# Should I keep taking Lustral (Zoloft)?



## Diya (Aug 28, 2008)

.


----------



## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

> I experienced major anxiety relief from Xanax while only side effects from the Lustral, which is normal since I read that I have to take Lustral for about 3 months to experience any positive effect.


It's wrong that SSRIs take 3 months to give any anxiety relief. Some positive effects can be seen within 2-4 weeks and maximum effect is seen after about 8-10 weeks for SA.



> I kept taking Lustral for 5 months but I didn't notice any positive effect on SA whatsoever.


The dose (50mg) was too low and I don't understand why your Pdoc didn't change your medication when it did not improve your condition. He just wasted your time.



> I told my new p-doc about this and he insisted that I start taking Lustral again, which I did for the last three months. He upped my dose to 100mg and then to 150mg. He said that we can go all the way up to 300mg. He also prescribe me two meds: 10mg Inderal, and 10mg Buspar daily.


Your new Pdoc increased the dose of the Sertraline which is right. He also "augmented" it with Buspar, which didn't seem to help (Buspar on it's own is pretty useless for SA). Inderal is a beta blocker and helps with the physical symptoms of anxiety, 10mg is not a very high dose.



> My p-doc insists that I should keep taking it even though I didn't notice any effect after taking it for 5 months in a row (50mg) and then for 3 months in a row (100-150mg). The thing clearly isn't working!!


Evidence shows that you don't respond to Sertraline/Lustral even if taken at higher doses for long periods of time and "augmented" with Buspar. Your antidepressant has to be changed to eg. an SNRI like Effexor XR.


----------



## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

Effexor was just an example as it is in a different substance class (SNRI), the point is: Get off the Sertraline.  If your Pdoc gives you no benzos you may try Lyrica (Pregabalin). In the EU it is approved for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and some controlled studies show it works for Social Anxiety Disorder as well. Reports on the SAS board are mixed.


----------



## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

It's true Effexor has a horrific withdrawal, but you can just switch to Prozac when the time comes to withdraw and do things gradually. Problem solved.


----------



## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

According to this, Effexor is a p-gp substrate and not an inhibitor. This means in those with high P-gp concentrations, a reduced/absent effect may be observed. Could be the case with you.


----------



## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Medline said:


> Effexor was just an example as it is in a different substance class (SNRI), the point is: Get off the Sertraline.  If your Pdoc gives you no benzos you may try Lyrica (Pregabalin). In the EU it is approved for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and some controlled studies show it works for Social Anxiety Disorder as well. Reports on the SAS board are mixed.


Doesn't pregabalin suffer from the same dependency issues as benzos? I've read reports of horrible withdrawal symptoms emerging. If had to be addicted to something, I'd much prefer benzos.


----------



## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

I have taken Lyrica for months and stopped "cold turkey" without any bad effects. I doubt Lyrica has the same abuse, tolerance or dependence issues as Benzos for most people. But it's quite possible that there exist scary reports on the internet from people who experienced withdrawal or "discontinuation syndromes" after longterm use and relatively abrupt stop, so it's probably wise to taper down Lyrica over 2-4 weeks. Pregabalin is not a GABAergic drug like Benzos or alcohol by the way.


----------



## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Medline said:


> I have taken Lyrica for months and stopped "cold turkey" without any bad effects. I doubt Lyrica has the same abuse, tolerance or dependence issues as Benzos for most people. But it's quite possible that there exist scary reports on the internet from people who experience withdrawal or "discontinuation" syndromes after longterm use, so it's probably wise to taper down Lyrica over 2-4 weeks.


Interesting. How effective did you find Lyrica for social anxiety?



> Pregabalin is not a GABAergic drug by the way like Benzos or alcohol by the way.


I thought it had a few mechanisms of action, one being glutamic acid decarboxylase potentiation (increased GABA).


----------



## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

> Interesting. How effective did you find Lyrica for social anxiety?


4/10



> I thought it had a few mechanisms of action, one being glutamic acid decarboxylase potentiation (increased GABA).


You are right, I had the outdated manufacturer data in mind which said pregabalin was in no way GABAergic, but this seems not to be true, sorry.


----------



## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Hmm... Maybe useful as part of a multi-drug regimen for SA then. I too got only mild benefits.


----------



## satch (May 20, 2010)

*lyrica and there effects*

hi people...i have been taking ativan 2 mg everyday for 20 years and have been prescribed lyrica 25 mg every day....as a replacement for stopping ativan slowly ..then off...havent taken the lyrica yet, anyway any info about lyrica would be much appreciated ok thks


----------



## gizawy (Apr 27, 2012)

*help please *

i have been suffering from occasional derealisation 5 years ago that first occured to me after falling from jet ski on my head from back ......and i made mri and nothing was observed .....the doctor gave me lustural for 4 months and after i stopped it by 2 weeks these terrible symptoms returned back to me ....i felt like i can't do any task in my life ( no conc., can't interact socially , cant sleep ....etc)....what do u think the best medication that cure me from this terrible feeling cause i am feeling like i can't do any thing in my life anymore  ??


----------

