Still having side effects from zoloft day 18.

[mom2boys]

Anxiety and panic come and go. Once I start to think it may be starting to help something happens. My anxiety is bad at night and when I wake up. I also spent the night in the ER after waking up with a racing heart and sweating, chest pain etc last week. ( I posted about it twice and my thread here was directed back to the health anxiety board)
I'm still taking 25 mg. The day I took 3/4 of my 50 mg pill was the day I went to the ER. I noticed heart skipping more then usual that day also.

Is it normal to still be having side effects and still not really helping??? It will be 3 weeks Sat. This morning I could barely get out the door to take my kids to school. I was sweating and felt so nauseous. I took half a xanax then waited to take the zoloft again. I just didn't want to take it when I was feeling so bad since it has yet to actually help my anxiety... Could the zoloft be causing side effects the NEXT MORNING too?? It was time to take another dose....

[Albedo82]

It can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks for an SSRI to start kicking into your system. Meanwhile you will have good and bad days, and side effects that may kick in here and there but will eventually go away. Remember the medication only helps ease up some of your anxiety, the rest you should be dealing with a therapist.

[mom2boys]

I have not tried therapy yet. I'd like to but have no idea where to start or how I would find the time for numerous apts. I stay home with my 3 kids who all have different school schedules from preschool (which is only 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours), elementary, ( 3rd)  and intermediate (6th grade). My husband works days and goes to school at night. PLus my kids are all playing soccer right now. I simply don't have the time. Which ia a major sourse of my anxiety/ stress.... Therapy would be a good idea for me but it's not realistic right now. Since I can't take my kids with me I can't do it.

I am feeling better ;) I keep in touch with my Dr. right now and that's the best I can do.... I can tell it's helping because I don't need the xanax. I hope this continues. Hopefully I will be able to try some therapy also. I def. want to before trying to stop meds again since it just puts me back at the beginning... One thing at a time.

[mom2boys]

UGH set back last night. Tension headache all freaking day, couldn't sleep last night. Started to panic again and took .25 of xanax... I guess I spoke to soon about feeling better... Anxiety is not as bad. I can definitely deal better. I wish this night time crap would STOP. I need to sleep at night or it's so much worse during the day. I can NOT deal with 3 boys all day on no sleep! I'm so tired in the evenings but yet when I'm FINALLY in bed and all is quite I'm panicking I'm sure the "episode" that sent me ot the ER plays a big role in my anxiety... (scared of it happening again)

Hoping for another good day today!!! And a good evening and NIGHT!!

[eduk8or]

As Albedo said it does take 4-8 weeks for an SSRI to kick in, but I am curious what dose you started your Zoloft at?  Maybe you started too high?  SSRIs  can cause start up anxiety/panic when you start at too high a dose.  Most of us need to start super slowly and build our way up to the therapeutic dose.  If you are at 25mg, maybe you could try cutting that in half to 12.5 mg and stay there for a few weeks before moving up to 25mg.  Just a thought.  There are also plenty of other SSRIs out there, so if this one is not helping and/or making things worse, you might want to try another.  I understand completely about not being able to find time for therapy, I have 2 kids, am a single mom and work full time, but if you just try to go once a month for an hour appointment, even that can help.  You really need to take time to take care of you because as you know if you don't the whole world seems to fall apart!  Hang in there!

[Beligirl]

Hi,
Oh, my heart goes out to you. I just started week 4 on 25mg zoloft. Week 1 I was so sick from nausea I missed 2 days of work. Week 2 was awesome! I had a ton of energy and felt on top of the world. Last week was awful. I generally get panic attacks at night and around my menstrual cycle; I had hightened anxiety (no panic attacks though, thank goodness) all week and even today. I had to take a low dose of lorazapam which does help.

If I've had a bad day of high anxiety, I take a bigger dose of lorazapam about a half hour before bed. I sleep very well through the night.

How are you doing now?

[stressedgal25]

My doctor has just put me on 50mg Sertraline, which is apparently Zoloft. He put me straight on this high dose and I feel awful! Dont know what to do. I am so nauseous all the time, very anxious, extremely tired, my head feel like its in cloud cuckoo land!

I'm also worried that I can't seem to remember things that I've only just been told? I've been on it for 5 days. Went to see doc today to say I want to go back on my cipralex but as it stopped helping me before at the max dosage, he's told me to persevere. Dont know if I can! Any suggestions?

[eduk8or]

stressed,

You can always vut your dose in half and start at 25 and sloooooowwllyy  work up to 50mg.  Most  SSRIs have this start up effect with people that have anxiety and actually can make the anxiety worse for a while.  If you are really uncomfortable, start lower and go slower.

[mom2boys]

I'm feeling much better! Still on 25 mg. My Dr. said to stay on 25 for a month after my ER episode when I tried to take 3/4 of my 50 mg pill.
Lately I've been feeling great. I've been working out and just dealing with the kids and life in general so much better! No anxiety. No more nausea either. It seemed to stop after the 4Th week. Not sure about upping the dose to the full 50 though... As of right now things are good. (knock on wood) Mine is also the generic zoloft....
Oh and I was supposed to start at 25 mg but I cut that in half for the 1st 4 days then moved to the 25. I did not notice anything when moving from 12.5 to 25 but I DID notice when I tried to go up from there. My range of side effects were bad taste in mouth, dry mouth, couldn't sleep, nausea, racing heart & sweating (day I took 3/4 of the pill) , anxiety and HEADACHES. Now nothing. I hope it stays that way.

[anxiouskathie]

I've been following your posts and I'm sooooo glad to see that you are finally feeling better!!!!!  I just started Celexa and am having a few side effects, but trying to tough it out!!!!!  Once again, I'm glad you are doing so well......seems like you traveled a long and rough road, but you've made it!!!!

