Zoloft and anxiety

Posted , 3 users are following.

I’m now on week 3 (23 days to be exact) of 50mg of sertraline. Today I felt better than I have in months. I found out I got a new job that starts in a few months, got tickets to a play I really want to see, and all around felt great. Then around 5pm the diarrhea and shakiness hit. I’ve had diarrhea pretty much daily for the last week but now I am getting anxiety about it. I had therapy this week and they said I shouldn’t increase my dose yet as I’m still having side effects. I know everyone’s brain and body is different and this isn’t my first rodeo on medication, I just feel like things have gotten harder this time around. Side effects I never would have noticed before are all I think about. I worry so much about side effects and withdrawal. I worry that this medication won’t end up working for me and I’ll have to go through this all again trying to find something that will. I love this group and that everyone here has so many positive stories. 

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4 Replies

  • Posted

    I too have had bad diorrhea as a side effect of sertraline. It is really unpleasant and watery..Yuck!. . The doctor sent me for a colonoscopy..lucky me? And it was clear.

    To be fair I'm getting sick of it. I only go to the loo in the morning but it's not first thing. I try to go but nearly always want to go when I'm on the school run. ( sometimes i have absolutely no control over it...nasty..and embaracing) I am up to 150mg sert and my anxiety..panic attacks ...palpitations have gone. I was a bit like this before I started on the sert so maybe it's an anxiety thing and will go. At least I know I haven't got any grim bowel disease I suppose.

    At one point at around 75mg I started taking a diacalm tablet at night because it was so bad. This helped a little ..doc did not prescribe it though..I was at my wits end.

    Let me know how you get on please..don't give up on the sert because it will work when you find your dose.

    By the way I had really bad side effects and this forum has been a godsend. Many times I felt like I couldn't increase or decrease cos of side effects and I felt like I was in a catch 22 situation but I am so glad I didn't give up.

    It has saved my life

    Keep posting and keep reading

    🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄

  • Posted

    Hi Darla, the side affects come and go, and you stated that you are feeling better than you have in a long time , that is a real good sign. I'm on 50 for 16 weeks and i will occasionally have a hiccup with anxiety but again what i understand is normal. Hang in there because it does get better.😎

  • Posted

    Thanks for writing back guys, this forum has definitely been a god send. I do notice the diarrhea and anxiety tend to go hand in hand, when one comes the other follows. I took this med for years before, like 7 years I stayed at 100mg and when it pooped out I was seeing a new doctor who thought I should switch meds altogether. They thought 100 was the highest dose of Zoloft and switched me to Prozac..Effexor...finally celexa which worked as long as I took klonopin with it. Going through all of that was torture though! I had a miscarriage about 6 months ago and thought I would try to go off medication altogether and obviously that didn’t work out so my new doctor thought Zoloft would be safer if we decide to try to conceive again. Right now I’m just focusing on getting mentally well though I’ve felt awful for a good 3 months now trying to be off medication and life is too short to be feeling crappy all the time ! 
    • Posted

      Also I should say I haven’t taken klonopin at all through any of this. I’m determined to be done with the benzos no matter what. 

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