Coming off sertralinem

[Juliatee]

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time since I last wrote on this forum.  I was pretty poorly and dealing with the death and aftermath of my mother, and other health problems.  I have been on sertraline for almost a yeR and despite initial hiccups it has been successful for me.  My gp advised me to drop from 100mg to 50mg and to discuss it with her after a few weeks. I did eke out my remaining few 100mg tBlets.  Now I am finding myself more tired and my mood isn't quite so good.  Is this a normal response to coming off or should I go back to the doc?

To all the people who replied to me last year, many thanks, and I hope you are all doing well.

Regards,

Juliatee

[Pip]

I hope SteveW responds as he is a useful source of information or someone else who has lowered their sertraline.  I've been on it for several months but have recently had sertraline put up to 100mg. 

[SteveW]

When you do a dose reduction some drop in mood is pretty common. The Sertraline will have been maintaining a certain level of Serotonin in the relevant pathways of your brain and that will have dropped. Mostly things readjust themselves gradually and things are OK. There is also the possibility of withdrawal symptoms or as the drug companies quaintly put it "anti-depressant discontinuation syndrome". But this usually isn't serious or prolonged.

There is the possibility that your mood drops and doesn't return to what you have become used to. Coming off anti-depressants isn't always the best option. Many people take them permanently. This is especially important if this isn't your first episode but a second or third. There is evidence that continuing to take the maximum dose you were on indefinitely delays the onset of your next episode.

So I would wait a while and see what happens but keep in mind that coming off completely isn't your only option. You
could go back up.

[Juliatee]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your reply.  It pretty much confirmed what I had been reading but I am dismayed to find that I mY never be able to do without them.

All the best,

Juliatee