do i really need to increase my dose?
i just started sertraline 50mg a few months ago. i’ve never taken SSRIs before (or even met with a psychiatrist before). i didn’t end up liking my first prescriber because she wanted me to start bupropion together with sertraline, so i recently met with a new psychiatrist. she suggested increasing my sertraline to 75mg because she feels 50mg is “too low.”
i actually feel really good on 50mg. i feel noticeable changes, my mood is better and overall i’m happy with how things are going so far.
i guess my concern is that i’m new to all of this and worried about getting pushed further into medication when i already feel okay where i’m at. i’m not against medication per se but i also don’t want to keep increasing doses if it’s not really necessary.
is it common to increase doses even if the patient feels better and stable? how do psychiatrists determine when an increase/additional medication is needed?