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Almost two years ago, I was pregnant with my third child. During my sixth or seventh month of pregnancy, I began to experience depression. Since I had had problems with depression as a teenager, I was deathly afraid of my depression turning worse after the birth of my child. I spoke to my doctor about these things and was prescribed Zoloft since it is safe for pregnancy. The Zoloft helped me to deal with my depression throughout the remainder of my pregnancy and postpartum period. Of course it wasn't gone but it was manageable. There came a time when I felt that it was time to stop taking the medication and to see if I could deal with life on my own. Within a couple of days I had very adverse reactions to NOT taking the medication which included sadness, stress, nausea, dizziness, a feeling of brain "fogginess". I returned to my doctor and she decided that I wasn't ready to come off of the medication. Although I did reduce my dosage in hopes of someday soon becoming medication free. Immediately I felt better after taking the medication. About six months later my family was in a tight spot financially and I wanted to try again to stop the medication. I also felt emotionally ready which I believe without a doubt now that I was. I did so, cold turkey. I know that this is not the ideal nor what doctors would recommend. But that is how it happened for me. Two days later I was having terrible nausea, dizziness, and brain fogginess. Also like my brain could not keep up with my eyes when I looked someplace else or turned my head too fast. My best source at the time for information was the Internet. I searched for others' experiences with stopping Zoloft abruptly and found many, many others who were experiencing the same symptoms as myself! The sad thing is that most of their doctors would not acknowledge Zoloft as having withdrawal symptoms. I found others who like myself had difficulty functioning throughout their day. As the days went by, I hoped that my "withdrawal sickness" would soon end. But behold, weeks went by before I began to feel any relief. Although I do not regret taking Zoloft to help me with my depression, I do wish that the medical community would acknowledge antidepressants as having possible withdrawal symptoms once they are ceased. At least then, I would have had more information as to making a good medical decision for myself and for what to expect in the future. What helped me get through several weeks of withdrawal was: a healthy diet, drinking a lot of water, rest, exercise and prayer. I want others to know out there that if they are experiencing anything like this after stopping Zoloft that they are not alone and it is a very real thing from my own personal experience.

Learn more about this author, Sue Mountain.
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