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Zoloft for a sudden onset of severe anxiety?

Hi all, my girlfriend has always been extremely hard working, intelligent, organized, persistent person. She is in her 20's and is in graduate school. In the past 2 months and especially in the last 2-3 weeks, she has been experiencing increasingly severe anxiety and depression. She seemed to have been coping with this ok for a while, but was probably just putting on a strong face and would have benefitted from therapy

In the last 2 weeks, she has gone from a very high functioning individual to being unable to go to school or work, unable to sleep for more than a few hours per night, suffering debilitating anxiety all day and night long. She says she knows things will get better and repeats that mantra regularly, but doesn't seem able to really believe it.

For the past 2 weeks she has been on Xanax and AmbienER. The Ambien has been helping her fall asleep, but usually she wakes up in the middle of the night and anxiety keeps her from getting back to sleep. The Xanax she has been taking twice a day and it doesn't seem to be doing her any good at all. It makes her foggy but doesn't seem to reduce her anxiety noticeably. In fact, her symptoms have gotten far far worse over the period during which she has been taking these medications. But that could also be the accumulated pressure of getting so little sleep (average ~4 hrs per night) and /or her facade of control finally crumbling.  

Her psychiatrist is so busy that he is prescribing over the phone and hasn't seen her since he first met her 2 weeks ago to prescribe Xanax. She's seeing a psychologist as well. Because she's continued to suffer (increasingly) severe symptoms, both have recently recommended Zoloft (and doc wrote the script).

I'm really concerned. Given how quickly all of this has developed for her, I don't know what the right next steps would be. She took her first 1/2 does (12.5mg) of Zoloft yesterday after much deliberation. And then her 2nd 12.5mg today. It's clear that the Xanax isn't working for her and she needs something to get her acute symptoms under control so that the therapy can begin to work, but I am far from certain that Zoloft is the right thing for that.

She has always been an emotional person but never suffered anxiety disorders that I'm aware of prior to this. I know that healing will take time, but with how quickly this all developed I can't help but to feel/hope that maybe she could be doing better soon once she begins to regain some confidence and control over her situation.

Is Zoloft right for someone like this? Reading about Zoloft online is terrifying. Any advice or recommendations would be very helpful. Thank you all.
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480448 tn?1426948538
I agree with Paxiled, could you talk to her about her making her own account and posting for herself?  Sometimes it's better to handle these things first hand and not through a messenger.  Plus, we'll give her added support on top of what you're giving her.  You sound like a real gem, she's lucky to have such support from you!

Also, the site has a lot to offer and many tools she could utilize to start working on this at home, like journals, trackers, health pages, etc.  That's another reason why HER making her own account makes sense.  Just something to mention to her.

Anxiety usually does appear to present itself suddenly, but like Paxiled said, usually, if one looks closely enough, there were typically some kind of warning signs.  She needs a psychiatrist who will sit down and discuss her options with her, not prescribe meds over the phone.  That's fine for an established patient in a maintenance phase of treatment, but not someone with new and debilitating anxiety.  If this doc doesn't make time very soon for a face to face assessment, I would advise that your GF find a new p-doc.

I personally would recommend making sure she has a thorough medical work up, to ensure there isn't some kind physiological reason for her symptoms.  There are many common maladies that mimic anxiety/panic.  Those need to be ruled out first also, to be thorough.

I think starting on the Zoloft isn't a bad idea at all, just based on the severity of her symptoms.  Clearly her quality of life has drastically declined very quickly.  The Zoloft will take time to start making significant improvements (even more so since she's starting on a very low dose, which is the way I feel is best to adjust to a med btw), and it sounds like she needs a little more help managing the symptoms in the meantime.  

The Xanax doesn't seem to be a good fit from what you've said.  She either needs a higher dose, or different dosing schedule, or a different med all together.  Another important reason that a sit down face to face is warranted with the doc.  That needs discussed as well.  

Just make sure she's aware that benzodiazepines DO come with some issues, so while there's nothing wrong with utilizing them when they're needed, it's best to be cautious, and keep usage to a minimum and to try to either take the med ONLY as needed (not regularly), or limit oneself to a short term course of therapy.  She needs to find an anxiolytic that will give her some relief while she starts her anxiety treatment plan, which includes therapy and the Zoloft.  Both therapy and the Zoloft will take time (realistically a few months to see really significant improvements), so she needs something in the interim to get a handle on some of the anxiety.

I'm sorry your GF is going through this, I hope she starts to feel better soon.  Please either have her post, or keep us updated.  We care and know what she's going through.
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Avatar universal
The issue of whether she needs medication is complicated.  Since this is, at least as far as you know, a new problem, I'd advise she try therapy first, as these meds are difficult and they aren't going anywhere.  But if her life has become unliveable, that's when medication can be the only thing that works sometimes.  The Xanax will be more of a problem, since it's addictive and she's taking it every day.  If it isn't working, better to taper off sooner rather than later.  But ultimately, this is her decision to make.  There are many different forms of therapy, so the fact that one type doesn't work doesn't mean therapy doesn't work.  And there are two types of anxiety/depression problems -- ones that have some source, and those that seem to have no source whatsoever.  Both can come on suddenly, though when you look back at it you can often see in hindsight it was coming.  But again, this isn't something you can decide for her, so it would be better if you get her on here if she's having trouble making up her mind.
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Avatar universal
Everytime I hear a new story about someone going through this I get the chills because I know exactly how they feel. It is a terrible disease that unfortunately we cannot control no matter how strong the person is. I suffered with the same symptoms your girlfriend is going through and it only got worse in the beginning. Xanax did not help me either. I would be up over 30 hours some days because I was so anxious. My psychiatrist prescribed me Lexapro and I was able to get back on my feet within 4-6 weeks. It does not work right away and you have to give it time. I know time in this situation feels like forever but she just has to hold on until she gets the right medicine. Seeing a therapist will help too. I was weened off Lexapro just this year because within the 4 years of this happening every time I tried to get weened off my symptoms all came back. I am now on Zoloft 100mg once a day and I really feel back to myself. I was not able to work, go to school nothing all I wanted to do was stay in the house and cry. Zoloft made a huge difference and I am thankful everyday that there is a medicine that can help people who suffer with this terrible disease. It seems she needs a higher dosage of the zoloft so I would try and see another psychiatrist who is available, the sooner the better! Any questions or concerns I am here!
Best of Luck,
Kaitlyn
Helpful - 0
212161 tn?1599427282
Hi, sorry she is going threw this,
First she needs to understand it won't kill her and it will  get better,   Don't let her house bound herself, it will  be harder t get back out, sad she needs to keep living pushing forward I to suffer and I get up everyday and do what I need to do,  she needs to take meds with the one she's taking , it could take 4-6 weeks to start helping,

Tell her to walk, read, do things to get her mind off of it, exercising is really good for anxiety,hels yu to relax
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