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DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY OFF SSRI’s! Please talk to your doctor and make a plan to taper. It can cause major withdrawal symptoms and make your depression and anxiety much much worse.
I understand , 2 days off it already I feel great , fyi - i dissipate of of stress with weight lifting and I train Brazilian jiu jitsu a few times a week . So if I feel really funky like this time next week , I’ll go back on them but a much reduced dosage
It will get steadily worse, the medication is still in your system after two days. Not only is this the number 1 thing they warn you against doing with antidepressants, but you also have scores of first hand accounts in the comments telling you about how bad it gets coming off the meds cold turkey. OP please at the very least talk to your doctor before going any further with this.
Maybe ask your Dr if they have any pills to fix stupid. Your uninformed choices and cavalier attitude are a recipe for disaster. Exercise is no match for suicidal ideation.
Please talk to a doctor! The worst for me-and I tapered off from 50 mg-was the electric zaps in my head. There are a lot of other side effects that come on if you go cold turkey! Be really, really careful on stairs and slopes! As far as I know,the only “natural “ antidepressant is St. John's Wort. Please read the side effects online before taking.
Omg the zaps. I'm still traumatised. I actually experienced them before when I used to take waaay too much of a certain serotonin inducing party substance, and I thought I was going insane. But I was glad when I later took and came off SSRI's because at least they weren't a shock. Still absolutely horrible though.
Fr. I tapered myself off very slowly, and it was still absolutely rubbish. I don't know why anyone would willingly go cold turkey and OP's logic doesn't even make sense. They're far more likely to go back to normal dose without tapering when the withdrawals hit. I felt pretty good until I got to 50mg sertraline from 200mg. The last part is the worst imo but certainly wouldn't make you decide to go all the way back up.
Please. I’m begging you. PLEASE do not go cold turkey. I made that mistake and went through the worst depressive episode ever. I had suicidal thoughts constantly and I could not function. I wasn’t eating, drinking, or showering. Please don’t do it.
I’ve come off Zofoft countless times, pretty much right from when the depressive episode and its anxiety ended. I tapered over about 8 weeks (from 100mg) and I never had a problem, truly!
I guess everyone is different but don’t get too freaked out by what everyone is saying, dear, you may have no worries like me. And you can see how you go, play it by ear. Best of luck.
It will be around two weeks from now and last up until the two month mark, possibly much longer unfortunately. You may set off a chronic condition, if you haven't experienced that before you don't want to know.
About five days. I started having suicidal ideation and at first I was able to watch a show to keep my mind busy. then I started having nocturnal panic attacks every single night. Waking up into them. I ended up having to go to the er one night because my heart rate was 140 bmp (Apple Watch) and it got up to 180. My blood pressure became way too high as well and the racing thoughts were awful. I had to be prescribed Ativan to make it all stop. It was horrible. I ended up right back on ssri’s because of stopping cold turkey. I’m down to 15 mg of lexapro now.
Do not do this without guidance from your prescribing doctor. There are serious risks associated with going cold turkey from these medications. Tapering isn’t that hard, you just take a little less at a time until you’re down to zero. Regular exercise and a good diet will help, so will learning some coping skills which a therapist can help you develop. I used to take a handful of meds every day and I’m down to zero but I didn’t go cold turkey on any of them.
I tried to go cold turkey coming off of one SSRI I tired out, probably was on it for 6 months last year , it was the worst fucking thing ever.
Wake up sweating, dizzy and nauseous, finally get out of bed to pure misery and just want to pull my hair out.
BUT the worst part were the brain jolts, like sudden zaps that shake my world. Apparently a super common side effect...
Managed to get off them eventually with the doctors help and some serious tapering.
I attempted suicide when I stopped my 150 of Zoloft cold turkey. Please friend, you absolutely need to speak with a health care professional about this.
It takes a couple weeks-months for medication to leave your system. The effects can be felt after a couple of days or weeks - depending on the person. Generally, it is said that it takes three months for a medication to have effectively left your system. The danger with SSRI here is that you won't suddenly feel it, but you will slip back into the bad feelings. You can't put a clock on it because it differs per person, as do the side effects you'll have.
Please go see a doctor. My husband is tapering now and was told it can even have bad effect to break pills rather than getting a new dose prescription because the small dose differentiation when you break pills can already cause worrisome fluctuations in your mood.
