so my stress levels are through the roof, my doctor suspects my high blood pressure is related to my stress and suggests zoloft/sertraline, i agreed to the lowest dose of 25 mg although doctor says most start off with 50, anyway i havent started it yet, just wondering if this could make things better or worse....any input is appreciated
As pam mentions, they can take a while to have an effect on you and sometimes you may need to adjust dosage to find what works for you. I took anit-depressants for many years (before my current caregiving experience) and they are nothing to be scared of or ashamed of. You will be very glad you took them.
I think the two keys are to realize that anybody can get any side effect on anything, but many people have none or nothing serious, or they couldn't get approved to even SELL the drug, unless it is for a condition far worse than any side effect; and that you have to weigh the risks and downsides of taking a drug against the risks and downsides of NOT taking the drug. If you are depressed and anxious, that can be totally disabling, miserable, and even fatal; leaving it untreated is pretty risky too.
Drugs that make you loopy or have some other bad effect can have doses adjusted, times adjusted, or be switched to something else. Side effects that don't go away when a drug is stopped are exceedingly rare....unless you drive when too loaded up with Xanax or Valium or something else sedating and have a major wreck. I've experienced some side effects of various things, some of which mean I will never take that medication or class or medication again, and some of which I would put up with again if needed.
You know, the better question might be, is anyone NOT taking meds...:-)