Hello,

I started taking 50mg Zoloft / sertraline for anxiety 8.5 weeks ago. Prior to that I was taking 25mg for a month, then increased to 50mg.

While it has had a little bit of positive impact on my anxiety - though there is still definite room for improvement, so I had been contemplating talking to my doctor about increasing the dosage - I think it is causing me to be depressed. Prior to taking it I had struggled with depression sometimes, usually triggered by situational factors, the crippling anxiety and the sleep issues that come with it, but my main issue has always been anxiety. For the last few weeks, though, I find myself wanting to stay in bed all day. As in, I am in bed until 6pm or later some days (not necessarily sleeping, but in bed). I just...cannot find the motivation to do very much of anything most of the time. I also feel incredibly tired and am often sad and teary. I should add that I have had some incredibly stressful things going on in my life, so I probably can't attribute the depression solely to Zoloft but I do think it's contributing heavily because it's been going on for a while now.

I'm going to speak to my doctor, but was wondering if you folks had any thoughts.

Could increasing the dose improve the depressive symptoms (side effects?) along with my anxiety? Or, if the Zoloft is in fact exacerbating / causing my depression would a dose increase just worsen it? Like I said, I'll speak to my doctor but oftentimes these things are trial and error, even in the eyes of the doctor, so I'd be interested in your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you