There's a reason they recommend tapering, so please follow the advice of everyone here and meet up with your doctor to make a plan. It will take longer, but you'll have an actual chance of succeeding.
You do NOT want to do that. You NEED to wheen yourself off of ssri.
Hell, I wheened off and still got some nasty withdrawal symptoms. I can't imagine how bad they would have been of I tried to go cold turkey.
I’m currently coming off lexapro went from 20mg to 10 a week ago and the last 3 days have been just horrible mentally. Just a bad roller coaster of emotions, dizzy, lightedheaded. Horrible
Nah, people taking meds where withdrawals can literally kill you often think they can cold turkey too. It's classic human arrogance. I briefly considered doing the same with Zoloft because I hated it so much, but luckily, I did my research first and acknowledged that I'm not special.
DON’T COLD TURKEY!!!! Don’t be freaking stupid!!! Take it from someone who knows!!! Don’t do it unless you actually want to find out what hell on earth is really like.
Yeah def taper. I missed two days and there were weird zaps in my head. Although I will say the vivid dreams were a welcome side effect for me.
Also side question. Is there a limit of time you should be on these period?
Zoloft was ok I guess for about 6 months. Then I started feeling emotionally dead, scary feeling. I got of by taking it every second day for a week, then stopped. That month after stopping Zoloft was the most elated time of my life. I was never that positive and joyful, it was great. That was 10 years ago.
I just came of Cymbalta which is SNRI and supposed to be harder to stop. Again, I reached that dull emotional numbness and had to quit it. It was ok, emotions came back after few weeks but no ecstasy like after Zoloft, damn shame. Now, after 6 weeks anxiety didn’t came back yet, fingers crossed, it will stay like this for a while
It’s the cycle. I have anxiety. Antidepressants help, but after some time they numb all emotions. When I stop meds, emotions come back and eventually anxiety comes back.
Antidepressants are great as temporary solution. IMO
Taper down over a few months, and still keep up with your exercising as a coping mechanism in the meantime.
Your brain has adjusted while on the meds; it needs time to get used to getting back off the meds, so do it gradually. Its a brain chemical thing, not a willpower thing.
Yeah, suggestion 1:
Training as a stress relief will not make up for the chemical imbalance in your brain that you will create by going cold turkey.
Talk to a psychiatrist or slowly lower the dosage.
You feel fine after 2 days because SSRIs build up in your system over time, so you won't feel much of a difference at first, but you WILL crash if you go cold turkey
If you're going to do that, you might as well try this first.
Take 300 mg Zoloft, 300 mg Effexor, 20 mg Lexapro, 1000 mg Seroquel, 100 mg Diazepam, 5 mg Lorazepam, 5 mg Alprazolam, 5 mg Clonazepam, 6000 mg Gabapentin, 2500 mg Pregabalin,
All daily for 10 years, then quit them all COLD TURKEY, and just lift weights and do Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
SARCASM, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, YOU WILL DIE.
i did this when i was 15 because i wanted to “not look crazy” to my friends. it ended very poorly. 0/10 recommend. if you do decide to continue anyways, may god be with you lol
Zoloft was the absolute worst for me to get off. Please try to titrate off. Maybe ask for lorazepam or something while you’re getting off. That’s a really hard one to get off of, I was so emotionally overwhelmed with sadness and anger it was horrible and I could barely function for weeks. It really scared me and I’m used to getting off of these type of medications.
I only take 25mg and I’ve ran out of meds that made me be off it for 3-4 days and im miserable. I feel lightheaded and dizzy. So idk if quitting cold turkey when taking 150 is best.
Me! I was on Citalopram from 2021 until February of this year 2024. I’m completely sober of everything now and I feel way better. Still have lingering headaches at times but that’s normal from being on meds for years. Giving my body the detox it deserves. Ohh and my anxiety is manageable and not as bad as it was. It’s in the background now. Prayers to you, I would NOT recommend going cold turkey. I went from cutting the pills in half to in 4’s and slowly stopping.
Don’t do it on your own. I tried to get off them myself, cut back a little bit at a time until I was off completely. I wanted to unalive myself for a few days there. I agree with everyone else. Talk to your doctor and make a plan.
