I’m 34 years old and I’ve been on Zoloft 100mg for 10 years for GAD and PD. Started in 2011, stopped for 6 months in 2012 and started again because of a relapse. It worked mostly fine until 2019 where i started having some bouts of fatigue, sadness (not as bad as depression) and having a hard time getting work done (procrastinating a lot). In august 2021 my anxiety flared up again and i started getting panic attacks again. I’ve had a lot of stressors (Covid, brother lost his job and needed my help, dad’s dementia intensified, lost money investing, started a new post at work and pregnant wife). Spoke to my psychiatrist, he recommended reducing the Zoloft dose to 50mg and starting Paxil at 25mg.

Online it said that usually the first option is to increase the dose before trying a new medication. I also read about the side effects of Paxil which were scary.

When i told my psychiatrist he said that he doesn’t mind if i try to increase the dose.

I’m afraid if i increase the dose and it doesn’t work then another SSRI will definitely not work because my body became immune to SSRI’s.

I also read that if one SSRI stopped working with long term use, the possibility of another SSRi working is less. How true is this? Are there successful stories of switching SSRI’s after long term use of one?

Which has more potential for long term success? An increase in dose or switching?

Will i ever be normal again?

I dread losing my job because of this..