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Re: Xanax & Zoloft


Posted by Allen on October 25, 1998 at 00:24:40:

In Reply to: Re: Xanax & Zoloft posted by Larry on August 17, 1998 at 11:19:50:

I had major Generalized Anxiety Disorder, approaching almost 4 years ago. At that time I was 28 yrs. old and had tried to fight giving in for 7 years to medication. It was a pride and perception issue. I couldn't picture myself ever having to "take medication". As a result of progressively developing agoraphobia, clausterphobia, and hypochondria, I finally went to the doctor. At that point in time, I was having 4 or 5 panic attacks/day, some that would last an hour or more! My main problem, other than feeling like my head was going to explode, was not being able to stop my heart from racing. My doctor started me on 50mg/day of Zoloft, and Xanax as needed, until the Zoloft kicked in. After about a week I noticed subtle changes, and by 3 weeks I felt like I was as normal as when I was 18 or 19. It was a Godsend for me. Side effects? Yeah, I had some minor ones, like taking a little longer to finish with sex. But I still had a very healthy sexual relationship. The drowsiness in my case(and from what I understand in most cases) went away after the first month.
I started taking it in the morning before work after about 6 months. No problem! I was able to stay on 50mg/day for about 3 years, before it started losing its effectiveness. I bumped it up to 100mg/day. It continued to be effective at that level for about 7 more months(over 3 1/2 years total). Then, it started losing effectiveness again.

I had three options(that I preferred) 1)Increase the Zoloft dosage again 2) Switch to another chemically non-related anti-depressant and 3) Add a small dosage of Trazodone(25mg/day) to the current dosage of Zoloft. This had been found to work for many people, plus Trazodone increases libido(sometimes too much).

I chose #3 and found that the Zoloft was still not being compensated. I didn't feel much better. My doctor told me that Zoloft(and other SSRI's) lose their effectiveness over time. But, that if a person STOPS taking Zoloft for a couple of weeks and lets it "wash" out of their system, they can start taking it again, and IT WILL WORK. They don't understand the mechanisms behind this, but for some reason the body "forgets" its tolerance to it. He said this has been shown to be a predominantly very common outcome!

So, what have I done? Well, I had boosted the Trazodone up to 50mg/day while on the 100mg/day of Zoloft before starting to phase out the Zoloft. I guess there's no set way for cutting back, but whatever you do, DON'T STOP COLD TURKEY! For the first week, I cut down from 100mg/day to 50mg/day. The second week, I reduced to 25mg/day, and as of this past Friday, I stopped taking it. The doctor thought it would be good to maintain some stability by continuing with the Trazodone during this period.

So, it's been two days with no Zoloft. Am still taking the 50mg/day of Trazodone and have Xanax on hand, just in case. Have only used it once, in a very small dose. Have I had any withdrawals? I guess the overlying withdrawal has been a tendency to be a little more edgy at times. And now that I'm not taking it at all, I've noticed a little more anxiousness and lightheadedness. But not bad at all. Definitely tolerable. If I can make it 4-5 days(I've already made it 2) then, I should be able to start using Zoloft again exclusively, and be back to where I was 4 years ago, dosagewise.

I realize that in time, the Zoloft may lose it's effectiveness again. But if it takes 3 years for that to happen again, I can go for that!

I realize that Zoloft doesn't work for everyone. But if you are just starting to take it, or have been taking it and it's starting to lose it's effectiveness, I hope this long-winded note will provide some encouragement.

I suppose the true test will be 2-3 weeks from now. I'll keep you posted!

Just to reiterate - this note only relates to GAD and PD. I never took Zoloft for depression.


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