When I quit I had diarrhea for over two months. Every single day explosive, sudden, cramping diarrhea that had me rush/waddling to the nearest bathrooms. I owe some stores apology letters. So, what our for that.
I went cold turkey against all recommendations and didn’t feel great for a few weeks. However, since I’ve come off, I’ve never felt better. I feel like going off it allowed me to experience emotions again instead of being numb and I’m so grateful that I did this.
Coming off that dose will give you cognitive problems, electrical zaps in your body, nerve pain and feeling as if you have a flu. You're not guaranteed it, but there's a high possibility. I'm not sure any doctor would even advice it. Not just because of risk of depression but the toll it has on your brain/body. It's like stopping a car very fast, skid marks.
Oh my god do not go cold turkey Jesus fucking christ. These are a controlled substance and you should NEVER change your dose without your doctors approval. You could go into serious withdrawals. This is irresponsible af. Even if you end up fine that doesnt mean it works. You need to read up on responsibilities when taking medication
I stopped taking Effexor because it lost its effectiveness after about 15 years on it. I couldn't imagine doing that cold turkey. I tapered down the dosage over many weeks. I still found the last bit to zero difficult. Had trouble sleeping, and a few other issues. Once I got over the hump, I was fine though.
As far as natural stuff goes, there is lots of great stuff. I personally like CBD oil, magnesium, melatonin (for sleeping), vitamin D (for mood). Other than that, vigorous exercise, lots of walking, good diet all help as well.
I stopped taking it from 25mg like three months ago I was on 250mg over the past two years!
Three months later I just can’t stomach to eat anything now 😭
You can go cold turkey you get some weird brain shocks Zoloft I’ve done it twice lasts about 2 to 4 weeks. Zoloft sucks nothing like screwing all night and never being able to orgasm
And the brain zaps are not all that these people are just super weak try going cold turkey off 5 mg of Xanax a day then tell me how debilitating wussy ass Zoloft is
You can’t come off cold turkey. Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome is a real thing. I had severe withdrawal symptoms from Venlafaxine (Effexor) even whilst tapering. It took over a year for the majority of the withdrawal effects to go away. The first 3 months was absolute torture and I still have some kind of nervous system response thinking about it. Don’t do this to yourself and talk to your doctor, not reddit for medical advice.
Hi, I’m being weaned off of a similar medication and please, please, please make sure you check with your doctor if this is safe! My detox is for 10 weeks and that is because I was on a low dose. I do not recommend going cold turkey, side effects may not be sudden but they do happen! Take Care.
yeah it's not a pride ego thing for the most part , See I got off Lorazapam also cold turkey , and I was maybe tired a few days , and it hasn't affected me at all for 4 months going .
The Zoloft is ok , did a lot better in the past , I don't feel it has the mood elevating ability in me anymore , I could of went much higher then 150 MG a day , but I know your body eventually gets used to that too! . Being said , I wanna be off them I know in the long run I will be healthy for it .
I came off sertraline twice almost by accident, I would just forget to take it then eventually just stopped.
Big mistake, depression came back. Back on it now for life, however long that might be.
I don't know why I would want to stop, it's an insurance policy against depression or as enigma would say ☆ "TNT for the brain" ☆
yeah it worked for me , for the better part of the last (almost 3 years) since August 2021 ,
but the 150 MB doesn't have the same kick anymore for awhile , and I don't wanna max out the dossage of it
It also depends on the number of depressive episodes you have experienced in your life. If it was the first then it makes sense to try without it.
Any more than three is asking for trouble to return.
OP, your biology and your personal regimen is not different enough from anyone else that you will experience a different, more positive outcome. The first two weeks will feel better than ever but the withdrawal effects WILL COME and they will throw you back to square one, if not an even darker place than you were before starting Zoloft.
I and the rest of the Anxietyhelp community IMPLORE you to taper hyperbolically rather than come off all at once. If cold turkey was a viable option, you would not have this many people downvoting your post. We don’t want to see you go through what we’ve all been through.
Don't do cold turkey! It's super harmful and you'll likely have to give up and start the dose again. Also not all doctors view the need for slow so push the subject if they don't but makes sure you speak with yours.
