Zoloft, Insomnia, And Restlessness
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I've been managing very nicely on a 25 mg. Zoloft daily for several years, which has resulted in decreased anxiety, decreased depression, decreased claustrophobia on elevators and airplanes, and a decrease in the overall sense that life is sad and meaningless. A few weeks ago, I upped the dose to 50 mg. with the physician's encouragement. I didn't notice any further improvement in mood, but I experienced a marked worsening of insomnia, tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning, twitchy legs, and intense restlessness. I have qualms about taking any drug like Zoloft, but every time I try to taper off of it I notice a return of the negative feelings that started me down this path in the first place.
Answer:
Well, I've wrestled with the whole "to medicate or not to medicate" question, and I've arrived at the conclusion "Why not?". If you can tolerate the drug, if it doesn't make you feel worse than being depressed, then why not take them? Diabetics have to take insulin, hypothyroid sufferers have to take thyroid replacements, depressed people have to take drugs to set their neurotransmitter balances right....Perhaps you won't need actual sleeping pills, either. I have big time problems with constant medium-grade anxiety, which makes me have trouble sleeping. I don't take sleeping pills, but I do take Lorazepam (Ativan) when I need it. Since I don't have to take it every day, I have no concerns about dependency/addiction, and it helps me sleep. All this contributes to some type of life more or less approximating normal, which is all I want. I occasionally have problems with insomnia; now whether it's depression/medication related or not, I don't know because I've never asked. I don't like using standard over-the-counter sleep aids because all of them are simply various types of antihistamines, which leaves you feeling drug out (no pun intended). When I have an attack of insomnia, I take melatonin. It's a chemical that your brain produces naturally when it's time for you to sleep, and doesn't leave most people feeling 'hung over,' and which you can buy in pill or capsule form over-the-counter at any pharmacy in the vitamin section. It doesn't work for everyone; some people it actually makes the insomnia worse. I, however, have never had any adverse affects from using it. I also see a therapist infrequently (now) as I feel better letting the ZOLOFT take its course (6-8 weeks for most people)...(13 weeks for me, since I increased soooooo slowly). The therapist did (and does) teach me breathing techniques and to "not sweat the small stuff"... I have a book or 2 I can recommend for self healing... I had the same deal for a while, and was using Melatonin to help me sleep, which I thought was ok, until I started noticing that depressive episodes were made much worse by Melatonin, than when I wasn't taking it. There was a day-for-day correlation. Nights when I took Melatonin, the next day was hell. Eventually I stopped taking it, and at least I'm not adding to the problem. I believe there is a certain degree of discouragement regarding depression and melatonin, plus there are some icky things about melatonin that they don't you. For instance, you should *NEVER* take melatonin during the day or at any time other than your natural bedtime. On every bottle of melatonin I've seen, it also says that you should consult your physician if you're being treated for depression before taking it.
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