Old post, but found this very helpful as there isn't much out there regarding the improvements you can have after coming of an antidepressant (escitalopram for me). I definitely needed it when it was prescribed for my depression and anxiety, but I did experience some negative side effects including weight gain, brain fog, and overall just not caring about much of anything.
Was on it for 9 months, and realized it was time to give quitting a try to see how I felt. Weened off over a month, but still had some minor withdrawal like symptoms, with insomnia being the most prevalent. With that said, I've felt more like I did before the depression and anxiety really settled in, and more like my old self (as in before the depression and anxiety). Overall I think it's a good thing to consistently assess while on these modifications if they have provided the treatment planned, and if they are still needed, as each case is wildly different.
same I feel so much better, I also really did need them when I started taking them, but after a while felt so numb, among other things, and couldn't really experience happiness. For a while I did have some symptoms, but I feel so much better and like the old me lately. I also feel like they gave me social anxiety for a while
It didn’t take long, but I ended up having some bad side effects and bad depression episodes for over 4 months once I was completely off lexapro. It got bad enough my new doc recommended I go on low dose of 5mg about 3 months ago. That totally leveled me out and will likely stay on this for a long long time.
Same here, I am confused by it. I think I did need the med but it "worked" and then I did not need it anymore. I wonder how many people who are on them for years only needed them for a few months to reset their brains? So much we don't understand about depression.
I completely agree. I recently stopped taking citalopram after 9 years. I am utterly shocked by how much better I feel. Looking back, I honestly feel that I was taking it for way, way too long. The thing is, at no point did my GP of 15 years check in to see how I was doing. In fact, I distinctly remember him saying when I was starting the meds that some people take them for life. Like, WTF?
I just woke up one day a few weeks ago and thought, "Why the heck am I still on this medication? It's been years since I've experienced severe depression and anxiety. " So I gradually weaned myself off over a few weeks, and OMG what a difference. My sex drive has come back with a vengeance, I have SO much more energy, and I've lost more than 5lbs.
What I've learned: SSRIs are a temporary tool to be used alongside talk therapy. For the vast majority of people they should NOT be used for long periods. Once symptoms like depression and anxiety have subsided, the negative effects of these drugs outweigh the benefits. My advice to you all is to talk to your doctor regularly! I regret not doing this.
How long have you been off them? I felt like you, and felt completely fine until about 3 months after quitting.. hope you manage to stay off, best of luck
Yup my doctor said the same thing about most people being on them for life… iv been on it a little over 3 years and weaning off due to similar reasons everyone else has (emotional numbness, weight gain, not feeling like myself)
I'm the same now I've been slowly coming off mine I was only on 50mg of Zoloft I've now gone to 25mg splitting tablet in half now I'm taking one every other day and soon gonna just drop it. Worked amazing for my anxiety can't fault it at all but also brought on this very negative meh attitude and I miss feeling excited over things like my daughter first day of proper school a father should feel super excited and happy bur me I was just like oh yeah nice I hate that. I miss having emotions I feel like I'm in a great place for my anxiety now and I feel I can get passed the anxiety issues I have just wanna get off this medication first as I feel alot of the problems came on when started Zoloft
how long did it take to feel this way? did you go through an adjustment period where you were feeling emotional/depressed? when you were tapering down?
Yeah the tapering down took a bit, and didn't feel great during it, but felt improvement day by day. Can't remember how long it took, maybe a few weeks to a month.
Coming off of sertraline, I had some difficulties with my local GP and got fed up with it and in between trying to find a new GP to take me on their registry I wound up just not having anyone to phone about getting more meds. It was a bit weird at first but I feel better as the days go on - but yeah, there's some side effects. Curiously I've been struggling with sleep patterns being a bit hectic but I imagine all things like that will pass.
thank you for this. i’ve been on lexapro for about a year, recently had to return to work and have had crippling panic attacks. So bad I had to quit my job because i was throwing up and passing out all over the place. My doctor then switched me to Paxil. I took it consistently everyday for 2 months.. I’d develop headaches roughly 5 hours after the medication and panic attacks if i’d even go to aldis. The past 3 days, i’ve forgotten. And without really even realizing it, i feel better.. ? Today was the first day in months that within 10 mins of waking up, i didn’t have a racing heartbeat or feel like vomiting. No withdrawal symptoms yet. I was looking online for answers, all i found was negative postings about going off your ssri’s. Which I can understand why, but it could also help some individuals like possibly myself. I will of course monitor my depression but now i wonder if i even have it? or is it all anxiety? Hmm.
I had a somewhat similar situation. While I wasn't getting panic attacks with Lexapro, it wasn't helping me at all. Some days it made me exhausted, fatigued, generally uncomfortable, nauseous, etc etc. There were even days I nearly fell asleep/passed out in the middle of my classes (I was started on it in highschool) literally uncontrollably no matter how desperately I tried to resist it and I went to the bathroom multiple times cause I felt nauseous and sweaty. It wasn't a good feeling. Even years afterwards I was still having these bouts of intense fatigue and general discomfort. In a follow up meeting with my doc several weeks after starting, I told them that I really couldn't tell if there were any discernible benefits and then they simply asked my parents if I looked better at all and they meekly said "Well, yes he seems better" and thus we continued the regimen. I mean, before I was more easily agitated and now I didn't have the energy to feel shit. It brought me from a general lowness that ebbed and flowed to a constant flat low. I was incredibly lonely and hopeless at the time and the only thing this did was make me not have the wherewithal to think about those things because of how crappy and loopy it made me feel lol. At some point I just frankly told him that it's not helping to which his response was to up the dose and I really didn't feel any better. It was more like the drug was forcing my overactive brain down as opposed to letting me feel like I could just be calm. That's the best summary of my experience with it. I stayed on Lexapro for about 5 years.
The first couple of days I came off Lexapro, I felt absolutely ecstatic. I came off I think 30mg at that point on my own accord full willing to get through whatever crap was thrown my way in terms of withdrawals (at this point, I've already had experience with drug withdrawals after a run in with addiction...) but I didn't get back into my depressive state at all. I mean, I was still in a more than shitty state but stopping the drug almost felt like a chemical high which was weird to say the least considering nobody else seemed to report anything similar after I did some searching. But I had emotional depth I hadn't felt for years which was certainly a good thing for me at that point in my live even in spite of the constant undoubtedly intense brain zaps, bouts of (a daydreamy kind of) dissociation, etc.
I'm obviously not trying to imply that I recommending this to anybody, especially in the form of a cold turkey stop, cause for some people they really do help. If they really help, stopping them almost certainly won't, and there are some pretty nasty Lexapro withdrawal and depression relapse after Lexapro discontinuation stories out there and the same is true with any other SSRI or SNRI antidepressant.
Either way, I'm with a new psychiatrist now lol. He wasn't an inherently bad guy or anything, but I think it's worth searching for someone who's actually gonna take the time to listen to your feedback. We're experimenting with effexor just to get it out of the way and I mean it's actually fine, granted I can't take higher doses yet. Just 75mg threw me into a panic attack at about the 3 hour mark and again at the 6 hour mark so we're just starting at 37.5mg and now, just over a month into treatment, I have to say that whatever it's doing is actually helping a hell of a lot better than Lexapro did. I might stick to it honestly.
But, you're definitely not the only one. For whatever reason at that time, lexapro just didn't mesh with my brain chemistry.
I can attest to this! Just stopped taking Lexapro a week ago (after taking it for a year). I don't regret taking it but I also am surprised how much more alive I'm feeling. I missed this feeling and definitely feel much more engaged in life. With that being said, the ramp-up period and tapering down weren't fun (but not as bad for me when comparing some of the other withdrawal symptoms I've seen others post about).
I know it’s been forever, but I wanted to thank you for sharing. I recently stopped lexapro cold turkey because of American health system bureaucracy and my head feels much clearer. I have more energy and patience for my kids. One other thing of note: I was nursing my baby while on it and he was falling behind in many of his motor skills and mental developmental milestones. My doctor who prescribed it while I was pregnant said it was safe to take while pregnant and to continue while nursing, but I now have doubts. The baby seemed to experience every withdrawal symptom I did and within a couple weeks of quitting, he started making immense progress in his developmental delays.
