I have been on zoloft for several years now, actually since my excommunication.

I am on day five of two-weeks of the reduction from 50 to 25mg after which I was told to take 25mg every other day for two weeks. Then I'm totally off of it.

So far I am doing very well, in fact my days are becoming more tolerable and brighter without it which makes me wonder if I really needed to be on zoloft for this long.

I am looking forward to being able to loose weight once I'm totally off of it and it is out of my system. Loosing weight while on zoloft has been a loosing battle for me.

Wish me well on my journey and on to a better life zoloft free!

Quitting Zoloft gave me terrible brain zaps and I took the taper very very slow. I still feel very mild brain zaps now, but only occasionally,13 years later.

If coffee would have stopped brain zaps, I'd have no brain zaps as I used to drink tons of coffee back when I quit it and for many years afterwards.


At last an explanation!
Two of the most harmful posters here have both admitted to brain damage!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2013 02:10PM by WinksWinks.

interesting. Can you elaborate on what a "brain zap" feels like? Are they the type of thing you can ride out easily?

I had it, too, when I went off Paxil. Those zaps feel awful and your skin is crawling.

WinksWinks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Quitting Zoloft gave me terrible brain zaps and I
> took the taper very very slow. I still feel very
> mild brain zaps now, but only occasionally,13
> years later.

**I had the same experience. It was absolutely hell! I wish doctors would advise patients about this side effect because it's really horrible and it's ridiculous that one should experience the zaps even years after stopping.

Had I known this, I would've chosen a different medication. I stopped them abruptly though for my pregnancy. I went on the 5HTP amino acids, the fish oil, the vitamin D3, the vitamin B6, ad nauseum. I have never experienced a street drug withdrawal, but this has to be comparable.

> At last an explanation!
> Two of the most harmful posters here have both
> admitted to brain damage!

**LOL~~LOL~~LOL!
Phew! Not sure what you meant by two, but there's one that has been very covertly aggresive, and it is very, well, curious...I was wondering when we'd get an explanation too!

At the time, early in the new millennium, my doctor insisted that brain zaps couldn't possibly be related to Zoloft, and accused me of huffing.
Sick!

I found a few anecdotal reports online from my parents computer around that time, and a few years later, many more reports were online and it was getting some recognition.

I think it is(surely by now?) a recognized side effect nowadays as it occurs with many brain drugs. Paxil, Zoloft, and Effexor being the three I saw most patient stories associating brain zaps to withdrawal from them.

I called brain zaps, brain worms. You feel an electrical pulse move through your brain and then I would twitch, blink, or nod. When the doc slowed the removal of Zoloft the worms went away. I have not had any for years. But the first time I did not come off Zoloft gradually enough and the worms just would not give it a rest. Best of luck.

Google it, so you don't have to only take my experience for what it is. There are lots of brain zap experiences online, and mine feels like what they describe. When they are strong they are very disorienting, dizzy-making, and are accompanied by a flash in my case, but I also have synesthesia so I'm not sure that's a common thing.

Now that they are mild it's more like a weird muscle spasming only it's in the middle of my head.

AHHH OK. I didn't even think it was google-able Thanks. I was never on Zoloft, but in my early 20s did a brief stint on other meds. In hindsight, my doc was pretty clumsy about it even by 1980s standards and I ended up a zombie. After quitting cold turkey, I had a few instances of the electric shock-type thing you describe. They happened as I was waking up.

Thanks!

I can attest to brain-zapping ordeal while getting off Zoloft. Actually it wasn't earth-shaking, just extremely annoying. It's sort of like an electric shock-like feeling that seemed to start int my head and go down my spine. It's been about 5 years since I quit taking it, and I have no more brain-zaps or any other effects.

I had been on it at the time for PTSD brought on by a criminal attack upon me.

I certainly wish you well on this journey. One i would like to feel able to go on. I am maxed on zoloft. Do not like the fact, but something I have come to accept. Have attempted many times to go off of it. But it sounds like you are doing well with adjusting without it and I am very happy for you.

I think of the words of my Mother "It has served it's purpose."

Zoloft helped our family get a gear between first and fifth as it were. It was so nice to have the idea, be able to process it, then act upon it.
Not just think the thought then be in the middle of acting upon it when you realize it may not be a good thing after all.

It is good to go off it now. You have learned how your body works/thinks in a slower speed and will be able to draw upon it now.

Zoloft helped our family find a lower gear.

But I also think the formulas changed over the years. I took the whole family off our meds in 2006 when I started having anxiety attacks.

We were able to stablelize ourselves. We just have to plan ahead a little more intensly for change of plans and have several options lined up when we want to go and do something.

Make sure someone you really trust helps you monitor yourself as you wean off. Going back to square one or less over and over again is not fun for any involved.

