1st Zoloft Update - Feeling Bad

August 17, 2026··

Feeling bad. Been having bouts of brain zaps, dizziness, irritability, anxiety, crying spells, fatigue, muscle aches, and rage. I did a fast taper under the guidance of my psychiatric NP. Was on Zoloft for 15 years. Tapered feom 75 mg to 50. Stayed on that for 9 months. Felt stable, so asked PNP about tapering. Boy, did she not know what she was doing, and I didn’t understand, either. Went to 25 mg for 3 weeks; PNP recommended 2 weeks, but that felt quick to me. Then I started cutting the pills and spent 10 weeks at 12.5 mg. It has been 4 weeks since I’ve been completely off and it’s been a nightmare. Many of the physical symptoms have improved, but I have bad days of crying spells and severe emotional instability and extreme irritability. I feel so alone, but my family doesn’t want to be around me right now. My quandary is if I should just keep riding out the storm and allowing more time to go by, or if I should reinstate the medication and try a much slower taper. I feel like if the symptoms keep improving, I can endure a few more weeks of these withdrawal symptoms, but the prospect of months of this is completely overwhelming.

6 Replies

WolfAug 17

Community AnchorProzac · researching

You need support from your family. It's critical that they understand. 15 years is really a long time to be on a constant dose.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

WolfAug 17

Community AnchorProzac · researching

A few observations. 1. May be too late to reinstate. Will need @Catina or @Based Psychiatrist to confirm or correct me, 2. There is lots of hope for quick improvement because you completely avoided superfast taper and your symptoms are improving. Will need @Catina to confirm or correct me. 3. Can't really tell how much you can get through until you do. It's only a crisis if you become exhausted by the symptoms.

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CatinaAug 17

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi @Sally94, I'm so sorry for what you're going through. Most mental health providers have no idea how to taper these drugs the proper way. But don't fret, your situation is not beyond help by any means. Many people find that doing a small reinstatement of the drug can bring relief. After you stabilize, then you can do a very slow taper off (the right way!). https://taper.community/thread/affd8e83-2361-4973-8f07-76d16744448a https://taper.community/resources/blog/reinstating-after-failed-cold-turkey A suggestion would be to try and reinstate just 1 mg of Sertraline and give that some time to see if it brings any relief. You wouldn't want to do anything more than that (see the articles about Reinstatement). If that doesn't bring relief then you could try another updose, but stabilizing can take many weeks (or even months). https://taper.community/thread/ff7ce496-025a-4391-95b4-cdd0063f092b Please know you're not alone in this. It's hard when our loved ones can't seem to understand, but we're here anytime you need a listening ear. We understand what you're dealing with. You're going to be okay, so hang in there while you can get yourself stable. Let us know how you feel about reinstating a small dose. We're all rooting for you! Catina ❤️‍🩹

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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CatinaAug 17

Community AnchorEffexor

You can share this with your family members: https://taper.community/thread/ecea5d5c-ab7a-43f4-80b2-994bbee9fbf8

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CatinaAug 17

Community AnchorEffexor

@Wolf, from what I've learned it's best to reinstate within a month; the sooner the better. However, I've seen people reinstate who've been off for a few months and they were able to get relief. Everyone is different in how they react though, that's why any changes need to be made very cautiously. Hope this helps!

WolfAug 17

Community AnchorProzac · researching

What you need to remember, is that too many months of anxiety can weaken your health and deplete your vitamin reserves.

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