Alleviating sertraline withdrawal dizziness
July 13, 2018 10:46 AM Subscribe
After 14 months of taking sertraline 50 mgs for generalized anxiety, I'm now tapering off.
Following a schedule from my doctor, I reduced to 25 mgs for two weeks successfully, and switched to 12.5 mgs a week ago.
I now am feeling quite dizzy at times, in a lightheaded sense more than a vertigo sense. I can move around fine but don't feel quite right. The effect is similar to migraine aura.
Is there an easy way to alleviate this dizziness, other than by taking an increased dose? And, in your experience, how long do these withdrawal symptoms last? I anticipate that they will get stronger in a week when I finally stop the sertraline altogether.
Following a schedule from my doctor, I reduced to 25 mgs for two weeks successfully, and switched to 12.5 mgs a week ago.
I now am feeling quite dizzy at times, in a lightheaded sense more than a vertigo sense. I can move around fine but don't feel quite right. The effect is similar to migraine aura.
Is there an easy way to alleviate this dizziness, other than by taking an increased dose? And, in your experience, how long do these withdrawal symptoms last? I anticipate that they will get stronger in a week when I finally stop the sertraline altogether.
I remember that my withdrawal from Zoloft was the hardest of all the SSRIs.
Unfortunately I don't think there's any known fix except time. What helped me the most during any SSRI withdrawal period was light exercise that made me break a sweat (like yoga or barre). I also took B vitamin and omega-3 supplements, but I have no idea if they actually made a difference. Otherwise you kind of just have to power through and distract yourself from it. The head zaps are the worst; sorry that you're going through it!
posted by koolaidnovel at 2:17 PM on July 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Unfortunately I don't think there's any known fix except time. What helped me the most during any SSRI withdrawal period was light exercise that made me break a sweat (like yoga or barre). I also took B vitamin and omega-3 supplements, but I have no idea if they actually made a difference. Otherwise you kind of just have to power through and distract yourself from it. The head zaps are the worst; sorry that you're going through it!
posted by koolaidnovel at 2:17 PM on July 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Hey I get this too! It's like being a few inches or seconds away from my body most of the time - not quite dizziness but not quite not dizziness, right??
In my experience it lasts about a week, but I take a slightly higher dose than you and one time I went cold turkey and one time I tapered down very slowly. When I tapered down slowly I had the dizziness longer but it was less intense, when I went cold turkey it was a solid "do not operate heavy machinery, standing up is hard, don't carry heavy things down the stairs" situation after two days of little vertigo twinges and then two days after that it was fine. So! I think it's something that you will live through just fine however you want to do it, just be careful and observant of yourself. I wouldn't expect it to be worse when you stop taking it alltogether, but I also wouldn't expect it to resolve immediately, and I doubt there is much you can do about it other than all your usual med-free anxiety coping techniques. You'll be okay.
posted by Mizu at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
In my experience it lasts about a week, but I take a slightly higher dose than you and one time I went cold turkey and one time I tapered down very slowly. When I tapered down slowly I had the dizziness longer but it was less intense, when I went cold turkey it was a solid "do not operate heavy machinery, standing up is hard, don't carry heavy things down the stairs" situation after two days of little vertigo twinges and then two days after that it was fine. So! I think it's something that you will live through just fine however you want to do it, just be careful and observant of yourself. I wouldn't expect it to be worse when you stop taking it alltogether, but I also wouldn't expect it to resolve immediately, and I doubt there is much you can do about it other than all your usual med-free anxiety coping techniques. You'll be okay.
posted by Mizu at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sharing that I experienced the same thing, along with "brain zaps". As I tapered down I also started to take the dose on intermittent days- there's no medical justification for this, but it made me feel I was getting closer to being off the pills and therefore made it easier to persevere through the zapping/weird spasmy dizziness. It definitely was totally gone within a few days of taking my last ever dose.
posted by mymbleth at 1:42 AM on July 14, 2018
posted by mymbleth at 1:42 AM on July 14, 2018
Response by poster: Posting a followup two weeks later to say: I've decided to stay on the sertraline! Not because of the withdrawal effects, which weren't that bad, but because of really feeling my anxiety symptoms in full once I got down to the lowest dose.
You know what? Sertraline works really well for my anxiety symptoms. And I realized that my choice to taper off had been at least partly due to stigma.
I have been to therapy and all that over the years. But, my anxiety has been lifelong and seems to be at least somewhat genetic. So many of my relatives (sister, dad, aunts, uncles, cousins) have been on sertraline or a similar medication for anxiety.
posted by ElisaOS at 8:27 PM on July 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
You know what? Sertraline works really well for my anxiety symptoms. And I realized that my choice to taper off had been at least partly due to stigma.
I have been to therapy and all that over the years. But, my anxiety has been lifelong and seems to be at least somewhat genetic. So many of my relatives (sister, dad, aunts, uncles, cousins) have been on sertraline or a similar medication for anxiety.
posted by ElisaOS at 8:27 PM on July 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by anadem at 1:06 PM on July 13, 2018