Considering going back to Zoloft after being off the med for 4 years.. Should I do this?

[Michelle411A]

Hello!
I was on Zoloft for approx 5 years..It did wonders in the beginning for my anxiety but as my dosage was increased to 50mg, I noticed weight gain and break thru anxiety.. I switched to prozac which over time made my anxiety worse.. I went off prozac in March 2010 and my anxiety came back hard! I lost a lot of weight and couldn't eat :(
I started Celexa 3 weeks ago @2.5mg. I know that is a low dose, but I am very med sensitive.. I have noticed a 50% reduction in my panic episodes, Unfortunately, I still have abdominal cramping, morning anxiety and little to no appetite. I am taking Klonopin (.25 2x a day) which helps somewhat but leaves me feeling sleepy. What I can't tolerate anymore is the abdominal cramping that lasts from the time I get up around 7am till 4 or 5 in the evening. I have tried to bump up my dosage to 5mg but it makes the cramping and loss of appetite worse.
Should I consider going back to Zoloft? I don't remember having this hard of a time with side effects when starting Zoloft.. I thought that maybe starting out on 12.5 or 25mg would be more effective than Celexa in calming my GI tract..
If anyone has any experiences they can share, that would be great! I have an appt with my Pych doc Wednesday so I will be discussing this with him as well :)
Thanks!
Michelle

[Michelle411A]

Thanks M4! I will discuss the mitrtazapine with my Doc on Wednesday.. For the most part, my panic attacks are under control..If I can get my GI tract to calm down and have a decent appetite, I would be so much happier! What I think happened is that the Prozac over stimulated me so much that my gut is having a hard time settling down.. Plus, coming off the Prozac in March most likely depleted my gut of the seretonin.. So that is probably why it is having these spasms.. I know SSRI's take time to work, but I could swear that the Zoloft worked much faster in calming down my GI tract..Guess I will have to wait and see..
I will be posting updates soon :D
Thanks again for the advise!
Michelle

[M4Y0U]

Yes Prozac is thought to be a rather stimulating AD which can end up doing worse for anxiety disorders.

I think you should go back to the medication that worked for you in the past (Zoloft). First of all because we are all different regarding medications but also Zoloft is a relatively soft AD which is good for med sensitive person like you. Zoloft have no strong evidences of weight gain in the literature but like I said every person can react differently considering medications. I think going back on Zoloft and managing a careful dosage and diet.

Another suggestion you can talk about with your psychiatrist is trying a sedating AD like mirtazapine. It haves good outcome for both depression and anxiety and help with sleep as you take it before bedtime and it haves sedative and hypnotic effects. The downside is that it can increase you appetite and induce change in your metabolism which could lead to weight gain. Just letting you know that there are many kind of AD both to take at night and during the daytime.

Any change in your medication and/or dosage must be addressed with a qualified physician. The information in this post is for informative purpose only.

M4