No one should be alone in this. We can help. View New Content

[cheerio123]

Hello. This is my first post so I hope I'm doing this right! I figured where better to start than with others that might have gone through the same thing.... I have dealt with anxiety for many years and have recently been going through several stressful life changes recently. My anxiety is at an all time high. I have been avoiding medication ( tried acupuncture, herbs, relaxation techniques, etc), but i can't take it anymore and started 25mg of zoloft one week ago.

Since starting, i have felt terrible - dizzy, nausea, increased anxiety, lightheadness, very tired. The increased anxiety is the most fearful for me, because as a single mom, i can't afford to feel lousy. Are these normal side effects? Will they go away? I try to take small amount of Xanax when the anxiety hits, but it just tends to make me very sleepy!

Is it normal to find increased anxiety in the first week or so of starting Zoloft?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[JarrodM]

Hi there!

There is actually a whole Zoloft section in the forum which is very helpful. Anyway, I'm also on Zoloft and those side-effects are very common. For me, there wasn't too, too much added anxiety, but I have heard that it can increase.
For me the side-effects worked their evil ugly head around for about 3 weeks or so. I was extremely dizzy, HOT, decreased appetite, and sleeplessness.

If you can't handle, go to your doctor ASAP.

Take care!

[starr]

Hi,

For me I had increased anxiety and insomnia when
I first started zoloft but after a couple of weeks it went
away and the benefits started. It was worth the wait
for me because of the great relief from depression
and anxiety that I now have. If I have really stressful
situations come up I take my Xanax and it helps too
although it can make me sleepy too. I hope you start
feeling better soon,

best wishes,
starr

[Spotoftea]

Yes! I experienced exactly what you're talking about, for the first 10 days or so after I started taking Zoloft. It also happened when my doc upped the dose from 50mg to 100mg. I was a mess, extra anxiety attacks, etc.

The good news is that it did get better. Zoloft didn't end up being the right med for me, but the nasty anxiety/dizziness side effects disappeared a few weeks into taking it and I started to feel much better.

I hope you feel better soon!

[abigail]

Cherrio, i hope that you're doing better now. i've experienced the same things as well. i think it was worse when i increased from 50mg to 100 a week ago. i experienced a lot of what SpotOfTea went thru, i was a complete mess. a few days ago we had to lower my dose to 75mg. im still having side effects from the increase but im much better and less 'heavy headed' if that makes sense. i hope all is well for you.