Increased the dose of Sertraline and I'm now feeling worse.

I started taking Sertraline 34 days ago. I started on 25 mg and was told to increase the dose to 50 mg after the first week. The first 12 days on Sertraline were awful and I felt terrible both physically and mentally. After that, the initial symptoms subsided and about 3.5 weeks after I started taking the medication I started feeling a little better. I didn't feel well or even OK though (just better than before I started the medication) and my doctor and I agreed that I should up the dose to 75 mg.

I started taking 75 mg on Monday this week and for the past few days I've felt worse mentally. I was expecting physical side effects of increasing the dose of Sertraline but I haven't experienced any. Instead I've felt low and I've experienced a lot of suicidal thoughts this past week. Yesterday it was pretty much all I could think about. I keep catastrophising and thinking that my life will never be okay and right now I feel like crying but I can't.

I'm not sure if I feel this way because I've upped the dose of Sertraline or if it's "just" my depression and anxiety giving me a hard time again. What do you think? Is this a common side effect from increasing the dose of SSRIs? This is my first time trying antidepressants so I have no previous experience.

Hi Neutrino. I think I am going thru the the same experience as you are currently. I am only on day 17 of Zoloft and I feel like it is making me worse. My doctor wants me to titrate up to 150 mg/day pretty quickly and I am currently on 75 mg/day so I will be experiencing dose increases as well. I have been pretty much bedridden with anxiety and panic over the past week, worse than usual... However, I have been managing to get some nutrition in me and to take my meds. I have done a fair bit of obsessing and researching over the past couple of days while I've been like this and it seems that things get worse before they get better for a lot of people. I am going to try to stick it out for myself and make it a couple of months atleast as this drug has worked for many people. I hope it works for you and I both. I am just trying to accept that I am mentally ill currently, although that is a tough thing to accept. I just want to get better, but I have to be patient. I think it's important to try and stay positive, as hard as it sounds. I think that you should seek help from friends, family, therapist, and doctors if you are experiencing those thoughts. I'm sorry that this is your reality, but help is always there if you need it. I hope things get better for both you and I.

Best wishes!