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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by karenR on September 5, 2001, at 13:02:04
I am currently taking 100mg 2X daily of serzone and need to come off. My doc said
go down to 50mgs 2X/day for 4 days and then just stop. I"ve been on the serzone for
about 5 months now.Has anyone experienced withdrawal symptoms? I had terrible ones coming off
of zoloft and I just want to be prepared. Has anyone weaned off? How long
did you take to do it?Thanks,
karenR
Posted by susan C on September 5, 2001, at 16:21:03
In reply to Serzone Withdrawal??, posted by karenR on September 5, 2001, at 13:02:04
I am sorry I cannot be more specific with amounts and times, all I can share is after two opinions to go off of Serzone cause it could be contributing to manic and wasn't really helping depression after being on it for 11 months, One doc said, just stop, my pdoc said go slowly. I decided to stop it because I didn't think it was really helping much, if at all. I slowly tapered as per his instructions. Each time I dropped I got very depressed for several days, The last was the worst. I eventually went on Depakote which kind of helped even things out. I am now on an additional trial of Keppra. If you would like details, let me know. I just share to encourage you to be cautious and be ready to ask for help.
Susan C
> I am currently taking 100mg 2X daily of serzone and need to come off. My doc said
> go down to 50mgs 2X/day for 4 days and then just stop. I"ve been on the serzone for
> about 5 months now.
>
> Has anyone experienced withdrawal symptoms? I had terrible ones coming off
> of zoloft and I just want to be prepared. Has anyone weaned off? How long
> did you take to do it?
>
> Thanks,
> karenR
Posted by Kathleen6674 on September 5, 2001, at 17:40:29
In reply to Serzone Withdrawal??, posted by karenR on September 5, 2001, at 13:02:04
I tapered gradually - I decreased by 50 mgs every three days, so it took me a few weeks to get off the stuff completely.
I didn't have any withdrawal effects - in fact, I felt better the less of the stuff I had in my system (it caused me some probs).
Everyone's different, so you may or may not have the same experience. I did find the slow incremental way to be good for me, though. Good luck!
Posted by Tony P on September 6, 2001, at 3:14:55
In reply to Re: Serzone Withdrawal??, posted by Kathleen6674 on September 5, 2001, at 17:40:29
I also recommend tapering, somwhere in the range between what your doc has suggested and Kathleen's regime. Once you're down to 50 mg. a day for two or three days, stopping feels like nothing (in my experience). Paradoxically, the withdrawal (for me) seemed to be harder early in treatment (say 5 months) than it was when I tried a holiday again after several years, so tapering is important. When I was on 300 mg and taking it all at night, in the first year or so I would sometimes get quite squirrelly if I delayed my dose for more than an hour or two. But as long as I took SOME at the right time the tapering off was pretty mild. You're on a low dose, which should also make it easier.
Get a pill cutter from the drugstore if you don't already have one - they're very useful! The Serzone pills being flat, you can easily halve or even quarter them to help smooth things out.
Good luck,
Tony P> I tapered gradually - I decreased by 50 mgs every three days, so it took me a few weeks to get off the stuff completely.
>
> I didn't have any withdrawal effects - in fact, I felt better the less of the stuff I had in my system (it caused me some probs).
>
> Everyone's different, so you may or may not have the same experience. I did find the slow incremental way to be good for me, though. Good luck!
Posted by Chach on October 8, 2001, at 13:51:57
In reply to Re: Serzone Withdrawal??, posted by Tony P on September 6, 2001, at 3:14:55
i have been taking serzone for a very short amount of time and i have been experiencing problems with my memory and my thought process possibly. i am assuming its becuase of serzone so i decided to stop i was on 100 x2 a day. its been about 38 hours sinc ei last had it and i feel light headed i was tempted to go take 50 and ween off it but ive already come 38 hours im hoping this feeling goes away soon. e-mail-Chachmanphiladel@aol.com
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