Heart racing
Hi!
My withdrawal story from Zoloft reaches back around 4 to 5 years already. Right now I am at 2.75 mg and feel quite stable. I had to reduce the drop in dose around once a month to 0.05 mg because of withdrawal that massively impaired my functioning if I reduce more than that. The symptom that I struggle with most even at this small reduction is the feeling of heart palpitations/my heart racing imidiately when I wake up, in the morning. It feels very uncomfortable and often induces anxiety. When I get up I feel dizzy and out of breath, generally weak and like my hand are shaking. Sometimes I get a strong gagging reflex in the mornings too. It calms down over time, it takes up to an hour to feel kind of normal.
I would love to hear other people's experiences. What's helps you to calm down in this situation? I will need to get up early for work a few times a week and use public transport and want to deal with this in the best way I can. I thought about coming up with a calming morning routine, for example:
Sit in bed for a few minutes before getting up
Make & drink a tea
Read a few pages if my focus allows it
Light walking
Watching a calming video or calming music
Prepare my things I need to take/clothing to wear the day before to reduce stress
I would love to hear from you! I hope I'll find a good way to deal with this as well as possible.
Zoloft — current 2.75 mg — on medication for 6 years — actively tapering since July 2025 - tapered starting from 50 mg