Well it has been quit a week..Last Monday I had a visit with the neuro who has been taking care of DH for the past several years after I mentioned I was on Valium. He did not like that one bit. So I saw him for myself..and we went over the issue of migraines, and anxiety. It was a long session, quite intense actually going back into my family history. This doctor is very good at what he does. In addition to his being a neuro he is a shrink!
Well long story short, a lot of the discussion was about SSRI meds. I told him my horrific experience with Lexapro and was NOT eager to take anything else..He Rxed Zoloft..50 mg but since I had such a bad start with it, he cut the dose by half for the first 8 days then full dose. He has kept me on the Valium at the start of the new med in order not to confuse any possible side effects of going off Valium with going on the new one. Well today I took the first half tab..yep over the teeth, over the gums look out stomach here it comes..and so far nothing bad...just needed a little nap about 4:30 which is fine cuz I got a therapist too and she wants me to take time out for 5 minute " breathing breaks" a couple of times a day..And guess who is the snuggle buddy..not DH, my Xena the Warrior Princess Kitten now 11 months old..She is a purr baby and purrs lullabies. So I nap instead..,I hope wt gain will be something I can control if the med lets me be my old self again..then I could conquer it maybe..fingers crossed..
Thanks...day 2 went well too.. After 8 days on 15 mg I am to go to 50 so I hope it continues to go this well. The Lexapro sent me into orbit on day 2! I am keeping a little notebook for this so I can keep track of anything that crops up. The only thing I did differently last night was go to bed 2 hours earlier! I'll check in again tomorrow.....keep the good vibes going!!!
DAy 3. got up feeling pretty good until about 9. Then I felt a little out of focus and slight headache but nothing earth shattering...but all day felt a little on the tired side. Did not sleep well last night. Woke up early to use the loo but could not go back to sleep as hubby's CPap machine kept me awake with the hiss..means his mask was not on quite right but he was in a deep sleep and didn't hear me get up ( unusual these days not to hear and ask Are you ok") Spent the better part of the afternoon plungering the toilet...again.....but at least I wasn't annoyed by it... On the whole, I feel a little more relaxed but next week I am to take the full dose of Zoloft and who knows what it is in store then. At least I am not in outer space like Lexapro sent me and that is good...I keep telling myself this pill is for healing of body mind and soul....
Oh this med makes me feel a little hungry but since I am aware of that side effect I am not giving into it.Balanced meals and a snack...I refuse to let this med put the pounds on that HRT did...and I am still fighting to get rid of.
Day 4 on the meds...so far so good.. no real side effets. I am on half dose and next Monday take the full dose. I hope things continue as well as these first 4 days. I think I feel a little more evened out too...I don't feel quite as uptight..not so edgy...a little clearer thinking too. I am glad I took the doc's advice and swallowed the first pill with a prayer that this is for healing of mind body and soul... Will let you know how the next few days go. I was not eager to try this Zoloft...and like everyone says, it may take more than one try...as much as I resisted the idea of meds, I can testify that for those who need it is it not a bad thing and may save a lot of heartache and stress...
Don't be afraid to talk to the doctor and maybe the sooner the better.
Is it the time released? I have a friend that is on it and as long as she drinks a cup a coffee aka caffeine in the morning she is not bothered by tired during the day. If she does skip the coffee, then she is dragging all day. I have also heard others mention that remedy to the tiredness.
I don't know if it is time released or not...so far so good too..I have been able to go about daily activities without much of a problem. I have had some very minor headaches but nothing a couple of tylenol couldn't take care of. Weather seems to trigger the sinus migraines. Next week I take the full dose and I hope I will do as well on it..It has been pretty easy adjusting so far. Stay tuned.
Mimi, a thought regarding headaches; remember to keep hydrated. Something I rarely remember but usually my problem and definitely better to start with plenty of water rather than taking more pills.
Yes, thank you. I do try to get water whenever I can. I have my water bottles all around the house, bed room, tv room, kitchen...but yes getting enough fluid is important.
Yesterday I got my med about half hour after I normally would have taken it and I felt the side effects to some degree but nothing really bad or out of this world. Today I took it on time and all went well. However tomorrow I move from half dose to full dose so that will be interesting to see how that goes. I kind of decided to post my experience with this because I resisted taking anything. Valium didn't bother me, it helped but the neurologist was not thrilled to learn I was on that even though 1mg...it is habit forming and he said I would eventually need more and I would be heading for big trouble...so I took his advice, finally, though I was not thrilled about starting yet another SSRI...the first one being so bad. But as we hear, it is trial and error before we land on the right one and so far Zoloft has proved not to be as difficult at all. I just hope to avoid the wt gain issue. I have not even had the dry mouth issue I did with Lexapro. That was really terrible. So for anyone else out there who may need to see a doctor about anxiety and depression associated with this caregiving role, maybe my posts might give them some hope.. So stay tuned as I fill you in on going onto the full strenght dose tomorrow morning. I keep telling myself it is for the healing of mind body and soul.
Mimi, I'm glad that you're handling the new med. okay. Have to confess that I was worried when you were on Valium. It came into use in the 50's and a few of my friends got into serious trouble on it. With time they needed more and more, and when they had to discontinue it because of the health problems it created, they had a really difficult time. I'm so glad your doctor was watching out for you and that this one is better.
