Zoloft Higher Dosage

[Felix Sky]

Hi. So I was taking Zoloft 25mg for a week then 50mg for about 2 weeks and had almost no side effects. I felt better over all and the only thing that was still bugging me was some minor hypochondria.
I had a follow up with my psychiatrist and she instructed me to up the dose to 100mg. I've been on 100mg since last Friday, so about 5 days, and I am having some unpleasant side effects. I've left a voicemail for the doc, so hopefully she will get back to me soon, but I wanted to ask anyone here if they had similar experience

Since going to 100mg, my anxiety, while not as bad as before, is kind of up there and is bothering me. I have woken up at 4:00 am most of the days since going to 100mg. No panic or anxiety when I wake up. Just a bit of nervousness and upset stomach. Cannot go back to sleep for at least an hour. Another side effect is some muscle tension in the shoulder and neck areas and some jaw tension. Also, feeling a bit more irritated and annoyed than when I was on 50mg

Does this sound like my dose is too high or is my body just getting used to the higher dosage? I have no nausea which is what I had initially with 25mg and 50mg

Do you I think should tough it out or does this sound like a problem?


Thank you!

[Chiliphil1]

In my experience zoloft did exactly what you are describing to me as well. I was only on 50mg but I definitely had the heightened anxiety, pains, etc.. I think it is pretty normal when starting and or changing doses.. I would speak with the doc but chances are in about a week or so you should start feeling better.. Good luck.

[gypsylee]

I think I was on at least 150mg Zoloft. SSRIs can knock you around a lot though at first.

[Felix Sky]

My pdoc called back and I explained the symptoms to her. She said I should go back to 50mg until my next appointment. She thinks that 100mg might be causing me to be a bit manic. She suspected earlier that I had some light version of Bi-Polar disorder, but after the 2nd session she said that it could be just GAD. Now she thinks that 100mg of Zoloft is causing these side effects. I looked up hypomania and mania and I don't feel any of that stuff. I just have some muscle tension, jaw tension, increased nervousness, and some racing thoughts. I am not sure if I should listen to her or try 100mg for a few more days.... What do you think?

[Chiliphil1]

I would listen to the doc.. You can explain it in more detail once you are face to face with her but for now play it safe and stick to the 50 as recommended.. Now, I agree with you I don't think it's manic at all, manic is the opposite of depressed, in other words you feel bulletproof, on top of the world, like you can do anything and you just feel wonderful. Your first post did not sound like this to me. Manic can be dangerous because your inhibitions get tossed out and you may do something to hurt yourself, that's why she's concerned but it doesn't sound accurate to me but I would still listen to her advice on this one.

[Felix Sky]

I agree. I simply don't feel like that. I feel like crap since upping the dosage to 100 mg, but it could be just an adjustment period. I will give it two more days, a week since I upped the dosage, and if it doesn't balance me out, I'll go back to 50 mg until I see her!

[Chiliphil1]

I agree. I simply don't feel like that. I feel like crap since upping the dosage to 100 mg, but it could be just an adjustment period. I will give it two more days, a week since I upped the dosage, and if it doesn't balance me out, I'll go back to 50 mg until I see her!

Sounds like a good plan.. Again, when I took zoloft a week was about the time it took for my system to calm back down and feel somewhat normal, these meds literally re wire your brain, so it does have an adjustment period.. Thankfully you don't seem to be having the same reaction that I had to it though, good lord that first week I felt like a drug addict, I was paranoid constantly, I would literally find things to just freak out about, imagine a panic attack that lasted for 5 days non stop, yeah.. So, I didn't make it too long on zoloft, I got through the first week and then all I felt was tired, nothing but tired all the time. At the time I was going to a doctor who had absolutely no idea what she was doing when it came to anxiety so after the zoloft didn't work I made the choice to not go back there. I went med free for about 6 months and then it got to the point where I had to do something, so I got myself some insurance and went to a new doctor who put me on Pristiq and I swear from the day I took it I was cured, it had some side effects when starting but nothing like zoloft and I came out of it all once I was on that med, it really saved me.