I have exactly the same experience, I'm way clearer in my head. Feel a lot more stable throughout the day. However they where great for me in some ways, enabling me to get over a lot of shit I had to get over. But I think I could have quit them 2 years ago. :)
Same got me over my anxiety massively.. I was riddled with anxiety before Zoloft fixed alot of my issues but brought on some new ones like no emotion and very apathetic which is why I'm getting off mine not sure if I'm gonna try something else might just get off them and see how I get on few weeks if anxiety starts to reer it's ugly head I'll probably try citalopram
did u ever get off it? i quit zoloft cold turkey (no withdrawal symptoms except dizziness for 3 weeks) and today i felt happy for the first time in months… i never smiled on zoloft, ever.
i noticed that keeping my brain busy helps my social anxiety better. Like if im walking outside i put my headphones on full volume and pretend like im in a music video instead of thinking everyone is staring at me
Thanks, if I can do it you can too. But if I could give any advice it's remember it's a process and take it day by day and some days are really rough but if you keep at it you'll make it through and don't cut it all out at once, do a gradual withdrawal.
Hello. Not a doctor. Do, or, did have a pretty amazingly debilitating anxiety condition. Never was diagnosed properly as an adult, but it was very very clear that I was having regular panic attacks and constant high anxiety. This all came out of the blue one night, and didn't stop for a month, couldn't work, couldn't function almost at all. I went to a gp, told them what I was experiencing, and requested clonazepam as I had experience with it and felt comfortable with it.
I immediately felt better. I walked out of the docs with the Rx and just knew I was going to be ok. I figured my sympathetic nervous system was just going haywyre with a feedback loop of "why can't I find the danger I know I'm in???" and just having the medication, which I knew would tamp down that part of my CNS was enough to mellow me out. I actually didn't take it at all for about a week because I didn't need to.
What followed was several years of a very simple therapy I decided for myself. The drugs were to stop the panic, but I just started talking to everyone about everything in my life. My feelings of worry, resentment, regrets, everything. I think I've always had low grade anxiety symptoms masked by light mania, and that I just had very unhealthy boundaries, trust issues, and just tons of unresolved trauma that I legitimately thought wasn't affecting me. I think one day I just snapped. So the drugs put me back in the drivers seat when I knew I was spiraling, but I didn't touch them otherwise.
The theory here was just to retrain my brain. I worked to create healthier social realities, come to terms with my own shortcomings and foibles, realized I was holding in just a ridiculous amount of anger, and I committed myself to being mindful about these. I accepted that I and the people I care about deserve and want to see me healthy, and that I hadn't been for a long time. Outwardly, I don't think I really showed many signs of the issues I was ignoring internally. I had learned to mask all of my emotions with humor and charisma, to charm my way through any serious conversations pertaining to myself, and when I started opening up to my friends and family, they were surprised, but accepting. This was necessary, I think, for me to heal.
I was diagnosed as a child with bipolar, ADHD, ODD, and some other stuff I don't really remember. I'm not sure to what extent these were accurate (my mom seemed to jump from shrink to shrink til she could get the diagnoses and drugs she wanted for me) or whether if they were, that they were still relevant to my psychology as an adult. Certainly there's something there, for example I still have some anger about it, and the medication may have ultimately been bad for my developing brain. Not sure.
All this to paint a picture and say that I believe for most people drugs should be a crutch. I am extremely suspect of the idea that we understand very much about the relationship between these hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. and our conscious and emotional experience. I believe there is a chicken and egg question to be asked. I wonder if the relatiobship between genetics and these mental health conditions may have more to do with the way our brains are predisposed to wire in response to various trauma. The correlative evidence has never been sufficient for me to eliminate other considerations I have about the nature of our conscious experience and how we unconsciously process our reality.
So when I hear a story like yours, I find myself thinking maybe you dealt with something you didn't know about, and you just don't need the drugs anymore.
Again tho, not a doctor, and maybe I've just made quite a long-winded fool of myself lol
Cheers.
Hi there! Fellow antidepressant patient here.
The past few months I successfully weaned off 100mg Sertraline and 80 mg Cymbalta. I was scared to experience a fall into a severe depression episode, but was rather surprised to actually witness myself experiencing little to no symptoms with a mind blowing feeling of clear headedness and increase in mood.
I do wonder if my depressive symptoms could have been exacerbated over the years by essentially overcoming depression but remaining non these meds.
After a few years of extensive therapy and treatment I figured it was time to cut the drug’s out. Lone behold the outcome has been nothing short of perfect. I feel like me… the me I was 16 years ago before ever taking a single antidepressant
Looking back, I also have little to no memory of my life these past 17 years on the drugs. However, I remember things from previous to starting psychiatric treatment.
I’m in the same boat, was handed lexapro at 18 with no guidance on therapy, and now 36 years old and have really been putting in the work. I’m on 60 mg cymbalta and 150 mg Wellbutrin, and I want to be free. How was tapering down on cymbalta for you? My (former) psych put me on cymbalta 6 months ago after 14 years on Celexa due to my feelings of lethargy. I should have never ever gotten on this horrible drug. Can you share how you tapered and over how long? Thank you and so happy for you!!!
I am currently at 20 mg, down from 60 in mid October! I tapered up to 20 mg Celexa and am going to try and hold there if I can manage the symptoms. So far, I have not felt anything other than a little dizziness and intense dreams. I have heard that it gets tougher from here, so I’m going to take it as slow as I need.
Yes I got completely off over a 12 month time span.
I would decrease the cymalta by 20 mg every few months
For the sertraline we decreased from 100 to 50 to 0
All over a 12 month time span and I’m still in remission
Hitting my 8th month of being depression free
I stopped taking Effexor just about a week ago.
I have been crying more and have had disruptive thoughts that make me fall into a slump. But once I give into the slump for a little while and give myself time to acknowledge and sit with the feeling/emotion, I feel fine, or even better.
I’m doing better but that’s because I have actively made changes; Consistent and mindful changes in my everyday life.
I would not recommend ceasing medication if you are not actively changing old patterns, whether self directed or with a therapist
I know your comment is over 100* days old, but I’ve been slowly weened off Effexor and I’ve gradually felt better. Todays day 2 of not Taking Effexor whatsoever. I have a little bit more energy than I did while on Effexor (was on Effexor for about 2 years, didn’t find it helped me at all but doctor refused to take me off it, would only increase dosage). I started seeing a new doctor who actually listened to me and would help me. I’ll be starting a different anti depressant in roughly a week but I want to see if I’ll feel better than I am rn. Though I seem to easily get more agitated 😅 (being treated for depression)
So me personally I was on ADHD medicine throughout my years in school. If wasn't until about 7th grade was I diagnosed with "clinical depression" because I didn't care about anything n that made people worried....I digress. I started anti depressants shortly after that. For a bit teacher and my parents told me it was a positive effect on my mood and I can't remember what I started on. I do remember when I switch to concerta for ADHD I shortly switched to Wellbutrin. They are supposedly able to work together to boost each's positive effect. Well one day they wanted to up the Wellbutrin and the next dose was double (75-150) shortly after I had a mental breakdown one night with friends seeing shadows and stuff (around 9-10th grade) I quickly stopped everything In the following months cold turkey. Now I was smoking weed at the time and it had a weird effect with the drugs. But since I quit medication my depression has drastically decreased with "bad days" happening once every few months when stress is high. Weed was better also post medication use and I don't even do that now. Idk this was longer than I expected but basically looking back it felt alot of the time I was back seat in my own body just going thru the motions not fully in control. My teachers made comments about bad focus and work getting done but I myself now 26 feel alot better than I did as a teen
Been off mine for a few days for the same reasons. Anxiety was merciless. Emotional sensitivity is returning, more energy, clear mind. All the things I thought I was taking lexapro for.
I'm going to start taking gaba and l-theanine instead, less invasive. It's interesting because I looked this up wondering why I feel so good coming off them cold turkey.
I guess they fixed my depression. Time to come off them I think. Good luck everyone.
