zoloft withdrawal

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I just wanted to say hi and give a little information about myself. I

have been on zoloft for about 9 years now. I started at 50 mg and am

now up to 200mg. I tried getting off cold turkey about 4 years ago and

it was a disaster. I thought it was because I was a mental basket case

but it was because of the withdrawal. I did not have access to the

computer so i did not know this was a normal reaction and I got scared

and went back on and the doc even prescribed a higher does. so I am

starting to wean myself off of this stuff. I have started four days

ago October 22 at 175 mg from 200mg. I want to go two week slike this

and then go to 150mg for two weeks and then 100 for two weeks and so on

and so on. Does this sound reasonable or not? I am just so glad there

are people out there like me and i am not a crazy bird after all!!

Thank you

Ginger

[Guest guest]

Dear Ginger,

Welcome to the group!

You said:

<<I just wanted to say hi and give a little information about myself. I

> have been on zoloft for about 9 years now. I started at 50 mg and am

> now up to 200mg. I tried getting off cold turkey about 4 years ago and

> it was a disaster. I thought it was because I was a mental basket case

> but it was because of the withdrawal. I did not have access to the

> computer so i did not know this was a normal reaction and I got scared

> and went back on and the doc even prescribed a higher dose so I am

> starting to wean myself off of this stuff. I have started four days

> ago October 22 at 175 mg from 200mg. I want to go two weeks like this

> and then go to 150mg for two weeks and then 100 for two weeks and so on

> and so on. Does this sound reasonable or not? >>

** Well, you kind of have the right idea. All it needs is a little

tweaking. The first decrease in the amount you chose is usually not

too difficult; however, if you keep going at that rate, you'll be

reminded of when you did the cold turkey withdrawal.

First, it makes much more sense make the time in between decreases

dependent on how you feel as opposed to arbitrarily enforcing a time

frame on it. Your body will tell you when it is stable enough for the

next decrease.

Next, the amount you're looking at decreasing is ambitious, to say

the least. Actually, you'll be really sick if you do decreases of

this size.

The best way I've found that allows a person to function and

doesn't prolong the misery is to make the decreases between 5-10% of

the dose you are taking at the time. At first, 10% won't be bad. As

you get down lower you may need to bump it down to 5%. THis sounds

slow but this gives your brain and body time to adapt to being without

the drug. Trying to be tough to get off the drug quicker results in a

prolonged withdrawal with damage to the cholinergic nervous system and

other parts of the brain for most people. Many end up suffering for

years while some end up disabled. I'm not exaggerating when I say

this.

You see, there is a concept called " allostatic load " . This is the

sum of the wear and tear on the body from repeated stress (all kinds

of stress, not just psychological) or dysregulation of the mediators

of stress -- the hormones that drive the HPA axis.

Zoloft and other psychotropic drugs put constant stress on your body

by altering the normal functioning of hormones/neurotransmitters. When

you try to suddenly stop taking one of these drugs, it stresses the

system causing further dysregulation. This is what people who are in

withdrawal are experiencing. The system has broken down under the

stress and needs care in order to rebalance itself.

Tonight I read a great analogy on this. It compared the effects of

one of these drugs to the effects a storm like a hurricane has on a

house. Walls can fall down, thev roof can blow off, windows can be

broken.

In order to mend the house, you need building materials. Well, you

need building materials to mend your body.

The " building materials " a body requires are nutrients. This is

what drives every action and reaction in your body.

Neurotransmitters, the ones you are told are in too littel supply and

that's why you are depressed, are created by the nutrients you put in

your body. The cause of depression for most people is poor dietary

habits, hectic schedules, unhappy marriages, difficulties with

children, too little sleep, poor problem solving skills, and an

unwillingness to respond to the terms of life. All of these together

creates a high allostatic load. The mitigator would be the proper

nutrients, but without them, the system begins over-responding. This

is when most people get an antidepressant.

The drug is the final blow for many people. The first sign is

weight gain. This is indicating a hormonal dysregulation of the HPA

axis. The body is pumping out glucocorticoids in response to the

stressors (the drug). The drug keeps a constant stream of cortisol

and glucocorticoids running in the body. When a person abruptly or

too quickly stops a drug, the body does the same thing a computer hard

drive will do when on overload -- it crashes.

By going slowly at 5-10% decreases, you can minimize or eliminate

this crash. It is this crash that is so difficult to recover from and

renders people disabled.

When you joined you received a number of documents. One of them is

titled Basic Healing Protocol. Please read it. If you deleted it,

this, and other documents that will help you are in our files located

at:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Withdrawal_and_Recovery/files/

(you need to be signed into Yahoo Groups to access this)

You can also look at a post from last week that details a basic

healing protocol. It is post #18287. It contains general suggestions.

It gives you a good start.

You said:

<< I am just so glad there

are people out there like me and i am not a crazy bird after all!!>>

** Heck, they're all crazy, too! ;-)

After you read the Basic Healing Protocol and the documents

suggested in post #18287, feel free to post questions.

In closing, just clarify, I wouldn't drop more than 10% for the next decrease.

--

Regards,

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group Ginger, we are all crazy!! But coming to this

group was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I not only

got off the drugs safely, but I am still learning how to live

life.......its refreshing to be among people who understand and people

who care.

With Love

[Guest guest]

Welcome Ginger, Nope you definately aren't crazy! The idea that withdrawal symptoms are a sign of mental illness returning is one of the biggest lies told by doctors. I'm so glad you caught on to the truth. Welcome to the list.

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