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Any review for Zoloft ?

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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
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Posted 7/7/2015 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone. I used to have a wonderful life, then bam......menopause. I have panic attacks daily. I tried Lexapro 2x, but both times, on day 4, had a massive panic attack. I am now starting Zoloft. I am so afraid of another bad reaction that I started on 6.5 mg a day.

Anyone have advise on Zoloft ? Did it work ? I plan on increasing to 12.5mg a day in a week. Then 19. Low and slow. Has anyone had any luck on such a low dose ?
Posted 7/7/2015 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome, Pebbles.

I'm sorry you are struggling. There are a lot of members who are on Zoloft.

The one thing I would tell you is that with any AD, it's going to get worse before it gets better. It changes the way your brain processes stress, and you will have increased anxiety sometimes.

Usually, people need to give a new AD a full 6 - 8 weeks (some people need longer) before they give up on it.

It took me a full 90 days before Lexapro started leveling out for me.

Tell us a little more about yourself, and we'll be better able to help you.

I look forward to getting to know you better.

edited to add: With menopause, you are also dealing with many hormones. That really adds to the problems with starting any med that changes chemicals in your brain.
Posted 7/7/2015 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome Pebbles, I'm happy you are here, this is an awesome community that cares and above all else understands anxiety.

There are a few people on the forum currently taking zoloft so they should chime in. You can also go above and put in zoloft into the search feature and get alot of links.

I hope your start up goes good with little side effects.

Keep us updated, and know that you are now apart of our family so keep posting and we will walk this journey with you. :)
Posted 7/7/2015 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Jake's Mom. I have a son named Jake too. I have been reading this forum, and so far it has helped me so much! My family is full of bi-polar , borderline, anxiety, depression................ I am lucky, only anxiety for me. I am hopeful that the zoloft will help. I will tough out the side effects, with the help of Ativan as needed. Hoping that by Fall, this will all be a memory : )

What side effects did you have on Lexapro, and how did you hang in there for 90 days !! Impressive ! Did you feel any anxiety relief during those 90 days ?
Posted 7/7/2015 2:15 AM (GMT 0)
I felt great about a month into it. Then, my doc and I decided to increase my dose. Whew! I told my husband that I thought it was too high, and that I needed to make an appt. to talk about lowering it.

I got busy with things at church, and then a couple weeks later, things started to level out some.

I have a lot of health issues, so my anxiety hasn't been under control on the Lexapro alone. I went to see my primary last week, and she put me on clonazepam twice a day. It really has helped with my anxiety, but it's made me feel so much more confused than I normally do. It also made my unsteadiness worse, and I felt dizzy, so I started breaking the pills in half, and that is much less sedating.
Posted 7/7/2015 10:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Pebbles.

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear you are struggling with anxiety/panic at the moment it is a tough thing to live with but lots can be done to help.

Unfortunately it seems to be the norm to get worse before you get better when starting an AD and the first few weeks can be hard going but things should smooth out after a couple of weeks so stick with it if you can. It takes anywhere between 6-8 weeks before you will see the full benefits of an AD and by this time the side effects should of lessened but if they haven't go back and speak with your doctor.

It is a shame you did not get on with the Lexapro as imo that is a good AD but we all react differently to AD and what works well for one person may not work as well for an other.

It is also a good idea to combine AD with talking therapy such as CBT as this has the best evidence of helping people reach recovery.

Hibee
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