Serotonin withdrawal syndrome can occur when patients stop taking SSRIs or SNRIs, causing symptoms such as headache, nausea, and difficulty sleeping. Gradual tapering off the medication can help avoid withdrawal, and patients should speak to their doctors if they experience severe anxiety or depression. The choice of antidepressant should be based on effectiveness rather than the need to taper off the drug.
Serotonin withdrawal syndrome or withdrawal syndrome describes a range of symptoms that can occur when patients stop taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). The syndrome occurs in about 20% of patients who use medications for at least five weeks, such as fluvoxamine (Luvox®), paroxetine (Paxil®), venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine (Effexor® and Pristiq®), and setraline ( Zoloft®). , then abruptly stop the treatment. The syndrome is at odds with what doctors once thought and recommended to their patients: SSRIs and SNRIs were no problem in stopping. In the mid-1990s, reports of a variety of physical and emotional symptoms in some patients who had stopped taking these drugs were too significant to ignore, and the medical community had to readjust the way it talks about antidepressants that prevent serotonin reuptake and how it deals with discontinuation recommendations.
The symptoms of serotonin withdrawal syndrome are varied and the diagnosis is made if people show one or more symptoms at the time of withdrawal. They may include headache, extreme tiredness, nausea and/or vomiting, and difficulty sleeping. Some patients have difficulty walking, have pronounced dizziness or feel lightheaded. Sometimes the disorder presents itself as a bad case of the stomach flu with chills, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients have also reported pins-and-needles sensations or what’s called a “brain zap,” which feels like an electrical charge suddenly occurring in the head. There are other possible outcomes of stopping, such as a sense of severe anxiety or depression, increased dreams, a feeling that nothing is real, feelings of turmoil or suicide.
Since some of these symptoms are also present in conditions of depression or anxiety, it can be difficult to distinguish whether withdrawal is the specific problem or is creating a recurrence of the disease the antidepressant was treating. Generally, serotonin withdrawal syndrome occurs very quickly after discontinuation of drugs, so the symptoms are directly related to it. However, an onset of severe anxiety, depression, or suicidality should always indicate that patients speak to their physicians, and patients are also advised never to stop an SSRI/SNRI “cold turkey.”
One of the best ways to avoid serotonin withdrawal is to taper off an antidepressant gradually, instead of stopping it quickly. Resuming an SSRI can also stop symptoms, which, in some patients, can last for several months or more. If patients are interested in stopping any of these drugs, even if only to switch to another type, it is in their best interest to have a tapering plan in place. This reduces the risk of experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Patients need not choose a drug if its discontinuation could cause serotonin withdrawal syndrome. They can ask doctors about which drugs are most likely to have these effects, but patients cannot yet determine whether they will be among the 20 percent of SSRI/SNRI users who experiment with them. The choice of antidepressant is best based on its effectiveness in the individual and not on the need to taper off the drug.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
