Kat H
10-02-09, 13:50
Hi
I suffered from severe anxiety/depression last year for the first time and was put on anti-depressants (Sertraline). They started to work after about 4 weeks and since then I have been doing really well.
The problems started last week when I started to reduce my dose. My doc thought I was ready as I have been feeling fine and have been on them for nearly a year. As Sertraline only comes in 50mg she recommended reducing my dose from 150mg to 100mg. I really didnt think it would affect me that much but after taking 100mg for the first time last Wed I woke up on Thu feeling really anxious again and ended up getting into a complete panic. I phoned my doc who said go back up to 150mg for a few weeks and that they will have to be reduced a lot more gradually. Problem is that the anxiety has not gone away since, despite putting the dose back up and I have been waking up early every morning anxious which stays with me for the whole day and I keep breaking down and crying. I saw my doc yesterday who assured me that I felt anxious on Thu due to withdrawal symptoms from reducing the dose and that I am sensitive to it so next time will have to cut the tablets in half or use liquid form. She told me to start taking diazepam again to calm me down in the meantime and things should settle down.
I am really worried that things are going to get really bad. I know the reduced dose brought on the initial anxiety but feeling like that brought back awful memories of last year and no matter how much I try to think positively and tell myself things will settle down again I am terrified that they wont as the thing that got rid of the anxiety last time was the antidepressants and now I am back on the higher dose I am still anxious so what is going to help me this time? I am terrified that if I cant stop worrying that the anti-depressants will not start to work again and I will end up in the same state I was in last year.
Help!
I suffered from severe anxiety/depression last year for the first time and was put on anti-depressants (Sertraline). They started to work after about 4 weeks and since then I have been doing really well.
The problems started last week when I started to reduce my dose. My doc thought I was ready as I have been feeling fine and have been on them for nearly a year. As Sertraline only comes in 50mg she recommended reducing my dose from 150mg to 100mg. I really didnt think it would affect me that much but after taking 100mg for the first time last Wed I woke up on Thu feeling really anxious again and ended up getting into a complete panic. I phoned my doc who said go back up to 150mg for a few weeks and that they will have to be reduced a lot more gradually. Problem is that the anxiety has not gone away since, despite putting the dose back up and I have been waking up early every morning anxious which stays with me for the whole day and I keep breaking down and crying. I saw my doc yesterday who assured me that I felt anxious on Thu due to withdrawal symptoms from reducing the dose and that I am sensitive to it so next time will have to cut the tablets in half or use liquid form. She told me to start taking diazepam again to calm me down in the meantime and things should settle down.
I am really worried that things are going to get really bad. I know the reduced dose brought on the initial anxiety but feeling like that brought back awful memories of last year and no matter how much I try to think positively and tell myself things will settle down again I am terrified that they wont as the thing that got rid of the anxiety last time was the antidepressants and now I am back on the higher dose I am still anxious so what is going to help me this time? I am terrified that if I cant stop worrying that the anti-depressants will not start to work again and I will end up in the same state I was in last year.
Help!