I've been Zoloft for almost 8 years. I take 200mg a day. When I started Zoloft I lost weight. went down to about 99lbs. Now I'm about 108lbs not 1lb over. I thought Zoloft makes you loose weight. Well I like my Zoloft and want to take it for the rest of my life. If you go off it I wish you luck, if you loose the weight from it good for you. I guess it did the opposite for me.

I miss my Zoloft. Couldn't afford the doctors visit and my prescription ran out in february. I tappered going off 100mg very slowly mostly trying to just make it last. I never had side effects.

$145.00 the last quarter. I call this greed.

ween't you able to get the generic?

It's a preparation made from griffonia seed, which contains natural serotonin.

One thing you need to know is that once someone has had Clinical Depression, the brain is altered and will be very prone to a relapse. I keep a bottle of 5 HTTP on hand at all times. My old symptoms are usually triggered by a sudden physical or emotional shock, where my system can't pull up the resources to manage it. I immediately take some, and do so for about three days. Sometimes, if it feels more intense than usual I will take St. Johnswort, and maybe some valerian herb along with it. Doing this helps me to break the downward cycle quickly, getting me on an even keel again.

Some people's systems are more prone to depression, and we have to do what works for us, whatever that is, and not feel like we have to explain to others why we take medication.

when you go off it. I couldn't even work--at the computer. I read on the internet to switch to Prozac and then taper off Prozac. Prozac was easy for me to come off of--but Effexor was hell.

Hello All,
Ok, after reading these posts I'm truly happy to say that I'm not the only one going through these side effects. I'm having them right now (brain shivers). It started when I returned from a recent military deployment and I was having super anxiety issues. So the VA put me on venlafaxine "effexor."
It's been about 8 months since I started taking the med. The brain shivers began about 4 months ago. I feel so weird all the time. I don't want the med. anymore. I stopped cold turkey and the shivers are worse. I'm hoping that I'm going through a withdrawal stage and it will end soon. What else can I take for anxiety that won't cause these awefull Brain Shivers?

Good for you - Congratulations!

I was on a succession of drugs years ago - Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Effexor, mainly. The last drug I stopped was in 1997, before knew about the withdrawal issues. Going off Effexor cold turkey was, shall we say, extremely unpleasant. I'm still amazed I made it through that spring: jittery, anxiety off the charts, crying at the drop of a hat, feeling like everything was constantly too bright.

Once I got through withdrawal, the experience provided me with motivation to avoid drugs whose mechanism alters the way neurotransmitters work. I slipped up 2 years ago and started a medication that is supposed to address nerve pain (MS), and found that I'm now super-sensitive to this class of medications. I had some truly frightening issues with compulsive behavior that is unusual for me, and increasingly morbid, racing thoughts - all from a medication that was supposed to reduce neuropathy. I ended up going through a protracted taper for a few months to wean off that one. Once I'd been off it completely for a week, I felt "normal" again. Really freaked me out. I still have nerve pain issues but right now I'd rather cope with them that go through the side effects I experienced.

Good luck as you continue your taper. It took my sister over a year to slowly taper off Zoloft after she'd been on it for several years. She's doing great now, and I wish you the same success.

GREAT job everyone!!!

I am so sorry that you had to go on Zoloft when you left! :( This is exactly the kind of stuff I am trying to stop. It makes me cry (and people are around so I am trying to hide). Why people are so hateful to guilt people and make them feel bad for their choice.

I was abused for choosing God, others are abused for choosing a different God, and others yet are abused for choosing no God. It is just like one of the sweet people on here told me...Choose your own path. Those words REALLY touched my heart. I promise to never preach to any of you. However, I do also promise that you can lean on me for ANYTHING! I will tell you if you have questions about what I believe, but I will NOT preach to you.

I want to be open minded. Right now I speak A LOT with my Hindu friends. There are 350 million gods in Hindu religion, so I when I talk about something the generally say they didn't know that. LOL!

I bet you all will point out things in my belief and I will say I didn't know that. You can open up my mind, because you see things in a different light! Every one of you are AMAZING!!!! I am SO PROUD of your courage to move on to what YOU believe. I did the same even though I chose a different path, BUT that is what makes this world GREAT!!! Just because we are different doesn't mean we can't be friends!!!! :):):) All of you are so AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for letting me be a part of your group as I read the Book of Mormon with an open mind, but also know how each of you feel about it too so I can learn.

Thank you SO MUCH!!! By the way...I do not go to a Church because I find that they judge and preach against the very thing the Bible actually says ...love. Where is the love when we judge others for their personal choices. I love everyone!!

My best wishes to you. It can be difficult. I'm with those that say to stay well monitored and keep a journal of your experiences. It's surprising how much we forget - which day was what!

