11-13-2023 at 09:05 PM.

 
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Old 11-15-2023, 10:29 AM   #24
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I think it took 4-5 months to taper off. It was just small amounts at a time, and if I felt too bad, I'd maybe taper every second day.

Funny how they're called SSRIs when being on them doesn't feel anything like having serotonin.

 
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Old 11-15-2023, 02:46 PM   #25
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My psychiatrist always tells me let's wait until your mood is 8/10 before we ruin it again.

i like this. I'm going to save it

 
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Old 12-18-2023, 08:05 PM   #26
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also sertraline here, since 2000, off and on. everything is clearly fun.
well here we go again, going to build it off again for the first time in 12.5 years. Been having too much fun.

 
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Old 12-18-2023, 10:12 PM   #27
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No anti-depressant has ever done anything for me. No negative side effect, but none of the main effects they're supposed to have, either.

My shrink just gave up and stopped prescribing anything.

Therapy does shit all for me, too.

The world truly is a leech and I am, regardless of my fury, in truth, just a hamster on a wheel.

 
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Old 12-18-2023, 10:14 PM   #28
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DESPITE ALL MY IRE I AM STILL JUST A BIRD ON A WIRE

 
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Old 12-19-2023, 05:23 AM   #29
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DESPITE MY HUGE TANTRUM I AM STILL JUST A FISH IN AN AQUARIUM.

DESPITE MY ILL HUMOUR I AM STILL JUST A SKINK IN AN ENCLOSURE.

 
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Old 12-19-2023, 10:25 AM   #30
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Have you guys considered estradiol

 
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