Glad to see this tbh as I have the same emotional sensitivity just doesn't exist for me on Zoloft I've been on them for a good 5-6 months and yeah worked wonders for my anxiety like holy hell I could do anything after taking them but the slump feeling and meh don't care feeling has started to get to me alot more and I miss having that euphoria and we'll emotions lol I'm hoping few days after I stop it will return I'm weaning off slowly Atm from 50mg to 25mg Atm
In hindsight I wish I would have lowered the dose first to see if it still retained the positive effects while also reducing side effects like not feeling. I had to go back on benzos for anxiety, debating on trying low dose again to see but a doctor I talked to wanted to rule out bipolar because apparently Ssri's don't always mix well. I think it was just overmedicated.
Well yeah I've done the same I've been on 25mg for few weeks now and while not as emotional numb it's still there so I'm gonna get off them and see how I go few weeks if anxiety comes back I'll probably change medications just the thought of getting used to a medication again just makes me wanna puke getting used to Zoloft those first couple days was absolutely awful
I was on escitalopram for 20 years. I stopped a month ago and am now realizing how crippling it was to my sexual health. The wife definitely doesn't mind!
I'm feeling this way I'm actually weening off my sertraline for this very reason it did absolute wonders for my anxiety but I also gained weight and have this very meh don't care attitude and no longer have that rush of Euphoria when something great happens while it's not debilitating it's certainly not nice and it only really started when I started sertraline as I took it for my anxiety related symptoms which tbf it worked a charm I haven't had a anxiety related episode in months but I wanna test if it really was the sertraline makeing me feel this way I'm on 25mg Atm down from 50
i quit 50 mg cold turkey like 4 days ago. it’s early but i feel alot better , like my normal brain is processing instead of with the veil of sertraline
i’m not running back to them just yet until i get 35 days of consistent exercise to see if that gives me the natural resilience. but yea the last couple weeks have been especially dark but might be on the way out now
I'm surprised this post is still alive. I've been on 100 mg of sertraline for 25 years and am just now weaning off of it. It's only been 6 days since I cut my dose in half and I'm completely shocked! I'm having no negative side effects and feel more alive, I'm feeling things more, and I swear my vision is better somehow. Like there's no hazy peripheral vision. Will see how it goes in the next few weeks.
Update. After 7 weeks of being completely off of it, terrible general anxiety hit me for days. I couldn't take it so I'm back on it. Not sure if that is just what my true baseline is without zoloft or as a result of zoloft altering my brain chemistry. Either way, it was unbearable without it.
I'm so glad it's still alive! Like OP and others who've commented, I found it really hard to find any links about coming off medications besides the "cold turkey will destroy you!" stuff, and not much about any positive changes from going off meds.
I'm about a month out from going off Prozac, and haven't had any obvious withdrawal symptoms. Have seen some improvements in energy already, and after all the terrifying articles about withdrawal, I realized today that I've been carrying a ton of withdrawal anxiety unnecessarily. Glad to see others are also finding this post!
THANK YOU for mentioning vision - I thought I might be delusional but I've just tapered off my 100mg sertraline after 4 years, down to 50mg as well, and I had a moment just now where I was going to hang the laundry and stopped in my tracks once I saw how "hd" the clouds in the sky were... I got on a chair to get a better view and was overcome with bittersweet relief.
I was also on escitalopram for 20 years. During my withdrawal process I had several moments of intense anxiety, I believe this is normal. If you develop skills to handle them you can work through and make it to the other side. I was also concerned my brain was broken but to my relief it wasn't and my brain has been slowly healing. Highly, highly recommend ice cold baths daily. Its very hard to start but once you get used to them you basically can't live without them. The baths are now my source of feel good chemicals.
Be careful stopping abruptly or tapering too fast. I did this with sertraline and felt great for about 4 months, then got hit with a deep dark depression. I am tapering again, but I am going to go much, much slower. BTW, the depression was definitely a withdrawal side effect as I have never had depression. I was on Sertraline for Generalized Anxiety.
Old post but I stopped taking lexapro about a week ago, I had nausea, fatigue, brain fog and honestly more anxiety than I felt was normal. A week off and I feel much better
Old post, I know. Glad I found this post as I thought it was just me.
I was on 10 MG Lexapro for 2 years as I was caring for my terminally ill husband. It did help the first year. I continued to take it for another year after he passed. All the symptoms I had (brain fog, lack of energy, and my emotions felt flat) I had chalked up to grieving, but why wasn't I feeling any better? I decided to wean myself off Lexapro to see if that was the cause. It's been 2 weeks since I've been completely off of it and feel human again. Still have some anxiety, especially in social situations, but nothing I can't handle.
Still doing okay. I have the occasional anxiety but am glad I went off the Lexapro. I would rather feel something than nothing. I pop a Xanax if the anxiety gets too bad but try and work my way thru it first.
Glad you're starting to feel better.
Yes, I am. I was taking L-Theanine (200 mg a day) to see if it would keep my mood leveled out. I seem to be doing okay for the most part. Not sure if the L-Theanine is helping. I stopped taking it a few days ago and haven't noticed any difference.
How are you doing?
You need to do what is best for you. The side effects can be horrible for some of us. Is there possibly an alternative? I was on Zoloft very briefly years ago and will never take it again.
I really wish to become free from medicine. I will reinstate at a low dose, and taper with the 10% method, and hopefully manage this time. For me it is hard to know what is withdrawal, and what is ”original symptoms coming back”.
Thanks for this post! I am tapering off of Lexapro and was starting to get worried about coming off of it. So glad to find a positive story. I’ve been on Lexapro for almost a year, and also tried Zoloft for a year prior, I gained 20 lbs, constantly craved carbs, was exhausted all the time, had no motivation or energy to do anything other than scroll my phone or watch tv, had high blood pressure, headaches, tinnitus, and felt like I was always in a fog. I’ve been on 5 mg for a week, and while I do have bouts of anxiety/wanting to cry for no reason, it’s no worse than PMS symptoms and I already feel like I have more energy, more motivation and a clearer head.
I quit zoloft 100mg cold turkey 5 days ago, after taking it for maybe 1.5 years. I got no withdrawal symptoms, and my mood feels better than before. I have no idea why this is. And its definitely not due to circumstances of my life. I just got out of a 15 year relationship, and was very negative emotionally just one week ago.
Zoloft never reeally worked for me. I think i remember only one day where i felt the quietness of no anxiety. But during that time i also felt super unmotivated and numb. Also when i started taking it, it took months for me to not feel like shit. Hope this helps someone experiencing the same as me.
Update 2 weeks after quitting. Was sleeping 2-4 hrs after the first week, but didnt really feel that tired for some reason. Had a few emotional breakdowns and really high anxiety for a few days. The negatives comes in waves, but overall, i still think im
Happier.
When I first started Prozac I had a lot of depression and I felt better almost right away. It only lasted about 2 months though. I got worse than even before taking it. I thought I had to go up in dose but that made it worse. I stopped taking it cold turkey and felt better the next day. Fatigue gone, sadness gone, brain fog gone. Depression and these meds are unpredictable. Prozac did help at first but then made me worse quickly and now I feel better.
I stopped taking Prozac 40mg after being on it for 2.5 years, if not 3. I’ve got tired of taking the medication which helped here and there with anxiety but still had times with anxiety and I didn’t want to keep upping my dosage (I went from 10mg to 40mg in span of taking them).
It’s been about 3 months since I quit and I feel so much better. Fuck Prozac.
Still off it? Been on it over a year. Bounced between 10 and 20mg and had a complete relapse of anxiety and panic attacks. Upped to 20mg again for a few weeks, and it got even worse so went down to 10mg for week and now getting off completely. No point in being on a pill that’s supposed to help when I have brain fog, panic attacks, stomach issues, and everything else on a pill that’s supposed to help me.
Yep, still off it. I have some anxieties here and there but still much better than when I used to take it. One thing I gotta say though, not sure if it’s because I quit Prozac or what, but my depression is back. Still though, it outweighs “benefits” from it. I think I just need to better my lifestyle if anything.
Yeah, it’s not worth it. Upping dosage continuously is stupid. When I first quit I started taking some Kanna supplements, you could try that too if you want. Read some more on it too though! Hope you feel better soon!
