I became depressed about ten years ago. I saw several psychiatrists, but medications never seemed to agree with me. I pretty much gave up on the drug approach . However, two years ago, a friend of mine sang the praises of Dr. Orenstein and persuaded me to give psychiatry one more try. Well, it was an eye-opener. After reviewing my medication history, Dr. Orenstein told me that my problem was that I had been repeatedly overdosed on antidepressants. He said that I was too sensitive to side effects to tolerate conventional doses. He recommended that I try Zoloft one more time. Zoloft was a nasty drug which had caused me terrible nervous tension. Naturally, I was reluctant to go that route. However, the doctor encouraged me to start out on only a fraction of a 25 mg pill - the smallest pill they make - something the size of a grain of sand. He told me to raise the dose by an extra crumb each day and call him as soon as I noticed any change, good or bad. Well, although I was skeptical, I gave his plan a try. I noticed very little until I had worked my way up to two full pills, or 50 mg a day. By that point, I was once again a nervous wreck, just like the last time that I had tried Zoloft. It was very discouraging. At my next appointment, the doctor teased out of me the fact that I had experienced a very very slight improvement on only one pill, 25 mg a day, and that, at about one and a quarter pills, I had started feeling more and more agitated. He told me that I should have called him, because, if I had, he would have instructed me to stop raising the dose at one pill a day because that was the first dose at which things had begun to change. Well, he was right. I followed his advice, lowered my dose to one pill a day, and almost immediately started feeling better. It took another few weeks on 25 mg a day, but I finally reached the point of full recovery. From that day forward, I have felt like a new man. The change in my life has been revolutionary. If only one or another of my previous doctors had told me to lower the dose the moment I felt side effects, I probably would have been cured years ago. In retrospect, it all seems so obvious. But this small adjustment in dosing made all the difference in the world. I am able to take Zoloft without side effects. And it works! I wanted to tell my story because Dr. Orenstein has made such a big difference in my life. I can't speak highly enough about his warmth and his professionalism. As far as I'm concerned, he's the best psychopharmacologist in Seattle. I recommend him without reservation.
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