Is weaning from Zoloft making me dizzy or the Wellbutrin I switched to?
The dizziness/drunkness and brain zaps that you are experiencing are a very well-known result of “withdrawal” from antidepressants called SSRIs. People prefer to use the term “discontinuation syndrome” because “withdrawal” has such a negative image associated with it, and health care professionals don’t want people to feel addicted to antidepressants. SSRI stands for “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor”, which basically increases the amount of a happy chemical in your brain called serotonin. It takes a long time for this to occur, at least 4 weeks, and when SSRIs (like Zoloft) are removed too quickly, the serotonin levels in your brain are rapidly decreased. This temporary decrease leads to those weird feelings, including flu like symptoms like diarrhea, chills and vomiting. This discontinuation syndrome can last for a few weeks, unfortunately- but Zoloft is not known as one of the “terrible” antidepressants for the brain zaps (Paxil and Effexor are considered the most difficult to
