5 1/2 weeks treating anxiety
Posted , 5 users are following.
Advice needed please, as I've religiously been looking on this forum for hope for almost 6 weeks.
I started taking sertraline 50mg 5.5 weeks ago for anxiety symptoms, that I've been battling with for the last few years and theyve got significantly worse since I've been planning my wedding and also have an extremely stressful job.
Anyway, first few weeks taking sertraline were horrendous I hardly got out of bed and was like a complete zombie, no appetite etc.
But all that has slowly improved, I can function but still have bouts of really bad anxiety, dry mouth, heavy chest etc.
I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, and know she mentioned upping the dose previously. Would now be a good time to up it ? Maybe to 75mg? Or do I need to stick out 50mg longer ?
xx
0 likes, 5 replies
andi76 lucy55908
Posted
Can you tell us a little more about how you currently feel? You mentioned youve improved from when you initially started taking the Sertraline. How intense and often are you getting the anxiety and the physical side effects of the Sertraline?
lucy55908 andi76
Posted
At the moment I seem to be getting waves of anxiety, shortness of breath, dry mouth, heavy chest, racing heart etc. This was really bad when I started taking them i felt worse than before the tablets. But it has died down a bit the last few weeks...and comes and goes. However I dont ever feel properly calm like I used to pre anxiety. I constantly have the adadrenaline feeling in some form...
My appetite has improved, I can go out and about and do things, and dont seem to have any problems sleeping- I take my sertraline before bed.
I think I'm just expecting to wake up one day and feel completely calm....
SerotoninSurfer lucy55908
Posted
i would speak to the GP but you are showing significant signs of improvement on the dose you are on so i would recommend staying on 50mg for at least a few more weeks. 5.5 weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things as it often takes months to get the improvements you're already experiencing. Really good signs that the Sertraline is working.
lucy55908 SerotoninSurfer
Posted
I completely agree with you and I'm happy to stick at 50mg if the results are going to continue to get better, just wasnt sure if I needed that extra little boost on a slightly higher dose...
I didnt have any form of depression just purely anxiety so I cant really say if my mood feels much different as I think it was always ok anyway (apart from feeling a bit sad about my constant anxiety symptoms not going away with self help !)
Thanks for your thoughts x
Grounded lucy55908
Posted
I also agree with Serotoninsurfer, I would wait it out a few more weeks at least, a good time limit in my experience is about 10-12 weeks to see if that dose is right for you. If your not feeling much better then let your doctor know and go from there. Zoloft is a great antidepressant for anxiety and panic disorder, because that is what I have, also my father and worked very well for us!