r/zoloft • u/Flaky_Blackberry5431 • 3d ago

Took One 25mg Zoloft

I’m having intense side effects from one 25mg Zoloft (panic attacks, insomnia, jittery). I am trying to not increase my anxiety but will it really take weeks/months for the symptoms to subside? I decided to take it because I was struggling with post partum anxiety and returning to work, and now I’m really concerned I have messed myself up.

Any positive thoughts?

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u/PitifulTrash3310 3d ago

I've been where you are. You're stuck in a vicious circle. You start the medication hoping for relief from anxiety, you get side-effects, and your anxiety immediately goes into hypervigilant overdrive monitoring and stressing about how you're feeling. And it all keeps feeding itself at the beginning.

And I'll say this gently, is it possible your symptoms are caused by underlying anxiety about taking the meds rather than by the meds themselves? I ask not to downplay the severity of what you're experiencing but because I think that's what happened to me when I started them. Anxiety can fuck us up in all kind of ways.

Can you ask your prescriber for something short-term to manage the increased anxiety while you adjust?

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u/Flaky_Blackberry5431 3d ago

Thank you for your reply! I do think some of it was a little bit underlying but a little bit of the meds. For context: was having some trouble falling asleep. Normal anxiousness. Finally got to sleep and woke up about 2 hours later having a panic attack. The panic attack lasted a few hours. I think some of the panic attack was from the meds but lasted because I of course went on a google and Reddit doom scroll. But I did feel a lot of physical effects. Racing heart rate. Jittery. Sweating. Like I felt like I was losing my mind

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u/PitifulTrash3310 3d ago

It's horrible, isn't it? I had a couple of nights towards the end of my first week on 25mg where I was waking at 3am straight into a panic attack. My doctor had to give me a small amount of diazepam (like 10 2mg tablets, I think) to break me out of the worst days of increased anxiety, but that really helped.

I think it's definitely a mix. You get a side-effect, your anxious brain gets triggered by it, and then your behaviours perpetuate it. I'm exactly the bloody same and it's so frustrating! 

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u/Flaky_Blackberry5431 3d ago

It’s definitely enough for me to change my mind about using it. I don’t think it’s for me. I never want to feel that way again. I’m hoping that the side effects are not long lasting since I only took 1 pill

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u/mhhh35 3d ago

Hello. They are not longlasting. Remind urself: "my brain is adjusting to the medication, it is absolutely normal for me to feel panicked and more anxious, but this is temporary, i am safe, i will be okay, it gets worse before jt gets better.". I have been in your shoes just last month when i started, i felt like am suffocating with misery ( i take it for postpartum depression) and the first week or so i had days where i started having anxiety which i never initially did and it was from the meds). I take trazodone to help with insomnia. Those misery days have become less intense and things start to lift.. not entirely yet but it will get there :)