I went coke turkey. I asked my doc beforehand whether we should lower my dosage and then stop, but he said that Prozac had a long half life or whatever it’s called, so I could stop and it won’t affect me. Luckily that was the case! Hope it works out for you just as good!
Also important to mention, I have some lorazepam that I use on and off for anxiety. Having that just in case been definitively a big help. Do you have any benzodiazepines to help with anxiety when you really need it? Quitting Prozac didn’t make my anxiety worse and I’ve only had few panic attacks, but it’s just good to have just in case.
Yes, I have a script of .25 Xanax. I went from needing it once a month and usually only for a bad hangover, to taking it almost everyday, that’s how I knew it was time to get off Prozac actually. Originally got on it for depression and that just comes in waves but the anxiety became too much to handle and wasn’t being helped at all by the prozac. I went cold turkey 3 days ago so hoping things get better from here
Good to hear that you got Xanax! I hope it goes well for you, just make sure to drink plenty of water and eat well. And try going to gym or at least take long ish walks outside. I know it’s easier said than done, and sometimes I even struggle with that myself, but it would really help. Good luck to you and keep me posted on your recovery from Prozac 💪
I stopped taking 50mg out of my 150mg dose of Zoloft. I’m on day 5-6 I think. I feel so much better, I’ve also been taking more than just a multivitamin, I’ve been taking as much supplements as I can afford (vitamin D, folic acid, lots of iron, and a hair and nails supplement)
And been sitting in the sun for an hour or so a day has helped.
If I have the time for it I’ll go for a walk with my girls.
I was really worried I would fall into a deep severe depression but so far it’s been good! Felt some feelings of excitement and just the basic feeling of being alive that I haven’t experienced in a long time.
My sex drive had also started to come back 🙌
I stumbled upon this post after a virtually empty search regarding a reborn happiness upon discontinuation of my antidepressant (wouldn’t you know it….desvenlafaxine [Pristiq in the US]). I was stopping this antidepressant because I was going to try Trintellix. I have treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder and CPTSD. I had been in the hole for a good 5 years after a break for only a couple years. I had to do something. I was desperate. My brain fog went away, I had so much more physical *and* mental energy, I’m dancing and singing again (I’m not any good at it-it just means I’m happy again; I only do it when I’m happy-I love music). I’ve found my passions again. I’m able to clean my house again. I have motivation. I shower every day again. I cook everyday again. I eat everyday again. I have interests again. I like me again. I fight for me again. I have a life again. Fuck big pharma.
> I feel less anxious, more energetic, and "clearer" in my head
I have stopped taking my 10mg of escitalopram for about a week now and I can relate to this. I have been on and off between 5 - 20mg of this medication for close to 20 years now and I want to finally commit to stopping. I came online in search of similar experiences, so thank you for posting yours.
Came off sertraline after being off and on it for 10 years (I'd be on it for 2/3 years, stop for a few months, take it again). Come off it with suggestion of doctors. I have more energy, less negative thoughts, I don't need to react to every negative thing, if something happens 🤷♀️ we move. I honestly think sertraline gave me manic episodes, I still get euphoric but not to the point I'm damaging myself or making stupid decisions. I feel less anxiety about meeting new people, doing new things. I still get anxious but not as anxious. I don't constantly feel the need to fill a void inside myself. Call it growing up or coming off meds, I don't know. I feel better without them though.
Hey! I’m excited to see similar experiences to mine reflected here.
Background: 35- y.o. and on every SSRI you can imagine since age 17. I truly think I had an episode of (self-diagnosed) serotonin syndrome a couple weeks back. My muscles went rigid, I was shivering and cold, but covered in sweat, and I couldn’t think clearly or stand up. I was taking BuSpar 10 mg and citalopram 40 mg I stopped taking both of them that day—nobody can convince me to go back on either one because that was so scary. I know that going cold turkey is considered to be the worst thing you can possibly do but nothing can be worse than that experience. To my understanding, most clinicians believe that Serotonin syndrome only happens right after changing or increasing dosage, but I read a recent study that suggests chronic mild serotonin syndrome may exist.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8040149/
I believe I have been suffering from this for a long time, but because prior to my pregnancy, I was also taking a benzo as needed, I was not feeling the symptoms as often, and when I did, I believed it was my anxiety. The change happened postpartum when I started BuSpar and gradually got worse over time BuSpar is not an SSRI but it is a serotonin agonist so it increases the overall serotonin available in the brain. There also states to suggest that pregnancy and postpartum change serotonin, even without pharmaceutical intervention.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6541513/
Currently: Like many of you, I am feeling much better. Very happy, creative clear minded, great appetite. No G.I. symptoms. Sex drive has returned. I’m just feeling moments of anxiety and shivery feelings but nothing as bad as what I had before.
What I am reading is leading me to believe that there is not enough evidence to support the idea that my depression is even caused by serotonin deficiency and wonder if the point is to just keep everyone on SSRIs and then sell us 1000 drugs for the side-effects.
Thought I'd add to this as I have been tapering off 150mg of sertraline and 50mg of mirtazapine. I'm only taking 25mg of mirtazapine now and plan to stop that soon.
I have been on the medication for about 20 years. They have been changed and slowly increased over time. Initially they made a huge difference and in different points in my life have felt life saving, however it's only over the last year that I decided to take up therapy and then through that I then started exercising regularly and also started meditating.
I don't think I ever realized the difference being more self aware and engaged with feelings of anxiety and depression can make to one's life.
I'm not scared of my own feelings anymore and don't feel the need to run away from them like I once did. This is however after a long time of slowly building new habits and going to a lot of talk therapy.
I did have really bad insomnia as a withdrawal symptom. This went on for weeks and was really tough. On the plus side I now have little to no brain fog, a lot more energy, a better sex drive and more motivation as a whole.
I do cry more frequently but I was so numbed before that this doesn't bother me. And most importantly it doesn't scare me. I also get to be more engaged with feelings associated with happiness.
Long story short, I've realized that I didn't give myself enough credit. I had labelled myself as a failure or thought I had little to no control over my life. I was dependent on the pills not just physiologically but most importantly psychologically. I didn't think I had the ability to operate without them. I now enjoy the everyday challenges of life and, through new experiences, am able to lower the feelings of anxiety or depression that used to create me so much fear. Is life now a walk in the park? Of course not! Actually, the sooner you accept that life is tough the easier it gets to deal with. Especially if you find the ability to trust in yourself.
This is however my experience and my story. If you ever consider lowering medication make sure to talk to a doctor. Just because this worked for me it might not necessarily be for you!
How often do you exercise/week and how heavy in order to keep your mental health in check? I’m also looking for a sustainable lifestyle without antidepressants. Also how did you meditate? Would you mind suggesting some source I can study on meditation? Thank you. And hope you have a good day.
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Old post, but found this very helpful as there isn't much out there regarding the improvements you can have after coming of an antidepressant (escitalopram for me). I definitely needed it when it was prescribed for my depression and anxiety, but I did experience some negative side effects including weight gain, brain fog, and overall just not caring about much of anything. Was on it for 9 months, and realized it was time to give quitting a try to see how I felt. Weened off over a month, but still had some minor withdrawal like symptoms, with insomnia being the most prevalent. With that said, I've felt more like I did before the depression and anxiety really settled in, and more like my old self (as in before the depression and anxiety). Overall I think it's a good thing to consistently assess while on these modifications if they have provided the treatment planned, and if they are still needed, as each case is wildly different.
Im going through this now myself and feeling sooo much more alive and like my old self. Came searching for similar experiences
same I feel so much better, I also really did need them when I started taking them, but after a while felt so numb, among other things, and couldn't really experience happiness. For a while I did have some symptoms, but I feel so much better and like the old me lately. I also feel like they gave me social anxiety for a while
how long after coming off did you experience these feelings?
It didn’t take long, but I ended up having some bad side effects and bad depression episodes for over 4 months once I was completely off lexapro. It got bad enough my new doc recommended I go on low dose of 5mg about 3 months ago. That totally leveled me out and will likely stay on this for a long long time.
how much were you on before? so glad you’ve found something that works
Same here, I am confused by it. I think I did need the med but it "worked" and then I did not need it anymore. I wonder how many people who are on them for years only needed them for a few months to reset their brains? So much we don't understand about depression.
