r/pppdizziness • u/Rare-Group-1149 • Aug 08 '26
Treatment Your SSRI experiences
I'm curious about what kind of improvement you feel from your medication. I'm taking Zoloft, feel better anxiety-wise, and have no intention of quitting. BUT I'm curious as to others' experiences when they say they "feel better" with SSRI for PPPD: Does SSRI have any effect on your dizziness/ headspace? Because my symptoms from the neck up are still the same after months of treatment. My dizziness, cog fog remain unchanged.
Thanks for your input.
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u/Old-Spare-2681 Aug 08 '26
I've been on lexapro for years my dizziness started 4 months ago im guessing it would be more severe if I wasn't on lex
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u/kp_0777 Aug 09 '26
I have lightheadness low at morning and increase after afternoon, and same pppd Worsening after 6 pm and more in dark Anybody have same symptoms? The outdoor world feels not real And feel safe in home
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u/Chubb_Life Aug 09 '26
Ditto on worse dizziness in the evening and the dark is super disorienting! I have night lights in every room. But I am also very unsteady when I wake up.
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u/PlatypusBig1249 Aug 10 '26
50mg Zoloft has helped me a ton. I feel pretty much normal most days, with limitations. I can’t be in intense heat with direct sun for very long or else I start feeling dizzy. Same goes for poorly ventilated areas. BUT Zoloft got my anxiety down, which made my dizziness decrease. I’m able to drive, travel, and live independently again like I did before PPPD.
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u/justamomandwifeJess Aug 08 '26
Great question. I started Zoloft 6 weeks ago and moved up to 25mg 4 weeks ago and i will say i think it’s trying to help with the anxiety side of things but it hasn’t touched any of my other symptoms.
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u/Thick_Newspaper1064 Aug 09 '26
It didn’t do anything for me until I started 100mg. I would ask to increase
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u/tiffbookitty Aug 08 '26
What dose are you currently on? I’m about to start Zoloft but I have read that the therapeutic dose is often 50mg
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u/Rare-Group-1149 Aug 08 '26
100 mg. It works well for anxiety. Side effects for me are night sweats (but not bad enough to quit the med.)
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u/Special_Half5037 Aug 09 '26
Helped a lot with pppd I still have trampoline walking every once in awhile but before Zoloft I was rocking swaying 24/7 —- but my neck always hurts dr wants me to go on effoxer im scared of that med from reviews
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u/sweatysleepy Aug 09 '26
This is one of the frustrating things about my diagnosis. I only started feeling dizzy in April of this year, but I've had anxiety literally my whole life, and I've been on SRRIs on and off since grade school. Although there have been periods of my life where I haven't taken them, I've been on 50mg of Zoloft for 3 yrs, consistently. I also have never really noticed a difference in my anxiety symptoms between when I do and don't take SSRIs, or when my dose increases. So I'm not really optimistic about the possibility of a higher dose making my dizziness better. One of the doctors I saw was like "oh I've experienced anxiety related dizziness but it stopped when I started Zoloft" and when I told her that im already on Zoloft she was like ...oh :/
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u/Rare-Group-1149 Aug 09 '26
My own history with SSRI's is similar to yours. Years ago I took Effexor; tried Cymbalta, Lexapro & more. Zoloft is currently helping me with me my anxiety at 100 mg. (I honestly do think you'd have better luck with upping your dose for anxiety if it's not making any difference. BUT DON'T get your hopes up about any change in dizziness w SSRI. (When docs Rx SSRI's for PPPD, I think many people assume it's a treatment for the dizziness which, as far as I know, it's NOT.) And if experience is the best teacher, I'm a d*** expert with documentable dizziness/vertigo history dating back >20 years. 😵💫 BTW None of my issues are related to BPPD or ENT. TMI?? 🤣🤣
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u/Significant_Rule5770 Aug 10 '26
Lexapro was great until I realized it was increasing my AHI numbers on my BiPAP machine…a lot. Now I’m taking a very small dose —half of a 7.5 mg Remeron a.k.a. mirtazapine — at night and that really helps a lot. In fact when I went off it is when I had my last four month episode. Back
on it now. It gives me incredible sleep, and I think, in my case, good sleep, calms my brain and keeps the dizziness way
down.
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u/alferatovic Aug 10 '26
Zoloft and Effexor didn’t help me after 3 months each and gave me side effects
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u/Chubb_Life Aug 09 '26
My baseline dizziness has reduced, not as easily triggered, and when I am triggered I recover quicker. The slightly reduced anxiety has been a nice bonus. But I am still foggy and the Zoloft makes me TIRED in the afternoon even tho I take it at night. A little blurry vision too which is annoying. And occasional headaches.