Zoloft dosage too high?

I'm currently taking zoloft at a dose of 200mg daily, in the morning. My doctor's instructions were to go all the way up to the maximum dose of zoloft because he believes that my combination of depression, anxiety, PTSD and bulimia might simply be treatment resistant. I've been on zoloft twice before, but never at a dose any higher than 150mg.

I've been on the 200mg dose of zoloft for five weeks now, and though I had initial side effects they did go away. However, all of the physical side effects such as dry mouth, excessive sweating, nausea, diarrhoea, feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, and crying at the drop of a hat have all come back with a vengance. Typically they ease up by early afternoon, but these side effects are making it very hard for me to function in the morning.

I really don't know what to do because I can't stand feeling like this, but the medication is helping even out my mood to some extent. Should I persist with the zoloft at this dosage and see if the side effects go away or ask my doctor to taper down?

Has anyone experienced anything similar with SSRIs? How did you deal with it?

[nursegirl6572]

You're five weeks into the dosage change, therefore any side effects you had as a result of stepping up should be mostly resolved.  I think it would be wise to talk to your doctor.  Is it possible that some of your symptoms could be related to anxiety and/or depression versus side effects?  That's a pretty common problem, people are afraid of the meds, or increasing the meds and cause anxiety which one then relates to side effects.

As to whether your dose is too "high"?  That's an individual thing,  I was on Zoloft years ago, and my final dose was 200mg.  It worked great, minus a few of those initial side effects.  It's not "too high" as far as prescribing standards, no.

Did you go up the 200mg dose from 150mg?

Hopefully we can help you sort through this.  Definitely keep in touch with your doctor about what's going on.