I need some help on what withdrawl symtoms my 13 year old daughter might experience while stopping Zoloft cold turkey! She started the medication back in 2000 due to OCD but was told in 2003 that she does not have OCD just has alot of anxiety but to continue the medication. Well, she has gained quite a bit of weight and has caused her to become more unhappy with herself. We went to the doctors yesterday and he confirmed that she has gained alot of weight due to the medicine and to simply stop taking the medicine. This has me worried and concerned if that is the right approach? She had her last pill yesterday and was taking 50mg.

I would have her wean herself off. Day by day. I think cold trukey after that long is too much. I would get another doct's opinion..........

I need some help on what withdrawl symtoms my 13 year old daughter might experience while stopping Zoloft cold turkey! She started the medication back in 2000 due to OCD but was told in 2003 that she does not have OCD just has alot of anxiety but to continue the medication. Well, she has gained quite a bit of weight and has caused her to become more unhappy with herself. We went to the doctors yesterday and he confirmed that she has gained alot of weight due to the medicine and to simply stop taking the medicine. This has me worried and concerned if that is the right approach? She had her last pill yesterday and was taking 50mg.


You know it's very weird how u mention this about the weight I never realized that it made u gain weight I was always a very skinny person and ate everything and now that i think back I gained from it also and that was what it was def. from I been off of it now for about 8 months maybe and so many ppl told me I got so skinny so I guess this is true...cuz I was on it for about 2 yrs 150mg but whatever u do do not stop it cold turkey i tried that and i had bad side effects!!!! I then tried it again and got off of it gradually and thank God I am ok now

Thanks for your replies! I have talked to my daughter about weening off but she is pretty firm about going CT because that is what the doctor told her to do. She took her last pill on Tuesday and so far she is doing quite well. I'm hoping this isn't the calm before the storm. As far as weight, she has gained so much over the past 5 years (15 lbs in the last 3 months). She was always a small and very skinny child (in the lower 25%) but now she weighs 10 lbs less then me. Her self esteem is very low so she is very excited about losing some weight or at least not gaining anymore. I've also noticed that she hasn't developed much so i'm wondering if that is also a side effect for young girls, does anyone know? My other daughter (she is 2 1/2 yrs younger) is far more developed which also kills my 13 yr olds self esteem.

Thanks for your replies! I have talked to my daughter about weening off but she is pretty firm about going CT because that is what the doctor told her to do. She took her last pill on Tuesday and so far she is doing quite well. I'm hoping this isn't the calm before the storm. As far as weight, she has gained so much over the past 5 years (15 lbs in the last 3 months). She was always a small and very skinny child (in the lower 25%) but now she weighs 10 lbs less then me. Her self esteem is very low so she is very excited about losing some weight or at least not gaining anymore. I've also noticed that she hasn't developed much so i'm wondering if that is also a side effect for young girls, does anyone know? My other daughter (she is 2 1/2 yrs younger) is far more developed which also kills my 13 yr olds self esteem.



well see how it goes, but honestly the medication is still in her system and takes weeks to get out so she won't fee any side effects just yet cuz that's what hapepned 2 me I felt fine the first few days... same thing happeend to me with my weight, but I am sure she will lose it again cuz ppl been telling me lately I lost a lot of weight and I been eating a lot too thank God for that lol I lost about 15lbs... I am now 5'71/2 122lbs

So far the main withdrawl symptom is headaches so i'm hoping she'll be lucky and not have too many problems. She is so ready to get off this medication. I know she still has some of the medication in her system and maybe its just me but she sure seems nicer to me and her sister?! Is there anyone out there that had a preteen on Zoloft and noticed that their development is much slower than normal preteen/teenagers? Thanks cavv for your input, my daughter has read your replies and is very happy knowing that she might lose weight. :-)

