Posted by kkat on May 31, 2003, at 10:59:41
In reply to crying triggers/ too empathetic/ zoloft/ buspar, posted by gingersnap on May 30, 2003, at 23:45:51
> Hi all,
>
> I'm new to the group. I guess I have a few questions but it'll require a bit of an intro first:
>
> I am a 35 yr old healthy female person. I don't consider myself depressed as I eat well, sleep well, work out 5 days a week, have a good job that I'm productive at, etc. Most of the time I function just findeand communicate well w/ others.
>
> I've always 'worn my emotions on my sleeve' - people know when I'm mad and when I'm happy. I do have 3 'symptoms' that I've had all my life that seem to be getting worse as I get older -possibly due to more stressful work situations:
>
> 1. I believe I am overly empathetic, if there is such a thing. I can get tears by just e.g. watching a commercials
>
> 2. I tend to obsess (not overly) about confrontations... "I should have said this...", w"hat will I do if they say that...", etc.
>
> 3. Certain things will trigger crying episodes - this is my biggest problem as it can/has interfere w/ my job and I can't being locking myself in my office and crying all day. For example - in Dec, a co-worker, who had to much to drink at a party, ended up being rude, mean and insulting my intelligence. That triggered a 4+ day crying jag that finally made me see a Dr.
>
> So in Dec. I started on Zoloft - had the typical sexual side effects. Tried Remeron once and Wellbutrin once but one kept me awake for days and the other put me to sleep for days . I told the Dr. that I could deal w/ the Zoloft side effect and wanted to stick w/ that (Gingko helps!).
>
> After 4 months of being on Zoloft and talking w/ a EAP councelor, I told the Dr that I thought that the zoloft was only working about 30% as I had 3 'triggers' in that time that sent me into crying jags (someone was mean to me, the death of child that I didn't know, a friend that was going through emotional hell). These crying jags are completely uncontrollable - I'd open my mouth and start bawling. If feels like an emotional monster inside of me that I have no control over. In a sense if feels like a chemical reaction (like when you get angry) and over time (hours or days) is dissapates and then I feel normal again. But until it subsides - I am constantly on the verge or am crying.
>
> So the Dr. weaned me off zoloft (50mg/day) and I am ramping up on Buspar (will be 15mg morning and 15mg at night). Dr. also gave me a rx for Xanax only to be used next time something triggers a crying jag (haven't had to take it yet).
>
> The funny thing is that I didn't realize how well the Zoloft was working on #1 (e.g. tears while watching commercials) and #2 (obsession of conversations etc) until I was off the Zoloft and these symptoms came back.
>
> So I've been on the Buspar 3 weeks and don't feel any difference - of course I always feel OK until something triggers a crying jag.
>
> So I guess my qtns are:
> 1 - since the zoloft actually seem to work on 2 of my symptoms - would upping the dose help?
>
> 2- What is the max dose of zoloft you can take?
>
> 3 - If the buspar ends ups helping w/ the crying jags, can I take buspar and zoloft together?
>
> 4 - do any of you have these uncontrollable crying jags? I feel these are due to a true physical response that I can not control. I've searched the internet and haven't found anyone w/ a similiar problem.
>
> Thanks for 'listening'
> -gingersnap
I was taking zoloft 100 mg for about 2 1/2 years and was doing pretty good. The doc told me to up it to 150 mg, but heard that Lexapro was good, so I switched. I don't think I gave the zoloft time to work. After two weeks on the Lex, 10 mg, I started developing panic/anxiety attacks and then upped it to 20 mg. After 2 1/2 weeks, they were not subsiding, so two weeks ago, I went back on the zoloft. I was on 100 mg the first week and upped it to 150 mg a few days ago, I am getting better, but still get anxious/nervous. In my opinion, sounds like the zoloft was working, but you might need to up it. You should talk to your doctor. Before I switched to zoloft, I had a script for Xanax and had the majority of the bottle from October of last year. When I switched, I ended up using all of it and had to get another prescription. I know I was not like this until I switched to Lex. I guess it will take a little longer for it to level out and get back in my system completely. Hang in there and talk to your doc about maybe upping the dose. Good luck! Kathy
poster:kkat
thread:230385
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030530/msgs/230419.html