I was given zoloft once after a severe concussion and it was a disaster. I only took it for a few days and it seemed to me my brain was scattered and I was worse, not better.

My condition was a concussion which required retraining my brain to use all of it's functions, in some manner. I was extremely frustrated, and upset by the mess in my head, not really depressed, actually. But the doctor thought I had "depressed moods" and prescribed Zoloft. Big misreading of my condition!

The best training was using the computer ! I couldn't keep instructions straight bay reading them, so I taught myself to do things in order, from memory, doing them over and over. That probably did more to help me recover than anything else. That was back in 1998.

I have hereditary physical conditions that the doctor treats, but other than that, I don't mess with my brain anymore with medications!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2013 10:54AM by SusieQ#1.

I'm so happy for you. Get off of it. I am sure there are those people out there that truly need anti-depressants, but they are handed out like candy. Oh you feel a bit down, here's some Paxil. I started on Paxil in 2009. I immediately gained 15 lbs in a 3 week period. I went up 4 dress sizes. And I was NOT eating more. That medicine slows your metabolism. I slept constantly too. Then I switched to Zoloft, then Wellbutrin, then Effexor. Finally in 2011 I'd had enough. I went off all of it and now 18 months later I feel amazing. Lost all the weight and just feel good. Life throws curveballs and bad times at you, but most of us can get thru it without these horrible medicines and their 49 zillion side effects. My apologies to those that need these meds. I know they can and do help some people!

I have used prozac off and on for years, with good results.

I think it'd be interesting to do a research project among ex-mormons to determine how many of us who used anti-depressants while still TBMs were able reduce or come off the meds entirely once we left the chuch.

I have a friend whose going off of Lyrica and is having brain zaps. She's really miserable. She's going off it because she gained so much weight being on it.

It's so hard to know whether to take something, what to take, how much and when and whether to stop.

I just wish you all the best.

I have had depression but never took meds. Meds virtually always have immediate side effects with me, anyway. I have found coffee is sufficient to eliminate my blood sugar/depression problem. Guess I'm just lucky.

Anon4this, I'm a praticing clinical psychologist--I've been one for 38 years. Zoloft and Effexor take a significant period of time to taper off from. Prozac and some of the other antidepressants are much easier.

From experience working with people who take Zoloft, you need to gradually taper of the meds over a minimum of a 6 week period. Two months is really better. If you do it any quicker than that, you will slip into a "discontinuation syndrome" that causes brain-ZAPS, feeling like you have the worst case of the flu in the world, and other unpleasant symptoms.

The general rule of thumb is that you start tapering off slowly. If you have a return of the symptoms that got you on the medication in the first place and the symptoms become troublesome again (like a sleep disturbance, extreme fatigue, feeling really low), you need to go back up to your prescribed dose and retest the medication the same way every 6 months (gradually tapering off) until you can get off the medication. If you go off the medication too quickly you will get a false positive (i.e. you will mistake the discontinuation effects as a sign that you need to stay on the medication). Good luck.

I wish you all well. Seek out alternative therapies, and herbs. Oneness Blessing / Deeksha ( can be found everywhere now) is a non-religious "spiritual technology":-- sort of " kundalini for the brain" found in loving, gentle circles of supportive people. It has really helped me at times to stay emotionally and neurologically stable. Though brain damaged from birth ( mother drank) and also due to being hit by a drunk driver a few years ago, ( another head injury) I have never resorted to pharmaceuticals, just trusted Spirit to keep me whole. Since coming to utah I have had SO many agency people, even / esp DI try to "force" me to take meds. Why? If I had lost an arm in the wreck, would I need meds? No no no.I hope all of you can get off this junk and experience wellness and wholeness over time. The whole topic is so concerning! I have lost sevreral loved friends who became zombies, then died "suddenly" or disapeared, due to heavy doctor- forced pharmaceutical use. Another good source of information is SOS ( a Canadian anti-pharmaceutical and anti-standard psychology website.) The link is difficult to find, you may need to use a canadian search engine such as "Canoe." I knew and worked with many people in the Yukon Canada office when I worked there, they do marvelous advocacy and educational work. Best of luck to all of you.l

I went off Effexor about a year 1/2 ago.....it was truly hell.....
I had to go on Zoloft as I had an experience I couldn't handle.
Well, as I said, the Effexor was a living hell. went on forever. And I did it the right way.
as to the Zoloft, I just quit. didn't know it was akin to Effexor. Well, it has been uncomfortable, but very manageable. I am tired of just saying------okay, whatever. Old feelings are coming to the surface-and that's where they need to be......
I have lived a life where I pushed aside a lot of my needs and that is not good. Maybe even my wants. I wish I had done it differently....But things will get better....