Mimi, so glad to hear the new medicine is helping you and not causing any bad effects. Keeping my fingers crossed that you will be able to tolerate the new dose ((hugs))
Hi, All.. Mary, I am glad the doctor talked straight to me about the risk even tho my primary doc was watchful about this. Just before I started the Zoloft I could already tell I was sensing I needed more than the 1 mg. So my neurologist, regarding the migraines and the new script for Zoloft, explained clearly the risks. He has me staying on the Valium while I start the Zoloft. He said if I stopped the Valium and then started the Zoloft it would be too difficult to determine if the side effect was due to the Valium with drawn or the new drug. In any case I only take the 1 MG of Valium and no more so that cutting it back should not be too difficult. I take DH to the neuro on Wed this week so I am sure he will at least ask how the Zoloft is going for me and I see him again on 1 April unless he says sooner, but getting a sooner appt is nearly impossible. So far today, I do feel some side effects of the stronger med..a little " out there" but nothing really bad..don't want to drive today so I put off errands I had planned. I'll get back later with how the rest of the day goes...fingers crossed for an easy transition to the stronger dose... Nikki I am glad to see you doing well again...you are my heroine! You have been through so much with your DH and your own health problems and done so with such grace...and courage....!!!! If you can face all that, I hope I can contend with the Zoloft!!
Mimi, thank you for the lovely compliment ((hugs)) We just never know what we can do until we are faced with it. Never dreamed we were this strong did we? :) But we are, and you are! Trying new medications is a bit scary I know. Please do keep us posted and please keep in the back of your mind, if this one doesn't work, there are others to try. For what it is worth, I think it very brave of you to talk with your doctors and meet this head on. So many push aside their own well being, their anxiety, nothing good has ever come from that! Kudos to you ♥
I took the second full strength Zoloft and no side effects today.. Yesterday I was pretty sleepy and took a nice nap but today...great...I know the neuro is going to pull me off the Valium soon so I don't know what might appear then but I don't expect too much difficulty as I only take the 1 mg. I saw my primary today and she was happy to see that I looked and seemed better..even my BP was really good ( I am not on meds but for me it was high though normal range) so that is good too. So for anyone who is afraid to try these SSRI meds for anxiety and stress...don't be. The first one I took was like riding a bronco but this new one..amazing...My counselor today was pleased to see an improvement in just 10 days too. I hope it will help me with decision making and clear thinking with regards to doing what is best for me and for hubby.
All I can add to this is that when I started taking Zoloft (50mg.), I couldn't stay awake, so I started taking it at night before bed. No problems since then. I've been taking it for about 4 years. The only problem I had was when I decided I didn't need it, and tried to wean myself off by taking 1/2 a pill every day instead of a whole pill. Not sure of the exact time frame, but within less than two weeks, I was a "nasty drunk", as the saying goes. Mean, on edge, yelling at people. Back to a whole pill I went, and have stayed there since.
Day 3 on full dose and going well. Got to talk to the neuro duing hubby's hour and he told me if it started to make me sleepy to go to the evenings but so far only when the does was increased did I have the need for a nap. I get a wee headache but he said a little tylenol or motrin would take care of that for now and that the zoloft hopefully will take care of the migraine issue as well. I see him for myself in April on the Fools Dat! ; )
The Lexapro was horrible...beyond terrible for ME but Zoloft is going well and my primary is watching to make sure I don't gain wt..I am losing and don't want to go the wrong way. Wouldn't it be nice if Zoloft helped wt fall off??
I am feeling better too,don't dread hearing him come down the hall in the morning and am able to deal with stresses better now..still don't suffer fools however.
Well, this is day 4 on the full dose and today I have not had any ill effects at all. I am so surprised at how smoothly, overall, this has gone..Maybe it is because I was not pulled off the Valium yet. the doctor said yesterday that about 1 April he will start to pull the Valium away and at that time I may have a couple of weeks of difficult sleep at night. I have only taken 1 MG this whole time so I suppose it might not be too terrible..then again maybe some of the Zoloft side effects might show up but I am not going to worry about that now. I have the best neuro and trust him 100%. I hope this little journal helps others who may need to see their doctor and are putting it off for the same reasons I did. Others can tell the change more than I can I guess. I am told my mind is not racing at a 110MPH with things needing done....etc and I seem calmer all around and I laugh a little more now too. I do find that in the morning when I hear him coming down the hall I no longer have that " Oh here he comes, Now it all starts again...." dread feeling..it is now Well here he comes..." I hear footprints coming down the hall, It must be you"..." yep they are my foot prints...make way sailor..." Things are better.
Sat and day seven on the full dose..Yesterday I was really tired..sleepy so I missed my Savvy Caregiver class...I hope I can make the last class next week. I did not want to drive feeling sort of fuzzy. The doctor said it will take me 3 more weeks to get really used to this. Then this morning I felt a little fuzzy so got someone to cover for me at Mass tonight so I don't have the pressure of not making it and leaving a void..At this point, I am just taking it easy with the almost one year old Gabrielle "kitten <^ ^> in my lap snoozing whilst hubby snoozes and I am listening to whatever he had going on TV..a lazy day.
It was 9 days ago now that I went on full dose of Zoloft and for the first time I didn't feel all sleepy and no headache or odd sensations. I feel like the old get up and go that got up and went is slowly coming back...I see the doc again on April Fools Day ; ) and we will talk more about migraines then... Who knows tomorrow might be different with weather moving in..I might end up with a sinus migraine but so far things are going ok overall.
Charlotte, I do have coffee every morning one or two cups. I limit the amount because of the calories..I use a little organic sugar and half and half...I can't use that artificial sweetener and don't like the non dairy creamer so I use the real deal in limited amounts..I don't want to gain wt on this med either and I know one of the potential side effects of SSRI's is is wt gain..
Yes, things do seem to be leveling out..At about 4 PM yesterday and again today I was tired and wanted a nap and had a tiny headache..So I do think any of the pesky side effects, which for me have been very minor, thank God, seem to be fading. And weather moved in today and we had rain and lots of clouds and no "sinus headache" migraine..so I am hoping the Zoloft will deal with those pesky sinus pressure issues too. I am starting to feel like I can cope a lot better this week.