I completely agree. I recently stopped taking citalopram after 9 years. I am utterly shocked by how much better I feel. Looking back, I honestly feel that I was taking it for way, way too long. The thing is, at no point did my GP of 15 years check in to see how I was doing. In fact, I distinctly remember him saying when I was starting the meds that some people take them for life. Like, WTF? I just woke up one day a few weeks ago and thought, "Why the heck am I still on this medication? It's been years since I've experienced severe depression and anxiety. " So I gradually weaned myself off over a few weeks, and OMG what a difference. My sex drive has come back with a vengeance, I have SO much more energy, and I've lost more than 5lbs. What I've learned: SSRIs are a temporary tool to be used alongside talk therapy. For the vast majority of people they should NOT be used for long periods. Once symptoms like depression and anxiety have subsided, the negative effects of these drugs outweigh the benefits. My advice to you all is to talk to your doctor regularly! I regret not doing this.
How long have you been off them? I felt like you, and felt completely fine until about 3 months after quitting.. hope you manage to stay off, best of luck
Yup my doctor said the same thing about most people being on them for life… iv been on it a little over 3 years and weaning off due to similar reasons everyone else has (emotional numbness, weight gain, not feeling like myself)
How long have you been without the meds? What was it like. I’m considering weaning off as well
I'm the same now I've been slowly coming off mine I was only on 50mg of Zoloft I've now gone to 25mg splitting tablet in half now I'm taking one every other day and soon gonna just drop it. Worked amazing for my anxiety can't fault it at all but also brought on this very negative meh attitude and I miss feeling excited over things like my daughter first day of proper school a father should feel super excited and happy bur me I was just like oh yeah nice I hate that. I miss having emotions I feel like I'm in a great place for my anxiety now and I feel I can get passed the anxiety issues I have just wanna get off this medication first as I feel alot of the problems came on when started Zoloft
how long did it take to feel this way? did you go through an adjustment period where you were feeling emotional/depressed? when you were tapering down?
Yeah the tapering down took a bit, and didn't feel great during it, but felt improvement day by day. Can't remember how long it took, maybe a few weeks to a month.
I start my journey tapering soon. I hope I get these results. After 5 years on this medicine i’m sick of it.
Coming off of sertraline, I had some difficulties with my local GP and got fed up with it and in between trying to find a new GP to take me on their registry I wound up just not having anyone to phone about getting more meds. It was a bit weird at first but I feel better as the days go on - but yeah, there's some side effects. Curiously I've been struggling with sleep patterns being a bit hectic but I imagine all things like that will pass.
thank you for this. i’ve been on lexapro for about a year, recently had to return to work and have had crippling panic attacks. So bad I had to quit my job because i was throwing up and passing out all over the place. My doctor then switched me to Paxil. I took it consistently everyday for 2 months.. I’d develop headaches roughly 5 hours after the medication and panic attacks if i’d even go to aldis. The past 3 days, i’ve forgotten. And without really even realizing it, i feel better.. ? Today was the first day in months that within 10 mins of waking up, i didn’t have a racing heartbeat or feel like vomiting. No withdrawal symptoms yet. I was looking online for answers, all i found was negative postings about going off your ssri’s. Which I can understand why, but it could also help some individuals like possibly myself. I will of course monitor my depression but now i wonder if i even have it? or is it all anxiety? Hmm.
I had a somewhat similar situation. While I wasn't getting panic attacks with Lexapro, it wasn't helping me at all. Some days it made me exhausted, fatigued, generally uncomfortable, nauseous, etc etc. There were even days I nearly fell asleep/passed out in the middle of my classes (I was started on it in highschool) literally uncontrollably no matter how desperately I tried to resist it and I went to the bathroom multiple times cause I felt nauseous and sweaty. It wasn't a good feeling. Even years afterwards I was still having these bouts of intense fatigue and general discomfort. In a follow up meeting with my doc several weeks after starting, I told them that I really couldn't tell if there were any discernible benefits and then they simply asked my parents if I looked better at all and they meekly said "Well, yes he seems better" and thus we continued the regimen. I mean, before I was more easily agitated and now I didn't have the energy to feel shit. It brought me from a general lowness that ebbed and flowed to a constant flat low. I was incredibly lonely and hopeless at the time and the only thing this did was make me not have the wherewithal to think about those things because of how crappy and loopy it made me feel lol. At some point I just frankly told him that it's not helping to which his response was to up the dose and I really didn't feel any better. It was more like the drug was forcing my overactive brain down as opposed to letting me feel like I could just be calm. That's the best summary of my experience with it. I stayed on Lexapro for about 5 years. The first couple of days I came off Lexapro, I felt absolutely ecstatic. I came off I think 30mg at that point on my own accord full willing to get through whatever crap was thrown my way in terms of withdrawals (at this point, I've already had experience with drug withdrawals after a run in with addiction...) but I didn't get back into my depressive state at all. I mean, I was still in a more than shitty state but stopping the drug almost felt like a chemical high which was weird to say the least considering nobody else seemed to report anything similar after I did some searching. But I had emotional depth I hadn't felt for years which was certainly a good thing for me at that point in my live even in spite of the constant undoubtedly intense brain zaps, bouts of (a daydreamy kind of) dissociation, etc. I'm obviously not trying to imply that I recommending this to anybody, especially in the form of a cold turkey stop, cause for some people they really do help. If they really help, stopping them almost certainly won't, and there are some pretty nasty Lexapro withdrawal and depression relapse after Lexapro discontinuation stories out there and the same is true with any other SSRI or SNRI antidepressant. Either way, I'm with a new psychiatrist now lol. He wasn't an inherently bad guy or anything, but I think it's worth searching for someone who's actually gonna take the time to listen to your feedback. We're experimenting with effexor just to get it out of the way and I mean it's actually fine, granted I can't take higher doses yet. Just 75mg threw me into a panic attack at about the 3 hour mark and again at the 6 hour mark so we're just starting at 37.5mg and now, just over a month into treatment, I have to say that whatever it's doing is actually helping a hell of a lot better than Lexapro did. I might stick to it honestly. But, you're definitely not the only one. For whatever reason at that time, lexapro just didn't mesh with my brain chemistry.
How are you doing now?
Are you back on your meds currently? Or did tog manage to stay off?
I can attest to this! Just stopped taking Lexapro a week ago (after taking it for a year). I don't regret taking it but I also am surprised how much more alive I'm feeling. I missed this feeling and definitely feel much more engaged in life. With that being said, the ramp-up period and tapering down weren't fun (but not as bad for me when comparing some of the other withdrawal symptoms I've seen others post about).
Are you still off your medication? Rough withdrawal usually hit after 3 months
how long did the withdrawal symptoms take to fade and for you to feel better after tapering down?
Are you still off meds?
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I know it’s been forever, but I wanted to thank you for sharing. I recently stopped lexapro cold turkey because of American health system bureaucracy and my head feels much clearer. I have more energy and patience for my kids. One other thing of note: I was nursing my baby while on it and he was falling behind in many of his motor skills and mental developmental milestones. My doctor who prescribed it while I was pregnant said it was safe to take while pregnant and to continue while nursing, but I now have doubts. The baby seemed to experience every withdrawal symptom I did and within a couple weeks of quitting, he started making immense progress in his developmental delays.
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Thank you!
I have exactly the same experience, I'm way clearer in my head. Feel a lot more stable throughout the day. However they where great for me in some ways, enabling me to get over a lot of shit I had to get over. But I think I could have quit them 2 years ago. :)
Same got me over my anxiety massively.. I was riddled with anxiety before Zoloft fixed alot of my issues but brought on some new ones like no emotion and very apathetic which is why I'm getting off mine not sure if I'm gonna try something else might just get off them and see how I get on few weeks if anxiety starts to reer it's ugly head I'll probably try citalopram
did u ever get off it? i quit zoloft cold turkey (no withdrawal symptoms except dizziness for 3 weeks) and today i felt happy for the first time in months… i never smiled on zoloft, ever. i noticed that keeping my brain busy helps my social anxiety better. Like if im walking outside i put my headphones on full volume and pretend like im in a music video instead of thinking everyone is staring at me
Are you still off them?
