120 replies to this topic

[fishinghat]

I am concerned, Zoloft at 12.5 mg is not enough to really help BUT the way you react (stomach wise) to even a small change may make it difficult for you to take it. I would expect a dose of 50 to 100 mg to really put a dent in it.

[pobes15]

Thanks FishingHat. I'll see what the doctor recommends. It could be the Zoloft messing with my stomach, it could be withdrawal symptoms, it could be my anxiety. Or, more likely, a combination of all 3.

[invalidusername]

Sorry to hear of your bad day too Pobes. 

 

I can understand that your anxiety is giving way to depression - is usually the way. Really wish there was a way of getting more definite answers as to the causes of these things. I also had bad reactions to Zoloft (Sertraline over here). Amplified my tinnitus to breaking point and also gave me GI issues - all within 10 days of starting. I stopped cold turkey thinking 10 days would not be a problem. How wrong could I have been....

 

Will be good to hear what it said at your appointment tomorrow.

[pobes15]

Doctor bumped me up to 50mg of Zoloft. Said to come back in 10-14 days to follow up and see if I can go up to 100mg. Also prescribed me for Buspar, but there is apparently a shortage of this in the US. Couldn't pick any up at the local pharmacy, so doctor sent over a prescription of Hydroxyzine.

 

I guess I'm afraid to take Xanax too often as I'm afraid I will become reliant on it, which is why I was given buspar/hydroxyzine. Hoping this helps calm me down and aid my anxiety.

 

Other than that, had a rough day. Terrible night's sleep and was anxious all day, mostly because of that and thinking about the upcoming week. Night time now though, so feeling a little more relaxed.

[fishinghat]

Have you started the hydroxyzine yet/ What dose did he put you on?

[pobes15]

I took one tablet about 2 hours ago. He put me on 25mg. Any recommendations? 

[invalidusername]

Sorry to hear about your day Pobes.

 

Am trying to learn a bit more about these other medicines as there seems to be a lot more floating about for anxiety than I am aware of.

 

That aside, have you considered any sleeping aids and/or medication? I was prescribed Zolpidem when my anxiety really got in the way of sleep. It would knock me out for 7 hours straight. I'd often wake up and make a dash for the can, but it did the trick. Eventually knowing they were there to knock me out was all that I needed to lower the stress of trying to sleep. But, much like Benzos, they are not a long term solution.

 

Are you finding thoughts accompany your anxiety, or do you find that physical symptoms are there regardless of whether you are having negative thinking or not?

[pobes15]

I guess I should specify...I had a terrible night's sleep because I was up until 3:30am watching the World Series 

 

My sleep has been OK. I can usually fall asleep at night because I am so exhausted from dealing with everything during the day. If I have trouble, it's usually waking up within 2 hours of when I am actually supposed to wake up. Trying to handle that now but I think it has been getting a little better.

 

Some of the symptoms are there all the time - specifically the out of it feeling. Others come and go so it's hard to separate if it is my anxiety or withdrawal symptoms. Probably a little bit of both. 

[invalidusername]

"it's hard to separate if it is my anxiety or withdrawal symptoms"

 

The problem is here that the withdrawal sets off the "you-fed" symptoms. And this is what is the pain as it will only encourage it to occur once the withdrawal has passed. Very counter-productive. You use the damn pills to get rid of it, then it comes back when you come off them.

 

Ely-Lily - you really are a bunch of plankers (not going to spell the rude word as much as I'd like)

 

Joking aside, and you probably know, but TV before bed is always a recipe for interrupted sleepage. Hope to hear of a better night tomorrow. I'm just listening to some lovely dreamy piano music on YT. Feeling a bit calmer....

[pobes15]

Had a bit better of a night's sleep. I usually read before bed, but hard to do that when your team is in the World Series and you want to watch. Hopefully they wrap it up tonight...

 

Had severe depression this morning. Really going to focus on everything as being an accomplishment from now on, no matter how small. 

[fishinghat]

As far as the hydroxyzine is concerned the minimum therapeutic dose is 25 mg every 6 hours. For a sudden onset of anxiety they recommend at least 50 mg and as much as 100 mg. The next time you are in severe anxiety try 50 mg and see if it helps (if you have enough pills).
 
Try not to take any of the Z-drugs such as Zolpidem when also taking benzos. They make benzos more addictive and they themselves have a nasty withdrawal as they act on the same gaba sites as benzos.

[invalidusername]

"they themselves have a nasty withdrawal as they act on the same gaba sites as benzos"

 

Another one the Dr neglected to tell me. Glad I haven't touched them for several months.

[fishinghat]

Ahhh. drugs, the gift that keeps on giving. lol

[pobes15]

Had a terrible weekend and morning so I took a Xanax. First one in about 3-4 weeks. Hoping I don't have to rely on them too much, but maybe that would be the smart thing to do until I get the Zoloft up to the 100mg level in 7-14 days?

 

Is it dangerous to take Xanax everyday for a week or two? Doctor recommended that it can be very helpful when switching drugs until I get used to the new Zoloft.

[fishinghat]

It can be very helpful. I prefer hydroxyzine or clonidine as they are nonaddictive and have no withdrawal. Studies have shown that 2 to 4 weeks seem to be the point where most people begin to start being dependant and use for a period of more than 4 months is not recommended.

