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Increase or not?

Posted , 10 users are following.

Potatoghost
Potatoghost

I've been on sertraline 50mg for 11 days now and no improvement so far, I know it takes a lot longer to work,but my doctor just informed me he would like me to go up to 100mg at week 3 as he said 50mg is too low and isnt the therapeutic dose and said he thinks it's not high enough to help with my anxiety/depression as well as 100mg.

just wandering if I should increase or still wait it out a lot longer to see.

just dont want to waste time on a dose that isnt strong enough to help

thanks x

0 likes, 84 replies

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  • kevin95158
    kevin95158 Potatoghost

    Posted

    in my opinion you should follow your Gp's advice

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost kevin95158

      Posted

      a lot of people on here say to wait a lot longer and gps rush up the doses so wasnt sure . thank you

  • andrew83432
    andrew83432 Potatoghost

    Posted

    iv felt alot better since iv increased pal i did 12 week at 50 mg and its only been 2 week since iv upped dose

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost andrew83432

      Posted

      thanks again Andrew. I think I'm just worried about increasing too soon and today has been hard so I'm worrying about added side effects too. I'm glad you are feeling a lot better since increasing that's really good to hear.

      it's so hard to decide what to do when anxiety tricks you into feeling terrible about everything.

      was it an instant thing when you increased or did you slowly start to improve?

    • andrew83432
      andrew83432 Potatoghost

      Posted

      pretty much yes i still had a bit of anxiety in the morning the 1st week i upped but generally through the day good and night. im the same as you all this started for me the week before christmas its took all this time to feel back to normal whatever that is.

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost andrew83432

      Posted

      it's scary when it takes so long isnt it x it feeds into the whole I wont get better thoughts x did you notice much improvement on the lower dose or did you go straight to the therapeutic dose?

  • CeeDeee
    CeeDeee Potatoghost

    Posted

    As you know I did 4 weeks at 50mg, then 3 weeks at 75mg, then the last 3.5 weeks on 100mg. All as per my doctors instructions. I regretted upping at one point as a lot of people said I should've stuck on the 50mg & waited the 12 weeks as chances are it would've been effective & maybe they're right? However, now I'm glad I did up it as the side effects weren't as bad, especially when I went to 100mg, in fact the first 4 days on 100mg were awesome, motivated & confident which is why I think it'll be my dose or at least hope it will. Also a bit like you, I now sort of feel at least I'm on a middle range dose wise, so rather than waiting 12 weeks on 50 then upping i'm already there. It's hard though to know what to do so I do feel for you as it's all guess work & trial & error & the last thing any of us want is to make ourselves worse or keep changing so much our system starts struggling. A lot of people say that you should stick it out on the 50 & wait the 12 weeks but ultimately it's your decision & you do what you feel is right. Everyones journey is different so while people can tell you what they'd do or have found out all you can do is do your best with the information you have. My standard dose on Citalopram was 20mg which I think is the equivalent to 100mg of Sertraline.

    Sorry that doesn't help & I dont want to sway you one way or the other, as I don't know what the answer is, I just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this confusing journey of meds.

    My plan at the moment is to let the 100mg settle for a good 12 weeks now.

    • CeeDeee
      CeeDeee

      Posted

      sorry for the essay again... i seem unable to do short answers 😃

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost CeeDeee

      Posted

      hey clairee dont worry about the essay x we are both as bad as each other when it comes to that 🤭 and it's good to get a long reply, more info to work with x

      it sounds like 100mg will be your dose so that's really good x and I'm glad you've decided to stick with it

      any improvement since we last spoke?

      when I was on citalopram my dose was 20mg so that's good that 100 of sertraline is the same so to speak. makes me feel a little less nervous about taking the plunge if I decide too.

      my doc was really nice about it and said to stay on 50mg if I want too.

      but he thinks it's not enough to help how bad I've been. I'm on 8 months now since this all started again so its getting tough so I'm just a little more careful about changing doses ect.

      thank you for replying again claireeeeee lol

      hope your little ones haven't been driving you up the wall too much.

    • CeeDeee
      CeeDeee Potatoghost

      Posted

      I'm the same, this all started for me on the 4th January this year, I battled by myself for 6 months & did improve but it was surviving not living so thats when i decided i needed some pills. So 8 months in total, must've been something in the air as my friends started then too!

      I've actually had a pretty decent day today, the only time i had that antsy nervous feeling in my chest was for about an hour or so midday. Probably the best day so far. These pills are so weird as Monday was a tough day, yesterday not too bad, then today good. I dont know which way is up but I'm always thankful for the good days.

      The kids have definitely kept me busy, mainly playing referee between the older 2's spats.. lol

      Your doctor sounds nice, informative but not pushy.

      How's your day? Did you manage to get out & about at all?

      Are you on Sertraline or Lustral? I didn't realise that there was more than one name for it other than it being called Zoloft in the States. I see people mentioning different names. Mine just says Sertraline on the box.

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost CeeDeee

      Posted

      I'm in the UK and mine just says sertraline on the box so I'm not too sure about lustral.

      that's really good that you had a good day so it sounds like they are starting to kick in for you. eventually the bad days will disappear and you will be left only with good days so that's brilliant! hopefully the hard parts are over for you now x

      yesterday was a difficult one for me, very panicky but I made it through so thats the important thing.

      I'm worse today but I think thats because I have a meeting I have to go to today and I'm tricking it. feel very close to panicking but trying to power through.

      its days like today that I think I cant deal with this but I'm sure it will pass once the meeting is over.

      how are you today hopefully still on the up fingers crossed. x

    • CeeDeee
      CeeDeee Potatoghost

      Posted

      hey, how are yoy doing today? I haven't been on for a few days as the kids have kept me super busy.

      Hope you're doing ok, must be about day 15/16 for you now.

      just thought i'd check in.

  • deblou45
    deblou45 Potatoghost

    Posted

    i would increase and follow foctors advise i am still weaning down but having therapy too

    • Potatoghost
      Potatoghost deblou45

      Posted

      how have you been since dropping the dose? x I assume you haven't started the sertraline yet. x hope ur doing ok

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