Experiencing bad side effects to Sertraline (Zoloft) 1 week in

Hey guys! Just looking for a little bit of support here. I've been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, a small case of PTSD, and depression brought on by anxiety. If you want the short story, basically I'm having bad initial side effects and need affirmation that I'm going to be okay and that this will pass and would like to hear time frames from some of you. If you want the long story, with specific info on what's going on, keep reading.

I had been on sertraline from 2011 to August of 2015. I had slowly weaned off from 150mgs over the course of a year because I thought I had improved to the point of not needing medication. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It only took a couple weeks completely off of the meds for me to start having all of the symptoms I had before I started taking the Sertraline; daily panic attacks, sleeplessness, shaking, no appetite, intense social anxiety, depression, all of that fun stuff. After suffering for 4 months, hoping that my body would get used to not being medicated or I would magically be healed or that the natural supplements and vitamins I was taking would help, I decided, with the advice of my doctor, to go back on the Sertraline.

Here's the problem, I've been on it since Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) and I have been having some very bad reactions. I don't remember if I had reactions like this when I started taking it the first time, so this is new to me. The first day was the worst. I was told to start at 75 mgs so I took it around 10pm and I woke up at 3am, shaking, sweating perfusly, in a full out panic attack, racing heart, and my stomach was just not having it. I never vomited, but by intestinal system was freaking out. I spent all Thanksgiving day taking trips to the bathroom between short, nightmare filled, naps. I told me doc and he told me to go down to 50mgs for a few days to let me body get more used to the medication. The next night, I took 25mgs (accidentally. I wasn't paying attention) and .50mgs of Xanax (help settle me down) and that night I woke up about 7 times, had awful nightmares, frequent heart palpitations, high anxiety, and miserable insomnia. The next night I took 50mgs and .75mgs of Xanax and I had a similar night to the night before, except it wasn't quite as bad. I only woke up 4 times. 4th night, 50mgs, didn't take any Xanax before bed but had .75mgs of Xanax that day (I had to work at my retail job), falling asleep was difficult, but I only woke up twice and the nightmares were uncommon. 5th night, 50mgs, .50mgs of Xanax that day (another day at work) and I finally slept great. I fell asleep fine, probably because my roommates cat was cuddling with me, and I woke up around 9am feeling pretty refreshed. I stayed home yesterday, working on homework and took a 4 hour break playing Witcher 3, but my anxiety was bothering me, and I felt very restless and on edge, so I smoked some weed (I have a card) and it definitely helped a lot as it usually does. I just can't use it before work, which is why I use Xanax instead for that. I smoked some more before bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Unfortunately, I woke up around 6am, panicking, sweating, heart racing, and my intestinal tract about ready to releive itself in my bed. I'm bummed because I thought I was starting to feel better, but today I feel like I took a few steps back. I should be moving up to 75 mgs tonight, but I'm extremely worried about it, and I have a full day of classes tomorrow, working on final projects, and I can't miss it, so I can't feel the way I felt last Wednesday. I do think it is possible smoking weed could have upset my brain last night, so I'm going to do what I did the past few days and avoid it. I guess what I need is someone to remind me that this is going to pass. I need convincing. I need to hear similar stories and time frames for how long these side effects lasted for other people. I need to hear that I'll only have to suffer through this for a couple more weeks and then I'll start to feel the positive effects of the sertraline.

Thanks!

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