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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Agitation in Depression and Zoloft
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Agitation in Depression and Zoloft
by Spinach, Aug 12, 2002 12:00AM
Hi,
I recently quit taking Paxil (20mg) after 6 years. I inital went on it because of hypersensitivity and agitation. The physical discontinuation syndromes weren't as bad compared to what I read. However, because the agitation and apathy began to set in, I decided to go back on the meds, after 1.5 month without Paxil. This time I decided to try Zoloft. I've only been on Zoloft (12.5mg) for 2 days before I started to feel really agitated, followed by suicidal feeling. In my desperation, I up the does to 25mg for 2 more days. I am calmer now. My question is can Zoloft cause my agitation so quickly? Or was it likely from the Paxil withdrawal? In your opinion, should I go back to Paxil or give Zoloft more time? I seemed to tolerate Paxil fine, no weight gain but slept more. Do I have to wait a few days before switching back to Paxil?
Thank you in advance for your help!
ASJ
I recently quit taking Paxil (20mg) after 6 years. I inital went on it because of hypersensitivity and agitation. The physical discontinuation syndromes weren't as bad compared to what I read. However, because the agitation and apathy began to set in, I decided to go back on the meds, after 1.5 month without Paxil. This time I decided to try Zoloft. I've only been on Zoloft (12.5mg) for 2 days before I started to feel really agitated, followed by suicidal feeling. In my desperation, I up the does to 25mg for 2 more days. I am calmer now. My question is can Zoloft cause my agitation so quickly? Or was it likely from the Paxil withdrawal? In your opinion, should I go back to Paxil or give Zoloft more time? I seemed to tolerate Paxil fine, no weight gain but slept more. Do I have to wait a few days before switching back to Paxil?
Thank you in advance for your help!
ASJ
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 12, 2002 12:00AM
, Aug 12, 2002 12:00AM
Its a complicated question. It sounds like you are being your own doctor and prescribing your own medication. If so, this is dangerous to do and I encourage you to find a doctor who can prescribe and manage the medication.
YOu can never be sure what happened here. Zoloft can cause agitation but then higher doses should not be calming. Higher doses would be calming if the agitation was rebound from Paxil. This seems likely and staying on
Zoloft makes sense. If you did go back to Paxil you will want to be on both, at half doses, for a week's overlap before you make the switch back..but talk to your doctor about this.
YOu can never be sure what happened here. Zoloft can cause agitation but then higher doses should not be calming. Higher doses would be calming if the agitation was rebound from Paxil. This seems likely and staying on
Zoloft makes sense. If you did go back to Paxil you will want to be on both, at half doses, for a week's overlap before you make the switch back..but talk to your doctor about this.
Member Comments (2)
by amysue40, Sep 23, 2007 07:45PM
To: Amy
I am on Strattera for ADD, i am 47 years old and i am having difficulty with depression and agitation. I dont want to feel this way and is there a medication for this to go with the Strattera, wich this works great for my ADD
