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5 weeks on 100mg, still struggling

Posted , 6 users are following.

BulldozerMcr
BulldozerMcr

Just a quick question please. Is there anybody who felt still so awful by weeks 5, like barely could cope/function, had to be laying all day, no motivation, feeling sick, full of intrusive thoughts etc,

and then had success later on, got better and could get him/herself back?

Ive been having still bad days mostly and I keep questioning myself if it is worth it to keep going, riding it out or I should make some changes? up the dose again or change the medication completely. I see other people are much better by this time, I spent 12 weeks on 50mg, 2 weeks on 75 and now 5 weeks on 100, thats 19 weeks alltogether, I find it way too much. What are your thoughts?

Thanks very much,

Kind regards,

B.

0 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • robin32472
    robin32472 BulldozerMcr

    Posted

    Hello!! I really hate to hear that you still are struggling. I wish I had a direct answer for you. In my honest opinion, I would think that if the medicine was going to work for you, that you would be seeing more positive improvements. However, I have read posts where people have not seen any improvement until the 8-12 week mark and some people past that even. You have been suffering for a really long time without any positive changes, if I were in your shoes, I would consider a med change. I wasn't able to last more than 2 weeks on the zoloft, once I switched to Prozac, within a week I was doing so much better. I think I read one of your posts that you don't have a psyche doctor, only a GP? A psychiatric doctor has more knowledge of these types of medications than a GP. I just think if zoloft was going to work, you would see some changes by now. I'm sorry, I'm sure I'm not helping you much. It's so hard to know what to do. Something will work, don't lose hope!!

  • julie1222
    julie1222 BulldozerMcr

    Edited

    Hi,

    So sorry your still struggling I started on 50 mg and it took about 6-7 weeks then I went up to 100mg after about 4 months and it took about 2 months to work but now I feel so much better I still get awful days and panic times but they are less and less. Everyone is different though, I would give it a bit longer but if you can't cope maybe you need different medication. Maybe a chat with your doc might help. I really hope you start feeling better soon x

    • BulldozerMcr
      BulldozerMcr julie1222

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply! Just a quick question, how bad was that 2 months for you while you were waiting for the med to kick in? Did you have any good days on 50mg as well?

      I am totally clueless what to do, because my doc said I should go back to 50mg which doesnt make any sense for me as I spent 12 weeks on 50 and I still felt awful. When I asked jer what to do I was experiencing a recommendation for increasing the dose or switching the med but she didnt come up with that. This day is a bit better tho anyway, trying to hope it can get even better.. Best wishes for you! Thanks for replying!

    • julie1222
      julie1222 BulldozerMcr

      Edited

      Hi,

      When I was on 50mg it was really hard! I felt slightly better but had more bad than good days I said before I was on 100mg but meant to put 150mg it seemed to take forever and had some awful days but I'm so glad I stuck it out as I feel they are right for me. I really hope you feel better soon but please if you feel they aren't working go speak to your doc. I do find it strange though that they were talking about reducing your dose when your clearly not ok . Stay strong though and battle through you can do this hope this helps you I dont mind if you want to chat more take care x

  • louisa17108
    louisa17108 BulldozerMcr

    Edited

    Hi,

    I have been on 100mg for 7 weeks now and I am also still struggling. I started on 25mg for 2 weeks then 50mg for 2 weeks so Ive done 11 weeks in total. A friend who has been on sertraline for over a year and her daily dose is 150mg told me to give it 12 weeks on 100mg before giving up on sertraline but like you I am having serious doubts. Hope this helps.

    Louisa

    • BulldozerMcr
      BulldozerMcr louisa17108

      Posted

      Is it that bad for you too or you can function? I cant do anything, I am housebound. Mostly have to lay otherwise its even worse. I did have some easier days when I could do the housework, cooking, shopping etc but Ive been having much more bad days. Is it similar for you or not that bad?

    • louisa17108
      louisa17108 BulldozerMcr

      Edited

      Hi Bulldozer,

      It is bad for me too. I do have some good days but few and far between. I'm also housebound, spending most days in bed or on the couch. I'm going to call my psychiatrist on Monday to get some advice. Maybe go see your doctor or pharmacist who can give you advice. Feel free to keep in touch as it is a relief to find someone having a similar experience as myself. You are not alone.

      Best wishes

      Louisa

    • BulldozerMcr
      BulldozerMcr louisa17108

      Edited

      Ive just asked about an appointment from a psychiatrist for next week. She didnt get back to me yet. My GP doesnt have a clue about these things, and she wont give me a referal to an NHS psychiatrist so I have to pay a fortune for a private one. Anywas today wasnt that bad, saw a film yesterday on netflix, I strongly recommend it to you, its title Heal, it gave mw some hope. How was your days yesterday and today?

    • louisa17108
      louisa17108 BulldozerMcr

      Posted

      The mental health services in the NHS are seriously underfunded. It took me 1-2 years to get one on the NHS. Ask your doctor for a referal to a psychologist first, tell them you want to do CBT. You'll wait about 1 year for that then tell your psychologist that you are house bound and ask can they refer you to a psychiatric hospital as a day patient. That is the only way you will get a psychiatrist on the NHS. Its a long process but worth it as my GP didn't take me seriously until he got reports from the hospital, psychologist and psychiatrist.

      Anyway I'm glad you had a good day yesterday, mines was not so good pounding headache and body sweats had me in bed. Felt like my head was stuck in a vice but I am having a good day today even going to attempt to do some housework. Yeah to the good days lol

      Thanks for the movie suggestion, I will watch it after dinner. Hope your having a good day?

      Louisa 😃

    • louisa17108
      louisa17108 BulldozerMcr

      Edited

      Hi,

      I did watch the movie/documentary and to some degree I do believe in spiritual and faith healing. I would 100% recommend meditation, nutrition and exercise. I do believe and have had some success in CBT. So overall I believe that you can train your mind to heal you but for me at the moment medication is still important in that process as mastering the mind takes hard work, commitment and a lot of time. What are your thoughts?

      Louisa

  • sandi77808
    sandi77808 BulldozerMcr

    Edited

    "and then had success later on, got better and could get him/herself back?"

    Based on the research I have done AND witnessing my daughter's journey through severe depression, the answer is YES!!! This medication is a roller coaster. You have good days and bad days. I saw my daughter have pretty much completely normal days around 5 weeks (and I was like "Yay! She's cured!") and then the next day spend the entire day in tears. It can take AT LEAST up to 6 weeks to even have any good days, so you're already ahead of the curve. What happens is that the good days start to outnumber the bad ones. By 13 weeks my daughter was her old self - by 18 weeks she was off the meds and has been thriving ever since.

    Please hang in there and BELIEVE you will get better. You are NOT alone, you have a cheering section right here. xo

    • c53732
      c53732 sandi77808

      Edited

      This is good to read and gives hope. How bad were the bad days? On my bad days l can barely function. Thankyou C53732.

    • sandi77808
      sandi77808 c53732

      Posted

      They were pretty rough. Yes, she was barely functioning on those days too. But then the good days started to outweigh the bad til there were only good ones xo

    • c53732
      c53732 sandi77808

      Posted

      Thanks. Good to hear. l have just had 2 better days.

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