Considering an updose

October 17, 2026

Hey, it me again haha! Ive been feeling very bad the last couple of days and almost completely non functional, so I’m really considering an updose of my Zoloft. My situation is probably not the most usual one because its now been 4 months since my last dose reduction from 39mg to 38mg but my “withdrawal” state that I’m in has been going on for almost 8 weeks. You probably know it by now haha but a whole range of stressors(strenuous exercise, sauna, strep infection + antibiotics) all at the same day sent me overnight into this hellish. What would people recommend me to do? I know that Its all on me and making the decision is not taken lightly, but I would really appreciate peoples opinion on this?

9 Replies

MamaLa13h ago

NavigatorProzac · holding

@anton- I am so sorry you are in such a rough spot. After my too large drop, I honestly found month 4 to be the absolute worst and questioned many times if I should updose. That being said, after that terrible month 4, everything seemed to settle back down more than ever before. It was like my system was having one last “ party” of symptoms to get it out. Looking back, I think if I had tried to updose during this time, it would have only confused my system further and made things worse. I can honestly say that things are so much smoother than I even took the plunge and made another drop. Hang in there!!

Prozac — 2.16- tapering

⭐

Catina13h ago

Community AnchorEffexor

"my “withdrawal” state that I’m in has been going on for almost 8 weeks. You probably know it by now haha but a whole range of stressors(strenuous exercise, sauna, strep infection + antibiotics) all at the same day sent me overnight into this hell" — @Anton

Aww Anton, I'm sorry. Any of the things you mentioned can exacerbate withdrawal symptoms. We can't tell you what to do, but I tend to agree with @MamaLa's thinking.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.28 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 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.

Duloxi12h ago

Community AnchorCymbalta · holding

Hi Anton, Based on my experience, I think the antibiotic was the biggest problem. Antidepressants have a strong effect on the nervous system in the gut, and if things become even more unbalanced during withdrawal, the nerves can become irritated, which can directly worsen symptoms through the gut-brain axis. I recommend switching to a gut-friendly diet. Oatmeal is a good option, preferably with milk + banana if you tolerate it, as I think it tastes best that way. You could also get a concentrated medicinal chamomile extract and add it to your tea, as well as a good probiotic for IBS. In my experience, this should help things improve significantly. Unless, of course, you tapered too quickly—in that case, there may be two factors involved. But see how you feel after a few days of supporting your gut. Things can improve very quickly. After that, you can still consider a small dose increase if necessary.

Cymbalta — 17,5mg(12mg) — 17 Jahre — holding -with clinician - 90 mg – 2021: First tapering attempt.
60 mg – 2023: Second tapering attempt.
With a doctor's supervision—but unfortunately, a doctor who doesn't know how to properly taper off an antidepressant.

Anton12h ago

WelcomerZoloft

@Duloxi Thanks for this! Ive actually been focusing on my gut for the past 1.5-2 years or so. All kind of stuff, including spore based probiotics! I actually took out every supplement this week because of fear of them impacting me! Ive never tapered to quickly, went from 100 to 40mg in about 6 months and have been going down 1mg every 2-3 months since(due to destabilization when going from 40 to 37)

Anton11h ago

WelcomerZoloft

@Zoloft Whats people on Zoloft experience and input on this?

Duloxi10h ago

Community AnchorCymbalta · holding

Hi Anton, Maybe it is due to tapering too quickly after all. A 60% reduction within six months seems very fast to me. I suspect you may still be dealing with the effects of accumulated reductions. I’d be interested to know what steps you took to reduce by 60% over those six months. Do you remember the dose at which you were still feeling really well?

WeLiveInHope8h ago

Prozac

Sometimes a single ‘rescue dose’ is all it takes. You could try that in place of updosing.

Fluoxetine 10mg (liquid) - Holding since 2018 after taper from 20mg Paroxetine (tablets). On and off Paroxetine for over a decade. During taper, intense withdrawal symptoms of pain at 10mg and psychiatrist and I agreed to swap to 10mg fluoxetine.

Quetiapine 25mg (tablet) - Taking this since 2023 as aid for sleep.

Lamotrigine (tablet) - Tapering. 4mg October 2026. Started 25mg circa June 2026, titrated to 100mg, intense pain developed, possibly side effects/withdrawal symptoms from original Paroxetine taper. Abrupt withdrawal due to the pain, resumed at 25mg 3 weeks later in September 2026. Began rapid tapering 2 weeks later due to intense pain. Started this medication as developed persistent depression with distressing suicidal type thoughts from circa February 2026.

*Levothyroxine (liquid) - Adjusting dose for hypothyroidism (October 2026). So you have an accurate picture, I have a strange autoimmune thyroid disease where I naturally oscillate between hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, though of course at times it can be with due to over medication of levothyroxine or anti thyroid drugs. Allegedly, this have antibodies for both Graves and Hashimoto diseases. Diagnosed circa 2023. Given my family is riddled with the disease it’s possibly I had this all along and was misdiagnosed with bipolar. I remain open minded including that psychotropic drugs caused this harm to me too.

OTC - Omega 3, Nac, Coq10, multivitamin. These I take regularly. Occasionally, I also take folate, b12, iron with vitamin c when I need to increase my levels. There are a few others I take very occasionally such as CBD and feverfew for pain.

Others - As per bio, I have been taking and come off other psychotropic drugs as well as sleeping tablets throughout the last two plus decades. For a fuller drug history, see SA website under the same username here https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/28665-weliveinhope-not-there-yet/

I am based in England UK and my tapers are largely self managed without clinicians, though I tend to keep clinicians informed about my tapering decisions.

Anton6h ago

WelcomerZoloft

@WeLiveInHope Ive never heard of a “rescue dose”. Whats that?

Ani5h ago

LighthouseZoloft · active

When I felt really bad and thought I can't do it anymore I took a small extra dose in the afternoon (I take my regular dose in the morning). Last time it happened was recently, went from 2.9 to 2.8 and on a single day, around 2-3 weeks after reduction I took an additional 0.1 mg. I have no idea how I came up with this, probably it's not at all recommended. But I get desperate sometimes... Maybe that's a rescue dose that @WeLiveInHope mentioned?

Zoloft — current 2.8 mg — 6 years — actively tapering - tapered from 50 mg

Join the conversation

Need a clinician who understands tapering?

Browse our map of deprescribing-informed providers worldwide.

Find a Deprescriber