Zoloft Making My Jittery and Sleepless

[Eflower]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post, and I'd really appreciate some help.

I was on Zoloft for several years for anxiety and it worked wonders.  I tapered off and after a few months felt that I needed to go back on it.  My doctor started me on 50 mg and I felt some side effects, difficulty staying asleep, restlessness, jittery/tingly feeling. After about a week these side effects stopped and I started feeling better.  

Wednesday my doctor upped my dose to 75 mg. It is not Sunday morning and I have not really slept since Tuesday night before I upped my dose.  I can fall asleep but I can't stay asleep and it feels like my body is buzzing or tingling. I also am very nauseous.  Is it normal to experience side effects again after you increase your dose?  Is it normal for them to feel worse?

I'd really appreciate some feedback, I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin!!

[Eflower]

Hey there :)

Ok so my jitters are starting to really go away, thank goodness! Now I notice that I am EXHAUSTED by 8 pm at night. Is this a side effect and will it ease up? Like I'm talking falling asleep sitting up on the couch lol

Also, in regards to my anxiety, one minute I feel good and the next anxious, will this even out? Will I be able to start feeling good all the time? I was a lot younger when I started taking zoloft the first time so I don't really remember what it was like.  I just felt great for years after I started but I don't remember the time frame.

Thank you!

[nursegirl6572]

YAY!  Awesome news!

I'll tell you what I did that helped a bit with those jitters.  I kind of used them to my advantage.  They make you feel as though you have so much pent up energy, so I basically became a busy body....doing all kinds of stuff, cleaning our drawers and closets, just task after task, and not only was it a bonus that I got a lot done, but that helped ease the jittery feeling a good bit (and I slept good at night).  

Sleep will help too for sure!  I remember getting very sleepy in the afternoon (almost felt like a coffee crash)...and I would always lie down and take a short nap (like 30 min...no more than an hour)...and that helped a lot too.  

Fingers crossed that the side effects are starting to improve for you.  The side effects related to dosage increases don't stick around as long compared to the initial ones, when first starting the med.

[Eflower]

Hey there,

You said to keep you updated, so I just wanted to let you know that last night for the first time since Wednesday night I actually slept through the night! Getting a night of restful sleep really makes a difference! Jitters seem to be dissipating :)

[Eflower]

I will do that. Thank you so much for your response.  I can't even tell you how nice it is to even just hear from someone about this that understands where I'm coming from.  I really appreciate it.

[nursegirl6572]

My advice to you is to give the 75mg a chance.  You just never know.  You may find that it will be effective for you, and if so, that would be a good thing.  I would give that dose at least 4-6 weeks before making any calls about whether you should increase again.

[Eflower]

Thank you so much for your response!

I was actually wondering about the dosage, I was on 100 mg when I stopped taking it and I am supposed to be taking the 75 mg for a few days and then increasing to the 100mg, but I'm afraid to because the side effects are so bad right now.

I'm not in therapy, but this anxiety is something I've dealt with since I was very young.  It's mostly fixating on unwelcome thoughts. Like a thought pops into my head and I can't stop fixating on it and I become extremely anxious.  I try to just just deep breaths and self-talk, tell myself that whatever it is I'm worrying about isn't realistic, didn't happen, etc... Try to keep myself busy. The medicine really helped me a lot thought when I started taking it when I was younger so I'm hoping for similar effects!

[nursegirl6572]

Hi there!

The short answer:

" Is it normal to experience side effects again after you increase your dose?  Is it normal for them to feel worse?"

Yes, this is actually pretty typical.  It's normal to experience an increase in those initial "start up" side effects again, both when restarting the medication, and when increasing the dose.

The longer answer:

There is also a theory that a medication we once tolerated very well becomes much more difficult to tolerate, side effect wise, the second time around due to a "memory" of sorts in our brains.  I experienced this myself with Lexapro.  I also just resumed taking Zoloft last fall, and I had some pretty significant start up side effects (the jittery/shaky feeling was by far the worst side effect).  The GOOD news is, for most of us, the side effects will improve, then abate completely after a few weeks.  I got through it with the Zoloft, and I'm so glad I stuck it out, because it's been VERY effective for me in reducing anxiety and depression.

My advice to you is, unless the side effects are unbearable or impossible to deal with, give the new dose some time, both to allow for the side effects to lessen, and also for the Zoloft to become more effective.  

Another thing to be aware of is that often times, when a person goes back to a medication they were once on, it can usually be expected that it will take a similar dose to be as effective.  Meaning, if you were on 100mg when you stopped taking it, you can expect to probably need a similar dose to see the same kinds of relief from your symptoms.  Of course, less is better, and it's best to start out lower, and see what dose works for each person...just something to keep in mind.  If necessary, some docs will Rx a short term prescription of an anti-anxiety med, like Xanax or Ativan, to help combat those initial side effects.

Are you in therapy?  What else are you doing to address the anxiety?

Hang in there....update us when you can!