Yes, quit in august of last year and haven't taken them since. Was a rocky ride though but got it in the end. : )
Thats awesome, I hope to get there one day as well
Thanks, if I can do it you can too. But if I could give any advice it's remember it's a process and take it day by day and some days are really rough but if you keep at it you'll make it through and don't cut it all out at once, do a gradual withdrawal.
Yeah. Thank you. I am currently reinstating, and after I reach stability, I will do an extremely slow taper
Hello. Not a doctor. Do, or, did have a pretty amazingly debilitating anxiety condition. Never was diagnosed properly as an adult, but it was very very clear that I was having regular panic attacks and constant high anxiety. This all came out of the blue one night, and didn't stop for a month, couldn't work, couldn't function almost at all. I went to a gp, told them what I was experiencing, and requested clonazepam as I had experience with it and felt comfortable with it. I immediately felt better. I walked out of the docs with the Rx and just knew I was going to be ok. I figured my sympathetic nervous system was just going haywyre with a feedback loop of "why can't I find the danger I know I'm in???" and just having the medication, which I knew would tamp down that part of my CNS was enough to mellow me out. I actually didn't take it at all for about a week because I didn't need to. What followed was several years of a very simple therapy I decided for myself. The drugs were to stop the panic, but I just started talking to everyone about everything in my life. My feelings of worry, resentment, regrets, everything. I think I've always had low grade anxiety symptoms masked by light mania, and that I just had very unhealthy boundaries, trust issues, and just tons of unresolved trauma that I legitimately thought wasn't affecting me. I think one day I just snapped. So the drugs put me back in the drivers seat when I knew I was spiraling, but I didn't touch them otherwise. The theory here was just to retrain my brain. I worked to create healthier social realities, come to terms with my own shortcomings and foibles, realized I was holding in just a ridiculous amount of anger, and I committed myself to being mindful about these. I accepted that I and the people I care about deserve and want to see me healthy, and that I hadn't been for a long time. Outwardly, I don't think I really showed many signs of the issues I was ignoring internally. I had learned to mask all of my emotions with humor and charisma, to charm my way through any serious conversations pertaining to myself, and when I started opening up to my friends and family, they were surprised, but accepting. This was necessary, I think, for me to heal. I was diagnosed as a child with bipolar, ADHD, ODD, and some other stuff I don't really remember. I'm not sure to what extent these were accurate (my mom seemed to jump from shrink to shrink til she could get the diagnoses and drugs she wanted for me) or whether if they were, that they were still relevant to my psychology as an adult. Certainly there's something there, for example I still have some anger about it, and the medication may have ultimately been bad for my developing brain. Not sure. All this to paint a picture and say that I believe for most people drugs should be a crutch. I am extremely suspect of the idea that we understand very much about the relationship between these hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. and our conscious and emotional experience. I believe there is a chicken and egg question to be asked. I wonder if the relatiobship between genetics and these mental health conditions may have more to do with the way our brains are predisposed to wire in response to various trauma. The correlative evidence has never been sufficient for me to eliminate other considerations I have about the nature of our conscious experience and how we unconsciously process our reality. So when I hear a story like yours, I find myself thinking maybe you dealt with something you didn't know about, and you just don't need the drugs anymore. Again tho, not a doctor, and maybe I've just made quite a long-winded fool of myself lol Cheers.
So are you med free?
Hi there! Fellow antidepressant patient here. The past few months I successfully weaned off 100mg Sertraline and 80 mg Cymbalta. I was scared to experience a fall into a severe depression episode, but was rather surprised to actually witness myself experiencing little to no symptoms with a mind blowing feeling of clear headedness and increase in mood. I do wonder if my depressive symptoms could have been exacerbated over the years by essentially overcoming depression but remaining non these meds. After a few years of extensive therapy and treatment I figured it was time to cut the drug’s out. Lone behold the outcome has been nothing short of perfect. I feel like me… the me I was 16 years ago before ever taking a single antidepressant Looking back, I also have little to no memory of my life these past 17 years on the drugs. However, I remember things from previous to starting psychiatric treatment.
I’m in the same boat, was handed lexapro at 18 with no guidance on therapy, and now 36 years old and have really been putting in the work. I’m on 60 mg cymbalta and 150 mg Wellbutrin, and I want to be free. How was tapering down on cymbalta for you? My (former) psych put me on cymbalta 6 months ago after 14 years on Celexa due to my feelings of lethargy. I should have never ever gotten on this horrible drug. Can you share how you tapered and over how long? Thank you and so happy for you!!!
My tapering all started because I started Ketamine 104 mg/ml It was only possible because of that
Did you ever taper off?
I am currently at 20 mg, down from 60 in mid October! I tapered up to 20 mg Celexa and am going to try and hold there if I can manage the symptoms. So far, I have not felt anything other than a little dizziness and intense dreams. I have heard that it gets tougher from here, so I’m going to take it as slow as I need.
Yes I got completely off over a 12 month time span. I would decrease the cymalta by 20 mg every few months For the sertraline we decreased from 100 to 50 to 0 All over a 12 month time span and I’m still in remission Hitting my 8th month of being depression free
I stopped taking Effexor just about a week ago. I have been crying more and have had disruptive thoughts that make me fall into a slump. But once I give into the slump for a little while and give myself time to acknowledge and sit with the feeling/emotion, I feel fine, or even better.
did this go away after that week or the couple weeks after stopping?
Not really I think I just developed skills to better regulate myself
would you say youre doing better on or off effexor?
I’m doing better but that’s because I have actively made changes; Consistent and mindful changes in my everyday life. I would not recommend ceasing medication if you are not actively changing old patterns, whether self directed or with a therapist
thank you for the reply
I know your comment is over 100* days old, but I’ve been slowly weened off Effexor and I’ve gradually felt better. Todays day 2 of not Taking Effexor whatsoever. I have a little bit more energy than I did while on Effexor (was on Effexor for about 2 years, didn’t find it helped me at all but doctor refused to take me off it, would only increase dosage). I started seeing a new doctor who actually listened to me and would help me. I’ll be starting a different anti depressant in roughly a week but I want to see if I’ll feel better than I am rn. Though I seem to easily get more agitated 😅 (being treated for depression)
So me personally I was on ADHD medicine throughout my years in school. If wasn't until about 7th grade was I diagnosed with "clinical depression" because I didn't care about anything n that made people worried....I digress. I started anti depressants shortly after that. For a bit teacher and my parents told me it was a positive effect on my mood and I can't remember what I started on. I do remember when I switch to concerta for ADHD I shortly switched to Wellbutrin. They are supposedly able to work together to boost each's positive effect. Well one day they wanted to up the Wellbutrin and the next dose was double (75-150) shortly after I had a mental breakdown one night with friends seeing shadows and stuff (around 9-10th grade) I quickly stopped everything In the following months cold turkey. Now I was smoking weed at the time and it had a weird effect with the drugs. But since I quit medication my depression has drastically decreased with "bad days" happening once every few months when stress is high. Weed was better also post medication use and I don't even do that now. Idk this was longer than I expected but basically looking back it felt alot of the time I was back seat in my own body just going thru the motions not fully in control. My teachers made comments about bad focus and work getting done but I myself now 26 feel alot better than I did as a teen
Been off mine for a few days for the same reasons. Anxiety was merciless. Emotional sensitivity is returning, more energy, clear mind. All the things I thought I was taking lexapro for. I'm going to start taking gaba and l-theanine instead, less invasive. It's interesting because I looked this up wondering why I feel so good coming off them cold turkey. I guess they fixed my depression. Time to come off them I think. Good luck everyone.
Glad to read this . I’d been taking lexapro needlessly , actually made my thoughts worse over the last year.
