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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
Is it possible that I could take too high of a dose of Zoloft so that it actually increases my anxiety rather than reducing it?
Posted by finelinebob on May 10, 2004, at 10:22:58
In reply to Too much Zoloft?, posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
becksA,
How long have you been taking zoloft?
How much are you taking now?
Have you recently changed your dosage level?People will have an easier time responding if they can compare more details of your experience with theirs.
flb
Posted by Bill LL on May 10, 2004, at 12:26:46
In reply to Too much Zoloft?, posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
I think that SSRI's can increase jitteriness at the same time that they decrease excessive worrying.
So they increase one type of anxiety while decreasing another type.
You may need to deal separately with the jitteriness with another medication or herbal supplement. Oftentimes, at least some of the jitteriness wil go away on it's own when your body is used to the new dosage.
Posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 15:29:38
In reply to More info, please » becksA, posted by finelinebob on May 10, 2004, at 10:22:58
Sorry about that, I'm on 200 mg of Zoloft, been on it for a few months now. I also take dexadrine.
Posted by theo on May 10, 2004, at 19:51:46
In reply to Too much Zoloft?, posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
Zoloft made may anxiety unbearable at any dose.
Posted by jlbl2l on May 10, 2004, at 20:39:36
In reply to Too much Zoloft?, posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
Also note that most SSRI's or AD's for that matter, especially zoloft LOWER the seizure threshold. To combat this, it may be wise to augment with an anti-seizure med or anti-anxiet med like a benzodiazepine (klonopin is a good choice) or neurontin, topamax, zonegran etc..
Of course, you'll eventualy find out if you are in a lower seizure threshold state. photophobia/phonophobia are usually the first signs. Then again some people will just have a grand-mal and drop to the floor.
jlbl2l
Posted by finelinebob on May 10, 2004, at 20:44:49
In reply to Too much Zoloft?, posted by becksA on May 10, 2004, at 8:53:20
Okay, a few more questions:
You say you've been a 200mg/d of zoloft for a couple of months now ... how long has the increased anxiety been bugging you?
I think I know the answer to this, but I'll ask it anyway:
Are you taking Dexadrine the diet pill or Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) the medication? for ADD or something else?Is some anxiety disorder your primary diagnosis/reason for taking zoloft? are you taking zoloft for depression and the anxiety is a side effect? do you have a combined dx of depression and anxiety?
How well is 200mg of zoloft treating what it was prescribed for, if it isn't the anxiety you are feeling?
flb
Posted by psychosage on May 11, 2004, at 1:30:49
In reply to Even more questions » becksA, posted by finelinebob on May 10, 2004, at 20:44:49
> Okay, a few more questions:
>
> You say you've been a 200mg/d of zoloft for a couple of months now ... how long has the increased anxiety been bugging you?
>
> I think I know the answer to this, but I'll ask it anyway:
> Are you taking Dexadrine the diet pill or Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) the medication? for ADD or something else?
>
> Is some anxiety disorder your primary diagnosis/reason for taking zoloft? are you taking zoloft for depression and the anxiety is a side effect? do you have a combined dx of depression and anxiety?
>
> How well is 200mg of zoloft treating what it was prescribed for, if it isn't the anxiety you are feeling?
>
> flb
I wonder if it could be from excess serotonin {mild serotonin syndrome} from the dexedrine and zoloft or from the zoloft increasing dopamine because zoloft also inhibits the reuptake of dopamine surprisingly.are you BP? you could be having a mixed mood or dysphoric kind of hypo stage caused by the zoloft.
Posted by becksA on May 12, 2004, at 7:41:53
In reply to Re: Even more questions, posted by psychosage on May 11, 2004, at 1:30:49
hi, nope not bipolar, just taking the zoloft for social anxiety, which has seemingly increased since i went up to 200, although it was never really much better in the first place, only slightly. I'm taking the dexadrine for ADHD.
Posted by finelinebob on May 12, 2004, at 9:12:33
In reply to Re: Even more questions, posted by becksA on May 12, 2004, at 7:41:53
Okay then. I think someone said above that some people can find SSRIs like zoloft to be more "activating" at just about any level. You've been at 200 for a couple of months now, and you say that you don't think it's been doing anything to reduce your social anxiety since you started it? You might want to talk to your pdoc about reevaluating your strategy here.
I know (because I watch too much TV) that paxil has also been approved for social anxiety. Paxil is in the same category of meds as zoloft -- SSRIs. A different class of meds that can be used to address anxiety are benzodiazepines. Benzos I think are more effective for anxiety, but there are issues of possible dependency and of building tolerance with benzos that SSRIs don't have in general. That's one reason why your pdoc might have gone with zoloft before anything else.
The bottom line is that you were given zoloft to address your anxiety and, from your experience, it's only making matters worse. Two months at 200mg means you must have been on it longer, since you probably had to build up to 200. That's more than enough time for you to have reached the "therapeutic effect" -- if there was going to be one. Talk to your pdoc about reevaluating whether zoloft is the right medication for you and, if not, ask for two or three different options of what you might try next and what the pluses/minuses of each would have.
hth (finally),
flbps. different people respond differently to different SSRIs, in case you're concerned about switching to another from zoloft. How you responded to zoloft won't tell you how you might respond to another SSRI. For me, zoloft actually helped with my anxiety symptoms (but did absolutely nothing for my depression, which is what I needed more). Prozac did nothing for me. Paxil made my anxiety much, much worse. Your mileage may vary.
Posted by wcfrench on May 14, 2004, at 1:12:11
In reply to Re: Even more questions, posted by becksA on May 12, 2004, at 7:41:53
Hi
I've been on Zoloft over 2 years now. All of my stuff started with social anxiety, and evolved into some kind of undiagnosis of BP/ADD/whatever. Anyway, when I take 200 Zoloft (instead of 100 or 150 which I've switched between), I get too emotional and stressed. My ex-girlfriend took it and she felt more sad and distressed. Although at 100mg it works great for me. Pay attention to your thoughts and write them down. I feel... (blah blah)
If you actually go into detail on yourself, you can pinpoint what the feeling is caused by, or just the feeling itself without any others confusing you. If it's pure anxiety, that doesn't make too much sense unless you were severely paranoid and anxious before you started it.
I guess my Q is, has it helped at all? If so, you should consider lowering it back down. It's a pretty reliable AD, for me especially. But my anxiety is still bothering me (or resurfaced) and I have to go to MAOI now. Ugh. My last strain is MAOI or Abilify. Done all the others.
Good luck write back.
Take care
wc
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