On Zoloft for 4 days stopped cold turkey...help!?!


Question: I've been taking 25mg of zoloft for 4 days and felt I couldn't handle the side effects anymore. With my doctors ok I stopped taking them comopletely. There's not much weaning you can do after 4 days on the lowest dose. Anyway I feel worse than I did while I was on the zoloft, and its only day one. I feel really panicky, will this subside? Has anyone done this after a short time on a low dose?

Also I have two small kids and my doctors put me on birth control, instead I guess, to help regulate my hormones possibly.


Answers: I've been taking 25mg of zoloft for 4 days and felt I couldn't handle the side effects anymore. With my doctors ok I stopped taking them comopletely. There's not much weaning you can do after 4 days on the lowest dose. Anyway I feel worse than I did while I was on the zoloft, and its only day one. I feel really panicky, will this subside? Has anyone done this after a short time on a low dose?

Also I have two small kids and my doctors put me on birth control, instead I guess, to help regulate my hormones possibly.

It can give a severe upset to the system for those who experience major reactions, and therefore it can take a little while for it to settle down again. Anxiety and panic would not be considered unusual - if you wish to read how others have been effected after a small level of exposure, then you will find similar experiences documented at the 'Ask a Patient' site, I've linked it below, and have ranked the page by 'Time taken' so go to the bottom of the page and read upwards, to find those who had severe reactions after short exposure.

To give you a sense of possible reactions, here is one you will find there detailing the effects of a 2 day exposure:

"I know Zoloft supposedly works for some people, but for me it was like poison. I only took it for two days (25mg) at bedtime. Both nights, I woke up soaked with sweat and in the middle of a panic attack (we called 911 the second night); felt like I was dying. Had weird thoughts running through my head (suicidal ideation?)... Tremors, nausea, joint and muscle pain, mild hallucinations, panic attacks, weakness, extreme anxiety, night sweats, chills, insomnia, diminished appetite."

Each day you are off of Zoloft the amount in your blood stream decreases 50%. So, after 2 days there should not be any left in your system and you should not be feeling any effects of the medicine. I was taking 200 mg of zoloft for one month and quit cold turkey and had no side effects at all. I guess it just depends on the person, but I would say that it should not take long to see the effects disappear.

What were you side effects? I have been on Zoloft before, slow increase not working, weaned off. My side effects were 2 things :Not helping and weight gain. Call the doctor again and explain what is going on.

well i was on zoloft and yes they do make you feel sick for the forst week or two and you would be feeling worse cause the medication started correcting your chemical balance and cause you stopped sometimes can feel like it is worse when you stop taking them... but if you need then please take them or find ways of dealing with issue's,,,,,,water is great for assisting with depression medication as the brain funtions mostly with water

It will subside. Just hang in there.

Well - I'm surprised the Dr started you on such a high dose - I think you should of cut it in half - those are normal side effects of anti deppresants - I recently started celexa for anxiety - I have the same effects but not bothering me to much. ask your dr about going slower by starting them and increase as your body starts getting use to it.

Sounds like the wrong medication. You need to continue to try a new one that will help with whatever issue you need this medicine for. Some of these so-called "anti-depressants" are actually different from one another.

I take Cymbalta and it has really done wonders for me, along with Klonopin for panic disorder and anxiety issues. They work hand in hand with one another. It does sound like you need something to help take the edge off your nerves too.

I went through withdrawals in 2006 from Effexor when I was pregnant and it was horrible. When you get off of them, there is a certain way you have to wean your body off of these medications.

And the doctor says these aren't addictive! Yeah Right.

I hope this helps encourage you. If you don't feel better after the next visit, see a professional psychiatrist (if that isn't who you are seeing right now) who is licensed in this field and can give you the correct dosages and medications that you need.

How much of the drug is left in your system is not the only thing that will determine how long the side effects last. It will have had an impact on the neurotransmitters in your brain and that effect may take longer to go away than the Zoloft (even after only 4 days on it). It will subside but maybe try another antidepressant or antianxiety treatment. Not all of them will make you feel like that.

I've been taking 200mg/day of Zoloft (I know, its crazy high)for at least 2-3 yrs. I experienced the same side effects at first when my dr. was gradually increasing the dose, but after 2 weeks or so, they declined. And now I feel great. It works wonders for me. Tell your doctor and a supportive family member about the "rebound effects" your experiencing ASAP. Good Luck!





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