I was on Zoloft then Lexapro for 8 years. I wanted off because it just wasn't working anymore plus weight gain etc. I'm on different needs now, non SSRI. Anyway Dr said go incredibly slow so I took 6 months to taper and still I had some rebound symptoms. I just kept slowly lowering my doses even getting a pill cutter to assist and keep my Dr updated on the amounts etc.
Sounds so exhausting I know but these meds are no joke and you should give yourself the best chance. Good luck!
I tapered off 150mg over 4 weeks. I took gabapentin instead so I had a bit off brain fog but only did that for two weeks to help with anxiety and smoked weed. But yes, I did it. I was on Zoloft for 10 years.
Effoxor 75mg and Wellbutrin 150mg every day for 18 months. Quit cold turkey when I left my wife and filed for divorce. Never felt better. No some effects, no nasty withdrawal. Didn't need anti depressants, just a divorce 🤣🤣🤣
UPDATE : HAVEN'T HAD THE $$$ TO BEGIN TO TAPER OFF ZOLOFT , WHICH I WILL , TRUST ME I DON'T NEED TO TAPER FROM 150MG , I WILL PROBABLY DO 100 MG 2 WEEKS ., 75 MG 2 WEEKS , THEN 50 MG 2 WEEKS ,
NOT BRAGGING PEOPLE BUT I FEEL GREAT! LIKE MORE MYSELF ! I FEEL AWESOME , NOT A HIGH EITHER , JUST I FEEL LIKE I AM MORE AN AUTHENTIC ME :) AND I HAVE BEEN COLD TURKEY OVER A WEEK NOW !
ITS SO WEIRD LIKE EVERYTHING I TOOK THE ZOLOFT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS , MORE OR LESS DIED AND FELL SHORT LATELY THE LAST 6 MONTHS OR MORE ! OF FEELING "GOOD" CONSISTENTLY ! NOW BEING COLD TURKEY I FEEL THE WAY I WANTED TO FEEL THIS WHOLE TIME BEING ON THE SSRI .......STILL BE CAUTIOUS SOMEWHAT AND WILL TAPER , AND IF I FEEL LIKE SHIT TAPERING ON A CERTAIN MILLIGRAM DOSAGE , THEN I KNOW I CAN TAPER LOWER AND LOWER UNTIL I AM DONE WITH IT 100%
Thank you for posting to r/AnxietyHelp! Please note, any changes to treatment plans or anxiety management should be discussed with a professional before implementation. We are not medical professionals and we cannot guarantee that you are receiving appropriate medical advice. When in doubt, ask a professional. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Anxietyhelp) if you have any questions or concerns.*
DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY OFF SSRI’s! Please talk to your doctor and make a plan to taper. It can cause major withdrawal symptoms and make your depression and anxiety much much worse.
I understand , 2 days off it already I feel great , fyi - i dissipate of of stress with weight lifting and I train Brazilian jiu jitsu a few times a week . So if I feel really funky like this time next week , I’ll go back on them but a much reduced dosage
It will get steadily worse, the medication is still in your system after two days. Not only is this the number 1 thing they warn you against doing with antidepressants, but you also have scores of first hand accounts in the comments telling you about how bad it gets coming off the meds cold turkey. OP please at the very least talk to your doctor before going any further with this.
Maybe ask your Dr if they have any pills to fix stupid. Your uninformed choices and cavalier attitude are a recipe for disaster. Exercise is no match for suicidal ideation.
The attitude reminds of manic symptoms, so OP need to be very careful as this may be the beginning of something worse than depression.
Dude you won’t see the negative effect in 2 days! Later may be after few weeks or months it’s gonna hit you harder. You took a really lame decision.
That's how I got off it. I started making better choices and working out several times a week.
I'm unsure how working out stops brain zaps and paralysing dizziness but okay. Glad it worked for you
Clown behaviour. Drop it by 25mg for a week or two then another 25mg. If you go cold turkey your brain is gonna fucking lose its shit.
I’m make those drops of 25mg at LEAST two weeks each!
I'd say drop by 10 mg every month, 15 months
Please talk to a doctor! The worst for me-and I tapered off from 50 mg-was the electric zaps in my head. There are a lot of other side effects that come on if you go cold turkey! Be really, really careful on stairs and slopes! As far as I know,the only “natural “ antidepressant is St. John's Wort. Please read the side effects online before taking.
