When to take my anti-depressant

[Cindy2525]

Hello,

I started taking Zoloft about a year ago for major depression and anxiety. My dr stared me on 25mg and slowly moved up to 75mg. I hit a relaps about a month ago. I upped my dose to 100mg about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I’m taking 50mg in the morning and 50mgs in the evening. I’m am noticing a positive change but am still not where I want to be. Would it work better and give me the extra boost I’m liking for if o took all 100mg at one time? Or do I need to give it more time for my body to Afghan to the increased dosage?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Grace

[Kmama3509]

I’ve been on zoloft for years. I was even on 100mg at one time. I felt like it made me have more panic attacks. So I started to take myself off last year and I didn’t do it the correct way and suffered majorly. I had the worst panic attacks of my life, I had brain zaps. It was awful so I went back on and they stared me on 50mg. Wanted me to move up to 75mg and I felt that was too much for me again so I’m back to taking 50mg. I don’t really fell like it’s doing anything. Maybe i didn’t give it enough time to start working. Idk. I’m at a stand still.

[Paxiled]

This isn't the way to stop.  If it isn't working, it's the wrong med for you -- you were right about that.  On the other hand, for Zoloft, your dose wasn't as high as it can be, so it's possible it would work better at a higher dose.  But if you believe a different approach is the right choice, what they should have done is put you back on it and tapered you off of it as slowly as you needed to so you could hopefully avoid the worst form of withdrawal.  Putting you back on it and raising the dose might help if what you needed was a higher dose for it to work, and again, this drug is used at a higher dose, but raising the dose obviously doesn't help you stop taking it if you're looking for a different med or a different way of treating the problem.  To repeat, the way to do that is to taper off of the drug as slowly as you need to until you've successfully stopped.

[Paxiled]

Sorry, Mom, but we do have to get into that.  It's so important for people to realize that there is no known cause for depression or anxiety and no medication, therefore, that can treat a cause we don't yet know exists.  Antidepressants like Zoloft artificially change the way the brain uses serotonin, but there is no indication that serotonin has any role whatsoever in creating mental illness in anyone except those very few whose bodies are not capable of making enough, in which case the treatment might more likely be tryptophan and B6, not Zoloft because Zoloft only uses the serotonin your body is able to make.  It doesn't make any more or any less.  The reason this is so important to know is because the information out there that suggests otherwise has been put out there by drug companies, not medical researchers.  Ask any medical researcher what causes anxiety or depression and they'll tell you they're still looking.  Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of the first ssri, Prozac, put out most of this info, and it was proven wrong long ago.  That doesn't mean drugs can't make you feel a lot better and function a lot better, but it does mean, so many of us start taking meds and stop seeking a permanent fix -- we stop going to therapy, we stop trying to change the way we think, and then the drug stops working or the side effects overcome us, we stop the drug, and the problem is still there and we've gotten older.  If you believe the drugs are curative, then the problem will be gone forever, and it isn't.  That's why I keep questioning this one thing with you over and over, I want people to get better if they can, not just medicate themselves.  Now, some day, when they find what does cause this stuff, we may find a cure through medication that permanently fixes the problem.  But there's no sign of that happening any time soon.  Peace.

[Cindy2525]

Thank you for your comments Paxiled!
Before starting on anti-depressants I tried EVERYTHING I possibly could to treat it natural. B6, niacin, empower plus,(which is an amazing natural remedy for depression/anxiety and bipolar disorder, it just happened not to work for me at the time. I have seen it work amazingly for others. If you want more information on it Just let me know.) I did tons of juicing, cut out sugar, you name it I did it. I desperately wanted to avoid meds. I can tend to be quite a health nut;)
All that to say I totally get it when you say that people stop looking for a permanent fix because the meds mask it. But I feel like at this time God led me to taking meds and with His help one day I will get off of them.

Thanks again for taking the time to write in!

[Paxiled]

Gotta tell you, only thing that ever helped me was medication.  Therapy didn't work for me.  But I keep telling others to keep trying because medication also harmed me badly.  I do know that for many people the only thing that is going to help is medication, but we all have to keep trying if we can, especially when you're young.

[specialmom]

Dosing questions are best to ask your doctor who prescribed the medication.  The problem that often happens with Zoloft and it is a popular and effective drug is that it takes a higher dose for many people.  If you look at the average dose where patients say they have a therapeutic affect, it's usually at 100 or higher.  So, an increase in dose could still be in order for you.  I'd talk to your doctor about this.  I believe that these medications do treat depression and anxiety and don't just tamp down symptoms but am not debating that.  (saying that up front so we don't get into it,  :>))  I've seen evidence that it does and feel confident in saying that.  And you are on something that has worked but you need more effect currently.  Now, it does have to be said that when on an antidepressant, this doesn't mean you will not have more difficult days.  People still will get the blues, still will have an anxious day. But it should be less so. But you are still human and still should have the ups and downs of emotions.  That's normal.  You aren't supposed to be inhuman or numb to that.  But the medication should be treating the clinical anxiety and depression overall.  So, talk to your doctor and share how things are going.  See what they suggest.  And do you do any talk therapy? That is really helpful.  Diet, exercise, relaxation techniques, proper rest. All of these things can help too.  Let us know how you are doing.  

[Cindy2525]

Thank you guys so much for the advice! It helps a lot! I will let you know how it goes! Thank you for taking the time to respond!
Grace:)

[specialmom]

Awesome Cindy.  I wish the best for you.  I do think antidepressants can do amazing things to treat anxiety and depression as proven over time and sometimes it just has to be finessed to get what is right for the individual person.  Do stay in touch, I want to hear how you are doing!

[Cindy2525]

Thank you Mom, for your care and support! When dealing with something like this it definitely helps!! :):)

[Cindy2525]

Hi mom, I’m sooo sorry for not keeping in touch!
I successfully upped my Zoloft dose to 100mg, and all the side affects I was having went away!!! It took about a month for me to start picking back up after I raised the dosage. I have felt the best I have in years this past year!
I am a Christian and Thank God for giving me answers like this to make my life so much easier!
Thanks for being a support!!

[Cindy2525]

Sorry guys! I looked back on my post and relized there were a lot of typos! So here’s the corrected version!

I started taking Zoloft about a year ago for major depression and anxiety. My dr started me on 25mg and slowly moved me up to 75mg. I took all 75mg together in the morning. It really helped! I mean A Lot!!!
I hit a relaps about a month ago. I upped my dose to 100mg about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I’m taking 50mg in the morning and 50mgs in the evening. I am noticing a positive change but am still not where I want to be. Would it work better and give me the extra boost I’m looking for if I took all 100mg at one time? Or do I need to give it more time for my body to adjust to the increased dosage?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Grace

[Paxiled]

I don't think the divided dose is a problem, in fact it's used to minimize side effects.  But who really knows?  Only trying all things answers all questions, right?  These drugs are so individual in how they affect us that it's impossible for anyone to tell you what the best approach is for you -- what worked or didn't work for me might be irrelevant to you because our brains just don't react the same and we don't all absorb drugs with the same efficiency.  Also, most people do not get complete relief from medication.  While some are lucky in this way, for most of us it just tamps down the symptoms, it doesn't get rid of them.  That's because these drugs do not address the cause of the illness as nobody knows the cause of the illness.  The only known cure is either through therapy or the lucky ones who just have it all go away as mysteriously as it appeared or to find some physiological cause of it all that can be treated, such as a hormonal or nutritional problem.  With drugs, it's all trial and error.