Different side effects 2nd time on Zoloft

From the net:

Drugs.com says Usual Adult Dose for Social Anxiety Disorder:
Initial dose: 25 mg orally once a day, increased after one week to 50 mg orally once a day
Maintenance dose: 50 to 200 mg orally once a day.

Webmd.com side effects ; Nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, loss of appetite, increased sweating, diarrhea, upset stomach, or trouble sleeping may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
Zoloft also called sertraline

Webmd.com reviews of the medicine include:
1. “My day to day life has changed from a constant battle to a breeze. Now I finally feel my normal self again, I realise how anxious and depressed I was.
I have been taking it 2 months and only take 3/4 of a 50mg Sertraline. I am a different, relaxed, happy person. I sleep well, I think clearer, I want to do stuff again. I started on half a tablet 25 mg a day and had major side effects, felt ill, got more depressed then ever, didnt sleep at all, felt sick, massive headaches, diarrhoea, very, very down, it was aweful....it took over 2 weeks to lessen these side effects and probably 3-4 weeks to really start to notice this huge dark cloud to lift.. START ON A LOW DOSE AND GIVE THIS DRUG TIME, DON'T JUDGE IT IN THE FIRST 2-4 weeks!!!”

2. (female, 35-44) Zoloft has now saved me from severe anxiety (due to PTSD) four times. She put me on 25mg of Zoloft and I waited to (hopefully) feel better. Zoloft did eventually work - beautifully in factAgain, the 25mg of Zoloft worked like a charm.

Let me be clear, Zoloft takes a long time to work. In fact, in all three instances of taking it, the first few weeks are rough. The first week is the worst - increased anxiety, no appetite, digestion issues. The second week is not much better, but my appetite very slowly picks up…. By Week
3, I start seeing improvement - mainly in my appetite, plus less anxiety in the afternoon/evenings. By Week 4, I see real improvement, with my appetite fully back and feeling a great weight lifted off my the afternoon/evening. Then by about Week 8, I feel almost entirely back to myself. So, yes, 2 months is a long time, but it's worth the wait. It takes a long time because it's not a quick-fix drug that instantly relaxes you or tricks your mind. It gently gives your brain the ability to process a bit more serotonin, which in turn calms your mind a bit more and helps you feel better about everything. Never once on Zoloft have I felt anything other 100% MYSELF. I can't recommend it enough... my advice would be to stick through the first two months and keep your dose low until then. 25mg has always worked great for me, but it takes TIME to work properly. So, be patient and keep the faith! You WILL be yourself again.

3. (female, 13-18)I had OCD, depersonalization and awful anxiety (panic attacks and horrible symptoms in general) but Zoloft literally changed my life and saved my mental stability. I promised myself to come back after a couple months of being on Sertraline (Zoloft) to share my experience so listen up... 9 months ago I started taking 75mg, gradually increasing my dose from 25mg

8. (female, 55-64) Had headache when I started at 50 mg, cut back to 25 mg for a week, then returned to 50 mg...no more headache. Not only is my depression gone, I feel less anxious.

10. (female, 19-24) The first 2 weeks starting this med were very rough. I had nausea, diarrhea, increased panic attacks and insomnia. Week 3 is when I was finally starting to feel myself again. By week 4 the side effects were completely gone and my anxiety was controlled.

11.(female, 19-24) I have severe panic attacks, and anxiety. Im on Zoloft (was on Paxel) now. I started at 50mg - no change. Didn’t do anything for me. I went up to 100 with busbar added 15 mg - no change. No symptoms or changes. I recently got moved up to 150 Zoloft and the first week was amazing! I was so happy, I was hanging out with friends, I was able to do things!! I’m on the end of the second week and my experience has spiraled down. I cannot sleep. If I do manage to fall asleep, I wake right back up wide awake. I’m having nightmares, my panic attacks and anxiety is back times 10.

In your initial post, you said one of the side effects you were now experiencing in your 2nd attempt to take Zoloft anti-depressant (which net says helps with anxiety) was:

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping ever since I started Zoloft again. I toss and turn for most of the night which leaves me feeling dead the next day. I don’t remember this happening the first time I started Zoloft but I guess each time could be different.”

Sleep problems are a side affect of Zoloft, net says.

Too, in your first post you said, “I also have no appetite and digestive issues.” These are also side affects of Zoloft, net says.

In your second post you said, “I’m getting really bad night sweats and waking up in the middle of the night feeling confused or stressed.” The bad night sweats, nets says, are a side effect of Zoloft.

Too, in your second post you say, “I’m noticing different side effects this time around.” So you know these are side effects, but the first time you started Zoloft you didn’t have those side affects.

You add, “The only difference is last time I think I started at 25mg and then increased to 50mg after a week or two. This time I started at 50mg because my doctor wants me to go up to at least 100mg. I guess it’s just weird to me that the first time around I got on the medication so easily and this time I’m struggling more.”

Well, you’ve got a second doctor. Any chance you could go back to the first, or get a 3rd doctor? Or, talk to your current doctor about about going down to 25mg of Zoloft then working up to 50mg? Then letting it stay there to see how it works?

If your doctor does not agree with this, you can always change doctors.

As a bipolar, I've had trouble with these things, also.
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Oh - I had the same experience! I was on Zoloft for anxiety for 2 years - I actually don't think I needed it for that long, and I eventually went off, gradually. Then a few years afterward, from Dr's suggestion, I went back on it (same dose) - whoa, I actually experienced stronger anxiety! I went off of it, and tried other stuff (meditation, self talk, L-Theanine...). So, at least for ME, going back on it was not the thing to do. I mean, it's a drug, who really knows what goes on in our little sensitive systems? We gotta trust our feelings, do what seems right.
Best of luck on trying what seems right for you.