Coming off Zoloft?

[Falcon]

I've been on Zoloft (50mg, a low dose) for 5 months now. I feel great and I have made huge strides in my life. However, I have had some, uh, sexual side effects from the medication that haven't been such a big deal until recently, if you get my drift. So I would like to tell my doctor that I want to come off the Zoloft (he will support this, he said it was a temporary thing anyway). However, I am scared shitless that I will regress back to my former state. I'm in this weird scary place where I'm not sure how much of my progress is from the meds and how much is from *me*.

What do you advise??

 

[endless8]

Falcon,

Glad to hear that you are feeling you best! How bad was your anxiety/depression prior to Zoloft? I'm in a bit of a rut and considering zoloft to relieve my anxiety and depression. Did zoloft make you more motivated to get back on track.

As for advice, a good friend of mine was on anxiety/depression for 3 1/2 years before quitting cold turkey. While she was on she made great strides in life by forcing herslef to get a job, a boyfriend, and improving her self image drastically. I'm guessing as long as you have other elements in your life that will booost your self esteem naturally you will not need meds.

Hope everything works out for the best.

 

[Falcon]

Well, I don't think I was ever so bad with anxiety, but I did not have friends until this year, and had never had a girlfriend (I'm 27).

The Zoloft did help, I think.

 

[Chilling__Echo]

hey falcon, i'm in the same boat as you, i've been trying to get off paxil for a year b/c of the same reason. it's hard... stressful, ugh.

 

[loneEAGLE]

i recently started theripy for sa and in 2 visits not much has happened on july 6 i see the "doc" so medication may be in my future so does zoloft etc.. really help im looking for anything im 30yrs old im looking for anything to escape this shitty lonesome hell !

 

[Falcon]

i recently started theripy for sa and in 2 visits not much has happened on july 6 i see the "doc" so medication may be in my future so does zoloft etc.. really help im looking for anything im 30yrs old im looking for anything to escape this shitty lonesome hell !

Well, here's my story, in brief. I knew I wanted to get better, and I was motivated enough to work on it myself - through self-education, practicing social skills, and a lot of effort. For me, the Zoloft was kind of the key in getting over the hump. It made me less anxious and more relaxed, at which point I could be more effective in the self-improvement work I was already doing.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're looking for a magic bullet to cure the SA, you probably won't find it, but the medication could indeed help you feel better and allow more of "you" to shine through

Good luck.

BTW, for anyone playing along at home, I have not come off the Zoloft yet, but I did call my doctor today and left a message asking him how I can go about coming off of it. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Mandy-Chan]

I know i probably shouldn't have, but i felt zoloft just wasn't working for me, and at 250mg i stopped cold turkey.

Its been afew months now since i've stopped. And nothing has changed, i still feel the same way i did before i started taking it. I did drop out of school though. Aside from cps being called on my parents because of the way i stopped my meds like that...

...out of curiosity, what are the risks for just stopping zoloft like that at a very high dose? Thinking back, i'm wondering what could have happened to me. I'm 16, if that makes a difference....