Q. I know many people have had a terrible time coming off sertraline. I wish you would tell people about my experience quitting another medicine, Xanax. It is addictive and very hard to stop.
My doctor had the local compounding pharmacy make up “gummy pills” similar to children’s gummy candies. They put a bit less of the drug in each gummy week by week so that I eventually got down to a minute amount. Although it was slow, it really helped reduce the withdrawal symptoms. I hope this will help others.
A. Thank you for this creative method. It should help those tapering off a drug that is hard to stop. That covers a wide range of medications, from alprazolam (Xanax) to zolpidem (Ambien). Other drugs that are best tapered gradually include clonazepam, citalopram, diazepam, lorazepam, omeprazole, prednisone and venlafaxine.
There is more about the difficulties some people have had stopping sertraline at PeoplesPharmacy.com. Many people offer their own experiences in trying to stop the heartburn medicine omeprazole as well. In addition to compounded medicines with very gradually decreasing doses, other ideas to help discontinue such drugs can be found in our Guides to Digestive Disorders or Dealing with Depression.
