Zoloft side effects! Need some reassurance please!

[Lonelilly]

Hello everyone. I haven't posted anything for a while since before I started meds for my anxiety and panic disorder. I was so so scared to start them because fear of side effects making me feel worse than I already feel daily. Then I realized, I can't feel worse than this anxiety makes me feel and sucked it up and started my meds. I am currently on 25 mgs of sertraline (generic zoloft) and today was day 5 of taking it. I'm gonna stay on the 25 for another week or so before going up to 50 mgs and so on but my side effects are making me really anxious.

I have been feeling totally spaced out and jittery, like total medicine head, loopy. I've also been pretty dizzy and lightheaded. My stomach was sick for a while but not so much now. Just really lightheaded and off-kilter feeling.. I'm hoping this will pass as I've heard it takes a while for the side-effects to pass but I'm really looking for some reassurance to comfort me. Has anyone else felt like this and it passed??

Any words of comfort (and truth) would be so appreciated.

Thank you so so so much!!

[anxiouskathie]

Hi Lonelilly.....
I'm not on Zoloft but I did just start Celexa....day 6 for me and I'm also feeling side effects.  I started Celexa for anxiety and panic disorder.  The first night I took the pill I was a little drowsy and when I awoke in the morning was nauseated most of the day.  It is now the 6th day and I remain nauseated.  I've been a little extra anxious the past two days as well.  I did call the pharmacy and they did tell me this could happen for a week or two, so I'm trying to stay calm about it and stick with it.  I've also heard that peppermint tea is good to calm the nausea.  My doc told me if I needed to take a benzo to get through the adjustment period of the antidepressant to let me know and he could help with that.

Good luck and let me know how you are doing as time goes on!

[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,
I'm also on 25mg of sertraline but on week 5. Like you, I struggled with feeling worse with the side effects than with anxiety. I had nausea bad for the first 4 weeks, clenched jaw, jittery and spacy. My general anxiety was also increased (I tend to get panic attacks at night and the week before my period). Things have settled out now and I'm feeling like myself again.

I was also prescribed 50mg and took 1 pill but it made me really sick. I've been on 25 since. You may want to check with your doctor and his/her recommendation on when to up it.

Stick with it though. The side effects will fade. There were times I really felt like I was going crazy, and everything was doom and gloom. That will fade too. I surrounded myself with the things I love, family, food, music, movies...anything that would help me stay connected with who I was before the anxiety and why I wanted to be there again. You'll get there too. Just have to be patient.

[mom2boys]

I experienced all kinds of side effects within the 1st month. Once some would go away and I'd start to feel great something else would happen. I was very nauseous around 3 weeks and it finally eased up around 4 weeks. I started at 12.5. My pill was 50 mg. My Dr. said to take 25 mg for the 1st 5 days. I did not do that though I took 12.5 for 5 days then 25 mg for another 5 days or so then I tried to take 3/4 of the 50 mg pill and felt AWFUL all day. More sweating, bad taste in mouth, heart palps. etc. Then I woke up in the middle of the night with a racing heart, drenched in sweat. I called the squad and after they checked me out and left my husband insisted I go to the ER to make sure it's wasn't something besides "anxiety" causing it. After that my Dr. said to just stay on 25 mg for another month. It's been over that now and I took 3/4 of my 50 mg pill today. I was starting to worry about things again and have physical symptoms so I think maybe the 25 wasn't enough?? IDK it's either that or anxiety is not what causes my symptoms....   
I hope your doing OK. Keep us updated :)

[Lonelilly]

Thanks everybody for your input and personal stories, it's really comforting and I hope all of you are finding peace in your lives. I'm on day 8 today and feeling a wee bit better. Not so loopy but still pretty spaced out. I find myself just staring at things for extended amounts of time, without the ability to break the stare. I have also been getting really  horrible hot flashes and sweating constantly, the dizziness is still happening (more of an off balance nauseating kind of feeling), and I've been getting migraines at night. I'm confident these things will pass and am hopeful for the future but here and there my anxiety kicks in with thoughts like "this will never pass!" or "I'm gonna feel like this forever!" Luckily, my boyfriend has been very supportive and can talk me back down to reality. I guess I have to remember that I'm still getting adjusted and have to just be patient.
It really helps hearing from all of you. I appreciate it. It's more comforting than you know.
Thanks!
Oh, Mom2, I would bet it's your anxiety causing these symptoms. With Zoloft, your anxiety increases for the first few weeks of treatment. I've thought my throat was closing at one point and have had a few scary panic attacks. My psychiatrist assures me, it's elevated anxiety causing this and it will pass. Anxiety increase is zoloft's number 1 side-effect. Stay strong and give it time =)

[Beligirl]

I can totally relate to your thoughts of "this will never pass" and "I'm going to feel like this forever." I'm towards the end of my week 5 and still feeling like my old, unanxious self again, YAY!
I am a wee-bit concerned about the upcoming week because my anxiety and panic go through the roof the week before my period (PMDD). Now that the side effects seem to have gone, I'm wondering if my 25mg dose is enough to get me through what is traditionally my worst time.

I'm glad to hear your boyfriend is so supportive. Like him, my husband is very supportive and I often had to call him too to bring me back to reality. Thank goodness they understand!

Set yourself a goal, like to try out the drugs for 2 months and then re-evaluate. If I hadn't done that, I would have quit the end of week. I hate taking meds but I'm really glad I stuck with it.

You can do this! {Hugs}