Zoloft (Sertraline) increase making me feel worse!

[OCDBass]

Hey all, I recently switched from lexapro to Zoloft. I started on 25mg of Zoloft, then went to 50mg. I was definitely starting to feel better and my panic was becoming more controlled. However, I was still having some OCD intrusive thoughts and struggles with anxiety and panic. So, the doctor recommended upping my does from 50mg to 100mg of Zoloft. The first day after I upped the dose was awful. I was nervous, scared, anxious, etc. It felt like I took a step backwards. I called the doc and she lowered the increase to 75mg. So I took that last night, but I’m still pretty edgy and have a lot of anxiety and panic like feelings. All I want to do is hide in my bedroom and watch football.

Has anyone else experience this increase is anxiety and stuff when upping their medication? It’s really sucks. Just looking for some support. Thanks for reading!

[OCDBass]

Anyone else with feedback? Thanks!

[Selesnya]

It took me a while to realize that I do have something to contribute. I always think of Zoloft as the generic name sertraline, so I didn't put things together at first. I had a similar reaction. I had never had panic attacks before, but on setraline I startled to get panic attacks and they got more frequent as the dosage was increased. Apparently this is a fairly common side effect, so it is probably worth asking to change to something else.

[Hidden]

Hey man ' my doctor tried to raise my zoloft from 100 mg to 250 mg. I nearly lost it and had to go to the hospital. In my case I have asked and tried to continually have input on my recovery ' but with what I feel is a stunt that the doctor pulled on me 'now I don't trust him and I think that he is frustrated with me. It's not my fault that I am ill. I don't know what to do now.

[OCDBass in reply to Hidden]

Yeah. That’s a huge increase all at one time. Should have been slower.

[OCDBass]

I’ve been in touch with my doc over the past few days. She wants to me to try and tough it out in the hopes the initial side effects wear off soon. I was doing well on the 50mg, so I am hoping this is just temporary and my body needs time to acclimate to the new dosage. It’s super frustrating though.

[Hidden]

I am back to 100mg sertraline and I am not feeling better. I see the doctor today and I will discuss a more progressive approach like you shared with me. I agree that we have to tough it out my friend ' to succeed. Sometimes the illness plays tricks on me and I want to see results immediately or I am quick to want to change up my routine. I think it's because I am making expectations and I should try to remember to live in the moment. Johnny

[OCDBass]

So Wednesday and yesterday were a mess for me. At night I ended up in this super emotional state. Just crying and feeling so scared and out of control. I felt like I didn’t know what to do with myself. When I was on the 50mg I was much better, but since the switch to 75mg I’m a mess. Spoke to my doc and she told me to go down to 50mg again, so I did that last night, but I still feel so anxious, nervous, etc. I just want to hide in my room.

[Selesnya]

I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. Rather than just adjusting the amount back down, see what other drugs you can try. The effects of SSRIs can certainly last for a while (or take a while to take effect), so any change in medication is far from instantaneous. There are many other options than just Zoloft. Given how differently our individual bodies can react to medications, don't give up just because the first few medications or dosages haven't worked out.

[OCDBass in reply to Selesnya]

Thank you for the words of encouragement. It has been really tough. I think the plan might be to get me back to a baseline where I was more functional on the Zoloft, then look into other medications. I know that starting some of these meds can increase our symptoms for the first week or two which is awful. But I wasn’t aware that an increase could do the same thing.