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Zoloft dosage is it the right drug?

Posted , 7 users are following.

dan35633
dan35633

Hey all so I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety over the past month including just graduating from college and starting a new summer job in my field and on top of it I miss my friends and feel that I have no life anymore. I had a concussion back in June and got it diagnosed but it scared the begeezus out of me. I got over the concussion in a week or so and felt normal then all of the sudden I felt bad again 3.5 weeks later such as waking up feeling over heated faint and having panic attacks and feeling as if I’ll pass out every second of the day. It scared me into 4 trips to the Er and a ct scan and an mri later they found nothing physically wrong with me everything was clean. I went to the doctor and she said it has to be my anxiety and depression taking toll and my brain chemistry being off and that I should up my Zoloft dosage from 50-100mg. Keep in mind I had been on Zoloft 50 mg for 2 years and 25 mg 4 years prior to that so the drug has been a part of my life for the last 6 years. it has done wonders but I think I was so happy in college and no worries at all that I may not have needed the Zoloft and it may not have been working at all and my body may have built up a tolerance to it during that time at 50 mg. It could be why all of sudden with these recent circumstances and being out of of the loop I’ve been in the past four years at school  that the depression and anxiety have come back which has also caused me to leave my summer job in Vermont up near college and come home to New Jersey to recover.  So that’s why I am taking a higher dose but i have only been on it for two weeks today. Again I went from 50-100mg overnight and it was paired with 2mg of lorazepam a day one in the morning one at night I switched to taking the new dosage of Zoloft in the morning.after a few days of being home it showed improvement but not much and nasty side effects such as insomnia, jitters,funny blurry vision almost like an out of body experience, concentrating issues and minor headaches and my mood would be great one hour then the next bad again. I spoke with my psychologist and she says i can take it at night to see if it makes a different in terms of how i feel during the day so i switched it back to night 3 days ago. it was about a week and half into taking the new dose when I switched to taking it at night and it has been horrible ever since ...bad dreams,insomnia, waking up feeling more tired and panicky, fatigue, shaking and severe depression to the point where I’ve been bursting into tears. And it seems to get worse at night. I took half a Lorazepam at night to calm me down. But I’ve literally been so depressed and down and having horrible dreams and waking up feeling exhausted and like I can’t breathe. Anybody else going through this? What sho I’d I do? 

1 like, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • ZEN.
    ZEN. dan35633

    Posted

    Hi Dan,

    I think you are right about building up a tollerance thus needing higher dose to do the same thing.

    Maybe speak with your Doctor re how you are currently feeling and the type of meds you are on in relation to a more helpful alternative.

    Peace 🙏

  • Parker_ldn
    Parker_ldn dan35633

    Posted

    i went to the doctor for severe anxiety at first, (health anxiety) I usee to go to A n E thinking im having a heart attack, , only for them to test everything and say its all normal, i had days when i would get constant waves of panic attacks VERY SCARY!,

    the doctor gave me 'anti anxiety' tablets which were sertraline 50mg,

    the first week was absoloutly horrendous.HORRID they sent me spiralling into depression,i physically couldnt eat anything, i could barely reach out for a drink on my bedside, i was curled up in a ball in bed in the dark for 2 weeks. headaches, pains in my chest neck, all i could do was pray this depressive feeling in my head went away FAST -

    I felt as though i couldnt be left alone as i would get into a panic , they made me feel like i was totally losing my mind, i didnt eat for 4 days straight

    i had the normal side effects of starting antidepressants .. loose stool, headaches, bad dizzy spells and pain between the eyes, zero apetite ) and crazy crazy isomnia which i still have, (2 -3 hours sleep a night)

    all the latter side effects i can deal with if it meant i would never have to feel that disgusting draining, im going crazy kill me now feeling in my brain)

    i went back to a different doctor and explained these tablets gave me severe depression which she agreed but insisted i stick with them for a little longer so VERY RELUCTANTLY i did

    it was day 14 that i felt things change, still dizzy, headache and loose stool but my head started to feel clearer, i slowly felt i was getting better, , im on day 20 now and my mood is improving and panick attacks have calmed down, i still get dizzy spells but im getting back to my old self, i can now speak to people again

    i went to see a private psychiatrist who is much more trained in mental health than a GP ( cost me a a fortune) to speak about this medicine as the doctors on the nhs seem to have conflicting views on it (not there skilled profession)

    he said sertraline is one of the best anti depressants available and i done the right thing to stick it out for the first 2 weeks even though they were so bad

    MORAL OF THE STORY - PLEASE GIVE SERTRALINE A CHANCE TO WORK - at least 3 weeks,

    my psychiatrist (works in a top private hospital in london) said not to listen to too many of the bad reviews as he believes most of them

    will be from people who didnt stick it out past the first couple of weeks and didnt allow the drug to work,

    if this helps at least one person fighting mental health as i am ill be a satisfied man

    ALL THE SYMPTOMS I SUFFERED CHEST PAINS/ SWEATING HANDS AND FEET/HEADACHES/BLURRED VISION - ALL CAUSES BY ANXIETY - so dont worry your not gonna die from anxiety

    from peter parker

    • jillypops
      jillypops Parker_ldn

      Posted

      Thankyou So much for this Peter! My GP started me on sertraline just over a week ago (50mg, upping to 100mg after a week). i too feel my depression has worsened, feel nauseous, headachey and difficulty sleeping. i am more confident to stick it out now after reading your post......there IS light at the end of the tunnel. Just need to be patient.

      Once again, thankyou for your really helpful post.

      Jill

  • Grounded
    Grounded dan35633

    Posted

    I've been on and off Zoloft a few times now in the past and I can say it really does work well. I would go off of it when I was feeling better, and now think I should have just stayed on it. I think there are going to be harder times in life where you may need to increase it for awhile, it happens. But I would say it worked great for me in the past, and my father also has taken it for about 20 years too and says the same.

    Hope you get to feeling better quickly!

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