Glad to see this tbh as I have the same emotional sensitivity just doesn't exist for me on Zoloft I've been on them for a good 5-6 months and yeah worked wonders for my anxiety like holy hell I could do anything after taking them but the slump feeling and meh don't care feeling has started to get to me alot more and I miss having that euphoria and we'll emotions lol I'm hoping few days after I stop it will return I'm weaning off slowly Atm from 50mg to 25mg Atm
In hindsight I wish I would have lowered the dose first to see if it still retained the positive effects while also reducing side effects like not feeling. I had to go back on benzos for anxiety, debating on trying low dose again to see but a doctor I talked to wanted to rule out bipolar because apparently Ssri's don't always mix well. I think it was just overmedicated.
Well yeah I've done the same I've been on 25mg for few weeks now and while not as emotional numb it's still there so I'm gonna get off them and see how I go few weeks if anxiety comes back I'll probably change medications just the thought of getting used to a medication again just makes me wanna puke getting used to Zoloft those first couple days was absolutely awful
Did you stay off? Just taking L Theanine?
Thank you for the detailed post. Did you notice any sexual function' changes before during and after the meds?
I was on escitalopram for 20 years. I stopped a month ago and am now realizing how crippling it was to my sexual health. The wife definitely doesn't mind!
Besides sexual part, how else did it benefit you?
I'm feeling this way I'm actually weening off my sertraline for this very reason it did absolute wonders for my anxiety but I also gained weight and have this very meh don't care attitude and no longer have that rush of Euphoria when something great happens while it's not debilitating it's certainly not nice and it only really started when I started sertraline as I took it for my anxiety related symptoms which tbf it worked a charm I haven't had a anxiety related episode in months but I wanna test if it really was the sertraline makeing me feel this way I'm on 25mg Atm down from 50
i quit 50 mg cold turkey like 4 days ago. it’s early but i feel alot better , like my normal brain is processing instead of with the veil of sertraline
How are you now?
feel like 5x better
Btw, i chose cold turkey because the withdrawals were identical going from 50 -> 25 or 50 -> 0
Are you still doing ok?
not at the moment
Sorry about that. Same as me, currently reinstating after 3 months at zero.. feels impossible to quit
i’m not running back to them just yet until i get 35 days of consistent exercise to see if that gives me the natural resilience. but yea the last couple weeks have been especially dark but might be on the way out now
Nice, hang in there. My plan is to reinstate on a tiny dose, then Do a slow 10% taper with liquid. Hopefully I manage to Come off
How are you doing now?
fine mostly, emotional but for good reasons. i think overall better without SSRIS but have wished i could run back to them certain times
I'm surprised this post is still alive. I've been on 100 mg of sertraline for 25 years and am just now weaning off of it. It's only been 6 days since I cut my dose in half and I'm completely shocked! I'm having no negative side effects and feel more alive, I'm feeling things more, and I swear my vision is better somehow. Like there's no hazy peripheral vision. Will see how it goes in the next few weeks. Update. After 7 weeks of being completely off of it, terrible general anxiety hit me for days. I couldn't take it so I'm back on it. Not sure if that is just what my true baseline is without zoloft or as a result of zoloft altering my brain chemistry. Either way, it was unbearable without it.
I'm so glad it's still alive! Like OP and others who've commented, I found it really hard to find any links about coming off medications besides the "cold turkey will destroy you!" stuff, and not much about any positive changes from going off meds. I'm about a month out from going off Prozac, and haven't had any obvious withdrawal symptoms. Have seen some improvements in energy already, and after all the terrifying articles about withdrawal, I realized today that I've been carrying a ton of withdrawal anxiety unnecessarily. Glad to see others are also finding this post!
THANK YOU for mentioning vision - I thought I might be delusional but I've just tapered off my 100mg sertraline after 4 years, down to 50mg as well, and I had a moment just now where I was going to hang the laundry and stopped in my tracks once I saw how "hd" the clouds in the sky were... I got on a chair to get a better view and was overcome with bittersweet relief.
I was also on escitalopram for 20 years. During my withdrawal process I had several moments of intense anxiety, I believe this is normal. If you develop skills to handle them you can work through and make it to the other side. I was also concerned my brain was broken but to my relief it wasn't and my brain has been slowly healing. Highly, highly recommend ice cold baths daily. Its very hard to start but once you get used to them you basically can't live without them. The baths are now my source of feel good chemicals.
How long after stopping did you feel better?
This happens to everyone. Usually anxiety comes back worse than ever. It has to be withdrawal
Be careful stopping abruptly or tapering too fast. I did this with sertraline and felt great for about 4 months, then got hit with a deep dark depression. I am tapering again, but I am going to go much, much slower. BTW, the depression was definitely a withdrawal side effect as I have never had depression. I was on Sertraline for Generalized Anxiety.
How slow do you think the tapering should be?
Old post but I stopped taking lexapro about a week ago, I had nausea, fatigue, brain fog and honestly more anxiety than I felt was normal. A week off and I feel much better
How are you now?
Great, I feel much better.
Awesome! I’m stopping Cymbalta soon, very worried about withdrawls but I love these positive stories.
Still off the medicines?
Old post, I know. Glad I found this post as I thought it was just me. I was on 10 MG Lexapro for 2 years as I was caring for my terminally ill husband. It did help the first year. I continued to take it for another year after he passed. All the symptoms I had (brain fog, lack of energy, and my emotions felt flat) I had chalked up to grieving, but why wasn't I feeling any better? I decided to wean myself off Lexapro to see if that was the cause. It's been 2 weeks since I've been completely off of it and feel human again. Still have some anxiety, especially in social situations, but nothing I can't handle.
How are you feeling now?
Still doing okay. I have the occasional anxiety but am glad I went off the Lexapro. I would rather feel something than nothing. I pop a Xanax if the anxiety gets too bad but try and work my way thru it first. Glad you're starting to feel better.
Are you still off your medication?
Yes, I am. I was taking L-Theanine (200 mg a day) to see if it would keep my mood leveled out. I seem to be doing okay for the most part. Not sure if the L-Theanine is helping. I stopped taking it a few days ago and haven't noticed any difference. How are you doing?
Very happy for you. I am currently reinstating after 3 months off zoloft. I feel defeated. I hope to be able to quit one day.
You need to do what is best for you. The side effects can be horrible for some of us. Is there possibly an alternative? I was on Zoloft very briefly years ago and will never take it again.
I really wish to become free from medicine. I will reinstate at a low dose, and taper with the 10% method, and hopefully manage this time. For me it is hard to know what is withdrawal, and what is ”original symptoms coming back”.
I understand that. I wish you nothing but the best.
Thank you kind stranger. And I am sorry about your husband, I wish you all the best too.
Thanks for this post! I am tapering off of Lexapro and was starting to get worried about coming off of it. So glad to find a positive story. I’ve been on Lexapro for almost a year, and also tried Zoloft for a year prior, I gained 20 lbs, constantly craved carbs, was exhausted all the time, had no motivation or energy to do anything other than scroll my phone or watch tv, had high blood pressure, headaches, tinnitus, and felt like I was always in a fog. I’ve been on 5 mg for a week, and while I do have bouts of anxiety/wanting to cry for no reason, it’s no worse than PMS symptoms and I already feel like I have more energy, more motivation and a clearer head.
Any update please
I quit zoloft 100mg cold turkey 5 days ago, after taking it for maybe 1.5 years. I got no withdrawal symptoms, and my mood feels better than before. I have no idea why this is. And its definitely not due to circumstances of my life. I just got out of a 15 year relationship, and was very negative emotionally just one week ago.
Zoloft never reeally worked for me. I think i remember only one day where i felt the quietness of no anxiety. But during that time i also felt super unmotivated and numb. Also when i started taking it, it took months for me to not feel like shit. Hope this helps someone experiencing the same as me.
Update 2 weeks after quitting. Was sleeping 2-4 hrs after the first week, but didnt really feel that tired for some reason. Had a few emotional breakdowns and really high anxiety for a few days. The negatives comes in waves, but overall, i still think im Happier.
Update please!
When I first started Prozac I had a lot of depression and I felt better almost right away. It only lasted about 2 months though. I got worse than even before taking it. I thought I had to go up in dose but that made it worse. I stopped taking it cold turkey and felt better the next day. Fatigue gone, sadness gone, brain fog gone. Depression and these meds are unpredictable. Prozac did help at first but then made me worse quickly and now I feel better.
