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Transitioning from 15 mg of lexapro to 100 mg of Zoloft and feeling miserable!!

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lauren77196
lauren77196

I’m not sure where to start. This is the first time I have joined a forum. I have been feeling awful dealing with drug transitions the last 8 months and would love some support and advise from you all.

So this is my story...  I have been on 40 mg of Celexa for about 15 years  due to having to do with multiple chronic physical issues.  For the most part celexa worked great for me.  I am normally a happy energetic person! However eight months ago I started experiencing daily headaches due to an emotional experience  resulting in my depression returning. I switched from my 40 mg of Celexa to 20 mg of Lexapro  which seem to help my depression fairly quickly however I was completely sedated all day long.  After 3 months of being in a fog, I decreased down to 15 mg of Lexapro for about two weeks.  The drowsiness seem to have improved however my doctor suggested switching to Zoloft which he felt would have less of a sedative affect.   I have been cross tapering for the last month and 3  days ago went off lexapro completely and upped my Zoloft to 100mg. Which was the goal for me. It  has been really hard with the transition with severe fatigue and headaches however no G.I. issues. My depression was better but not happy due to not feeling well from the side affects.  Three days ago since I have been on 100 mg of Zoloft I have been experiencing significant amount of nausea and upset stomach. Normally I will push through my discomfort but the last few days I have been getting in my bed after work due to weakness, dizziness, nausea, upset stomach, fatigue, drowsiness and feeling jittery.  Does Anyone know if this is normal? When will this feeling go away?  Depression Is my issue, not typically anxiety.  Now Im getting anxious thinking about how i may never feel normal again.  I’m wondering now if this is the right drug for me. Or if this is the correct dose. I am so tired every minute! Please help! This is such a struggle and a lonely experience!  Thanks for listening!

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • deborah_24308
    deborah_24308 lauren77196

    Posted

    Yes it is normal for Zoloft. It does get better but will take a few weeks. 

    I also went from lexapro to Zoloft but it was for severe panic attacks. I was doing great when I upped it to 75 but now feeling anxious again so I probably need to go to 100.  It does make you jittery at first but that subsides. 

    Hope this helps you. 

  • alexandra57394
    alexandra57394 lauren77196

    Posted

    Your side effects are normal for Zoloft. It will get better in 2-3 weeks or so. It takes 6-8 weeks to feel the benefit. It's quite unusual that you started with 100mg right away, even if you took other drugs before. I started with 25mg going slowly to 75mg in about 1 month.

    • lauren77196
      lauren77196 alexandra57394

      Posted

       Thanks Alexandra for responding. My doctor wanted me on 100 mg since I was coming off 15 mg of Lexapro and that’s a comparable dose even though it may not be exact. I am wondering if 100 is too high for me.  I am still feeling completely awful with severe drowsiness nausea and jitteriness and now even some depression today, day five. I don’t know if I should ride this out or decrease back down to 75 mg ( when I was on 75, I was still on 5 mg of lexapro) feeling completely awful with severe drowsiness nausea and jitteriness and now even some depression today, day 5.  It is so hard to tell whether all these symptoms will go away or maybe 100 is too high for me? It’s interesting that with everything I’m reading in the forum,  Most people taking Zoloft is taking it for anxiety not as much for depression which is my issue. I hope my doctor has me on the right meds. I also try wellbutrin and was allergic to it. I hope my doctor has me on the right med. I also trIed adding 100 mg of Wellbutrin with my 40 mg of celexa initially but was allergic to it.
    • alexandra57394
      alexandra57394 lauren77196

      Posted

      Sorry to hear that you are coming through all these horrible symptoms. I take sertraline for anxiety, but probably I also had a mild depression. Now after 2 months on Sertraline I feel much happier (even if I did not think I had depression) and I have much more energy! So try to stick with it if you can! First the drug binds to "anxiety receptors" all over our body - like stomach for example (that's why you feel nauseous). After these receptors get saturated, the drug will inhibit serotonin uptake in your cells, your serotonine levels will increase and you will feel happier and less depressed. Generally, my doctor's advice was - stick with the lower dose until your side effects are gone (generally 2 weeks-you may still be depressed though), then increase 25mg. Hope it helps!

  • jem-x0x
    jem-x0x lauren77196

    Posted

    I started Zoloft for mixed anxiety/ depression  and felt the worst nausea ever for about 4 weeks . Also extreme tiredness was sleeping the clock around.  I’ve also been on celexa in past with no start up side effects so the side effects were all new to me. It took about 8 weeks for side effects to reduce. My mental state is much improved but that took weeks too although worth waiting for ! At times I considered stopping due to side effects but glad I kept going. I started on 50 then to 75 then to 100, there was no way I coulda started straight to 100... at 50 mg the nausea was ridiculous. It came back each time dose increased too . I hope you feel better xx 
    • lauren77196
      lauren77196 jem-x0x

      Posted

      Thanks Jem! Your journey sounds very similar to mine. I dropped back down to 75 mg Zoloft tonight and hopefully wait to feel better here.  I started getting depressed yesterday again and especially today as well as being anxious ( which I normally don’t get). Hopefully 75 mg will work for me. I don’t have the 5 mg of lexapro still in my system that I had last week though so I’m a little nervous. How long did you stay on each dose before increasing? I was cross tapering weekly.  What dose of celexa were you on and why did you switch?
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