Advice

[franceslee]

Short history, I am a 31 yr old female I am on a low dose blood pressure medication but otherwise healthy.  I do fine some days but on others I just don't feel right it's kinda hard to explain.  I check my bp an it's great but I jus feel weird(uneasy, cold an jus nervous feeling) could it just be my anxiety.  I see a therapist but I'm afraid to try any medications.  I was prescribed valumn an zoloft but nervous to take either

[RubyWitch]

50mg is the "normal" starting dose for Zoloft, but like you, I was a bit nervous about taking antidepressants, so he started me out at 25mg, told me to call him in two weeks and we'd discuss how I was feeling. Aside from the dry mouth, I felt fine. What I mean is that I had no other side effects, but I was still depressed as hell. When I began taking the 50mg and two weeks later had no side effects at all, I lost my fear of it and went up to 150mg. About 2-3 weeks later I slowly began to notice a difference in how I was feeling. At that point I had been taking it for approximately 7 weeks. After 3 months at 150mg, I felt so much better, but it still felt like I had this little black cloud hanging over my head, so he took me up to 200mg. That was a year ago. I feel great! I asked him a few weeks ago when I had my 3 month appt. if we should consider weaning me off, and he immediately said no. Explaining that the problem with stopping the medication as soon as you felt better was exactly like not taking ALL of the antibiotics. Sure, you feel better, but the "bugs" are still there, just waiting for the chance to kick your butt again.

I think starting out at 25mg would be the right thing for you to do. Start out slow and easy, giving yourself plenty of time to adjust. (IF there is anything to adjust to!) Way less scary than jumping in at 100mg and waiting for the sky to fall on your head.

The Zoloft will definitely "even" you out, but you absolutely need to remember that it's not going to happen overnight. One word that people with depression must learn is "PATIENCE." These medications take time to reach therapeutic levels, most take 4-6 weeks before you begin to feel anything. Some take longer, some less. But you gotta have that patience thing going and you gotta be ready to deal with some side effects. It can be the kind of medication that makes you feel worse before it makes you feel a whole lot better.  

I began keeping a journal the day I took my first pill. I'm not normally a journal person, but for some reason, it made me feel a little less nervous. Many weeks into it, when I wrote that I "felt really good"............it was like a really cool epiphany. I had been writing "still feel crappy" for so long, it kinda took me by surprise.

Starting the med while you have some time off is a good idea. I did the same thing when I had my long week-end off. I hope you don't mean that you're going to wait until March when you go to Maui. The longer you put it off, the more difficult you're making it for yourself. You'll just talk yourself into some baaaaad mojo.

I was told to take them at night because they can have a bit of a sedative effect when you first begin taking them. I think I mentioned that. It does go away when you adjust to them. I still take them at night just because I'm a good little Girl Scout and that's when the doc told me to take them.

Let me know when you've got some time off and we'll figure out our time difference and we'll get on-line in real time and I'll sit with you while you take your first dose! I'm guessing that you'll take it and 20 minutes later, you'll be snoring in my ear! LOL

It's all gonna be good! I promise.
Peace
Greenlydia
  

[franceslee]

Thanks!!  I was prescibed 50mg of zoloft but they did say i could take half the dose.  I just wonder if maybe trying the drug would kinda even me out....Im going to try but want to start while im not working just in case i do have side effects.  When is the best time to take them?  An how long did it take before you noticed them helping?

[RubyWitch]

I think it's great that your therapist does not want to push these medications on you. That gives her an A+ in my book.

But..........on the other hand, you should discuss your reluctance to try these meds. Therapy is excellent for learning not only how to cope with the symptoms of anxiety and depression, it's main goal is to find the root cause of those feelings and eliminate them, to recover. Medications can be an incredibly useful adjunct during this process.

Your doctor will start you out very slowly (low doses) to see how you do. Make sure you have a thorough discussion about side effects. Most meds carry some. but if you are aware of what to expect, they are much easier to handle. If your anxiety is controlled and your depression begins to lighten, therapy can progress much better.

Valium has been around since Hector was a pup and is a vey mild antianxiety med. I see Valium as the "training bra" of benzos! (LOL) It's a good, safe drug and it works.

I am on Zoloft, 200mg per day. When I first began, at 25mg, the only side effect I had was a dry mouth for about a week. But that gave me a good excuse to eat all sort of candies. I was a little sorry when it went away. Even as my doc moved me up in dosage, I had no other side effects.

Oh, wait.......there WAS one other side effect I had at first which was actually a benefit. For the first few weeks, my nightly dose of Zoloft would make me sleepy. It no longer has that affect on me either and I rather miss it.

These drugs are safe and nothing bad is going to happen to you. If, after being on them for a few weeks, you are having side effects that you can't tolerate, your doctor will take you off them.

Well..........I'm getting a bit, ah, long-winded, bad habit, but I do so love to hear myself talk! LOL

I really am not trying to talk you into taking meds. I just don't want you to be scared to try something that most likely will make you feel so much better. But the choice will always be entirely yours.

I would tell you to read some of the posts here about how great people are doing on their meds, but unfortunately, most people who post here are dealing with negative reactions and while I think it's best to go into this with your eyes wide open, you must remember that as many people who post here with negative things to say, there are 10X as many people out there who don't post about their incredibly positive reactions.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. And know that we are always here if you have questions.
Peace
Greenlydia  

[franceslee]

My therapist did not prescribe it but thinks it would be good to try but she doesnt want to push it on me.  I havent tried any anxiety meds before, I am only on Lisinopril for blood pressure.  What meds do you take??  U have an experience with zoloft??

[cj29]

Anxiety can definitely manifest itself in many ways and give us general anxiety in my opinion.   I was also initially very nervous about trying medication, but once I did, it really helped me get through it while going through counseling.  Have you had a bad experience with it in the past?  What does your therapist think about medication (if he/she is not the psychiatrist prescribing it)?