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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 22, 2005, at 20:18:00
hi, i've been on zoloft 50mg for a year and a half, and it has stopped working. it took months to get up to 50, and i can't increase the dose without getting manic-like symptoms and lots of agitation. my pdoc put me on low-dose prozac about six weeks ago. i take 10mg now, and she told me i can increase to 20mg. my other dr tried to take away the prozac and leave the zoloft, but my pdoc and i prefer keeping the prozac and increasing it to 20mg, which is what most people take, right? when i tried to withdraw from zoloft before, i tapered under a pdoc (maybe not slowly enough, though) and going from 25 to 0, i crashed fast and hard. if i have prozac on board, can i withdraw easier from the zoloft since they are similar in action and in the same class? does anyone know? i'm happy keeping both ADs-- may not be elegant, but it keeps me afloat-- but my other dr wants 1 AD only. any thoughts? thanks!
Posted by mattsit on February 23, 2005, at 8:23:34
In reply to withdrawing from one SSRI to another, posted by CareBear04 on February 22, 2005, at 20:18:00
Quick Question for you...
When you say the medicine "stopped working".....can you describe this for me? What happened? How Fast?
Posted by SLS on February 24, 2005, at 9:13:03
In reply to withdrawing from one SSRI to another, posted by CareBear04 on February 22, 2005, at 20:18:00
> hi, i've been on zoloft 50mg for a year and a half, and it has stopped working. it took months to get up to 50, and i can't increase the dose without getting manic-like symptoms and lots of agitation. my pdoc put me on low-dose prozac about six weeks ago. i take 10mg now, and she told me i can increase to 20mg. my other dr tried to take away the prozac and leave the zoloft, but my pdoc and i prefer keeping the prozac and increasing it to 20mg, which is what most people take, right? when i tried to withdraw from zoloft before, i tapered under a pdoc (maybe not slowly enough, though) and going from 25 to 0, i crashed fast and hard. if i have prozac on board, can i withdraw easier from the zoloft since they are similar in action and in the same class? does anyone know? i'm happy keeping both ADs-- may not be elegant, but it keeps me afloat-- but my other dr wants 1 AD only. any thoughts? thanks!
If you are not on a mood-stabilizer, I think that is the first thing you should consider if your reactions to Zoloft are true mania. Is there a history of bipolar disorder in your family? You might be able to bring the Zoloft up to 200mg if necessary if you were taking a drug like Depakote or Tegretol/Trileptal. You might then achieve the robust antidepressant response you are looking for without inducing the mania.
- Scott
Posted by CareBear04 on February 26, 2005, at 13:34:54
In reply to Re: withdrawing from one SSRI to another » CareBear04, posted by SLS on February 24, 2005, at 9:13:03
thanks, scott, for your response! i'm actually on two mood stabilizers, lithium and lamictal. i don't know why the SSRIs induce that sort of mania, anyway. zoloft helps and is tolerable, but the other SSRIs plopped me off the deep end. thanks!
Posted by SLS on February 26, 2005, at 13:53:24
In reply to Re: withdrawing from one SSRI to another » SLS, posted by CareBear04 on February 26, 2005, at 13:34:54
> thanks, scott, for your response! i'm actually on two mood stabilizers, lithium and lamictal. i don't know why the SSRIs induce that sort of mania, anyway. zoloft helps and is tolerable, but the other SSRIs plopped me off the deep end. thanks!
Neither lithium nor Lamictal are very effective to treat mania in bipolar II. It would be better that you be on either Depakote or Zyprexa if you find it desireable to use higher dosages of SSRI. I haven't witnessed first hand how effective Tegretol or Trileptal are as antimanic agents, but they do represent alternatives.
- Scott
Posted by CareBear04 on February 26, 2005, at 13:57:11
In reply to Re: withdrawing from one SSRI to another, posted by SLS on February 26, 2005, at 13:53:24
Scott-- hi. yeah, i haven't tried trileptal/tegretol. i was on zyprexa when i first started zoloft. i don't know that it helped much with being able to titrate up faster. if anything, it just added to the antidepressant effect. i've been on depakote briefly, and i know it's supposed to have a good antimanic effect. i was on it too briefly to know how it would work for me, but i was worried about the weight gain effect, plus it made me tired, dizzy, and off-balance.
thanks!
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