Zoloft - Not Wanting To Get Out Of Bed...

[Ocean5]

Question.. I'm sensitive to medicine from anti-antihistamines to anti-depressants. Started a low doze of anti-depressants (Zoloft) for extreme anxiety. Was starting to do so much better first week. "Realized" how depressed I'd been, OCD got much better - things where changing for positive - much less anxiety of mind/body.

End of that week "major" trigger - almost 2 weeks later I'm still a mess.

On Zoloft for 3 weeks. I get out of bed over 4 times each morning to try to start day. I brush teeth - back to bed, shower - back to bed, shave - back to bed. I do some work - back to bed. Get the idea? I'm trying...

Yet at first it seemed to help so much! Now trying to figure out if it was the "major trigger" or medicine that has me so messed-up 2 weeks later.

Has anyone else had this happen? Where medicine helps a lot at first - no dosage change, then downhill after first week or two. (I was so hopeful..)

 

[Ellabella44]

hmm im on zoloft as well right now at 100mg dose so far. yes i did have a getting out of bed problem as well. But it was immediately after my worst to date depressive period of a week where all i did was stay in bed and cry. on it, I got up out of bed and did things again.

Still wanted to stay in bed... hey its safety, and my anxiety is scared kitten mode. (hiding under covers)

im doing better on the higher dosage now, but it doesnt seem to slap my anxiety down much at this dose. I am leaving the house and i talked to people today ( which for me is huge) and then i went home and took a nap because it ended up being such an effort to have been out.

maybe dosage change will help, hard to say because everyone is different.

 

[Hatshepsut]

I can tell you what happened to me but again I have undiagnosed neurological problems which may factor in to how I reacted to the medicine. I was prescribed Zoloft by a doctor once for anxiety (not depression). Let me tell you...I've been seriously depressed before in my life and I've never not been able to at least get up and go about the motions of my day, but on Zoloft after my first dose I had tingling and numbness in various places in my body, and I was so out of it and depressed I didn't get out of bed all day. It literally felt like nothing was real and I was dreaming (basically my depersonalization/derealization was the worst I've ever had in my life). I kept wondering if I was real and thought about getting a knife and slicing my arm to see if it was. So, this may be an adverse reaction but all I know is that everyone is different and so if you feel that something is off then it is. Only you can say whether it's made an improvement or made things worse. Trust your own instincts. I stopped taking Zoloft immediately and felt like my old self again by the next day and I refuse to ever take it again because it definitely MADE me suicidal and lose touch with reality!

 

[TonyG]

I am on 150mg a day and getting up and going to work is a struggle, but once I get going I am ok, I have trouble going to sleep at night due to my flashbacks but my emotions are stable, My anxiety is on and off, This week we had some issues at work and that got my anxiety started and by Wednesday I couldn't get out of bed, I also take Diazapam for my anxiety.
I have been on zoloft for six months and life before it was not a life.

 

[Ocean5]

I'm taking it mainly for extreme anxiety (but also have PTSD and asked doctor for something to help prevent dissociation from anxiety.) It helped first week with other things.

I'm new to meds. Had bad reaction to another SSRI. Doc said last visit it was due to severity of my anxiety (body/mind.) Reason I'm on a low dose of Zoloft.

I've been able to deal with depression in past. Never going back to bed like this. Doesn't help I work from home, but have for years.

 

[Born to Run]

What surprises me is that Zoloft is described for anxiety. I have never known any better than that it was for depression only as it is an SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor), and I am on it for very long. For anxiety I take Lexotanil (bromazepam), for many years, always the same dose. The need for taking more and more of a diazepam to get the same effect never happened. All the above replies show how everyone reacts in a very personal way to these meds. Before Zoloft, I tried other anti-depressants, and I remember totally spacing out, being disoriented and miserable from Prozac, and immediately stopped it. I have no side effects from neither of the meds I take.

 

[Ocean5]

Yea also for anxiety, panic and ptsd.

It felt it was really helping in first few days/week - surprised how quickly - now I don't even feel like myself. And another ssri really messed me up, but I kept hoping my body would adjust.

I'm still at initial low dose, but I do remember my psychiatrist telling me to take in morning, but said some people's couldn't take in morning because it made them too sleepy.

Maybe that is it... but just afraid same thing is happening like last ssri I tried several months ago.

Can I ask how many of you are afraid to try new medicines after previous experiences? (Only thing I've been on until past year regularly was Claritin for allergies....)

 

[Born to Run]

Usually it takes a few weeks for an SSRI to kick in and notice effects. So, it is kind of weird that you felt beneficial effects the first few days. Why don't you try to increase the dose, and/or consult with your psychiatrist first? My standard dose is 50mg, but there have been periods in which it was not enough, and took 100mg, which totally made the difference. As these meds are so highly individual in their effects, it seems like a must to try a few before you find the right one. I think I tried two different ones, before Zoloft. Your psychiatrist knows what he/she is doing, so I would not be too scared to try. I agree that it is not fun, but read all possible side effects before so you can prepare yourself a little. Rereading your initial post, I do wonder about the effects of your major trigger. I would be more prone now to suggest to increase the dose, as it seemed to work fine for you. I have never been sleepy from it BTW.

What is your dose now?

 

[Ocean5]

Thanks Born to Run for rereading. Small dose 12.5mg told first week or two. Still on. (But I'm very sensitiveness to medicine according to psychiatrist, and genetic testing she had done about how my body metabolizes medicine.)

I see psychiatrist next week, but can no longer afford to contact her. I'm just hoping she will see me next week. I think she will.

But an Aunt familiar with some of these medicines, and mental health, thinks I should reduce. She's seen how I reacted to another ssri, and says what I'm describing is not my normal self. Also, told being highly sensitive to medicine runs in family (worst than I knew.)

But I also realize everyone reacts differently to these medicines.

 

[Born to Run]

Ok, that sounds like a very thorough approach your psychiatrist has taken, and that is great. Let us know here what the outcome is next week as I am curious.

 

[Andreas Andersson]

Has anyone else had this happen? Where medicine helps a lot at first - no dosage change, then downhill after first week or two. (I was so hopeful..)

The first week of medication you might not feel anything, or you might even feel elated. Full effect may not be achieved until up to a 4 weeks of treatment with some medications. Drowsiness and being very tired is a very common effect of anti-depressants.
But if you feel like it's not evening out, you should talk to your doc about it.

 

[TonyG]

I have been on 200mg a day for two weeks now and anxiety has gone, I still have flashbacks and trouble sleeping as well as increased tremors, teeth chattering all the time, but all of this is better than Anxiety.