Zoloft - Lowering Daily Dose - Side Effects?

I was on a very low dose for 6 months when our son was 1 1/2 yrs old.
I don't remember any issues.
I followed doctors instructions for tapering off but I didn't have any re-occurrence of the anxiety (and trying to be super mom - I had my days planned in 15 min increments from 4am to 10pm at night).
When I stopped taking it - I felt good enough that it didn't seem like there was any change when I was off it.
If you are having issues, maybe you're not ready to taper off yet.
Talk to your doctor and be honest with him about what you are feeling.
There is no time table.
You don't have to be off it in 4 to 6 months.
There's no shame in staying on the drug if it's helping you.
Talk to your doctor and see what he has to say.

If your symptoms are coming back, call your doctor. No shame in taking meds if it's helping you to take care of YOU.

Taking Zoloft doesn't mean you'll never feel low. One low day doesn't necessarily mean you need to go back to the higher dose. Perhaps you're paying too much attention to how you feel. I suggest waiting a few more weeks on this dose to see how you feel overall.

At the same time I suggest your noticing this change in how you feel could be an indication you're not ready to wean off. Your noticing is indicative of anxiety, one of the reasons for taking Zoloft.

I urge you to get help with dosing from someone specifically trained in medication. I've been seeing a nurse practitioner whose entire practice is monitoring and adjusting drugs. Did your doctor explore with you your reasons for reducing your dose, what to expect and how to manage those symptoms without Zoloft? If not, I urge you to find a specialist.

If you haven't been doing talk therapy along with Zoloft you are more likely to need to continue with Zoloft. The conditions you mention are influenced not only by chemistry but also by the way one thinks and lives.

Have you explored how you became depressed/anxious including a family
history for it? There can be a genetic component. My family has a history of depression. I have been on medication off and on for 30 years or so. I have had the most success with being on it or off it while seeing a mental health professional. My way of thinking has dramatically changed over the years. I became an outgoing positive thinking person who is happy with her life; able to make choices that increase my confidence and lessen my anxiety even without medication. When I notice that old cloud descending and counseling doesn't lift it I get back on medication.

Later: As to insurance. Taking antidepressants is considered routine. Even if you are diagnosed with a mental illness your insurance will continue to cover you. Each insurance plan has a formulary list of medications that specify what drugs they cover at what percentage. I have taken Abilify which was not on their list of drugs to cover. Even then I only had to pay thewwholesale price which was expensive.

Yep - I agree no time table. I also have taken zoloft for rumination thoughts and OCD. The 10 day period is about right for you to have successfully titrated off of it to the new lower level. Th catch with medication is that it isn't a cure. While you are still on zoloft I would suggest you go see someone who can help you with the PPD, behaviors and triggers so that you have some tools when the meds are reduced.........

It's nice that you think reading a book will change your brain chemistry. Honestly, if you were diabetic and needed to take insulin for the rest of your life would you tell the doc you wanted to lower the dose then go read a book?

Of course not, or at least I sincerely hope not.

Why do you want to go off the meds? That's very typical of people who can't accept they need to take them. Have you seen people who live on the streets that are a bit nuts? Those who have mental illness but decided to stop the meds because they honestly thought the meds were hurting them? They don't think they need meds either.

If you take a med and it fixes your depression then you need to take it.

I apologize for not having sympathy or telling you what you want to hear, you have a brain chemistry imbalance. If you want to be well and healthy then take your meds and be happy and have a good life.

OR

Stop taking your meds and be mentally ill forever. You can try stopping the antidepressants but if you have a seratonin issue you'll just go straight back to the way you were before.

Know why? You feel better while taking the medication to fix you. So you think you can stop taking the meds and feel the same. It doesn't work like that. You feel the exact same way you did before you ever took anything.

Therapy won't fix a chemical issue. Books won't do anything for you if you don't read the right ones, the ones that say "Hey, you have depression, take your meds and let's live life to the fullest".

I'm sorry for what you are going through. I suffered with clinical depression for many years, tried 2 medications, did therapy, etc.

I think people's reactions to antidepressants are very individual, both in terms of the chosen med and the dosage. I don't think you can always transfer info from one person to another, so take people's specifics with a grain of salt. So what happens to you on Zoloft might be more similar to what happened to another person on Paxil or Celexa but totally unlike a third person on Zoloft.

I had some PPD but my depression predated that. I did not have any OCD.

The first time I went off, I did it too quickly. It took a while for the symptoms to return, but when they did it was pretty rough. So I went back on and worked with my doctor to change the way I weaned off it. I didn't cut back so much, and when I did, we did a reduced dosage every other day, then every third day, etc. If what you did this time didn't work, you might talk to your doctor about doing that. So, for example, you might do .75 mg 2 days, then .5 the 3rd day, then back to .75 for 2 days, then .5….. After a while (TBD by the doctor and you), you'd cut to alternate days. I'm not telling you exactly what to do - just suggesting a possible middle road between the 2 dosages that you can discuss and brainstorm.

I think it also matters WHY you want to get off, and why you have a particular timetable such as getting down to .25 and off entirely within 6 months. I think you should be flexible about that just in case your body doesn't respond exactly on that schedule. You have multiple issues and a couple of ways in which this imbalance affects you, so your schedule may be different than mine was.

I got some benefit from therapy but that was far from the whole story. I definitely had a chemical imbalance, and while the meds helped a lot with the "lows", they also took away any "highs" so I was tired of feeling "flat". I didn't like the idea of taking meds because they weren't addressing the cause, only the symptom, and they caused some other problems. I changed a lot of things though, including nutrition and exercise. I got SOME benefit from dietary changes, some boost from increased exercise when I had the energy, but I got the most benefit from using some food-based supplements and a lot of help from a network of people who did the same. The support was great. Eventually I reestablished that balance, and in the process I was able to exercise more, which provided other benefits in my mood and energy. But healing and detoxing and getting the balance back after decades of it being out of whack wasn't going to happen overnight. After I got all those ducks in a row, I was able to wean off the medications entirely, and I've been medication-free for a few years. My symptoms have not returned but when I've had a bit of an "off" day, I'm able to address it with my regimen and not with medication.

So definitely use as many avenues of support as you can, and try to be gentle with yourself. If it takes longer than 3 months to get to .25, don't beat yourself up about it. You have to look long term. This is not a recent problem for you, so it's not going to right itself in a short period of time. Try to look at small steps of progress and not be derailed or discouraged if you do it too fast and have to slow up a bit. That doesn't mean you're failing!

some people are wired for this, and need medication for life.
but for others it's situational (even if we can't ever pinpoint the situation.) i applaud you for your desire to lower and even go med-free. it's not a given that this is analogous to diabetes. many many people can and do move through mental and emotional issues and become med-free and healthy.
but of course, being med-free and healthy DOES involve days that are crappy, and learning to cope with natural highs and lows is part of the process.
i think it's telling that your fears are popping up on the very first day you lower your dose. this could be a sign that you're not ready, but it could also be due to anticipation and worry that this will happen. i'd let it ride for a few days, and stay in close touch with your doctor.
good luck on your quest! i'm rooting for you.
khairete
S.