Hello -
My 19 year-old-son is has been on 50mg of sertraline since April 2012 for panic attacks. He was doing pretty well, but having some side effects from the Zoloft, so we thought it a good time to stop and explore other options. The end of October he tapered from 50mg to 37.5 mg for 12 days, then to 25 mgs for 12 days, then 12.5 mgs for 12 days then 6.75 for 6 days then off. Around the time he was one 12.5 mgs, he began to experience crazy dizziness and fatigue. We thought he was reacting to some allergy shots he had started recently. It wasn't until the nightmares (terror) hit a week later that we put the pieces together. The worst of the dizziness and fatigue lasted about 6 days as did the nigthmares. Mixed in has been bouts of extreme anger (he has never been angry - even when provoked), depression (he was the happiest kid in the world prior), sadness (again, a new symptom) and extreme anxety and panic to the point he is not leaving the house. The kid is miserable. He is supposed to leave to go to college in 5 days. What should I do?? He seems to react to Vit B, and fish oil. Benedryl does help sometimes. I have him on Ashwagandha now - just stared this. I am contemplating putting him back on low dose Zoloft. If I do, should I do 6.75mg or 12 mg?
In all, he has been off a total of 4.5 weeks. Many symptoms have subsided, but extreme, extreme anxiety and panic have remained; much worse than when he started Zoloft. He has had brief glimpses of happiness, but they don't last and leaving the house makes him more miserable than when he is here, if that is even possible.
We are desperate as his ability to even drive the 2 hours to school are on the line. Right now, he can't even drive to the store. He missed both Thanksgiving and Chirstmas with his out of town relatives due to panic.
I guess my goal right now is to stop the mental symptoms that remain, primarily anxiety and panic with depression and anger mixed in. Obviously, I don't want to add side-effects that might come from trying a different AD, so I am guessing Zoloft is the way to go for now. I also want to add he did have increased anxiety when starting Zoloft.
Thanks for any insight!
My husband and I do not have any anxiety issues so this is so foreign to me. Seeing him suffer like this breaks my heart. I'm crying as I type 
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