10th Zoloft Update - 3.533mg

June 2, 2026··

Posted in:Support Zoloft (Sertraline)

taper update

I’ve really had a terrible month, honestly… Despite having reduced the tapering, I’ve been experiencing unexplained tachycardia, sudden mood swings, tremors, and an inability to perform tasks that require fine motor precision, and after a few minutes of these episodes, the other side of the coin appears: dizziness, fatigue, and a sensation of nearfainting. It’s truly a roller coaster that prevents normal functioning. It seems the problem could be related to uncontrolled noradrenergic activity and a lack of a properly functioning serotonergic “braking” system. I felt something similar in 2023, but I resorted to benzodiazepines. After a severe relapse, I restarted treatment; this time I intend not to repeat that pattern. I will continue with a slow taper to see if things stabilize on their own, but I fear that some kind of trauma (maladaptive systemic pattern) may have remained. I suspect the issue may be that hyperfixation and fear of the symptoms trigger a derailment of the nervous system. I just hope that when I reach zero, the system will be more balanced and that it will help prevent my thoughts from overwhelming it the way they are doing now...

Bettoben’s taper progress

View full journey →

Dose (mg)

Mood (/10)

Sertraline/Zoloft:
▸1/2021>100mg, ▸11/22>50mg ▸6/23>25mg (Psychiatrist told me to take half the pills until I finished the box)
✘ Clean 3 Month till massive fall
▸9/23>100mg, ▸1/24>50mg, (I started tapering on my own, because the intention was to have me on 100mg for 5 years) ▸9/24>25mg, ▸7/25>12mg,(starting parabolic with tablet dissolution in water) ▸10/25>11,5mg, ▸11/25>10,3mg, ▸12/25>8,7mg, ▸1/26>8mg, ▸2/26>6,9mg ▸3/26>5,967mg ▸4/26>4,8mg ▸5/26>3,73mg ▸6/26>3,53mg
7/26 back to 50mg

7 Replies

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CatinaStaff2mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

I'm sorry things have been rough for you this past month. It's good you've learned from your past mistakes; I can relate! Yes, hyper-fixating and excessive fear in anticipation of possible symptoms can definitely make things worse. It's good you're taking things nice and slow. I know that one day things will balance out again for you, so hang in there! 💜

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

Bettoben2mo ago

Trusted VoiceZoloft

"I know that one day things will balance out again for you, so hang in there! 💜" — @Catina

Thanks for the support! I just hope that psychiatrists step up and stop ruining lives, and that those who read us can avoid going through what we’ve been through. But I fear that, naively, we trust psychiatrists…

⭐

CatinaStaff2mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

"I just hope that psychiatrists step up and stop ruining lives, and that those who read us can avoid going through what we’ve been through" — @Bettoben

They are severely lacking in knowledge when it comes to safe tapering and withdrawal. Our lived experience will hopefully help others. After I went through my own nightmare, I knew I wanted to volunteer my time helping people who are suffering this way.

Wolf2mo ago

Community AnchorProzac · researching

Nearfainting was something I experienced on very few occassions but still it was precisely that. It's scary. Tachycardia is natural if up to 100 bpm without any additional heart symptoms and gets serious at 130 bpm or higher.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

Wolf2mo ago

Community AnchorProzac · researching

I would not necessarily see it as noradrenaline getting out of control. If you have dry mouth or dilated pupils, then yes. I would say it is emotions and basic systems related to emotion and feeling going out of control. Fatigue is an emotion, physiologically, after all.

Bettoben2mo ago

Trusted VoiceZoloft

@Wolf It's such a complex system, and antidepressant withdrawal can throw everything completely out of balance... the reassuring thing is that it seems to be quite plastic.

Wolf2mo ago

Community AnchorProzac · researching

@Bettoben Yes, it looks like a very typical set of things thrown off balance.

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