Switching meds...want to hear your experiences

[lcny2002]

I've been on Zoloft for one year, in which time I've had to up my dosage to 200 mg to get the best results. Previously I was on Paxil for four years, but went off it due to weight gain, and then got depressed again two years later.

Now, my Zoloft seems to be not working. I'm definitely feeling like I was when I first got depressed. My doctor doesn't want to go any higher because we'll be over FDA guidelines; instead, she seems to think Effexor is what I need to try, because it works differently on the brain than an SSRI (it's dual-actioned).

Anyone else out there find that their SSRI stopped working and switched to Effexor? Did it help? I'm scared it's not going to work.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

This is a very common happening, and usually the effexor works just fine....

[soyamada]

i had the same issue with zoloft..i had been on it for about 8 months maybe a few more than that..and it was working great then all of a sudden it stopped working after they upped me to 100 mg...so my dr decided to try me on wellbutrin well the wellbutrin alone gave me crazy side effects...i didnt feel right..like i was unballanced and dizzy, like i didnt belong in my body...so i called her this morning and they have me on zoloft plus the wellbutrin...is that normal...will it hurt me...and what is the point of 2 antidepressants....does it mean im crazy....

[bcole]

My disorders [GAD and panic] seemed to really surface when I went to a New Years party with my older cousin and smoked pot for the first time. The THC provoked a very severe panic attack which resulted in me jumping fences to get away from this party where I feared everyone there was trying to kill me. A couple months after that happened I started undergoing alot of anxiety and depersonilization/derealization and was to the point of crying everyday because I couldnt deal with it. It got so bad my mom took me to see a psychiatrist and I was prescribed Paxil. I started off at 10 mg a day which seemed to be all I needed. I didn't notice a drastic difference, but I seemed to be at least functioning. I was still feeling some form of anxiety and made another appointment with my psychiatrist. She decided I should try Zoloft and wanted to ween me off of the Paxil. To do that I would take a smaller dosage of Paxil while also taking a dose of Zoloft. When I started this process my mom happened to be in Austrailia which was a very unfortunate thing due to the fact that she was my rock. I would go through massive crying spells, one so bad I got sent home from school. The depersonilization was worse than ever and I couldn't go a day without crying. I really did not think I could deal with anything. It was probably the lowest and worst point in my life. I ended up calling my psychiatrist's emergency line crying, so she prescribed .5 mg of Klonopin to deal with the high level of anxiety. That seemed to help somewhat. After the episode with Paxil and Zoloft my psychiatrist wanted to put my on Lexapro. I was prescribed it but never took it. I don't know what got into me but the level of my anxiety completely dropped and ever since then I have been more carefree than ever in my life. And I did it all on my own. I do though, sometimes, when I am driving have a fear that I'm going to lose control of my car or lash out when I don't want to. I'm just going to look into relaxation techniques rather than medication to cope with that.

[noran]

Hi. I took dothiepin (tricyclic) antidepressant for 4 years on and off about 10 years ago for anxiety and depression,for me it seemed to do the trick and got me out of a rut. Recently due to loads of stress and changes in my life iv'e gone back to that horrible time again ,my doctor prescribed citalopram (cipramil) (ssri) saying as it was a newer drug than the old dothiepin , i took this drug for just 4 days and had a terrible experience (a burning /hot sensation through my body and a depression so low i thought i was going insane) My doctor has now changed me back to dothiepin and i hope the light will come at the end of the tunnel soon. I wonder has anyone else had a similar experience with citalopram?.

[warwithself]

I'm also currently switching meds from zoloft 100mg to efforxor 75g and very nervious about withdrawl symptoms. I've been on Zoloft for about two years now and take Ativan only when having a panic attack (if thats what you call it) I wake up in the middle of the night nervious feel sick to my stomach.. cant even describe it... but about two years for a week straight i had insomia, couldnt calim down was pacing.. couldn't eat, kept throwing up... was crying alot, the way i feel is so weird its really hard to describe... I'm scard to travel.. i won't go to far by myself.. i wont drive with people in the car. i'll always meet you there... i'm able to drive with my family thou.. My question is.. How long does it take for the meds to be totally out of my system???? if i knew i was going to be so afraid to get off the meds i really dont think i ever would of started.... Does everyone get withdrawl symptoms???? and will the withdral symptoms eventually go away???