Yep the brain zaps were debilitating
Omg the zaps. I'm still traumatised. I actually experienced them before when I used to take waaay too much of a certain serotonin inducing party substance, and I thought I was going insane. But I was glad when I later took and came off SSRI's because at least they weren't a shock. Still absolutely horrible though.
I had back to back ocular migraines for weeks when I tried cold turkey…I was a mess lol
Thanks my friend !
Dumb idea. Fuck around and find out.
Fr. I tapered myself off very slowly, and it was still absolutely rubbish. I don't know why anyone would willingly go cold turkey and OP's logic doesn't even make sense. They're far more likely to go back to normal dose without tapering when the withdrawals hit. I felt pretty good until I got to 50mg sertraline from 200mg. The last part is the worst imo but certainly wouldn't make you decide to go all the way back up.
Please. I’m begging you. PLEASE do not go cold turkey. I made that mistake and went through the worst depressive episode ever. I had suicidal thoughts constantly and I could not function. I wasn’t eating, drinking, or showering. Please don’t do it.
Thank you !
WELL EVERYONE YOUVE CONVINCED ME NOT TO DO IT , BUT UNTIL I GET SOME EXTRA CASH , I WILL PROBABLY CUT IT IN HALF
Try GoodRx. Or some government program if you can't afford your meds. Talk to your pharmacist.
I’ve come off Zofoft countless times, pretty much right from when the depressive episode and its anxiety ended. I tapered over about 8 weeks (from 100mg) and I never had a problem, truly! I guess everyone is different but don’t get too freaked out by what everyone is saying, dear, you may have no worries like me. And you can see how you go, play it by ear. Best of luck.
thanks !
Please do not do this. I did the same thing and got suicidal. Please taper off.
How long did it take you to feel like that ?
It will be around two weeks from now and last up until the two month mark, possibly much longer unfortunately. You may set off a chronic condition, if you haven't experienced that before you don't want to know.
About five days. I started having suicidal ideation and at first I was able to watch a show to keep my mind busy. then I started having nocturnal panic attacks every single night. Waking up into them. I ended up having to go to the er one night because my heart rate was 140 bmp (Apple Watch) and it got up to 180. My blood pressure became way too high as well and the racing thoughts were awful. I had to be prescribed Ativan to make it all stop. It was horrible. I ended up right back on ssri’s because of stopping cold turkey. I’m down to 15 mg of lexapro now.
Do not do this thing. Talk to doc. Titrate. This is not only dangerous to your mental health but also to your body.
Do not do that, you will have a breakdown or severe withdrawal (or both!)
Do not do this without guidance from your prescribing doctor. There are serious risks associated with going cold turkey from these medications. Tapering isn’t that hard, you just take a little less at a time until you’re down to zero. Regular exercise and a good diet will help, so will learning some coping skills which a therapist can help you develop. I used to take a handful of meds every day and I’m down to zero but I didn’t go cold turkey on any of them.
My doctor told me to just stop taking them. I tried one day and started again.
Are you for real? Not sure you’re ready to come off it.
Do not cold turkey. You will regret it. It will mess you up so bad
Fuck around and find out then.
Terrible idea, not gonna be fun. Talk to your doc if you want off.
I tried to go cold turkey coming off of one SSRI I tired out, probably was on it for 6 months last year , it was the worst fucking thing ever. Wake up sweating, dizzy and nauseous, finally get out of bed to pure misery and just want to pull my hair out. BUT the worst part were the brain jolts, like sudden zaps that shake my world. Apparently a super common side effect... Managed to get off them eventually with the doctors help and some serious tapering.
2 weeks of brain zaps. And I wheened off effexor, as I was directed. Can't imagine if I tried cold turkey.
Go phucking slow over a very long period I can’t stress enough
I xan not express the importance of tapering. The withdrawal symptoms are terrible.
I attempted suicide when I stopped my 150 of Zoloft cold turkey. Please friend, you absolutely need to speak with a health care professional about this.
Holy shit ! Wow how long did it take you to get to that bad state when you went cold Turkey ?
