About 7 weeks ago I started taking zoloft for anxiety and depression. I started at 12.5 the first week, 25 mg the 2nd week, and 50 mg from then on. Things got a little better but not too much. On Monday, my doctor increased my dosage to 75 mg and will be going up to 100 mg this coming up Monday. The past two days I felt pretty good, but today I've felt depressed, lethargic, not motivated and a slight increase in anxiety. I was wondering if these are just normal side effects from just recently increasing my dosage. I hear some people say it gets worse before it gets better. I don't know if I should just give it time or go back down to 50.
Anxiety - Zoloft dosage increase side effects?
Question posted by Omarbadawi on 11 Sep 2014
Last updated on 6 December 2014
Answers
kaismama
12 Sep 2014
Don't jump to conclusions over one day. Even with antidepressants we have bad days. You have to have some time at the dose before you know how it's working. I have the feeling the dr does not intend to even try you on this dose because he pretty much knows by your condition you'll need more. He's just giving you a few days to adjust before its increased again.
SilasTucker
6 Dec 2014
Zoloft should be started at either 25 mg or 12.5 mg in my opinion and titrated every 10 days at a minimum. Titration should be in 12.5mg increments with a small Benzo when needed. This would reduce a ton of side effects and allow a great number of people to reach their target dose before abandoning due to side effects. Takes longer but it's the better route to avoid activation(anxiety) and side effects
balbanese
11 Sep 2014
First off, do not back down unless the Dr backs you down. My opinion on this is it seems you're going up faster than you can adapt to the increases. For me, (and remember, this is opinion based on MY experience only), a bare minimum of 10-14 days - 2-3 weeks is what it takes to really know what a dosage change (up or down) will do for us.
Now, in these questions there's 99% unknown, the 99% more your Dr knows about you and your needs than I can extrapolate out of the question, so there may be a reason for these aggressive increases.
Express these exact concerns to the Dr., see if he/she opts to wait before increasing again, however, I must again say I do not know your situation and there may be a legitimate justification for these increases. That said, it seems like a lot for the short time between changes.
Hope that makes sense.
Related topics
zoloft, depression, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, side effect, dosage
Further information
- Zoloft uses and safety info
- Zoloft prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Zoloft (detailed)
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