Increased Anxiety

Hi you seem to have gone up on your melds very fast I have been on 50mg for 7 weeks before the doctor has just put me up to 100mg your anxiety does go up I have still got anxiety and the doctor has given me pills to help me take care

Hi 

You do seem to have increased your dosage rapidly with your GP. From experience your anxiety could have increased due to the fast increase like a fight or flight thing in your mind. I went from 50mg to 100mg and felt similar as i thought I am not getting better i need a higher dosage. After a few days though it did settle down and I do feel much better socaily and with eveyday stuff.

It really works its just a case if your body getting used to it.

Good Luck 

P x

I experienced a serious increase in anxiety when i started with 25mg sertraline and then 3 weeks later when i increased the dosage to 50mg.  I have been on 50mg for 17 days and I still have the increased anxiety - my GP prescribed Ativan but I have only taken it once because i don't want to become dependent on it - i figure if i can manage to take it every other day that would be okay.  

so the increased anxiety is totally normal from what i have read here and my own experiences.  As impossible as it sounds you just have to take it a moment at a time and now after 38 days there a definite moments when i feel normal and i believe that they will come more frequently and last longer as the meds reach their therapeutic dosage sometime around 6-8 weeks.  Take care of yourself and be proud that you have reached day 17.  It is an amazing accomplishment!  xo

Do read the patient info leaflet for side effects. I'm in tears every day and I came off them a week ago

If you read the leaflet inside the medications box it tells you, like all these SSRI's etc, that your symptoms are likely to get worse before they get better. However, the information never goes into detail as to why this happens, so we just have to sit back (lie back, fall back) and take it on the chin in the hope that those in the' know' , know what they are talking about. If it's of any interest, I found the following snippet of information regarding this phenomena most illuminating: 

    "Within just a few hours of taking an SSRI for the first time, the levels of serotonin in the brain and bloodstream increase. Yet, we don't feel immediate results. Zoloft takes weeks to work. Why?

    The answer is us. Our bodies need time to adapt to the new normal created by taking a pill laced with sertraline that is designed to increase serotonin levels in the brain. Not only does this SSRI medication help the brain absorb serotonin into the blood stream more effectively, but it may actually change the makeup of the brain. The brain needs new receptors to help absorb the additional serotonin; it builds and installs additional receptors -- a biological process that can take up to eight weeks. So, even though Zoloft increases the levels of serotonin in our bodies nearly immediately, our brains aren't immediately equipped to absorb it [source: Crowe].

   If, however, after six to eight weeks, Zoloft doesn't seem to be positively affecting your mood, anxiety -- or other condition for which it was prescribed -- it's time to alert your physician. Not every antidepressant will work the same for every person, and an estimated 50 percent of people who try an antidepressant will need to take a different brand or class before finding one that works for them. Or, it could just be that your dosage needs to be increased [source: Grohol].

   Your physician will help determine your type and dosage of antidepressant by considering your symptoms, other medications you are taking, health conditions, potential side effects, and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding. In addition, he/she may inquire as to whether a particular antidepressant has been taken by a close relative, and what the results were. If your brother's depression, for example, lifted after taking Zoloft, yours probably will, too [source: Mayo Clinic]."

 6 to 8 weeks sounds like a long time, especially when you're not feeling too good, but, inevitably, it will pass and then, hopefully you will have a positive result. If not change does or switch medication. It's a bit of a tedious journey but you'll get somewhere in the end.

Good luck and go with the flow.