What is the Reality of Zoloft Withdrawal Symptoms?
Executive Summary
- Zoloft is an addictive drug.
- Zoloft withdrawal symptoms are greatly minimized by pharmaceutical companies and the overall medical establishment.
Introduction
A primary method used by pharmaceutical companies, MDs, and the overall medical establishment is to minimize withdrawal. This article covers the gaslighting of patients and the public on Zoloft withdrawal symptoms.
What the medical Establishment Says About Zoloft Withdrawal Symptoms
Let us review the following quotation from the Recovery Village recovery center on Zoloft withdrawal symptoms.
Though it is very effective, it is also easy to misuse sertraline. It’s important to understand the facts about Zoloft addiction and what steps can be made towards recovery.
Actually, our analysis is that Zoloft is ineffective for treating depression, and its benefit comes from the placebo effect.
Zoloft withdrawal symptoms can vary depending on the dosage that was prescribed (e.g. someone taking 25mg per day may have less severe withdrawal symptoms versus someone taking 200mg per day), as well as the length of time an individual has been taking the drug. Among the most common withdrawal symptoms from sertraline include:
Nausea
Sweating
Mood changes, including low mood, anxiety, irritability and agitation
Dizziness
Sensory disturbances
Tremor
Confusion
Headache
Lethargy
Trouble sleeping
Ear ringing
Seizure
This sounds like serious Zoloft withdrawal symptoms.
Antidepressants and Addiction
It is amusing to see false information about antidepressant addiction published online.
The following from Genesight is a good example of this.
This is listed under myths of antidepressants.
Myth: Antidepressant medication is addictive.
Bradley Gaynes, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, says that he’s often asked by patients whether they can become dependent on an antidepressant drug. He says the concern is understandable: many anxiety, sleep, and pain medications can be habit forming.
But he says patients shouldn’t worry. Antidepressants are not addictive.
“It’s not the case. Antidepressants just aren’t a medication you can physiologically become dependent on,” Gaynes says. “It’s not how they work.”
That is quite interesting. And quite false — but it is also the standard type of thing said by MDs that prescribe antidepressants to patients.
The Mayo Clinic on Antidepressant Dependency
Here is more pharma controlled information on “dependency” from The Mayo Clinic.
Quitting an antidepressant suddenly may cause symptoms within a day or two, such as:
Anxiety
Insomnia or vivid dreams
Headaches
Dizziness
Tiredness
Irritability
Flu-like symptoms, including achy muscles and chills
Nausea
Electric shock sensations
Return of depression symptoms
Having antidepressant withdrawal symptoms doesn’t mean you’re addicted to an antidepressant. Addiction represents harmful, long-term chemical changes in the brain. It’s characterized by intense cravings, the inability to control your use of a substance and negative consequences from that substance use. Antidepressants don’t cause these issues.
No no…of course not.
To minimize the risk of antidepressant withdrawal, talk with your doctor before you stop taking an antidepressant. Your doctor may recommend that you gradually reduce the dose of your antidepressant for several weeks or more to allow your body to adapt to the absence of the medication.
In some cases, your doctor may prescribe another antidepressant or another type of medication on a short-term basis to help ease symptoms as your body adjusts. If you’re switching from one type of antidepressant to another, your doctor may have you start taking the new one before you completely stop taking the original medication.
So now the patient is moved to another antidepressant when they intend to get off of antidepressants. How does moving a patient to a second antidepressant help that patient get off of antidepressants? The article The Drug Carousel: How Antidepressants Can Become a Gateway to Many More Drugs covers this problem in detail. (Subscription required)
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