Hi - New here

[[Je...]]

Hi everyone.

I’m having a tough time at the moment.

Back in Feb/March I went to the doctor to request some Xanax to help with sleep (I’ve used previously short term - no issue) Over approx 1 month I took only .5 mg (alprax) per day. I fact maybe no more than 20 tablets. At the time I was having a set-back with my tinnitus (I’ve had it 20 yrs).

I started using hearing aids which resolved my tinnitus issue. Stopped the Xanax. Maybe late March?? 
 

I’ve made some big health changes so I thought I’d try tapering off 100mg of Zoloft to 50mg. I’ve been taking this for 15yrs. 
This was approx 8 weeks ago. Started getting withdrawal symptoms so I reinstated full dose. Dumb taper I know.

it’s been tough ever since. Mostly tingling/burning sensations. 
 

i started wondering if this could also be a delayed benzo withdrawal? 
 

things have been so desperate. In an attempt to to get to the bottom of my situation, I had 3 x .5 mg alprax left so I took approx 0.1 mg of alprax two days ago. I had a reasonable 24hrs after that, but now I’ve got a bad burning feeling again in the arms.

I just can’t work out if I’m in benzo or Zoloft withdrawal?

If the benzo is the main culprit, id have no problem going back on to get my life back. 
 

I just don’t know what to do?

Any guidance or support would be so appreciated 

 

 

 

[[...]]

Hello, @[Je...]! Welcome to BenzoBuddies!)

Really sorry for the tough time you're having now. I guess it's hard to say what is what with these medications. I think it must be both, perhaps, multiplying each other's bad effects. I had a situation contrary to yours. Long term benzo and an attempt to take zoloft, for just 1 month. It was the beginning of my worst time, which is luckily over. I hope other members will share their experience and thoughts too. 

Good luck!

 

[[De...]]

I had Rapid taper from clonasepan And ad in same time. (Didnt had good doctor back then) So we really didnt know What was problem. Wd from clomasepan or ad because of similar patern in simptoms. It turn out to be clonasepan. My new doctor say its always better to taper one by one medicine, not in same time. And its always good to taper benzo First And then ad after you are stable without benzo.  But I was on medication for 2,5 years. And it wasnt zoloft. 

[[PE...]]

I'm not sure wd symptoms is the same.. I stopped taking SSRI a fwe times like 10 years back. Back then there was no tapering. One time i got brain zaps.. but that was the only thing happening and it was once.

I don't think SSRI effects CNS like benzos. 

[[De...]]

There are similar simptoms. 🫤

Not for everybody, like with bezos, some find it hard to stop. I was wisiting site surviving antidepresant And read stories there from people having hard time to stop. 

[[Cr...]]

5 hours ago, [[J...] said:

I’ve made some big health changes so I thought I’d try tapering off 100mg of Zoloft to 50mg. I’ve been taking this for 15yrs. 
This was approx 8 weeks ago. Started getting withdrawal symptoms so I reinstated full dose. Dumb taper I know.

8 weeks ago is when you started your Zoloft yaper or when you reinstated?

And how long did it take you to get from 100mgs to 50mgs? Did you cut 50mgs right away and hold?

[[Je...]]

1 hour ago, [[C...] said:

8 weeks ago is when you started your Zoloft yaper or when you reinstated?

And how long did it take you to get from 100mgs to 50mgs? Did you cut 50mgs right away and hold?

Hi. It’s been approximately 6 weeks since I went back to 100mg and holding. No adjustments 

[[Cr...]]

32 minutes ago, [[J...] said:

Hi. It’s been approximately 6 weeks since I went back to 100mg and holding. No adjustments 

Was your cut to 50 mgs an instant dose change or did you taper down to 50 from 100?

When I used Zoloft I cut my dose in half and thought I was lucky not to have any withdrawals. They did occur around a month later so I went back to my old dose and it took about 2 months for things to level out. And that was going from 25 mgs to 12.5 mgs and back to 25 mgs. A 50% cut like you did but only ¼ the total amount.

If your symptoms are from benzo withdrawal (or mostly), you are already over 3 months out and that is a decent chunk time you have already put into recovery. So if reinstating is crossing your mind you may want to think about how much recovery ground you would lose and thebpossibility that a return to benzos may not provide as much relief as you had hoped, leaving you dependent and needing to do a slow taper.

Right now while trying to stabilize I wouldn't try making major changes to the current medication regimen. If after 1 to 2 months you don't see an improvement, it could be that due to the shock of your previous sudden dose drop your body cannot tolerate Zoloft anymore. If that is the case you could talk to your doctor about tapering off or switching to a different AD.

The good folks at Survivingantidepressants.org may be able to help you figure this all out as well.

[[Cr...]]

Jeff, going back and re-reading your first post it doesn't seem like you experienced any major withdrawals when you stopped Xanax in March. Since it has a very short half-life, acute withdrawal should have came on pretty quickly following cessation leaving me to believe you didn't become physically dependent on Xanax.

If that is the truth, then that leaves the Zoloft med changes as the most likely cause of your current symptoms. What I said before still holds true though.  So you could wait another month or two to see if you can readjust to Zoloft. If no improvement then you may need to talk to your doctor about switching to another AD or doing a taper.

[[Je...]]

49 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Jeff, going back and re-reading your first post it doesn't seem like you experienced any major withdrawals when you stopped Xanax in March. Since it has a very short half-life, acute withdrawal would have came on pretty quickly following cessation leaving me to believe you didn't become physically dependent on Xanax.

If that is the truth, then that leaves the Zoloft med changes as the possible cause of your current symptoms. What I said before still holds true though.  So you could wait another month or two to see if you can readjust to Zoloft. If no improvement then you may need to talk to your doctor about switching to another AD or doing a taper.

Thanks Crono. You are extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful. 

I pray for improvement every day