Posted by bleauberry on December 3, 2007, at 19:29:45
In reply to Zoloft HELP!, posted by Shell14 on December 2, 2007, at 21:59:17
A month and a half is plenty of time to see if it is going to help. Most clinical studies only go that long, maybe some just a little longer. I could dig it up at pubmed, but there is evidence that the difference between 50mg and higher doses is insignificant. So if your doc wants to raise the dose, I would just say no let's do something else. Besides, I would say probably 90% of people who do have a real good response to zoloft lose that good response in a matter of months. Not scientific numbers, just general anecdotal observations over the years. I do remember one guy who did great at 50mg and is still doing great with it 10 years later! That is extremely rare.
I also saw another meta-study where the predictions of a good response were highly correlated with an early response, and the predictions of a poor response were predicted by the absence of an early response. In other words, the med could kick in with more time, but the clinical odds of it are not in your favor.
If you want to put scientific odds in your favor, then lexapro or effexor have the best statistics for success. Plenty of people fail them too though. Of the two, lexapro has the easier side effects and the easier withdrawals. If you get disgusted with the whole thing, there is always Kira brand or Perika brand St Johns Wort.
Doctors do their best, but honestly it is just a guessing game when they write a prescription. The more you know, the better.
My doctor still says, regardless of statistics and regardless of new drugs, that he has more patients doing well on prozac than anything else. Hundreds actually. I was on it for almost 10 years. I had tried paxil and zoloft before that. They didn't do anything. Prozac was way different and started working in just days.
Just stuff to think about.
poster:bleauberry
thread:798372
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071125/msgs/798585.html