Depression and Zoloft . Please Please help.

[duckandcover]

Quick summary.  I was on 10mg/day of Lexapro for what I believe to be GAD which came on after I quit an oxy addiction last January.  I was on that for Lexapro 2 weeks and by the 12 day or so It was actually increasing my anxiety A LOT.  My doctor switched me to 50mg of zoloft daily.  I understand that this is a low dose for zoloft.  Well it's now day 5 and I'm slipping into depression.  Constantly tired.  I got out of bed to write this.   Loss of apetite etc..

My question is am I more than likely on too low a dose of zoloft at this point?  12 days of lexapro and 5 days of zoloft and I'm sinking.

Also, I just had a very emotional few hours with my wife breaking down over a lot of guilt and shame from my drug use.  She is amazing and I was reminded why I love her so much.  We're talking about going to an NA meeting for some aftercare etc..  So yes, I've realized that I need more help than just a pill can provide.  But I want whatever I can get out of the pill.

Thanks As Always

[duckandcover]

Thanks much for the comment.  the reassurance of someone who has "been there" with the drugs.   I guess I'm the classic type of person who thinks a pill should work quickly.  I understand that this is foolish of course but it happens.  I know what you mean about not believing your doctor but again I'm only on my first week of zoloft so I've got to roll with it.

Patience... Patience....

[shadowknight]

Zolost is an SSRI. SSRI can take upto 3 to 4 weeks to kick in. I too have a history of drug abuse. Felt like s***. Had this really bad guilt which give me severe panic attacks and threw me into a depression. I was on prozac (another SSRI) and Olanzapine and it took around 4 weeks for me to feel better. And wow did I feel better! My doctor had told me it will take up to 3 weeks for me to feel better but I felt really hopeless. To tell you the truth I didnt believe him. But I had to wait and I found out he was right. I also have experience with Zoloft. Was on it for around 6 months and it helped me alot.

Hope you feel better soon.

[duckandcover]

I looked again and I was mistaken. I'm on 25/day.  I understand what you're saying though.  This is just all new to me and I'm a little apprehensive (as well as anxious/depressed obviously).

Thanks!

[Jikan]

Namaste,

Actually you are on the maximum daily dosage for Zoloft.

One of the problems, however with these medications is that they can take several weeks before you see any benefit from their use.

Although it is difficult, you usually have to suffer through a period of depression and sometimes anxiety before you get to feeling better.

Take heart, most of us have gone through the same thing, waiting for our medications to "kick" in.

Personallly, I've been on a number of medications and combination of medications and each time a switch was made, I went through a terrible period where I jst didn't want to do anything, felt achy all the time and even thought about suicide.

Give your medication a chance to work and if you truly don't feel it's helping or if it's so unbearable you can't take it, contact your healthcare provider and explain your concerns to him/her.

I hope today is  better than yesterday.

Michael(Jikan)

[duckandcover]

It's OK...  After re-reading it, I'd be hesitant to answer this question too  :)