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" Question I take one Seroxat tablet daily for depression and anxiety and have been doing so for some months.  I am also seeing a therapist once a week and have felt greatly improved for some time.  I forgot to take my pills for two days and thought I might be able to come off them now, but I suffered dizziness, nausea, anxiety and depression.  I&amp;#039;m aware that these are side\u00A0effects of coming off the drug.  If I felt that the time was right to stop thinking the antidepressant, what is the recommended way to safely withdraw and minimise the side\u00A0effects? Answer As you already are aware, Seroxat is well known for causing problems on withdrawal of treatment.  When a patient has been taking this medication for more than a few months, even small reductions in dosage can cause withdrawal symptoms.  These include:  The return of depression Feelings of intense anxiety Feelings of dizziness Nausea Light-headedness Vertigo.  So what you are experiencing is not unusual. Seroxat is a good drug and generally safe in longterm use, but these problems of stopping treatment are often encountered and are a drawback.  But if it is time to stop treatment, what should you do?  I think you should continue on one tablet a day until you are quite sure you are feeling ok again. This might be a few days or couple of weeks or a couple of months.  Then you should try again to reduce the dose, but this must be done very slowly indeed, and may take three months or more to get off the medication altogether.  Start by taking three quarters of a tablet, or just chipping a bit off the end. Do this for at least two weeks, maybe more, before making another small reduction.  Always stay on the next lower dose at least a couple of weeks before reducing again. When you get to half a tablet a day you will know you are really making progress.  You should try and press on and wait for your system to get used to the lower dose if your symptoms are mild, but if they are troublesome, go back to the previous dose and stay on that until you\u00A0are ready to try reducing again.  Don&amp;#039;t make yourself miserable doing this! Once you&amp;#039;re down to half a tablet it will usually be possible to tolerate a quarter tablet quite soon, but from there on you may need to have your quarter tablet for a while.  This may all sound a fuss, but I have had many patients where this cautious regime has meant they can get off their medication without trouble.  For future reference some tablets for depression have less problems with withdrawal than others. If you are unfortunate enough to have to go back on treatment in the future, you might understandably be wary of going back on Seroxat, knowing how hard is was for you to stop it.  Drugs are constantly being improved and I have found that patients on citalopram have had less trouble stopping than those on Seroxat. Good luck, don&amp;#039;t give up, and don&amp;#039;t despair. I am sure if you explain what has happened, your GP will understand and help you through this, and keep your supply of Seroxat going for as long as you need it. Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team  Other Qs &amp;amp;amp; As Advice on antidepressants Advice on St John&amp;#039;s wort Antidepressants and decrease of sex drive Antidepressants during pregnancy Antidepressants or counselling? Antidepressant side effects Are my antidepressants making me put on weight? Can I mix alcohol with Seroxat? Can I take St John&amp;#039;s wort while breastfeeding? Cipramil during conception and pregnancy - is it safe? 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Will Cipramil affect the Pill? Will St John&amp;#039;s wort stop mycrogynon from working?  Last updated 11.02.2015 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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