[stressedgal25]

eurgh, got terrible nausea today from the zoloft. I'm on day 8 of taking half a pill 25mg. How long is it roughly till the side effects wear off and the pills kick in?

[eduk8or]

Side effects usually stop after about 2 weeks, but pills don't usually reach their full effect for 4-6 weeks.

[stressedgal25]

Thanks, hopefully not long till they go then. Its wierd I get waves of sickness come over me.

[eduk8or]

Nausea is a fairly common side effect when you start an SSRI- hope it gets better soon!

[cnelson8611]

I've been keeping up with your posts too and it's great to hear you are doing better!
I'm thinking of asking for Zoloft too (since my mom does so well on it) so it's good to see that your side effects are going away.

Good luck when upping the dose, maybe now that you've had the 25 mg for a couple weeks, the 40-50 won't be so bad.

Please continue to update! 

[lindalynn]

Well Hello There..


I was on 150 mg on zoloft- Sertraline for about 2 and a half yrs. In the beginning I had those same side effects and I am happy to say as I'm sure you are to hear they DO go away. Usually within a few weeks. I was on it for a long time though. Too long. So towards the end I got really bad side effects.. (Ex- Tingly hands- sweatty- shiver's - pale- dry mouth- sweating) That's a reason why i got off of it. Of course my doctor asked me right away if I wanted to try another medication and informed me it was because I was on it too long and apparently my body had become immunde to it..

I opted to not go on anything. I didn't want to have to change medication's or alters doses every few months or years. Truth is to me at least and I know many disagree.. medicine is only a tempoary relief of anxiety because your body will always get immune to it. So rather then becoming so dependent on medication, I decided to face it myself. So I'm just facing it.. no more medication.. and it's not that bad. Dont get me wrong some days are definetly worse then others and I look at people on the street and think to myself why cant I be normal.. but I will be. It's all in my head.. and your mind creates it.. you just have to learn how to control your thoughts- on your own.

I hope this helped and I'm sorry im i rambled. Good luck to you =)
 

[Beligirl]

Hi,
My nausea went away finally week 4 of 25mg Sertraline, yay!

So glad to hear you're doing well too!

[mom2boys]

Glad you are feeling better!
My nausea stopped around 4 weeks too. I'm still on 25mg and still scared to try to up the dose.
I feel good, although I've been worried about a small lump on the back of my neck I've had for awhile. I had so much going on starting the meds and all my other symptoms that I just had too many other concerns ot talk to my Dr. about. I don't know if it's a lymph node or if it's even normal to feel lymph nodes back there... It's a small, pea sized lump, just under my hairline in the back of my neck. I can feel it if I press the area. I have no idea how long it's been there.
I'm trying not to let it get me too worried since that's what my problem was before.

[mom2boys]

OK I took 3/4 of my 50 mg pill today. Last time I did that I ended up in the ER that night... Hopefully after over a month of 25 mg it will not effect me. I'm feeling like the 25 is not enough since I'm obsessing over lymph nodes and having some of the old worrisome "symptoms" that I was always told were anxiety but that I always thought was some sinister disease....
I guess I should make another apt. for my Dr. to check the bump on the back of my neck. I wish I could have just brought it up at my physical. I was asking him so much stuff though.

[Beligirl]

If I were you I'd go have it checked out. I had bumps at the top of my head. I had gotten sunburned badly a couple times there and was concerned it maybe cancer. Turned out they were little pimples caused by sweating and hair products. I still get them but at least I know they're not serious and that itself was worth the visit.

Or maybe your dr could phone you about it.

[mom2boys]

I think the lump is OK. Something made me check my sons' the other day and they also have a little lump under the skin in the exact spot. So either we all have Lymphoma or some other cancer that has spread OR it's normal ;)

I've been doing OK on 3/4 of my pill. I had a bad night last night. I was feeling very nauseous, headache etc. I've been having heart sensation things again too. Slight palps I guess. I was so tired last night and didn't feel well. I hate it when I get like that! But it wasn't that bad and I made it through. Not sure when I'll try the full 50 mg. Probably not for awhile. It definitley helps to adjust for awhile before upping the dose. Funny how my Dr.s way of starting this med. "slowly" was take the full 25 mg for 5 days then 50. 

[Beligirl]

Sorry to hear about your bad night. Yeah, slowly has different meanings. I don't get heart palps but I do get dizzy from time to time. I'm on week 6 now and seemed to have stabalized.

I tend to get panic attacks the week before my period and woke up last Thursday in the middle of the night with one. I did my usual routine, go to the bathroom, back to bed and my heart and breathing start to race.

This time though, I was able to do breathing exercises to slow it down, which slowed my heart. I was also able to slow my thoughts and control them. The attack only lasted about 15 minutes. I was able to go back to sleep too. That's successful for me.

I hope you continue to adjust ok.

[mgray]

I am so glad you hung in there. I was on Zoloft for 6 years they started me on a small dose 7mg and slowly worked me to 100mg. It really helped me out. My side effects where nausia, and dry mouth, but no anxiety thanks god cause i already have that! Now i have to try something new and I am scared, I had it good witht he zoloft. After a month of Zoloft I felt like myself again! I hope it does the same for you. By the way only reason I got off of it was cause I thought my depression was gone. Stupid me my depression was gone cause I was on it. Oh well live and learn. After I try this new med, if it does not work, I will go back to the zoloft!

[xdc020]

Seems like a lot of your anxiety is based on HAVING to have sleep to support your family. Mine is based in much the same way. You are determined to sleep, you start setting deadlines and you panic worse and worse up to them; before you know it you're awake all night.

My anxiety spread from that very situation, and ive just started therapy, looks promising.