Zoloft Problem Solved I think

I could never figure out why I had such a bad reaction to zoloft and I read so many great reviews of it. I need a extra kick for Wellbutrin as I do not want to go over 300mgs/day on it. So any way I looked at my old bottle of Zoloft and guess what? The doc gave me 100mg pills, even a half of that sent me in a frenzy. I googled what the usual starting point for zoloft is and found usually they will start you on 25mgs! So I decided to try a quarter of my 100mg pill, guess what? I can handle a 1/4 of that or 25mg. I'm hoping that's all it was just way too much to start me off on. I will continue 1/4 tabs for a bit and see how it goes. Of course i will update this. But I think found the reason why I had such a horrible experience and most everyone else loved it!

Glad you figured out what was going on, hope it continues to go well for you

That would make sense. You should be starting at 25mg. Seems like your doctor either overlooked that or just wasn't paying attention. Hope it goes well for you!

Ok I won't take zoloft before bed time again. Will try it in the morning next time.

Question: Does the mild nausea, and slight nervousness go away? It's no where near as bad as when I tried 50 mg but on day 2 I am noticing what can only be described best as a hangover effect. Does that go away?

When I first took Zoloft, I had major nausea, but it was gone within a few weeks. I also had to take it in the morning. Now I take it with the rest of my meds at night because I don't find it to be activating or sedating, so I figure why not just take them all at once? It's easier to remember!

they start you at 50mg in England 100mg 2 weeks later

Here 25mg. is the starting dose and some are at 50 mg. for years, and yes, your body will adjust to the side effects.

I got too sick starting at 50mg! 25mg is more doable, less sickness.

I remember my first AD.. my doc prescribed me 10mg of Fluoxetine but the Pharmacy gave me 20mg! (and it was in capsule form *horror face*) Thus I got really bad side effects -_-

If you still feel sick at 50mg, try staying for 25mg for a little bit more so that your body could get used to it.

I agree I need to give this a little more of a chance then I did last time starting at 50mg. If I can get use to the mild nausea I will be ok. It does help even at 25mg. I know it's too soon to tell but I think I am benefiting mostly from the sedating effect for now until it kicks in. I still need xanax every now and then though. Just in 3 days I noticed an improvement in my mood swings. Of course I would be able to achieve the same from xanax. I am hoping to stay just at 25 mg to act as a buffer for my wellbutrin. Which should reduce the need for xanax significantly. At least that's the plan

20 MG is the starter dose that's why the 20mg capsule, but it is also the only dose you may need . I started on 20mg an remained for 3 years on 20mg I did try 40mg but made no difference than 20mg when it was only PROZAC and no generic only 20mg capsules were made.

Day 4: I slept most of the day. I got up around 5:00pm for good. I did wake up briefly a few times before that but went back to bed. Sleep is rare for me. Any way getting up I took another approx 1/4 of the pill along with my Wellbutrin. Not as nauseated yet, but feel drained, and hungry. My arms feel sore for some reason and I feel flat. No anxiety or depression, but flat. Hopefully that will change as the time passes. I have a pretty big day tomorrow. I have a physical and will get a flu shot too. Even these mundane activities seem to be such an effort for me lately. Usually I am plagued with anxiety over things like that but not yet so the zoloft does seem to help counter the anxiety, so far. I just wish I get use to these side effects as I do not feel as motivated. But at least I can tell my pdoc I tried!

Day 5: I noticed muscle tension and jitters, is that common? All mild anxiety has disappeared, only moderate to severe still exists. Depression much better. However I lost motivation. Feel very flat, bland. I have to force myself to do things.

So far I am not liking the trade off here. Sure I feel less depression, and all my mild anxiety is gone, but at what price? Feeling nauseated, muscle tension, jitters, lack of ambition or energy, all I want to do is lie around, I have to force myself to do any thing. And all just to relieve my minor anxiety, the moderate and severe is still there. I use to be creative and I'm use to having energy and drive, that is missing. Will that come back or is this it?

I can feel totally functional and creative with wellbutrin and xanax as needed. No sedation, no nothing, normal.

Day 6: skipped dosage. Yesterday.

Today Day 7: feel 50% better already. Clearly zoloft is not for me. Pity. I so wanted it to work, but the trade off for what little it does is too great. Damn side effects.

Back on the zoloft. It did help relieve me of the constant minor anxiety I always feel. Went back on it yesterday. Still on 1/4 tabs or 25mg once a day. This time I noticed I seem to be more use to it. Not as nauseated or nervous or dizzy. I just had to do some thing about the constant anxious feelings I get. Zoloft does indeed relieve me of most of the minors, puts a dent in some moderate, but does nothing for some moderate and definitely nothing for serious anxiety attacks and panic attacks. As long as the side effects continue to be minimized I'm ok with it.

I can't beleive you have to figure out how to do this on you own!

I started on zoloft this week, at 25mg. If that goes ok, in a week we go to 50, and to 75 the week after etc.

He said that it can cause more anxiety in the beginning, but it should pass. He also said to take it in the morning because it tends to cause insomnia.

hth

yes, insomnia at first no doubt! I had no choice but to figure it out, it takes for ever to get to see a doc and then costs me $35 per visit then the experimenting with different meds more out of pocket cost. My doc really messed up, he started me with 100mg pills. I was to take half for a week then go to the full amount. Made me sick as hell so on the shelf it stayed for a long time until I decided to google what the usual starting dose is for zoloft. Come to learn it's 25mgs, so I tried a 1/4 pill and even that took some getting use too! I think I will have to eventually get up to 50mg and even 100mg. I noticed I'm getting a little too use to 25mgs.

Here they started me on 100 and upped me to 200 after I think 5 days. It was rough but back in the days those meds were new and "had no side effects".

Yup I know, I remember back in 1988 or 89 they had me on lithium, trazodone, and stuff I can't remember. But I really was a mess back then and was on temporary leave of absence from work. I was always in a subdued mood until I eventually just stopped taking all meds.

Most of my concern this time was centered around my job which I need to be 100% fully functional. But I think I'm past the worse faze of getting use to zoloft now. I can even take it before bed now.

I am up to 100mg now and absolutely no issues. I actually think I need to go up to 150mg. I was definitely wrong about Zoloft. I simply did not give it a fair chance. But dropping to 25mg until I got use to it really helped. After 2 weeks I went to 50mg no issues and 7 days later (today) went to 100mg and am fine!

I try to tell people not to give up early on a med .You had the bottle to stick it out for the full trail and I salute you. Hold back on the 150mg if you feel good on 100mg it may just add side effects and not help if you hit the therapeutic level. 150MG may hit you sexually were 100mg may not .

Thanks I will hold off on 150. 3rd day on 100mg no issues, feeling fine. Will give it a month.

Thinking back to the start I think the side effects specially the mild tremors and tiredness caused my anxiety and I blamed the zoloft for the anxiety. I was afraid I could not work and it would effect my concentration. So I was actually causing my own anxiety. Soon as I dropped to 25mg I felt a lot better and more confident.

Glad to hear! I'm sure you're aware that Zoloft can make people loopy and slow down the cognitive thought process and cause sexual side effects. I love Welburtrin and Cymbalta. I do great even taking them at the same time. For me they are activating, weight neutral and don't cause any sexual side effects. I find it's all about finding the right dose and med cocktail! Best of luck!!!

How is Cymbalta for anxiety?