Is there anyone here with ocd who is taking sertraline such as Zoloft or Asentra in dosages higher than 200mg, which is the official max recommended dosage? How do you and your doctor make sure you have not developed the serotonin syndrome? Do doses over 200mg make a significant difference in managing ocd for you? I would appreciate your answers.
Im on 250mg Zoloft and I’ve never gotten serotonin syndrome but I would suggest you stay in touch with your doctor and If you notice a change in your health you should tell them! The maximum dosage may be 200mg but research has shown that if you increase it a little bit more it may help more!!
Hi. Thank you. My psychiatrist refuses to go over 200mg. His reason: the risk of developing the serotonin syndrome. Instead he prescribed an antipsychotic medication instead, quetiapine Kventiax XR, a generic version of Seroquel XR, as addition to Zoloft since it doesn't increase serotonin. He said it's what is as a rule prescribed to people with ocd if Zoloft alone isn't enough at 200mg. I am super reluctant to start taking it. It kills dopamin. The very common side effects are those I have been fighting for over a year with medication (Diabetes 2, High blood pressure,..) and I refuse to take any medication that will 99%sure worsen it. How did your doctor control your serotonin levels and made sure you don't have the serotonin syndrome? Is there a blood test that shows it? Or is it just symptoms based? I feel betrayed and mistreated because I have been suffering from ocd for 38 years and he is denying me the chance to live in total control of my life and feeling genuinely well and happy. I know my body. I am sure just a little increase in dosage would make it for me. I feel muuuch better on 200mg then I did on any lower dosage. And also when I eat grapefruit which is not advised for people on sertraline because it can raise the concentration of serotonin in blood, I feel better and not worse. I eat it once or twice a month. And for a little while, a few hours, I honestly feel better. I believe it is an indicator that I can manage higher levels without complications. Well, he probably wouldn't. He would tell me off for eating it in the first place. Sadly there is no other doctor psychiatrist nearby. He is the mentor to the only other psychiatrist there is. I am stuck with him. And it makes me feel really bad. Since my mental well-being is in his hands, this is all I can expect out of my life. I am so happy for you that you managed to find an open minded doctor who understands ocd I am an not asking too much, please just answer my question in this reply to you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Have an ocd free day. 😊
@NODA I’m sorry to hear that your psychiatrist doesn’t listen to you :( I’m not a doctor in any way so take what I say with a grain of salt but I’ve gone to 2 different psychiatrists and both told me to increase to 250mg. They didn’t even say anything to me about serotonin syndrome. I think this shows how confident they are that this is a rare occurrence and the only way I knew about this syndrome is by googling the side effects of sertraline because of my ocd haha. I’ve been on two different antipsychotics and they both had big side effects and I had to stop them. If you truly don’t want to take an antipsychotic then you shouldn’t. You know your body better than anyone. Maybe you could find another psychiatrist on the internet? I don’t know if that’s possible or else you should pressure your psychiatrist to listen to you more. Hope this helped a bit!!
@ocdsufferer1234 and if your doctor is confident that an antipsychotic will help, there are new generation medications that don’t have big side effects like gaining a lot of weight which leads to diabetes, or having trouble with your period and stuff like that. So maybe ask them about that?? Anyway that’s what mine has told me and now I’m trying a new antipsychotic and I really have not side effects at all yet and it’s been 1,5 week! I was truly sad with the side effects of the other ones but this one so far seems good. I really hope you can work this out with your doctor and he makes an effort to listen to you more!
Hi NODA . I am not sure if you have ever asked your physician to write a prescription for a DNA mouth swab test for medication compatibility test it can test various medications sleep aids , pain medication, antidepressants and so on based on your specific DNA . Years ago I didn’t have good results with Zoloft .
Hi all! I am on Zoloft 100mg and I was hoping to get some feedback! My biggest fear is being suicidal and sometimes I’m like checking to see if I am suicidal on the medication but then I think maybe it’s my ocd. My doctor wants to go higher but I’m wondering if this is a good idea based on my thoughts. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Hi everyone, I’m new to the community. I was diagnosed with OCD just a couple of months ago and have been doing some reading and other research to try and understand the disorder. With this, I have been actively seeing a great therapist who has been helpful to build tools to deal with my intrusive thoughts ( contamination OCD is my worst theme). Do help learn to deal with the compulsions, I start on Sertraline or “Zoloft” I believe since November 2024. Currently I’m on 50mg and have been doing this for just over a month. My question for those who are also taking Sertraline and it has been successful, how do you know it has really provided a benefit and how long did it take to get there? I sometimes feel the medication works, and sometimes I feel it doesn’t (maybe that’s my OCD trying to mess with things). Thanks!
hi! i was wondering if anyone here began treatment using sertraline and then got off of it later? im just curious about other people's experiences using if for their ocd and if they eventually got off of it or are just taking it indefinitely. Thanks!!
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