 

Have you tried your hydroxyzine yet?

[pobes15]

I have. Hard to tell if it is working too much. I was just feeling so anxious and depressed over the weekend that I wanted to take the xanax this morning to start the week off right. I will probably take a Hydroxyzine later today.

[fishinghat]

If you are not satisfied with the effects of 25 mg you may want to try the 50 mg dose the next time.

[fishinghat]

By the way, congratulations on Boston winning the World Series.

[pobes15]

Thanks FH! It certainly helps when they win it as opposed to losing. I'm also excited to return to my regular sleep schedule and not be kept up until 3:30am for 18 inning stress-filled games...

 

Ended up not needing a Hydroxyzine later today. Will take one next time I am feeling anxious and report back.

[pobes15]

Feeling very overwhelmed and anxious today. Just took 50mg of Hydroxyzine - hoping that can help out. 

[invalidusername]

Let us know if the hydro helps... I am beginning to wonder whether my Citalopram is helping at all with my taper. But then again, I am in the 10mg territory, and have been warned about this. It is hell on earth as Gail has said before. 

[pobes15]

Seems like it helped a little bit. Definitely not as much as xanax, but I didn't expect it to be that strong. Also took some ibuprofen for this wicked headache. Tired of feeling like this and being so irritable all the time.

 

Since I just bumped up to 25mg last week and 50mg this week, is it going to take just as long for the Zoloft to build in my system as it originally would starting from scratch? I'm hoping it starts affecting me sooner since I started at the 12.5mg a few weeks ago. Planning to jump up to 100mg in 7-10 days - doctor recommended not going directly from 25mg to 100mg as it may cause side effects.

 

Going to get blood work done tomorrow to help determine which prescription medication may be best for me.

[fishinghat]

The step up plan on the Zoloft is a good one. It will help  minimize and GI problems.

 

Well I am glad the hydroxyzine helped some at least. Every little bit hurts. It has a half life of 11 hours and I take some every 6 hours so it slowly builds up in the  body. If you took, it every 6 hours it would reach it maximum effect in 4 days. Did the dr prescribe a certain amount every so many hours and if so what was the recommended dose and frequency?

 

The next step up on Zoloft will take another 4 weeks for it to be effective but it should be more effective when it kicks in.

[invalidusername]

I have to keep Googling to learn the other names of all these meds! I now know which Xanax is, and have often wondered if it is in any way of more benefit than Valium - or what we call Diazepam. 

 

Wasn't Zoloft the one that ended up helping 'hat? Either way, he will be the one to answer that question better than I. But I do remember Zoloft giving me crazy tinnitus. But to jump 25mg to 100mg, yes, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Even though it is quite safe as you can go a bit higher with Zoloft, unless it has been tried and tested in your system before, I would be concerned about the severity of the side effects.

[invalidusername]

'hat is typing faster than me today....

[fishinghat]

It is funny how are bodies are different. Benzos have small to no effect on my anxiety. They have tried 10 mg of lorazepam, 10 mg of oxazepam, 5 mg of Xanax and 10 mg of valium per day and they had little effect. The only benzo that really helped me was clonazepam and I would develop tolerance to it within 2 or 3 weeks and they would increase my dose. Once I reached 6 mg they said that was high enough and tried switching to the other benzos.

 

 

I take 25 mg of hydroxyzine 4 times a day and 0.05 mg of clonidine twice a day and they keep my anxiety well under control.

[pobes15]

As far as the Hydroxyzine, Doctor recommended I take 25mg 3 times a day, once every 6 hours. Haven't been doing that currently since I took a xanax yesterday. I took 25mg this morning and then tried 50mg in the afternoon about 7-7.5 hours later. Is that what you were saying takes about 4 days to build up in my system?

 

Also, sorry 'hat, but when you say "GI problems," what does GI stand for?

 

Also, I take a very low amount of xanax whenever I take it. I took 1mg yesterday, but usually 0.5mg will do the trick for me. The doctor recommended that I take xanax while I am going through a tough period transitioning to Zoloft. Is this the worst idea? I am petrified of going through a benzo withdrawal, so I do not want to become dependent on xanax, even though I'm not really close to that point at all yet. On the other hand, yesterday when I took 1mg was the best day I have had in awhile as I was actually able to slow things down, concentrate, and get work done.

 

'Hat I know you said 2-4 weeks on a benzo is typically when people begin to become dependent. Any input is appreciated yall.

[invalidusername]

Aside from my dose this morning, Valium I recall has no effect after 5mg for me. And as I have said before, it helps with things like "dentist" anxiety, such as I had when going to immigration tribunal with the wife, but when it is "thought-fed" anxiety - irrational stuff - it doesn't do quite as much as I had once hoped.

[invalidusername]

GI stands for Gastro-intestinal Pobes - stomach cramps, the sh*ts and so forth

[pobes15]

Ahh - now THAT I can understand. Thanks IUN.

 

Hoping the Zoloft helps with more of that "thought fed" and general anxiety that IUN just described.

 

GI stands for Gastro-intestinal Pobes - stomach cramps, the sh*ts and so forth