starting day 5 Zoloft

Does anyone know how long it takes for this to work?
Yesterday I decided to take the full tablet (50 mg) because I seemed to be tolerating it but not seeing any benefits. I haven't taken the dose this morning but I feel worse than ever. I feel jittery and anxious. I had a wakeful anxious period at 3 am which has been the norm and what prompted me to try this. I feel worse on this drug than off.
See this is why I hate to try medication for anxiety. I am doing the CBT at Mood Gym and I like it. But- I'm stuck because I have to do an exercise that entails me doing something at least once a day for 10 mins that I enjoy and make a diary entry about it. Well....I couldn't think of anything and I felt like I had no time.

Give yourself credit for taking the full tablet (provided that's what your doctor has recommended you do), and please gently remind yourself that these meds require patience (I know,...I know...) but they take a few weeks to take effect.

Initially they can make the symptoms worse, and this is the part where we need to be most patient. Any time, every time, we make a change,....we need to prepare ourselves for a little speed bump in our path. It doesn't derail us, it's just more like a hiccup.

Give it time,...give yourself time,....

I'm glad that you're using moodgym and that you like it. When it comes to doing something you like for ten minutes, try carving ten minutes out of your schedule where you dedicate a certain time of day, each day, so it's already planned for you. Perhaps try different things. It can be frustrating if we try repeating....

....what I mean by that: If we do an activity successfully for 2 days in a row and that 3rd day we try the same activity and aren't as successful, we can feel like we've just back-pedaled. So instead, have a list of a few different activities you enjoy, and rotate.

I think it's finding a balance between variety and consistency.




M.

I am still at 25mg after about 6 weeks (mainly because I haven't gotten a chance to see my psychiatrist recently, but also because I'm really sensitive to meds and it's better to take it slow). When I started taking Zoloft, my biggest side effect was early morning wakefulness. I would basically shoot out of bed between 3am and 4am, regardless of when I went to sleep (usually around midnight). Not fun at all. Sometimes I could fall back asleep for an hour or so, but it really messed with my sleep schedule for the first 3 weeks or so (and I take Trazadone to sleep too). At this point, I have no issues with it (I also switched from taking it at night to taking it in the morning).

I'm done
I feel awful. Too nervous-constantly. Much worse than what I was experiencing. I did not take my dose today and can't wait for this feeling like I want to jump out of my skin goes away.

Weary,

Have you spoken with your doctor about how you're feeling and your desire to stop the Zoloft? I'm thinking, getting a fresh set of eyes to share some perspective and experience with regards to what you're going through....

It can be reassuring to know that the symptoms we're feeling are normal and expected.

I tend to learn well with analogies. In fact, I used them often while teaching to help encourage identification.

I had a therapist once explain it to me like this when I had similar complaints: Imagine gardening...the vegetable is in the ground, it's the result of cultivation, hard work, and tender care. To acquire that veggie, we take our clean hands, plunge them into the dirt, and pull the veggie out of the ground.

When we first reach into the dirt, it's difficult to get our hands in just right and feel for what we're looking for. We'll bump against it a few times before getting a good grip. When we do finally get it, we're tugging against roots, so it's challenging. By the time we pull it out, our clean hands are now covered in dirt, but we're holding that vegetable. That was our goal.

The point being: There are so many different processes to go through to achieve something. Sometimes it takes a few attempts, even in the same place,...but our determination to get the goodies, (whether it's a veggie, or a handle on our anxiety),...keeps us motivated.

The hand coming out dirty is just part of how things can look....we're comparing it to "before" and failing to realize all we have to do (once we do all that hard work), is rinse it off in water, and we're there.

I'm still learning not to judge too soon,...to remind myself things take time and tender care,....to be patient but consistent,....and when my hands get dirty it's because I worked good and hard to get 'em that way!

Food for thought (no pun intended) :)





M.

Hi WRAS,

I am sorry that this med did not work out for you. I hope that you are continuing to feel better, and are not having any s/e's/withdrawl effects...unlikely since you were on for just a few days...

I hope that you and your doctor can discuss alternative ways, like you mentioned to work on your anxiety management.

There are many things that you can do if you feel that medication is not the route that you need/want to go at this time.

Are you still working on MoodGym? (if memory serves, you were starting this?) You could also look into therapy if you feel that you need more individualized help.

Wishing you the best...and know that we want to support you through this journey, so you'd better keep posting my friend! :)

S.C.