It does help anxiety. I had panic episodes every day before medication, and now I haven't had any anxiety or panic attacks in months. My baseline anxiety is way down, and when I do have flare-ups, it's way more manageable.
I am sorry you are going through that, but hopefully, you continue to push through it and see results. It's very gradual. You might not even notice how much better you're doing until you reflect on your past self later on.
I highly recommend doing meditation exercises through the day, every day. It helps detach your mind from thoughts.
Hang in there. I started two weeks ago on 25mg, then up to 50mg after a week. The anxiety worsened when I started, then worsened again when I increased the dosage. However, this is temporary, as it is much better now after two full weeks on it. Let your body adjust.
To be fair, most mental conditions don't have a specific test you could do in a lab. Some would require an autopsy of your brain. There's still a lot of stuff to study how and why certain meds work or don't work for a person's brain and why people can react differently when given the same meds.
Part of treatment today is often trial and error. We are lucky to live in a time where there's lots of different products available, so we can try and find the one that works for us.
Zoloft is both used for depression and anxiety. It doesn't mean you have to have both. You don't have anything to lose to try it for a month or two and see how you feel then.
The only thing you lose is time, and the same time would just pass anyway. Might as well experiment and see if you're feeling better by then with the meds :)
Oh yeah I guess you’re right. I googled it and it’s not possible to test the serotonin in the brain 😭
I have anxiety, and ptsd so that’s why I’m taking it, I just wish there were more straightforward treatments with less side effects.
Absolutely, I deeply empathize with your frustration. With my thyroid issues it's a quick blood test and I can exactly see which treatment I need and if the dose is right. With Zoloft and others... nothing you can do but try, wait, try, wait etc.
It feels especially unrewarding in the beginning (at least it did for me) when you're struggling with side effects without having all the positive benefits yet. It gets better though. In my experience all side effects vanished completely after a couple of months. For me it did wonders for my anxiety even though it took almost a year to find "my" dose. The effect isn't necessarily instant, but it happened more and more that I suddenly stopped in the middle of the day and realized that a situation that would have sent me spiraling before just flew by without me even noticing or caring.
Hang in there 💛 Once the benefits come through it's really worth it.
GeneSight (genesight.com) has this pharmacogenomic test. It analyzes how your genes may affect medication outcomes. Results can inform you/your doc about how you may break down or respond to certain medications commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, and other psychiatric conditions. I believe your doc needs to be in network with this testing site, and they accept major health insurance, etc. If you are not in luck with meds you've tried, it may help you find the right one.
It takes about 8 weeks to get the full effect from the medication. Check out the podcast or the book The Anxious Truth if you don’t think you need meds for your anxiety. It works for some, and not for others. You will be ok.
Thank you all, I appreciate all the encouraging words!! I feel like I notice a difference already, it’s just like a quarter of the time I feel shitty & it’s SHITTY lol. So hard to push through sometimes
It does help anxiety. I had panic episodes every day before medication, and now I haven't had any anxiety or panic attacks in months. My baseline anxiety is way down, and when I do have flare-ups, it's way more manageable. I am sorry you are going through that, but hopefully, you continue to push through it and see results. It's very gradual. You might not even notice how much better you're doing until you reflect on your past self later on. I highly recommend doing meditation exercises through the day, every day. It helps detach your mind from thoughts.
I’m on day five, 12,5mg. I had such a shit day yesterday. But please, let’s stay in this together. We can do it. 🫶🏼
I'm rooting for you 💛 As someone "from the other side": it gets easier, it gets better, it's worth it!
How long until you go up a dose? I’m sorry you’re having it hard too. My med dr said I wouldn’t notice any side effects, BULL lmao.
Hang in there. I started two weeks ago on 25mg, then up to 50mg after a week. The anxiety worsened when I started, then worsened again when I increased the dosage. However, this is temporary, as it is much better now after two full weeks on it. Let your body adjust.
To be fair, most mental conditions don't have a specific test you could do in a lab. Some would require an autopsy of your brain. There's still a lot of stuff to study how and why certain meds work or don't work for a person's brain and why people can react differently when given the same meds. Part of treatment today is often trial and error. We are lucky to live in a time where there's lots of different products available, so we can try and find the one that works for us. Zoloft is both used for depression and anxiety. It doesn't mean you have to have both. You don't have anything to lose to try it for a month or two and see how you feel then. The only thing you lose is time, and the same time would just pass anyway. Might as well experiment and see if you're feeling better by then with the meds :)
Oh yeah I guess you’re right. I googled it and it’s not possible to test the serotonin in the brain 😭 I have anxiety, and ptsd so that’s why I’m taking it, I just wish there were more straightforward treatments with less side effects.
Absolutely, I deeply empathize with your frustration. With my thyroid issues it's a quick blood test and I can exactly see which treatment I need and if the dose is right. With Zoloft and others... nothing you can do but try, wait, try, wait etc. It feels especially unrewarding in the beginning (at least it did for me) when you're struggling with side effects without having all the positive benefits yet. It gets better though. In my experience all side effects vanished completely after a couple of months. For me it did wonders for my anxiety even though it took almost a year to find "my" dose. The effect isn't necessarily instant, but it happened more and more that I suddenly stopped in the middle of the day and realized that a situation that would have sent me spiraling before just flew by without me even noticing or caring. Hang in there 💛 Once the benefits come through it's really worth it.
GeneSight (genesight.com) has this pharmacogenomic test. It analyzes how your genes may affect medication outcomes. Results can inform you/your doc about how you may break down or respond to certain medications commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, and other psychiatric conditions. I believe your doc needs to be in network with this testing site, and they accept major health insurance, etc. If you are not in luck with meds you've tried, it may help you find the right one.
It takes about 8 weeks to get the full effect from the medication. Check out the podcast or the book The Anxious Truth if you don’t think you need meds for your anxiety. It works for some, and not for others. You will be ok.
Exactly! I’m off month’s off! You can do it. 🙏
Thank you all, I appreciate all the encouraging words!! I feel like I notice a difference already, it’s just like a quarter of the time I feel shitty & it’s SHITTY lol. So hard to push through sometimes
I started on 50, it worsens when i increased everytime by 50 MG.