anyone gone on and off zoloft several xs?

[laineyk]

Im wondering because this will be my 4th time going on this med. in the early years I would be on it for 6 months and come off, did that 2xs, third time stayed on it for 6 years and it worked like a champ but because I was feeling so good I came off it.....UGH...2 months later I started back on it

slowly trying to increase the dose but my anxiety is so bad I cant even work right now

anyone else have any experiance in this area?

[livelaughlove]

Hi! We chatted on my other post. We are both in similar position. I am on my 18th night of taking zoloft 50 mg. I do not plan on increasing the dose. I am finally feeling pretty good; however, if i were to titrate up right now, i would be right back at the beginning with having side effects and major anxiety. I think us anxiety sufferers should start at a very low dose, and stay on it for 4 weeks before titrating up. Why would we want to put ourselves through feeling like crap just when we start to feel better? You know what i mean?

What dose did you start at, and how long did you stay on that before titrating up? I think that is the problem here, you need a longer time period to titrate up, that is, if you want to titrate up. And is your PCP or therapist giving the go and titrating. I don't think PCPs have a clue as to what they are doing with these medications, what it truly feels like from the patient's viewpoint. I work in healthcare, and i do not like what i see of people on high doses of these medications or taking high doses of benzos. It's not good. That is why i stay at 50 mg. I would never go above 100 mg of this stuff.

We had a patient the other day, on 450 mg of wellbutrin and 50 mg zoloft, along with klonopin. This  patient was  a total train wreck. There is no need to be on that much medicine. All her current problems, in my opinion, are directly related to being on too much medication. Also, i am a firm believer in flora. Benzos cause delay in CNS thus affecting motility of intestines, so a lot of us have small bowel intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Leptin, an important hormone, is disrupted when this happens. The cell wall of leptin gets bent out of shape and can't cross the BBB to get to the hypothalamus. I've done extensive research on this matter. Basically, if flora is off, you will have insomnia, anxiety, stress, weight gain or loss, nausea, dyspepsia, diarrhea or constipation, irritable bowel type problems, mucous stools, stools that are orange or yellow, loud grumbling noises, gas/bloat, belching, fibromyalgia, aches and pains, fatigue, etc, the list goes on and on.

So it is important for people to take a probiotic, a good one, especially if they take benzos. And diet should be modified as well.  So  i would suggest take a probiotic and see if it helps, and stay at the dose you are at for a while instead of titrating up too fast :))))) hope that helps. Hang in there.

[insights]

We had a patient the other day, on 450 mg of wellbutrin and 50 mg zoloft, along with klonopin. This  patient was  a total train wreck. There is no need to be on that much medicine.

You'd be surprised how many people function perfectly well on very high antidepressant doses. I'm one of them. I used to do a very complex and dangerous job while taking 350mg of imipramine. 200mg is the recommended maximum outpatient dose, 300mg for inpatients. The only difference I noticed between the average 150mg dose and 350mg was a slight head tremor that was only apparent to me. Often AD doses aren't limited by their affect on the brain, but other organs, mostly the heart in the case of tricyclics and some SSRIs.

The cell wall of leptin gets bent out of shape and can't cross the BBB to get to the hypothalamus. I've done extensive research on this matter.

Leptin is a polypeptide molecule composed of a couple of linked amino acids. It doesn't have a "cell wall." It does have its own receptor mediated transporters which actively pull it into the brain through the BBB. I am unaware of benzodiazepines having any impact on leptin transport.

Ian

[sohelpless]

I agree with Ian.  Some people need higher doses of these meds.  Maybe it has something to do with metabolism?  If you limit yourself to a certain dosage just because you think it is bad to go higher, then you are just defeating the purpose of the medication.  My doctor will take people beyond the maximum dose in some cases because it is not until then that the medication actually starts doing it's job.  I've been on 200 mgs of Zoloft in the past with no problems and no issues coming off.  I had a friend who was taking 90 mgs of Paxil because it was the only dose that alleviated her out of control OCD.  I understand that our mindset with medication is that less is better but with some types of meds, that is not always the case.

[laineyk]

 ok sit down cause this can get long: when I went back on the zoloft 6 years ago i had to go to 100mgs (always had taken 50mgs before) before I finally had relief. Took the 100mgs for a couple years and then in the last 2 years or so I went back down to 50mgs. And then started skipping every other day (NEVER EVER DO THAT!!!!)

So last March I start feeling anxiety again after 6 years of total freedom from it (also was in menopause) so started taking the 50mgs everyday for a month....no relief, went right to 100mgs for a month no relief....went to 150 for a week & then 200 for a month....I was definately having good days by the time I had hit 150...should have given it more time

After 4 weeks of 200mg even though I was feeling better I had given up hope on the med because I was still needing .25mg klonopin 1-2 xs a day
  So like a fool I weaned off of the med & did so VERY quickly...definately went into withdrawal
Thought I could get by just taking klonopin....NOT....became very depressed along with anxious

So that brings me to today, I did try Lexapro for a week at 5mg and then a week at 10mgs and it freaked me out

Went back to my old stand by Zoloft  25mgs for 4 weeks, 37mgs for one week, 50mgs for one week and now I am on day 5 of 75mgs

I see a psych PA and she doesnt know that I increased to 75mgs that fast, I see her again on the 24th...I just want to get to 150-200mgs to see if I will start feeling better

You are right that each time you increase the side effects are increased, definate increase in my anxiety, trembling hands etc..

Tell me again how many times you have been on zoloft?