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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by angelicmouse on July 21, 2004, at 13:28:25
I jsut started taking Zoloft 25 today, as recommended by my doctor. Has anyone had any positve effects from this medicine? I am a little nervous. I used to do a lot of drugs, so it seems that I have become chemically imbalanced. I've been sober since November and seem to be back to normal except for being anxious a lot and having panic attacks. I tried Lexapro for about 5 weeks, but had to stop taking it because the side effects were horrible. my skin was breaking out, I was tired all the time, I was getting cold sores and horrible menstral cramps. Not to mention a spacy feeling all the time. Does any one know if the Zoloft will be different from the Lexapro. I jsut want to get away from the anxiety attacks and the insomnia. i have tried melatonin and tylenol pm and such, but them have an adverse effect. The only sleep aid that worked was ambien but I don't want to rely on those so I won't take it.
Posted by Buckeye Fan on July 21, 2004, at 13:51:37
In reply to New Zoloft user..., posted by angelicmouse on July 21, 2004, at 13:28:25
Dear angelicmouse,
I was on Zoloft for a few years and found it to be GREAT for the symptoms you are describing.I have only tried one other AD (Effexor) and I would recommend Zoloft by far.
Keep us posted and remember it takes weeks to see any noticable improvment...and that the smallest possible dose needed to help your condition, will produce the lowest side-effects.
25mg is a good start....but certainly not a theraputic dose.
Follow the directions of your Doc....and this Board is a great place to get information from your fellow Anti-Depressant usuers and anxiously depressed individuals!!! lolGod bless
Buckeye Fan
Posted by angelicmouse on July 21, 2004, at 13:54:07
In reply to Re: New Zoloft user..., posted by Buckeye Fan on July 21, 2004, at 13:51:37
Thanks for the support, buckeye fan! I'm looking forward to being part of the board.
Thanks!
> Dear angelicmouse,
> I was on Zoloft for a few years and found it to be GREAT for the symptoms you are describing.
>
> I have only tried one other AD (Effexor) and I would recommend Zoloft by far.
>
> Keep us posted and remember it takes weeks to see any noticable improvment...and that the smallest possible dose needed to help your condition, will produce the lowest side-effects.
>
> 25mg is a good start....but certainly not a theraputic dose.
> Follow the directions of your Doc....and this Board is a great place to get information from your fellow Anti-Depressant usuers and anxiously depressed individuals!!! lol
>
> God bless
> Buckeye Fan
Posted by King Vultan on July 21, 2004, at 14:20:26
In reply to New Zoloft user..., posted by angelicmouse on July 21, 2004, at 13:28:25
I took Zoloft for a couple of years and feel it's a good antidepressant; however, all SSRIs give me insomnia, and the insomnia I suffered on Zoloft made it hard for me to even take 100 mg/day. I understand your feeling about Ambien, as I felt exactly the same way five or ten years ago, but if I had to do over it again, I would have accepted my pdoc's offer to prescribe sleep aids. The reality was that I wound up limiting the dosage of the AD meds to what I could tolerate from an insomnia perspective, and so I could not take advantage of the higher and more therapeutic doses of drugs like Zoloft and Effexor, which very well might have worked for me.
So now, after being on about 10 different drugs over a ten year period, I find myself on an MAOI, with all of its associated nuisances. It is reasonably effective, but the irony is that it is causing the most brutal insomnia of any of the drugs I've tried, and I really have no choice but to use a sleep aid, as there aren't many antidepressants left for me to try. If I had been more open to using a sleep aid back when I was on Zoloft or Effexor, I think things might have taken a rather different path.
Todd
Posted by DanielJ on July 21, 2004, at 14:33:28
In reply to New Zoloft user..., posted by angelicmouse on July 21, 2004, at 13:28:25
My son has been on Zoloft for 1 yr. It has helped with his panic attacks and social anxiety disorder. It seems his acne has worsened since starting Zoloft though. I recommend it highly but you might need to monitor the acne problem. He takes Doxycyclene to help clear up the acne.
Also Zoloft dosage is critical, we found that a few mg. too much or to little can make a big difference. It takes 2-3 weeks to tell how you are doing on it, so be patient. If you feel to groggy (like being high or drunk) you are probably taking too much. Too little may have no effect or cause sleepiness, irratibility etc.
Posted by Wildman on July 21, 2004, at 15:20:55
In reply to Re: New Zoloft user..., posted by DanielJ on July 21, 2004, at 14:33:28
I find that Lexapro started to give me problems with sleep and that's when I started with the Seroquel before bedtime (25mg). It helps with sleep and some of the hypomania. Seroquel has worked very well for me (BP2). Ask your pdoc about a sample, it works the first night - no ramping up. I find that 50mg gives me a headache, so I stick with 25mg.
Wildman
Posted by greenwillow on July 22, 2004, at 20:47:51
In reply to Re: New Zoloft user..., posted by DanielJ on July 21, 2004, at 14:33:28
> Also Zoloft dosage is critical, we found that a few mg. too much or to little can make a big difference. It takes 2-3 weeks to tell how you are doing on it, so be patient. If you feel to groggy (like being high or drunk) you are probably taking too much. Too little may have no effect or cause sleepiness, irratibility etc.
I did not know that too little can cause sleepiness. I have been on 25 mg. for about 3 weeks and totally dogged. I believe 50 mg. will hype me up too much to sleep, but I was not aware that a small dose could have the opposite effect. Do you have any more information that could be helpful about the dosing?
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