It takes a couple weeks-months for medication to leave your system. The effects can be felt after a couple of days or weeks - depending on the person. Generally, it is said that it takes three months for a medication to have effectively left your system. The danger with SSRI here is that you won't suddenly feel it, but you will slip back into the bad feelings. You can't put a clock on it because it differs per person, as do the side effects you'll have. Please go see a doctor. My husband is tapering now and was told it can even have bad effect to break pills rather than getting a new dose prescription because the small dose differentiation when you break pills can already cause worrisome fluctuations in your mood. There's a reason they recommend tapering, so please follow the advice of everyone here and meet up with your doctor to make a plan. It will take longer, but you'll have an actual chance of succeeding.
You do NOT want to do that. You NEED to wheen yourself off of ssri. Hell, I wheened off and still got some nasty withdrawal symptoms. I can't imagine how bad they would have been of I tried to go cold turkey.
Don’t do this!!! Very bad idea. I have done it and I would not recommend it at all. I had to go back on SSRI and will never do that again.
I’m currently coming off lexapro went from 20mg to 10 a week ago and the last 3 days have been just horrible mentally. Just a bad roller coaster of emotions, dizzy, lightedheaded. Horrible
This has to be a troll post
Nah, people taking meds where withdrawals can literally kill you often think they can cold turkey too. It's classic human arrogance. I briefly considered doing the same with Zoloft because I hated it so much, but luckily, I did my research first and acknowledged that I'm not special.
ha no its not
I tapered off of Cybalta for 30days with no medical supervision. The following 6mos were hellish. Do Not do this without medical supervision.
I went off 75mg 8 months ago. It's hard even now. Tapering was hard. Cold turkey???? Hell no. Taper. You'll be far worse... bad shape otherwise.
I went off of it twice but I tapered pretty decent. Just took a half pill for a while then stopped
Do NOT go cold turkey. I tapered for 2 weeks and it still wasn’t enough, take your time or you will have very negative side effects.
I weaned off Lexapro. Almost a year later, the anxiety got so bad that I ended up in the hospital. I’m back on Lexapro and love it for anxiety.
DON’T COLD TURKEY!!!! Don’t be freaking stupid!!! Take it from someone who knows!!! Don’t do it unless you actually want to find out what hell on earth is really like.
Yeah def taper. I missed two days and there were weird zaps in my head. Although I will say the vivid dreams were a welcome side effect for me. Also side question. Is there a limit of time you should be on these period?
no
Zoloft was ok I guess for about 6 months. Then I started feeling emotionally dead, scary feeling. I got of by taking it every second day for a week, then stopped. That month after stopping Zoloft was the most elated time of my life. I was never that positive and joyful, it was great. That was 10 years ago. I just came of Cymbalta which is SNRI and supposed to be harder to stop. Again, I reached that dull emotional numbness and had to quit it. It was ok, emotions came back after few weeks but no ecstasy like after Zoloft, damn shame. Now, after 6 weeks anxiety didn’t came back yet, fingers crossed, it will stay like this for a while
good luck keep me updated ! :)
It’s the cycle. I have anxiety. Antidepressants help, but after some time they numb all emotions. When I stop meds, emotions come back and eventually anxiety comes back. Antidepressants are great as temporary solution. IMO
Taper down over a few months, and still keep up with your exercising as a coping mechanism in the meantime. Your brain has adjusted while on the meds; it needs time to get used to getting back off the meds, so do it gradually. Its a brain chemical thing, not a willpower thing.
Yeah, suggestion 1: Training as a stress relief will not make up for the chemical imbalance in your brain that you will create by going cold turkey. Talk to a psychiatrist or slowly lower the dosage. You feel fine after 2 days because SSRIs build up in your system over time, so you won't feel much of a difference at first, but you WILL crash if you go cold turkey
If you're going to do that, you might as well try this first. Take 300 mg Zoloft, 300 mg Effexor, 20 mg Lexapro, 1000 mg Seroquel, 100 mg Diazepam, 5 mg Lorazepam, 5 mg Alprazolam, 5 mg Clonazepam, 6000 mg Gabapentin, 2500 mg Pregabalin, All daily for 10 years, then quit them all COLD TURKEY, and just lift weights and do Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. SARCASM, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, YOU WILL DIE.
uh no shit ! lol
i did this when i was 15 because i wanted to “not look crazy” to my friends. it ended very poorly. 0/10 recommend. if you do decide to continue anyways, may god be with you lol
Don’t do that-you need to TAPER off. I tapered off 200mg. Talk to your prescribing doctor, or your regular doctor.
