How long can side effects last?

[Velrose]

So at my starter rate of a 25 zoloft, I was having horrible side effects. Fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, feeling jittery--I was doing nothing but sleeping and using the bathroom for days. I started this LAST Friday (the 8th.)
After talking to my prescribing doctor, she suggested I begin taking my zoloft at night, and to increase my dosage to 50. I took the first one last night before bed and I felt pretty ok. I stayed up for a couple of hours after I took the pill even and managed to get ok sleep. When I woke up this morning, I had that butterflies in the stomach feeling of anxiety. I was also sick to my stomach and jittery. My arms feel really heavy too.

I know that each time you increase a dosage, you can get side effects, but I was wondering on average how long they could last? I'm trying to push through my lousy feelings right now and I know every person reacts differently.

Some background-- 4 years ago I was put on zoloft too, but I don't remember having side effects. That's likely because for two weeks before that, I was on Lexapro with HORRIBLE side effects, so the dr. switched me.

I'm just trying to get a grasp on what's normal and whats not until I can get in to see my pdoc.

[laurandisorder]

It's really weird that you would have such intense side effects from Zoloft web you have taken it before. I was on the highest dose of Zoloft for a good couple of years until it stopped working efficiently and I didn't experience any noticeable side effects other than an initial euphoria - which wasn't unpleasant.

It usually takes at least 4 weeks for the drug to become active in your system and for it to work properly.

This might sound a bit presumptuous, but the fatigue and some of the other symptoms sound like they could be depression or anxiety related, rather than side effects. How were you feeling before you started taking the medication?

[Velrose]

I thought it was weird too, but again, have kind of wondered if it wasn't that I was on Lexapro first, immediately taken off of it and started on zoloft after 2 weeks.

Before hand I was... hmm... in a constant state of anxiety. I was having racing thoughts and panic attacks every day, but I was able to sleep.

Now that I've been awake for a few hours, I feel slightly jittery, but that might be because I need to eat. Otherwise, I feel pretty ok. Anxiety is somewhat present, but considering what's going on in my life, I think that's to be expected, especially since I sat down and tried to pay some bills this morning. D:

[alankay]

Most of the the sides go away in a week or two but the longer lasting onces tend to be weight gain and drop in sex drive. But they can fade well over time or sometimes not. Alankay.

[Fashoom]

Yeah I agree w/ alankay - if you look up Zoloft on askapatient.com and sort by length of usage, you see that for people who have been on Zoloft for several years the main complaints are sexual side-effects (mostly loss of libido) and weight gain. And really those are the same for all the SSRI's. The other complaint for long-time users of SSRI's is difficulty of withdrawal.

[Velrose]

Thanks guys for the replies. It helped ease my mind a bit, and today was the first day I didn't suffer from horrible side effects! Hopefully I've finally got them out of my system. :D