Question:
Two years ago I
suffered a major panick attack. I had been having panick attacks
prior to that but nothing I couldn't over come. Then it happend. I
had the worst panick attack of my life and the after effects didn't go
away. My doctor put me on Effexor XR and after some time I felt like
me again. A year ago I moved and started going to a new doctor. The
effexor was making me really tired so a few months ago my doc decided
to wean me off and put me on prozac. I weaned off of the effexor fine
and when I was taking the prozac I felt good so I just took it upon
myself to stop the meds all together. Big mistake! I started having
panick attacks again and now i'm back to the dreaded generalized
anxiety. I went back to my doctor and he has placed me on zoloft. My
mother is on them too and she calls them her "happy pills" b/c they
help her to feel good. Oh by the way in case you are wondering I'm 22
years old. I started taking 25 mg of zoloft 2 days ago and I will be
taking my third dose tonight. I'm having some side effects like
increased sweating, shaking, trouble sleeping, etc. How long will
these side effects last and when should I start feeling like my self
again?
Answer:
The symptoms you are experiencing are quite common when
weaning on zoloft. It`s hard to predict how long these symptoms will
last......it could be a few more days, they could last a few weeks.
If you are feeling really uncomfortable, you could decrease your dose
to 12.5 and stay at that dose for a few days, then increase in 12.5 mg
increments every week or so until you reach your target dose. Of
course run this by your doctor first. You could also ask your doctor
about taking a benzo such as xanax or klonopin on a "as needed" basis
while you wean on zoloft. Benzos can really help tame AD side-effects.
If you are taking the zoloft in the PM, a switch to AM "may" alleviate
some of the sleep troubles. Some people find when they take AD`s in
the evening, they have trouble sleeping. Sometimes you need to
experiment with the time you take an AD to find what works best for
you. The most important thing you need when weaning on an
antidepressant is patience :)
I took Zoloft and Clonazepam for about 6 years to help manage Panic Attack
Disorder. Later on, I switched to Effexor XR as I become
exhausted from work related stress and my pdoc thought a change
might help.
I eventually stopped working and now I'm getting by on just Clonazepam
alone, but my life is not very stressful and I would probably have to go
back on Zoloft or Effexor XR if my situation became stressful.
Good luck with the Zoloft. If it doesn't work, at least you know
that Prozac or Effexor XR will work for you. Many people take
clonazepam or another form of benzodiazepine for Panic Attack Disorder.
I can't really give you any answers on your questions re the
meds, (except that my personal experience with Effexor is that I have
no negative side effects - are you certain the Effexor was the
problem?). But I'd like to encourage you to hang around here.
Hopefully you'll get your situation under control quickly, but please
don't feel like you can't drop in and hang out. :)