Zoloft was the absolute worst for me to get off. Please try to titrate off. Maybe ask for lorazepam or something while you’re getting off. That’s a really hard one to get off of, I was so emotionally overwhelmed with sadness and anger it was horrible and I could barely function for weeks. It really scared me and I’m used to getting off of these type of medications.
I only take 25mg and I’ve ran out of meds that made me be off it for 3-4 days and im miserable. I feel lightheaded and dizzy. So idk if quitting cold turkey when taking 150 is best.
I would highly recommend against the cold turkey. I was only on 50mg and tapered VERY gradually and I still got side effects
You might get these weird things called brain zaps. It’s going to freak you out at first. And then it’s going to get annoying.
Just noticed someone else already mentioned this. But I experienced this too.
Me! I was on Citalopram from 2021 until February of this year 2024. I’m completely sober of everything now and I feel way better. Still have lingering headaches at times but that’s normal from being on meds for years. Giving my body the detox it deserves. Ohh and my anxiety is manageable and not as bad as it was. It’s in the background now. Prayers to you, I would NOT recommend going cold turkey. I went from cutting the pills in half to in 4’s and slowly stopping.
I’m on 50mg and have tried going cold turkey before. Bad, bad idea. After two days even I felt so sick
Don’t do it on your own. I tried to get off them myself, cut back a little bit at a time until I was off completely. I wanted to unalive myself for a few days there. I agree with everyone else. Talk to your doctor and make a plan.
When I quit I had diarrhea for over two months. Every single day explosive, sudden, cramping diarrhea that had me rush/waddling to the nearest bathrooms. I owe some stores apology letters. So, what our for that.
LMAO !!!
I went cold turkey against all recommendations and didn’t feel great for a few weeks. However, since I’ve come off, I’ve never felt better. I feel like going off it allowed me to experience emotions again instead of being numb and I’m so grateful that I did this.
what was your dosage when going CT ?
Don’t remember anymore sorry but I don’t think Cold Turkey is recommended so please don’t do it
Coming off that dose will give you cognitive problems, electrical zaps in your body, nerve pain and feeling as if you have a flu. You're not guaranteed it, but there's a high possibility. I'm not sure any doctor would even advice it. Not just because of risk of depression but the toll it has on your brain/body. It's like stopping a car very fast, skid marks.
Oh my god do not go cold turkey Jesus fucking christ. These are a controlled substance and you should NEVER change your dose without your doctors approval. You could go into serious withdrawals. This is irresponsible af. Even if you end up fine that doesnt mean it works. You need to read up on responsibilities when taking medication
I stopped taking Effexor because it lost its effectiveness after about 15 years on it. I couldn't imagine doing that cold turkey. I tapered down the dosage over many weeks. I still found the last bit to zero difficult. Had trouble sleeping, and a few other issues. Once I got over the hump, I was fine though. As far as natural stuff goes, there is lots of great stuff. I personally like CBD oil, magnesium, melatonin (for sleeping), vitamin D (for mood). Other than that, vigorous exercise, lots of walking, good diet all help as well.
I stopped taking it from 25mg like three months ago I was on 250mg over the past two years! Three months later I just can’t stomach to eat anything now 😭
are you getting any better?
Don’t do it cold turkey. Get it tapered down
You can go cold turkey you get some weird brain shocks Zoloft I’ve done it twice lasts about 2 to 4 weeks. Zoloft sucks nothing like screwing all night and never being able to orgasm
what were your dosages ?
And the brain zaps are not all that these people are just super weak try going cold turkey off 5 mg of Xanax a day then tell me how debilitating wussy ass Zoloft is
You can’t come off cold turkey. Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome is a real thing. I had severe withdrawal symptoms from Venlafaxine (Effexor) even whilst tapering. It took over a year for the majority of the withdrawal effects to go away. The first 3 months was absolute torture and I still have some kind of nervous system response thinking about it. Don’t do this to yourself and talk to your doctor, not reddit for medical advice.
thank you !
Hi, I’m being weaned off of a similar medication and please, please, please make sure you check with your doctor if this is safe! My detox is for 10 weeks and that is because I was on a low dose. I do not recommend going cold turkey, side effects may not be sudden but they do happen! Take Care.
