Posted by metalflipflop on January 1, 2004, at 17:29:55
In reply to Re: ZOLOFT - Dosage??? » SLS, posted by cajunbelle on January 1, 2004, at 16:59:42
hi scott,
i am on zoloft (highest dose 150mg), and i did not find much relief until the dose was that high. my pdoc added lamictal as a booster, and with that i have been able to reduce the zoloft to 100 as it was making me jittery.
my doc also told me that pfizer, who manufactures the drug, has been criticized by many in psychiatry b/c the lowest 'therapeutic dose' of 50mg does not really equal the starting doses of other ssri's (e.g. 20mg of prozac, 20mg of celexa) in terms of strength. most people need more, more often than with other ssri's. in his opinion (only one doc, of course), zoloft is not usually effective for severe depression until a dose of around 150mg.
i say go up to 200 and see how you feel--unless the side effects are really bad, you may as well stay there awhile. your maintenance dose may end up being lower, but in the initial stages of pulling yourself out of the depths, why not treat aggressively? one of the biggest probs in mental health, especially in the treatment of depression, is that people don't take a high enough dose for long enough, and relapse is then imminent. the goal for the 21st century: remission, not just response.good luck!
liz
poster:metalflipflop
thread:295323
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031231/msgs/295503.html