Antidepressants can provide much-needed relief from depression and anxiety when prescribed at the right dose. However, determining the optimal dose can take time and patience through trial and error with your doctor. When your antidepressant dose is too low, you may continue experiencing symptoms or side effects without getting maximum benefits.
This article explores 10 signs your antidepressant dose is too low. We’ll also briefly overview dosage considerations for popular antidepressants like Zoloft, Lexapro, and Prozac. Knowing what to look out for, can help you have a more informed discussion with your doctor about adjusting your medication regimen to fit your needs.
What are Antidepressants?
Antidepressants are a class of medications primarily used to treat depression, but they can also be effective for treating other conditions such as anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and certain types of chronic pain.
Signs Antidepressant is Working include:
- Improved mood, outlook, and motivation
- Increased energy and ability to concentrate
- Decreased anxiety, worry, and restlessness
- Regulated sleep and appetite
- Diminished suicidal thoughts
- Increased interest in hobbies and socializing
In some cases, the antidepressants might not provide the desired results for you. It can happen due to multiple factors including the dosage of your medication. Let’s examine the signs your antidepressant dose is too low.
10 Signs Your Antidepressant Dose is Too Low
- You don’t notice any positive changes: The most obvious red flag is if you don’t observe any uplift in mood, motivation, or energy after several weeks on your antidepressant. Lack of response likely means it’s not reaching therapeutic levels in your system. Discuss increasing increments with your doctor until you find the sweet spot.
- Significant side effects persist: Mild side effects usually resolve within weeks as your body adjusts. But ongoing insomnia, nausea, headaches, and sexual problems imply your dose needs reassessment. The rule of thumb is to start low, titrate up slowly until intolerable side effects emerge, and then dial back just below that threshold.
- Withdrawal between doses: Feeling steadily better, then crashing before your next scheduled dose suggests it’s wearing off too quickly. This rollercoaster effect hints your maintenance dose should be increased to smoothen out peaks and troughs. But be wary of overcorrecting as going too high brings problems.
- Previous higher dosage worked better: If you responded beautifully to Zoloft 50mg in the past for example, but were recently restarted at 25mg with disappointing results, share your history with your doctor. Direct experience beats trial and error so building back to your sweet spot makes sense.
- Significant symptoms persist: Still grappling with sadness, negative rumination, insomnia, fatigue, low motivation, or suicidal thoughts? You likely need a bump in dose strength to make a bigger impact on your underlying biology. But allow 6-8 weeks per increment before concluding it’s ineffective.
- Persistent suicidal thoughts: Worsening mood, suicidal ideation, or self-harm attempts warrant immediately informing your doctor. If such serious symptoms emerge despite taking an antidepressant, it indicates more aggressive intervention is needed, either through increased dosage, additional meds, or psychotherapy. Never go it alone – speak up before you reach a crisis.
- Recurring relapse episodes: A dose ceases working over time as your body chemistry evolves so you plunge back into the darkness. This usually signals a temporary increase is needed to re-stabilize… before dropping back to the minimum effective level to contain symptoms. Loop in your doctor at the first signs of relapse so your protocol can be dynamically adjusted.
- Readily distracted or drowsy: Fuzzy mental focus, unstable mood, and constant drowsiness? Your antidepressant’s sedative effects may exceed its therapeutic effects. Trouble concentrating at work alongside unpredictable mood swings implies your neurotransmitter levels are fluctuating too wildly. Time to try a higher dose to even things out.
- Ongoing anxiety or irritability: Persistent inner tension, restlessness, and frequent agitation can mean your dose is inadequate to calm the limbic system’s overdrive. If increased anxiety emerges after starting antidepressants, some doctors try adding buSpar or Gabapentin to take the edge off while slowly inching up the antidepressant until this unwelcome side effect fades.
- Drinking more alcohol lately: Increased thirst for alcohol to decompress often signals underlying anxiety or depression insufficiently controlled by medication. It also hints at the need for dose augmentation or added therapy. Be candid so your doctor can make adjustments to stabilize your mood and diminish the temptation to self-medicate.
Finding the right dosage of an antidepressant medication is a delicate balance. It should not be too low or too high. Both of which, can lead to unwanted health risks.
Signs Your Antidepressant is Too Strong
It’s important to be vigilant for signs that your antidepressant dosage may be exceeding the therapeutic window and causing excessive side effects. Some key indicators that your antidepressant dose may be too strong include:
- Excessive drowsiness, fatigue, mental fogginess
- Feeling overmedicated, zombie-like, or numb
- Worsening anxiety, agitation, irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Slurred speech
- Dizziness or vertigo
Safe Dosage of Antidepressants
Now that we know about the signs to look out for to determine whether the antidepressant dose is too strong or too low, let’s discuss the ideal dosage of some popular antidepressants.
Prozac Dosage
Fluoxetine (Prozac) is typically prescribed in a range of 10-80mg per day, with some patients requiring higher doses up to 90mg. So, is 40mg of fluoxetine a high dose? A dose of 40mg would be considered on the higher end of the typical range but not necessarily an extremely high dose.
Zoloft Dosage
Zoloft is usually prescribed in a range of 25-200mg daily. What is considered a high dose of Zoloft? Doses over 200mg are considered high. So a dose over 200mg would be considered a high dose of Zoloft.
Does Zoloft make you tired? Common side effects of higher Zoloft doses can include drowsiness, fatigue, and sedation. So, yes but generally when overdosed.
Vyvanse Dosage
30mg daily for adults/children over 6. Max dose: 70mg daily. Titrate up by 10-20mg weekly. Agitation, insomnia, weight loss, high blood pressure, irritability, and psychosis can be signs vyvanse dose is too high. Requires close medical monitoring to optimize therapeutic dose.
Lexapro Dosage
Lexapro (escitalopram) is typically prescribed in a dosage range of 10-20mg per day. The starting dose is usually 10mg, which can be increased to 20mg daily if needed, but this is considered the maximum recommended dose for most patients.
Final Result
Tweaking your antidepressant dosage is often necessary, guided by the emergence of telltale signs your antidepressant dose is too low may lead to side effects and relapse episodes. Pay close attention to your experience, especially during the first three months when incremental adjustments happen. Keep your doctor closely looped in to determine your minimal effective dosage level together. Finding this delicate balance between therapeutic benefits and unpleasant side effects takes patience through gradually increasing amounts over regular intervals while tracking results. But once established, you’ll know what works.
While scientists don’t fully understand the complex interplay of neurochemistry and how psychiatric medications influence it, small dose adjustments can make a big impact. Arm yourself with information about what to monitor. Have open conversations with your doctor about the experience, what’s working vs lingering struggles. This path of learning your body’s needs for mood stability and mindful self-care leads to a more purposeful, self-aware chapter ahead.
Could your antidepressant use some dose adjustment? What aspects resonated in this piece from your own experience?
