Re: Starting Sertraline question
Originally Posted by
tom1984
I woke up very anxious because my intrusive thoughts in regard to suicide worsened again. I had them pretty much under control.
Is it possible for them to get worse because of the meds and heightened anxiety or should I stop the meds?
Unfortunately, yes. The biggest problem with antidepressants, especially SSRI, SNRIs and other serotoninergic ADs is they often make anxiety worse because of an initial spike in serotonin activity. Bio-feedback mechanisms usually kick-in after a week or two at a steady dose to reduce both serotonin synthesis and expression in some brain areas to less than half pretreatment levels (despite what is often claimed anxiety and depression are not caused by too little serotonin, nor do ADs work by increasing it in the brain, they actually reduce it).
You should tell your doctor about the thoughts you're having and ask for something to ease them.
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The opinions expressed above are based on my observations and, where applicable, interpretation of cited data and are general in nature. Consult your physician before acting on anything stated.