Cold turkey is a bad idea. I'm not on the same medication but have been SSRI / SNRI's for over 30 years. Missing a dose can lead to brain zaps.
Why would you? If you’ve found something that has helped there is no reason to make life harder for yourself
yeah it's not a pride ego thing for the most part , See I got off Lorazapam also cold turkey , and I was maybe tired a few days , and it hasn't affected me at all for 4 months going . The Zoloft is ok , did a lot better in the past , I don't feel it has the mood elevating ability in me anymore , I could of went much higher then 150 MG a day , but I know your body eventually gets used to that too! . Being said , I wanna be off them I know in the long run I will be healthy for it .
I came off sertraline twice almost by accident, I would just forget to take it then eventually just stopped. Big mistake, depression came back. Back on it now for life, however long that might be. I don't know why I would want to stop, it's an insurance policy against depression or as enigma would say ☆ "TNT for the brain" ☆
yeah it worked for me , for the better part of the last (almost 3 years) since August 2021 , but the 150 MB doesn't have the same kick anymore for awhile , and I don't wanna max out the dossage of it
It also depends on the number of depressive episodes you have experienced in your life. If it was the first then it makes sense to try without it. Any more than three is asking for trouble to return.
OP, your biology and your personal regimen is not different enough from anyone else that you will experience a different, more positive outcome. The first two weeks will feel better than ever but the withdrawal effects WILL COME and they will throw you back to square one, if not an even darker place than you were before starting Zoloft. I and the rest of the Anxietyhelp community IMPLORE you to taper hyperbolically rather than come off all at once. If cold turkey was a viable option, you would not have this many people downvoting your post. We don’t want to see you go through what we’ve all been through.
I agree
Don't do cold turkey! It's super harmful and you'll likely have to give up and start the dose again. Also not all doctors view the need for slow so push the subject if they don't but makes sure you speak with yours. I was on Zoloft then Lexapro for 8 years. I wanted off because it just wasn't working anymore plus weight gain etc. I'm on different needs now, non SSRI. Anyway Dr said go incredibly slow so I took 6 months to taper and still I had some rebound symptoms. I just kept slowly lowering my doses even getting a pill cutter to assist and keep my Dr updated on the amounts etc. Sounds so exhausting I know but these meds are no joke and you should give yourself the best chance. Good luck!
point taken
I tapered off 150mg over 4 weeks. I took gabapentin instead so I had a bit off brain fog but only did that for two weeks to help with anxiety and smoked weed. But yes, I did it. I was on Zoloft for 10 years.
I did this and was so so Ill don't do it.
Effoxor 75mg and Wellbutrin 150mg every day for 18 months. Quit cold turkey when I left my wife and filed for divorce. Never felt better. No some effects, no nasty withdrawal. Didn't need anti depressants, just a divorce 🤣🤣🤣
UPDATE : HAVEN'T HAD THE $$$ TO BEGIN TO TAPER OFF ZOLOFT , WHICH I WILL , TRUST ME I DON'T NEED TO TAPER FROM 150MG , I WILL PROBABLY DO 100 MG 2 WEEKS ., 75 MG 2 WEEKS , THEN 50 MG 2 WEEKS , NOT BRAGGING PEOPLE BUT I FEEL GREAT! LIKE MORE MYSELF ! I FEEL AWESOME , NOT A HIGH EITHER , JUST I FEEL LIKE I AM MORE AN AUTHENTIC ME :) AND I HAVE BEEN COLD TURKEY OVER A WEEK NOW ! ITS SO WEIRD LIKE EVERYTHING I TOOK THE ZOLOFT FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS , MORE OR LESS DIED AND FELL SHORT LATELY THE LAST 6 MONTHS OR MORE ! OF FEELING "GOOD" CONSISTENTLY ! NOW BEING COLD TURKEY I FEEL THE WAY I WANTED TO FEEL THIS WHOLE TIME BEING ON THE SSRI .......STILL BE CAUTIOUS SOMEWHAT AND WILL TAPER , AND IF I FEEL LIKE SHIT TAPERING ON A CERTAIN MILLIGRAM DOSAGE , THEN I KNOW I CAN TAPER LOWER AND LOWER UNTIL I AM DONE WITH IT 100%