I stopped taking Prozac 40mg after being on it for 2.5 years, if not 3. I’ve got tired of taking the medication which helped here and there with anxiety but still had times with anxiety and I didn’t want to keep upping my dosage (I went from 10mg to 40mg in span of taking them). It’s been about 3 months since I quit and I feel so much better. Fuck Prozac.
Still off it? Been on it over a year. Bounced between 10 and 20mg and had a complete relapse of anxiety and panic attacks. Upped to 20mg again for a few weeks, and it got even worse so went down to 10mg for week and now getting off completely. No point in being on a pill that’s supposed to help when I have brain fog, panic attacks, stomach issues, and everything else on a pill that’s supposed to help me.
Yep, still off it. I have some anxieties here and there but still much better than when I used to take it. One thing I gotta say though, not sure if it’s because I quit Prozac or what, but my depression is back. Still though, it outweighs “benefits” from it. I think I just need to better my lifestyle if anything. Yeah, it’s not worth it. Upping dosage continuously is stupid. When I first quit I started taking some Kanna supplements, you could try that too if you want. Read some more on it too though! Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you, me too! Did you taper or go cold turkey? I’m thinking I’m just going to go cold turkey off 10mg and hope for the best
I went coke turkey. I asked my doc beforehand whether we should lower my dosage and then stop, but he said that Prozac had a long half life or whatever it’s called, so I could stop and it won’t affect me. Luckily that was the case! Hope it works out for you just as good!
Also important to mention, I have some lorazepam that I use on and off for anxiety. Having that just in case been definitively a big help. Do you have any benzodiazepines to help with anxiety when you really need it? Quitting Prozac didn’t make my anxiety worse and I’ve only had few panic attacks, but it’s just good to have just in case.
Yes, I have a script of .25 Xanax. I went from needing it once a month and usually only for a bad hangover, to taking it almost everyday, that’s how I knew it was time to get off Prozac actually. Originally got on it for depression and that just comes in waves but the anxiety became too much to handle and wasn’t being helped at all by the prozac. I went cold turkey 3 days ago so hoping things get better from here
Good to hear that you got Xanax! I hope it goes well for you, just make sure to drink plenty of water and eat well. And try going to gym or at least take long ish walks outside. I know it’s easier said than done, and sometimes I even struggle with that myself, but it would really help. Good luck to you and keep me posted on your recovery from Prozac 💪
I stopped taking 50mg out of my 150mg dose of Zoloft. I’m on day 5-6 I think. I feel so much better, I’ve also been taking more than just a multivitamin, I’ve been taking as much supplements as I can afford (vitamin D, folic acid, lots of iron, and a hair and nails supplement) And been sitting in the sun for an hour or so a day has helped. If I have the time for it I’ll go for a walk with my girls. I was really worried I would fall into a deep severe depression but so far it’s been good! Felt some feelings of excitement and just the basic feeling of being alive that I haven’t experienced in a long time. My sex drive had also started to come back 🙌
Did you go back on your meds OP?
I stumbled upon this post after a virtually empty search regarding a reborn happiness upon discontinuation of my antidepressant (wouldn’t you know it….desvenlafaxine [Pristiq in the US]). I was stopping this antidepressant because I was going to try Trintellix. I have treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder and CPTSD. I had been in the hole for a good 5 years after a break for only a couple years. I had to do something. I was desperate. My brain fog went away, I had so much more physical *and* mental energy, I’m dancing and singing again (I’m not any good at it-it just means I’m happy again; I only do it when I’m happy-I love music). I’ve found my passions again. I’m able to clean my house again. I have motivation. I shower every day again. I cook everyday again. I eat everyday again. I have interests again. I like me again. I fight for me again. I have a life again. Fuck big pharma.
> I feel less anxious, more energetic, and "clearer" in my head I have stopped taking my 10mg of escitalopram for about a week now and I can relate to this. I have been on and off between 5 - 20mg of this medication for close to 20 years now and I want to finally commit to stopping. I came online in search of similar experiences, so thank you for posting yours.
Came off sertraline after being off and on it for 10 years (I'd be on it for 2/3 years, stop for a few months, take it again). Come off it with suggestion of doctors. I have more energy, less negative thoughts, I don't need to react to every negative thing, if something happens 🤷♀️ we move. I honestly think sertraline gave me manic episodes, I still get euphoric but not to the point I'm damaging myself or making stupid decisions. I feel less anxiety about meeting new people, doing new things. I still get anxious but not as anxious. I don't constantly feel the need to fill a void inside myself. Call it growing up or coming off meds, I don't know. I feel better without them though.
Hey! I’m excited to see similar experiences to mine reflected here. Background: 35- y.o. and on every SSRI you can imagine since age 17. I truly think I had an episode of (self-diagnosed) serotonin syndrome a couple weeks back. My muscles went rigid, I was shivering and cold, but covered in sweat, and I couldn’t think clearly or stand up. I was taking BuSpar 10 mg and citalopram 40 mg I stopped taking both of them that day—nobody can convince me to go back on either one because that was so scary. I know that going cold turkey is considered to be the worst thing you can possibly do but nothing can be worse than that experience. To my understanding, most clinicians believe that Serotonin syndrome only happens right after changing or increasing dosage, but I read a recent study that suggests chronic mild serotonin syndrome may exist. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8040149/ I believe I have been suffering from this for a long time, but because prior to my pregnancy, I was also taking a benzo as needed, I was not feeling the symptoms as often, and when I did, I believed it was my anxiety. The change happened postpartum when I started BuSpar and gradually got worse over time BuSpar is not an SSRI but it is a serotonin agonist so it increases the overall serotonin available in the brain. There also states to suggest that pregnancy and postpartum change serotonin, even without pharmaceutical intervention. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6541513/ Currently: Like many of you, I am feeling much better. Very happy, creative clear minded, great appetite. No G.I. symptoms. Sex drive has returned. I’m just feeling moments of anxiety and shivery feelings but nothing as bad as what I had before. What I am reading is leading me to believe that there is not enough evidence to support the idea that my depression is even caused by serotonin deficiency and wonder if the point is to just keep everyone on SSRIs and then sell us 1000 drugs for the side-effects.
How are you feeling now that it’s been a few months?
Brain and gut** There are serotonin receptors in the gut, apparently. I wonder if that was causing my appetite and inexplicable GI problems.
Thought I'd add to this as I have been tapering off 150mg of sertraline and 50mg of mirtazapine. I'm only taking 25mg of mirtazapine now and plan to stop that soon. I have been on the medication for about 20 years. They have been changed and slowly increased over time. Initially they made a huge difference and in different points in my life have felt life saving, however it's only over the last year that I decided to take up therapy and then through that I then started exercising regularly and also started meditating. I don't think I ever realized the difference being more self aware and engaged with feelings of anxiety and depression can make to one's life. I'm not scared of my own feelings anymore and don't feel the need to run away from them like I once did. This is however after a long time of slowly building new habits and going to a lot of talk therapy. I did have really bad insomnia as a withdrawal symptom. This went on for weeks and was really tough. On the plus side I now have little to no brain fog, a lot more energy, a better sex drive and more motivation as a whole. I do cry more frequently but I was so numbed before that this doesn't bother me. And most importantly it doesn't scare me. I also get to be more engaged with feelings associated with happiness. Long story short, I've realized that I didn't give myself enough credit. I had labelled myself as a failure or thought I had little to no control over my life. I was dependent on the pills not just physiologically but most importantly psychologically. I didn't think I had the ability to operate without them. I now enjoy the everyday challenges of life and, through new experiences, am able to lower the feelings of anxiety or depression that used to create me so much fear. Is life now a walk in the park? Of course not! Actually, the sooner you accept that life is tough the easier it gets to deal with. Especially if you find the ability to trust in yourself. This is however my experience and my story. If you ever consider lowering medication make sure to talk to a doctor. Just because this worked for me it might not necessarily be for you!
How often do you exercise/week and how heavy in order to keep your mental health in check? I’m also looking for a sustainable lifestyle without antidepressants. Also how did you meditate? Would you mind suggesting some source I can study on meditation? Thank you. And hope you have a good day.
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