Quitting Zoloft. Advice or insights?

Are planning on staying on The Zoloft?

NO!

Why do you ask?

Your point is well taken. I just think some people don’t realize that depression is genetic and it never really goes away. Before I knew what depression was I just found that at times everything was so easy and then there were periods when everything seemed so hard. I was in commission sales and raising two kids with a wife that didn’t work so I just struggled through the bad times.
Talk therapy is kind of like seeing a chiropractor. Once you see them they have a patient for life.
Depression and anxiety are real and passed on from generation to generation. Both my children are very successful but one suffers from depression and one suffers from anxiety. I was very open with both about my depression so when it surfaced for them they got help and are coping very well. I am just grateful that we have medications that treat these diseases and my hope is they only get better. They can never cure it but they can make it very manageable.
I wish everyone on this post the best.

I was just wondering if you were going to continue it with tapering that’s all. I am just wondering if just stopping after a short period at a low dose would cause significant issues. Of course, The Dr. says to just stop and it shouldn’t be a problem.

That is why I asked,

Thanks.

Thanks for reply Dave. I had a great run with a low dose of Paxil CR over the past 18 years. I never considered going off of it. Now, following a surgery, I have debilitating anxiety heaped upon now worsening depression. Still taking the Paxil, but the Dr. is now attempting to get me on other SNRI and SSRI medications which has proved problematic. I totally agree there is a significant genetic component. And based on The Genesight test there are a bunch of headwinds including the genetics that can limit the effectiveness of the medications in general as well as a very short list of well metabolized medications. My Doctor is really struggling with being able to provide any proper guidance now. He recommended Ketamine therapy but was declined due to cardiac issues. Now, he is thinking anticonvulsants to assist with the anxiety. My wife would like me to get off all the medications, but she also has no idea of the intensity of both emotional and physical pain is involved with daily life. Not sure what to do next. None of the options seem really solid at this point.

I have a good friend who suffers from depression and after she retired thought she could stop taking her antidepressant. The result was terrible and my friend felt like he was walking on eggshells around her.
She started taking her antidepressants again and things have improved dramatically.
Years ago my psychiatrist put me on Zoloft, Wellbutrin and Buspar. He also added 1mg of Clonazepam in the morning and 1mg before bed time. I have actually cut my Zoloft from 100mg a day to fifty milligrams.
As far as Clonazepam I have never increased my dosage for the last 25 years. Give this a try and hopefully it works for you.
Best of luck and let me know what happens.

I was diagnosed with a suicidal clinical depression in 2016 and took Wellbutrin which had nasty side effects (my hands shook so much I couldn't write) and I went to a therapist for two years. He would not work with clients who wanted drugs because he said the drugs "masked" their symptoms and he couldn't get at the root problem. I felt somewhat better but went to a Catholic Church and confession - told the priest I was having "bad thoughts" but hadn't done anything (my idea of sin was legalistic - I thought you had to DO something) - and he said "bad thoughts were sins" and after I told him what the repetitive deadly thoughts were, he abruptly put out his hand and rebuked the demons - and something flew off my head - and the thoughts vanished. I thought it was just a temporary psychological cure and the repetitive suicidal thoughts which I had suffered for a couple years would be back the next day, but nope. So if you are having "bad" thoughts, you might try a good confession. Worked for me. Cheap and fast. Find a good Catholic priest and tell him all your "bad" thoughts. That was 10/18 - and it has been 7 years. No problem ever since.

Tried to understand what had befallen me and found a book: Slaying Dragons by Charles D Fraune. It was very informative. People suffering from depression should know about this because depression IS like a dragon. My Mayo MD said it was "the best news I've heard all day" and was very happy for me. I think more people suffering from serious mental health issues (particularly if they are hearing voices urging them to become self destructive and suicidal) really need to find a good priest that they can reveal their own "bad thoughts" to. Today whenever I read about a suicide, I view it very differently than I did before my own unusual cure/liberation. There is help for anyone suffering from mental health afflictions and it can be found inside the confessional. Not necessarily in a bottle of pills. A good and thorough confession is the best. I had absolutely no expectations and didn't even know the priest. He was a total stranger, new to our church and I didn't believe much in confession either. So it was a total shock when I was "cured".... but it seems worth sharing the knowledge this total healing is really possible.

125 mg of Sertraline (Zoloft)
I have been on this high dosage of zoloft for many years (over 10 years). I also take 50 mg of Atenolol. I feel good with this amount of zoloft. Initially I was on a very low dose of 25 mg --- was not working. Fifty mg of zoloft was the increase -- still was not working. I was so miserable waiting for this drug to work. Then my DR increased my dosage to 100 mg. My symptoms still were there -- not as severe -- but still had unpleasant symptoms. Finally, I asked for an increase to 125 mg of Zoloft. Finally, I began to feel better. More than likely, 150 mg would probably even be better -- which is what a psychiatrist informed me after an exam. However, I was afraid to make the leap to 150. Thus, I implemented other mental boosting strategies into my regimen. --- such as a very low carb diet, exercise, prayer and meditation, etc. I have OCD also --- which was my biggest nuisance! Thus, the sertraline (Zoloft) of 125 mg helps this very much. I didn't have the repetitive hand-washing --- it was more of the repetitive thoughts, fears, irritability.

I often wondered if I COULD EVER GET OFF of 125 mg of the Zoloft. My doctor said that if it is helping, stay on it. Thus, I am afraid that if I lower the dosage even, that the OCD and depression symptoms might return severely. Occasionally, I have had mild recurrences when I am stressed out. Once, I deal with the stressful situation, then I am okay again. NEVERTHELESS, I was also informed by my DRs (gen prac & former psychiatrist) that when matters are extremely stressful, and I feel that I need help coping to add the Xanax to the mix. That amount is just 25 mg. I have been instructed to not take this often -- only as needed. Thus, I rarely take the Xanax --- maybe 1 pill a month or every 2 months -- depends on the need.
Initially when the Sertraline (Zoloft) was not working after just getting on it, I had to take the Xanax every day with the 125 mg of Sertraline to arrest the awful/ unbearable symptoms. Once the sertraline started working after about a month of taking it --- I could get off the Xanax and take only when needed , I do find that my hands get extremely cold . But this could be from the 50 mg of Atenolol that I take (been taking over 20 years). As a whole, I am pretty healthy. My diet is very healthy and clean. I am 5'2" and weigh about 118 lbs and I am over 65 years old.
THUS, IS IT harmful to never stop taking the sertraline (Zoloft) and the atenolol?
What is the best meds for OCD? The sertraline seems to be working well for me, but I am taking it also for anxiety and panic attacks. I do get heart palpitations sometime and I used to get PVCs quite often. Thus the meds (atenolol and sertraline) seemed to help with the PVCs and palpitations. Occasionally, I will get palpitations --- and I blame that on a side effect of the atenolol. My concern is that I probably will never be able to stop taking either drugs --- Sertraline (Zoloft) or the atenolol. I now take the atenolol to help with my blood pressure, too -- now -- didn't always because my pressure used to be very low consistently. Then my cardiologist added Rosuvastatin to the mix to help with chloresterol which creeps up sometimes -- even with this healthy diet of mine.
MAIN QUESTION is what are the long-terms side effects of SERTRALINE (Zoloft)? Looks like I might have to be on it forever. I am afraid to try weaning. I would not be able to handle the OCD symptoms anymore . Friends have said that I should try weaning myself off of the Zoloft. My doctor said not if it is helping me --- my quality of life is SO, SO much better. It took forever, forever to get the Zoloft working --- but when it did --- it was worth it! LAD