Hello All...................[hope your all well]


Long time i know just need advice.

Iv'e been on Zolfot[sertaline in the uk] for nearly 3 years...................last month i stopped taking it...[was on 150mg] i for the lat two weeks have been suffering with low back pain...L+R/ Hip pain........and now both Knees are killing me. Has anyone heard of or experienced muscular/bone pain from stoppping anti-depressant meds?



David
Thanks

((( David )))

Sorry to hear this. Did you stop the 150 mg abruptly without tapering? Did you start another antidepressant in place of Zoloft, or just stop the Zoloft?

I had not heard of muscular/bone pain before, but Zoloft does affect the nervous system as a whole and, especially if from that moderate-high dose without a taper, you could certainly experience a discontinuation syndrome.

The symptoms vary from patient to patient. More typical are dizziness, fatigue, anxiety... that sort of thing. Also electrical sensations can occur. However, i will note that zoloft does cause increased muscle tension, so i (personally) can see a possiblility of your sx being linked to stopping it.

For prudence, it is ALWAYS best to discuss your symptoms to your pdoc or even general physician, so that if there is any doubt they can run some tests to ascertain that something else is not amuck.

I stopped Zoloft recently but tapered very slowly. I only ran into problems as of the last week, going from a mere 25mg to 0 mg, however i had been on the drug for several years, which increases the likelyhood of discontinuation sx. I had some odd symptoms, but somewhat consistent with Zoloft's activity... i had a lot of agitation but am uncertain if that was exacerbated rather than caused by discontinuation, since the onset predated and indeed is what led to the taper. But, most notably, i had dreadfully disturbed sleep with nightmares and "loop" dreams. i personally found this consistent with the fact that Zoloft is given for OCD and perhaps repetive patterns which the drug had been inhibiting were taking place. it did not last but a couple of weeks.

Zoloft has a fairly short half life (26 hours) so the discontinuation syndrome would tend to appear quickly. Sometimes, when tapering is not possible, a monodose of prozac (long acting SSRI) is given as "padding" to reduce the likelyhood of discontinuation syndrome. No matter, even with tapering, symptoms are possible.

So, while i hope this input is somewhat hopeful that it could well be the Zoloft and thus a transitory thing, i strongly recommend you talk to your doctor. Also, if you stopped abruptly, i would suggest, if possible, planning a slow taper with your doctor (25 mg a week, no more, esp. if you've taken it for a long time.)

I hope you feel much better soon!!!!

Med changes suck!!!



~ waves ~

Both of my knees hurt from having run around in the Supermarket for 14 years. I've never heard of knee pain after someone goes off a antidepressent. It's possible. Pollen is bursting right now,and allergys will sometimes make you ache. BF

Hi, David,
I've heard going off some of the SSRIs can be miserable.

Google muscle and joint pain Zoloft withdrawal and you will see.

You might have to go back on it and work out a plan with the pdoc.

M.

fyi, i did find muscle and joint pains in "unofficial" lists of withdrawal symptoms, but i still feel you should consult the doc to confirm nothing else is going on, and if not, a taper may really be called for.

Anyway, check in and let us know how you're doing... whether you are able to see the doc... what's up and stuff, k?



~ waves ~