Suggested increase 50mg to 100mg Sertraline - Yes or No?

[Tyke]

Hi Everyone
Just wondered if anyone has any thoughts or experiences on increasing a dose of Sertraline from 50mg to 100mg. My GP wants me to up the dose, but I'm reluctant to do this as I feel I'm doing fine on the 50mg and am much better. I have had bad anxiety/depression before and the GP feels I'll get a greater improvement on the larger dose. I suppose I'm of the 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' mentality and just wondered if anyone else has been in this situation and if so what they did? Has anyone upped their dose when they felt it wasn't actually necessary and if so what happened?

I would like to think I could come off them eventually and this would seem more achieveable if I'm on the lower dose to start with! I'm also concerned about causing any side effects with an increased dose.

[Phill2]

I was on 50mg for 3 yrs and it worked just fine.
IMO Drs are too quick to up doses when not necessary.
When mine wanted me to go to 100 I just said no.
You know how you feel better than anyone else.

[Sleepy]

My psychiatrist’s approach is for the patient to take the lowest possible dose of the drug. If you’re satisfied, I’d stick where you are.

He said if I wanted to try a higher dose (of escitalopram in my case), that that was fine, and if I felt no improvement or suffered more from side effects I could reduce back down. I decided to stay where I am.

I’m wondering how long you’ve been on your current dose, as I’ve found that my body takes at least a couple of months to react fully to a dose change.

[Tyke]

Thanks for your replies. I've decided I am going to stick with the 50mg. If I'd felt things weren't working well I would have happily raised the dose, but I just didn't feel it was necessary. I've been on them for nearly 3 months and started to feel much better after a month or so. I know I can go up if I feel I really need to. My GP has patients on 200mg who are absolutely fine, so I know it is a low dose in comparison. I think this GP takes a different approach to other GPs I've had who did take the line of 'the lowest dose that works'. This one seems to see recurring problems as needing stronger meds! I do feel I know my own mind pretty well having had these issues a long time, I know when I'm struggling and when I'm doing okay. It's reassuring to hear from others with similar experiences as I am cautious about not following a GPs advice, though in this instance I really do feel I know best!!!!

[KK77]

Thanks for your replies. I've decided I am going to stick with the 50mg. If I'd felt things weren't working well I would have happily raised the dose, but I just didn't feel it was necessary. I've been on them for nearly 3 months and started to feel much better after a month or so. I know I can go up if I feel I really need to. My GP has patients on 200mg who are absolutely fine, so I know it is a low dose in comparison. I think this GP takes a different approach to other GPs I've had who did take the line of 'the lowest dose that works'. This one seems to see recurring problems as needing stronger meds! I do feel I know my own mind pretty well having had these issues a long time, I know when I'm struggling and when I'm doing okay. It's reassuring to hear from others with similar experiences as I am cautious about not following a GPs advice, though in this instance I really do feel I know best!!!!

If you look at "recommended dose" for MDD, OCD, SA, PTSD etc, 50mg is indicated for all of them. No higher dose was found to be of any significant benefit in clinical trials (I assume), which is odd because when I upped dose from 50 to 100mg, I felt a "lift" in my mood. Could have been placebo of course, but then, after about a year, I felt the med pooped out on me, and increasing further to 150mg did nothing but increase side effects. I switched to Venlafaxine.

I think it's wise to stay on lowest dose possible if you feel it's still helping.

[Tyke]

If you look at "recommended dose" for MDD, OCD, SA, PTSD etc, 50mg is indicated for all of them. No higher dose was found to be of any significant benefit in clinical trials (I assume), which is odd because when I upped dose from 50 to 100mg, I felt a "lift" in my mood. Could have been placebo of course, but then, after about a year, I felt the med pooped out on me, and increasing further to 150mg did nothing but increase side effects. I switched to Venlafaxine.

I think it's wise to stay on lowest dose possible if you feel it's still helping.

Thanks for that KK77. I am always a bit concerned they'll stop working, but I've now been on them three times on the same 50mg dose and I've been fine. I like to think I can easily up the dose if I feel I need to, but it seems pointless risking any other problems if I feel I'm okay as I am. The 50mg indications you list have also convinced me that I am right to stick with the lower dose.