Coming off Zoloft (50mg)

[JamesMama]

I've been on 50mg of Zoloft for a few months now and in preperation to TTC : I want to wean off. I think I'm doing MUCH better, I'm at a much better place in life and I feel ready to get off the drugs. :

I see my m/w tomorrow, I'm just wondering what to expect?

I really want to start actively TTC ASAP but want to have a while to flush the meds from my system before I get pregnant (because of the risk to the baby).

Anyway I can take something herbal if I feel the need? Vit D or St. Johns Wart or something?

Thanks!!

[Thandiwe]

Originally Posted by JamesMama

I think I'm doing MUCH better, I'm at a much better place in life and I feel ready to get off the drugs.

Be very careful; this is definitely partly due to the fact that you're on the meds. I know for myself, my doc said he wanted me on it for a year before I tried to come off. I would really gradually start weaning down; maybe spend a good few weeks at 25 mg.

[mom0810]

You need to be on the meds for at least a year in order to avoid relapse. That's, I guess, the "bad" news.

The good news is, there is NO reason in the world not to ttc now, while on the zoloft. It is pregnancy category B, and very safe to take while pregnant. I took it while pregnant, as did many other moms here.

Zoloft is the safest med (ssri) while pregnant and nursing. There is a lot of great information out there, Dr. Hale's website is a great source of recent info.

Two new studies came out in the summer of 2007 that showed NO INCREASED RISK while taking zoloft during pregnancy. So that was very good news.

50 mg is still a baby tiny dose. I would not be concerned about it at all.

Talk to your midwife and your psychiatrist, or whomever prescribed the zoloft.

I suggest NOT weaning off now. It's waaaaaaaay too soon. Give yourself a year on the meds, and some time after your pregnancy, and THEN wean off. You think you are doing so well now because the meds are working. You should never ever take any ssri for a few months only.

[Mosaic]

Ditto the others. Weaning, even off of only 50mg, is not fun. Expect at least several weeks at a reduced dosage, and definitely seriously consider whether this is a decision you would like to make right now, particularly with the pressures and concerns that TTC and pgy may bring.

[teachma]

I had been taking 150 mg Zoloft when, two weeks ago, I learned that I am pregnant (unexpected). In the last two weeks, I have successfully weaned down to 50 mg. I endured mega-headaches for five or six days when I was transitioning between 100mg and 50 mg. I think I will stay at 50 for a bit (2 more weeks?) and then go to 25 for a while...Id liek to be off it by my 2nd trimester.

[mom0810]

Teachma,

Why? Just wondering why you'd like to get off of it. Not being snarky, just really curious.

[teachma]

Originally Posted by mom0810

Teachma,

Why? Just wondering why you'd like to get off of it. Not being snarky, just really curious.

No snarkiness assumed. You know, I suffered with pretty severe anxiety for many years, unwilling to treat it with drugs basically because I do not like, or really trust, medicine. I don't take Advil for a headache, skip Tylenol when I have a fever, avoid Sudafed even with bad congestion...it just doesn't feel right to me. There are always side effects of even the most bening drugs, and I especially worry about effects of long-term use. However, in March, I ended up in the hospital for two days and my diagnosis was severe anxiety. That was the culminating experience-- it was awful, and my family finally convinced me to try medicine.

So, because I have always been so reluctant to subject myself to any side-effects of a drug, I can't wrap my mind to doing that to my unborn child. Heck, my 8 year old son has severe anxiety and OCD, and I won't even medicate him (yet), so how can I do that to my developing child? It's my own personal issue, one that I can't really get over. I would never fathom o judge another for making a different decision-- mostly, I wish I could let myself choose to stay on the Zoloft because intellectually, I know it's probably just fine. Emotionally, though, I just can't. That said, let's see how easy it is for me to go off it.

Sorry for the lengthy response!

[JamesMama]

Thanks mama's...

I'm just slightly concerned because we're planning to UC with our next baby and I've been reading some stuff about higher risk of respitory issues with babies when the mom is on AD's...even zoloft.

I'll talk to my m/w about it I suppose...see what she recommends as I plan on telling her our decision to UC.

[momo7]

I was on it for about two years ( i took it while I was pregnant too) and then one day I just decided to stop taking it, I didn't gradually wean myself or anything like that. The worst thing I experienced was out of no where I felt like I stuck my finger in a light socket. It was like an electric shock going down one side of my body. The other side effect was that I felt kind of like I was zoning in and out all the time. It lasted about 4 weeks I think.

I recently had to go back on it, I don't think I can ever be off of it.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

The key with going off any AD is to do it very slowly. Never wean off cold turkey since your body could go into shock causing all sorts of nasty things to happen.

I was on paxil for pg depressing with my ds and weaned off it in my 7th month so that by the time he was due there was no issue with possible respiratory issues and then went on zoloft the week after he was born when ppd started rearing its disgusting head.

I only had to take it about 5months after he was born and slooooowly weaned off it on my own at that point. I had to take is with dd 18months for ppd and again slooooowly weaned off.

[mom0810]

Teachma,

I don't want to highjack this thread but at the same time, I just wanted to pose a question to you...

Do you suppose that your hesitance to take medicine could be part of your anxiety disorder?

I have the same problem with my disorder and I HATE putting chemicals in my body, of any kind. I can't even really enjoy a glass of wine because I am wondering what it will do to me... you know?

I avoid the same medicines you do.

BUT, I am just thinking that perhaps, maybe, your reluctance to take meds could be caused by the very disorder you are trying to treat? Something to think about...

And to the OP...

Respiratory problems do not occur in babies whose mothers took zoloft any more than they do in babies whose mothers were not taking anything.

AND...

Studies have shown that the fetus is much worse off if the mother is depressed (or anxious) during pregnancy than if she is medicated for it. The medication is MUCH less harmful than the anxiety itself. That was part of what the studies last summer showed, as well as the fact that medicated babies were no worse off than unmedicated. The pulmonary problems did not occur at a higher rate, that is.

[JamesMama]

Thanks mamas!!

Guess thats what I get for relying on Google

I see my m/w tomorrow to get a check on the PPD and we'll evaluate from there. I may see about weaning down to like 25mg toward the end of my pregnancy JIC and then getting back on a higher dose afterward to combat any PPD...being on a lower dose would make me feel better, personally....not that 50mg isn't safe...it would just make me feel better, ya know?

[mom0810]

Sure, that's what I did. I was on 25 through pregnancy and then went up to 50 PP. You have to do what works for you.

[Thandiwe]

OP - how are you doing? What did you decide?

[JamesMama]

Have to call and make a new appt with my m/w they called yesterday and she got called away to catch a baby so they rescheduled me.

It's a good and a bad thing about the hospital my m/w works out of. They are a VERY small hospital, and for pregnancy care they only have 2 midwives and an OB and the OB sees a VERY limited number of patients, he's mostly for high risk patients. If you wanna go to that hospital for birth you're gonna see a m/w. Thats the good part, the bad part is the m/w I see is the main one and she is SUPER busy. I'd guess she catches roughly 70% of the babies born at that hospital...which it's a small hospital and they probably only have 200 or so births a year, but still...