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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
I've been on Zoloft for exactly 3 weeks now (100mg) and I've shown absolutely no signs of improvement. I go back to my psychiatrist in a week and I'm wondering what I should do. If I show no signs of improvement after 4 weeks is it worth it to increase the dosage in hopes for improvement? Should I try another drug in addition to Zoloft? Or maybe just get off the Zoloft and and try something different? Please help!! Thanks.
Posted by Phillipa on July 20, 2008, at 0:16:26
In reply to Need advice on Zoloft!!, posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
My Son took 200mg of zoloft for a short while for PTSD but then stopped it as he didn't want to take it. I myself took 50mg noticed nothing in a month so pdoc took me off it. She should have raised it? Love Phillipa
Posted by Jay_Bravest_Face on July 20, 2008, at 6:28:54
In reply to Need advice on Zoloft!!, posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
> I've been on Zoloft for exactly 3 weeks now (100mg) and I've shown absolutely no signs of improvement. I go back to my psychiatrist in a week and I'm wondering what I should do. If I show no signs of improvement after 4 weeks is it worth it to increase the dosage in hopes for improvement? Should I try another drug in addition to Zoloft? Or maybe just get off the Zoloft and and try something different? Please help!! Thanks.
It's hard to say, I'm sorry. Is the Zoloft causing really bad problems? Or, is there SOME kind of relief? If it's more in the negative, you may want to try a different med. I found that meds that have helped may have started out bad, but within a 2 week window, slowly gotten better. Maybe it takes longer, I don't know. But, maybe best to trust your gut, as there SHOULD be atleast a *tiny* bit of improvement, no matter how small. Also, all the SSRI's are very different, despite what might be claimed. I mean, everyone reacts very differently to all of them.
You could also try a smaller dose, or, under docs supervision, a larger dose. Be careful with the last one though, as some pretty bad side effects may occur. I wish the best for you...Sincerely,
Jay
Posted by Justherself54 on July 20, 2008, at 8:00:49
In reply to Need advice on Zoloft!!, posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
Did you start at 100 mg? That seems a bit high of a dose to start off with. I would talk to your pdoc about upping it to 150 mg. If you don't have any response at all within a couple of weeks, it may not be the med for you. I've been as high as 200 mg on Zoloft but my digestive system rebelled big time, and it was apparent by that time it had pooped out on me.
I hope it works for you. It was a great med for me..
Posted by raisinb on July 20, 2008, at 9:48:01
In reply to Need advice on Zoloft!!, posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
Zoloft has been pretty effective for me, and it's suppose to be pretty effective in general, but no drug works for everyone. 100 mg is a pretty solid dosage, twice the target adult dose.
For me, the first couple of weeks were very, very mellow, then I started feeling more like myself, then I started feeling much better overall, but without that initial drugged, apathetic feeling.
The conventional wisdom is you should give any SSRI at least four weeks, maybe six, before discontinuing. It's weird. Sometimes you feel better in barely noticeable increments over several weeks. Sometimes it just seems to "kick in" all of a sudden after a month or so.
Before quitting, maybe do either a dosage increase or augmentation with something else, maybe Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin plus a more typical AD is supposed to be more effective than either alone for lots of people.
Posted by Racer on July 20, 2008, at 10:23:20
In reply to Need advice on Zoloft!!, posted by MattSanz on July 20, 2008, at 0:09:02
Three weeks really and truly isn't very long with Zoloft. If you had NO improvement over six weeks, that's a different story. Four weeks -- well, I'd hope to see a tiny bit of improvement, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it. The general rule with SSRIs is that you check in after six weeks; if there's no improvement whatsoever, you change drugs; if there's a bit of improvement -- what's referred to as "response" -- either raise or augment the medication. So, three weeks isn't enough time to decide to drop it.
If I offered advice, which I would never do, I might tell you that Zoloft was the most trouble free SSRI for me. Fewest and mildest side effects. That's one person's experience, and mileage varies a lot on that score, but if I were deciding for myself, I'd say if there weren't problems with adverse effects, it's worth sticking it out, maybe talking to your doctor about increasing the dose, and see where you are after nine to twelve weeks. As bad as that seems, a lot of times people seem to get the full effect of these meds after twelve weeks -- although you should definitely see SOME response by six if you're going to.
I wish you the best with this.
This is the end of the thread.
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