Really struggling today, weaning myself off of sertraline

[CharCharxxx]

Hi ladies,

Just needed to write this down somewhere really. Since I found out I was pregnant I decided to come off of sertraline (anxiety medication) I'm on lowest dose of 50mg. Not feeling too bad physically but my nerves feel shot to pieces today. The kids and my puppy are driving me insane but I don't know whether they actually are or if it's just me over reacting. Do not like feeling like this. I was on 100mg of it when preg with my son and tapered off it by third trimester however all I did was panic the whole way through in case of heart defects it's all I thought about and it panicked the life out of me even now I want him to be screened just in case. I know there are many many people who take it while pregnant and their babies are fine but I'm just too anxious this time round to take the chance as there are also a lot of people this does happen to. Just wondered if anyone else is or has been in my situation? I feel very weepy today but can't tell if it's that or pregnancy hormones!! Thanks for reading. Xx

 

[tinkerbellita]

Hi ladies,

Just needed to write this down somewhere really. Since I found out I was pregnant I decided to come off of sertraline (anxiety medication) I'm on lowest dose of 50mg. Not feeling too bad physically but my nerves feel shot to pieces today. The kids and my puppy are driving me insane but I don't know whether they actually are or if it's just me over reacting. Do not like feeling like this. I was on 100mg of it when preg with my son and tapered off it by third trimester however all I did was panic the whole way through in case of heart defects it's all I thought about and it panicked the life out of me even now I want him to be screened just in case. I know there are many many people who take it while pregnant and their babies are fine but I'm just too anxious this time round to take the chance as there are also a lot of people this does happen to. Just wondered if anyone else is or has been in my situation? I feel very weepy today but can't tell if it's that or pregnancy hormones!! Thanks for reading. Xx

Hi, please speak to a professional about this. On my last pregnancy I quit prozac cold turkey n became a complete wreck n at 26 weeks they put me back on it n the fog lifted n my son is now a smart lil 5 year old. Now I'm pregnant again me n the doc decided to keep me on prozac for the benefit of everyone. I'd rather be medication free but I'm glad I'm not in the bad place I was last pregnancy. Big hugs, I know how hard it feels xx

 

[sammie13s]

Why you coming off them hunni? Sertraline is safe in pregnancy. I'm on them xx

 

[CharCharxxx]

I decided to come off because last time when I was on them pregnant I worried myself stupid about birth defects so much so it was pointless me being on anything coz I still worried stupidly about it. When I look online there are so many people who have had babies that this has happened to I'm just fretting about it so much. I think I will book a doctors appointment about it but I know he's just going to say the benefit out weighs the risk, that won't stop me being a nervous wreck if being on them about something going wrong so so hard wish I never had to be on these in the first place, they do help though xx

 

[Spiffynoodles]

I was on sertraline when I got pregnant this time, for postpartum depression from my last pregnancy, but I decided to wean myself off and see how I felt. Those first couple weeks were tough. My emotions were a little crazy and I felt dizzy and disoriented all the time. But it got better gradually, and now I feel totally fine. I know sertraline is considered safe in pregnancy, but like you, I just didn't want to take any risks if I could do okay without it (I was willing to go back on them if my depression got bad again).

Can I ask how you're weaning off them? I took 3/4th of my dose for several days, then 1/2 of the dose for several days, then 1/4th of the dose for several days, before stopping them completely, and that seemed to wok pretty well for me.

 

[CharCharxxx]

I was on sertraline when I got pregnant this time, for postpartum depression from my last pregnancy, but I decided to wean myself off and see how I felt. Those first couple weeks were tough. My emotions were a little crazy and I felt dizzy and disoriented all the time. But it got better gradually, and now I feel totally fine. I know sertraline is considered safe in pregnancy, but like you, I just didn't want to take any risks if I could do okay without it (I was willing to go back on them if my depression got bad again).

Can I ask how you're weaning off them? I took 3/4th of my dose for several days, then 1/2 of the dose for several days, then 1/4th of the dose for several days, before stopping them completely, and that seemed to wok pretty well for me.

Hi thanks for your reply! How far gone were you when you started weaning off if u don't mind me asking? I'm doing exactly what you are doing, cutting the tablet by a quarter every few days. Down to a quarter now so practically not on anything. I do feel very light headed, every time I turn my head get a funny noise in my ears :-/ it's good to know that it does get better! Thanks so much for this it's given me a ray of hope xxx

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Hi thanks for your reply! How far gone were you when you started weaning off if u don't mind me asking? I'm doing exactly what you are doing, cutting the tablet by a quarter every few days. Down to a quarter now so practically not on anything. I do feel very light headed, every time I turn my head get a funny noise in my ears :-/ it's good to know that it does get better! Thanks so much for this it's given me a ray of hope xxx

I was about 6 weeks when I started the weaning process, and was done with it by 8 weeks. I'd say the withdrawal symptoms were totally gone by week 9, so not too bad in the long run. I'm happy to say that I've been doing really well without it. I haven't noticed much depression or anxiety, so I think I'll be able to finish out the pregnancy without it.

Good luck! I hope everything works out well for you with the weaning process and that you don't have to go back on. It's got to be terrible worrying about it the whole pregnancy.

 

[CharCharxxx]

Hi thanks for your reply! How far gone were you when you started weaning off if u don't mind me asking? I'm doing exactly what you are doing, cutting the tablet by a quarter every few days. Down to a quarter now so practically not on anything. I do feel very light headed, every time I turn my head get a funny noise in my ears :-/ it's good to know that it does get better! Thanks so much for this it's given me a ray of hope xxx

I was about 6 weeks when I started the weaning process, and was done with it by 8 weeks. I'd say the withdrawal symptoms were totally gone by week 9, so not too bad in the long run. I'm happy to say that I've been doing really well without it. I haven't noticed much depression or anxiety, so I think I'll be able to finish out the pregnancy without it.


Good luck! I hope everything works out well for you with the weaning process and that you don't have to go back on. It's got to be terrible worrying about it the whole pregnancy.

Ah well done for getting off of it Hun that's great news thank you I will be ok I'm sure, everything has just been getting me today. I can't stand the thought of having another pregnancy where I'm sick with worry about something going wrong because of the meds. As it happens my little boy was fine but I'll still panic about this one lol xx