SSRI Side Effects

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I think I vaguely remember reading once that, sometimes, side effects of SSRI's actually remit at higher doses. I'm hoping that's true, because I'm having anhedonia at 25 mg of sertraline 6 weeks in, and the psych's response to me telling her that was to up the dose to 37.5 mg.

The anhedonia is already feeding suicidal ideation and, for obvious reasons, is highly correlated with poor treatment outcomes. I've experienced apathy with depression, but not the actual inability to derive pleasure from thinking about or engaging in pleasurable activities. The only time I've had that was on antipsychotics, and of course that did culminate in a suicide attempt.

I'm hoping it will remit at higher doses, because if it doesn't I'm probably going to fire the psychiatrist as well as the therapist who swore up and down she wouldn't do something like this to me, as thanks to the trauma issues all my trust in my therapist will be gone as well.

I really don't want to have to start over.

Well I have my official answers anyway.

According to psych and therapist that doesn't happen. But it is still wait and see.

OK. I will wait and see.

I have had enough bad experiences that I do not trust psych meds or psychiatrists, and at this point I regret asking for or opening the door to chemical help, but I will be compliant and wait and see.

And if I turn out to be right and once again I was led down a primrose path and not listened to because "disabled this" and "mentally ill that" and basically patient profiling, well...

I don't know what will happen.

I will not harm another person. But that just might be the end of it for me. The I give up end.

Whether on life and myself, or attempting to be assertive instead of passive, or attempting to never be anything approximating aggressive, or on the mental healthcare profession Or just these people I don't know (leaning toward life and self and/or ever being anything other than completely passive).

SSRIs are not all the same. Antidepressants often work on different neurotransmitters at different doses.

Unless your psychiatrist can explain their reasoning, I wouldn't trust them either. Most doctors I have come across often have far less understanding about the medications that they prescribe than they would have you believe.

Zoloft(sertraline) in addition to being a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is also a weak dopamine reuptake inhibitor, probably this effect comes into play higher doses. Dopamine can help with anhedonia, though Zoloft only has weak dopamine action at best.

25mg is Zoloft is the lowest dose you can be on most likely. You can go up to 200mg if I remember..