So far the main withdrawl symptom is headaches so i'm hoping she'll be lucky and not have too many problems. She is so ready to get off this medication. I know she still has some of the medication in her system and maybe its just me but she sure seems nicer to me and her sister?! Is there anyone out there that had a preteen on Zoloft and noticed that their development is much slower than normal preteen/teenagers? Thanks cavv for your input, my daughter has read your replies and is very happy knowing that she might lose weight. :-)


Glad I can be of help =)

kitty- I'm curious as to why the doctor doesn't think she has OCD after five years. I can completely understand why you're withdrawing from the Zoloft; I have OCD, too, and the reason I quit taking Lexapro and went back on Zoloft is because I gained about 15 pounds. Still, I would seriously consider trying another SSRI because even if they don't think she has OCD (which is odd after so many years), the severe anxiety can still be helped by some sort of medication. The weight loss should take precedence of course, but you might want to ask for a benzodiazepine such as Valium, Xanax, or Klonopin for her to take ONLY when she's having a severe panic/anxiety attack. I feel her pain because I had to live (unmedicated) through my early teens with OCD; I'm 18 now, but I wish that I could have found out what was wrong with me earlier so I wouldn't have had so many wasted years... :rolleyes: Concerning the delayed development, has she started menstruating yet? I don't want to be too nosy, but usually, the more weight a girl has, the early her menstrual cycle will come. However, Zoloft and all the other SSRI's for that matter, are notorious for causing sexual side effects, so it could be quite possible for the medication to be messing up her pituitary hormones. Good luck, God bless, and if you have any more questions, I'll try my best to answer them! :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

Hi GatsbyLuvr1920! My daughter was seen by a child psychologist back in 2000 and he said that she had OCD due to some of the issues she was going through, he mentioned that Zoloft might help...and it did. My daughter mentioned that she wanted to get off the medication a couple years ago (2003) so we both went to see another child psychologist and she said that she doesn't believe that my daughter had OCD but high anxieties but not to stop taking the medication yet because she didn't believe that my daughter was ready to handle any anxieties that might come. When it comes to development she has only slight budding and very little hair down below....no period yet. My other daughter (11) has ALOT more going on, wears a bra and has a ton of hair down below which in turn upsets my 13 year old. My 13 year old has gained so much weight that she even has really bad stretch marks. She is really ready to get off the medication and seems ready to handle anything that comes so we'll see. She gets on the scale everyday to see if she has lost any weight so I know her weight gain has been such a self esteem killer. Her grandmother (my mother) is taking her to England on August 8th (i'm tagging along also) to visit my mom's side of the family so i'm hoping things will go alright.

I'm sorry to hear that she's going through such a hard time and has such low self-esteem. :(I can imagine that it would be hard to see her younger sister have a womanly figure while she feels that she's overweight. I would think that the development might have been slowed by the Zoloft, and hopefully, now that she's off of it, she can get better. I didn't take Zoloft until I was 15 1/2 and I was already completely developed, so I didn't experience this, but I do feel that I needed Zoloft at age 12. Zoloft is only to be used in children and adolescents for the treatment of OCD and nothing more because, obviously, any medication in a growing body may slow things down. I think that OCD is becoming "overdiagnosed" now, and every time a kid does something "compulsive" or likes things a "certain way" they're assumed to have OCD. I think the real problem is that so many people (psychiatrists included) only see the stereotypes of OCD portrayed by the media, and don't know the proper questions to ask their patients... :rolleyes: I sincerely hope that your daughter feels better, and if you ever want to vent about the evils of anxiety disorders (I also have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and panic attacks due to specific phobias), I'm here! God bless! :angel:
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

You CAN NOT I repeat NOT go Cold Turkey coming off of Zoloft! You must reduce the dosage week by week or every few days. Just like going on Zoloft it's best to gradually increase to the right dose for you ....you come off the same way. Gradually or you will have some pretty bad side affects.You should divide the dose in quarterly increments for at least a few days and keep reducing but never ever go Cold Turkey and I must say I"m surprised the Doctor told you to do that. Good Luck *S*

You CAN NOT I repeat NOT go Cold Turkey coming off of Zoloft! You must reduce the dosage week by week or every few days. Just like going on Zoloft it's best to gradually increase to the right dose for you ....you come off the same way. Gradually or you will have some pretty bad side affects.You should divide the dose in quarterly increments for at least a few days and keep reducing but never ever go Cold Turkey and I must say I"m surprised the Doctor told you to do that. Good Luck *S*

I have a friend in Vancouver BC that has been on Zoloft for a very long time and started when he was very young. His attempts to stop taking it have always ended in failure. It's usually the withdrawl effects that make him take it again and wait to try another time.

I was put on Celexa for sleep problems - the doc wanted to see if an SSRI would help. It didn't, and after only taking a small dose every other day for a month, I had really horrible withdrawl effects while getting myself off. Things like extreme sensitivity to light and sound, this feeling like some one was sticking their fingers inside my head and, something I can only describe as a constant brainfreeze/headache feeling.

Update! My daughter went CT from 5 years of Zoloft over a month ago and is doing quite well with no bad withdrawl symptoms except a headache during the first week. We just came back from a 2 1/2 week vacation from England and she did so well with all of our family members and seems happier being off the Zoloft. Just thought I would update everyone on how she is doing. Thanks all for your advice!!

I recently stopped zoloft CT but I've only been on it since January of this year and was on 100mg a day. I've been off of them for a little over a week now and the withdrawal symptoms are becoming less and less. But there for several days I felt like a complete zombie and I felt like I was coming down with the flu. It was horrible! My body ached, I had very very bad headaches, I was nauseous, VERY dizzy, extremely fatigued, and also had these jolts or ticks which felt like an electrical current running through my body. The only thing I have left now is the jolts/ticks but they are getting much better. The reason I stopped taking the zoloft is because I was more depressed and anxious than I had ever been and it just wasn't helping me at all. I was going to just stop taking the zoloft and switch to something else but this past week I have been happier and more relaxed than I have been in a LONG time. So I did some research and I found that many other people also claimed that zoloft only made their symptoms much worse instead of better and they felt alot better after they stopped taking it. I personally think zoloft is a terrible drug. It may help some people but I think it does more harm than good. I hope your daughter is doing well. I know alot of people say going CT is the wrong thing to do but in my opinion I would rather suffer the withdrawal symptoms than stay on it any longer.

Piscean33- When my daughter started Zoloft in 2000 it seemed to help but as time went by she became mean and angry, not a happy pre-teen at all. She would go out of her way to make others unhappy especially her younger sister. Since being off the Zoloft i've seen a complete change, she will actually let her sister sit next to her or walk with her to our local skate park. She is now more open to try new things like wearing t-shirts whereas before she wouldn't touch them. She has even lost a few pounds so far which is exciting to her (she gained quite a bit of weight while on the medication). It was completely worth it for her to quit CT. I also have a friend that is on Zoloft (100mg) and can't lose any weight so she is weaning herself off, she is now down to 25mg. :)

Dear Ma'am,
Forgive my kurtness, but I humbly ask that you do more research on this. Please read my recent post my my withdrawl from Effexor XR (I am not suggesting that she will go throught what I am going through as they are very different drugs). I do not wish to scare you but withdrawl does not begin until the half-life of the drug is up(I do not know what the half-life of Zoloft is). This is only day 3 for her. This may in fact be the calm before the storm. For the sake of your daughter, stop relying on your doctors and other people and do your research, Ma'am.
And, for the sake of your daughter, this is NOT her choice. She is only 13 and is NOT educated on what is best for her in these circumstances. She may look as, behave as and wish to handle the responsibilities of an adult but SHE IS NOT. Remember this. She could not possibly have the tools to make an educated decision on what is best for her at this time.
In conclusion, Ma'am, respectfully, it is my very strong opinion that it is incredibly irresponsible for a psychiatrist to precribe any psychotropic drug to a child who's brain is not fully formed. Of course it varies, but the human brain is not fully formed until the approximate age of 17.
Sincerely concerned-
MamaSarah