I took Zoloft for 2 years in the 90’s for clinical depression and an obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder. My personal experience was a very negative one, but I was prescribed extremely high doses… which is probably why I had such a bad time. I couldn’t sleep properly, I had sexual dysfunction, and I just felt like a zombie. I would “wake up” in the morning and my pupils were so dilated that my irises were like tiny slivers, which means that I was insanely photosensitive. Light was excruciating, which lead to my eyes always being sore and I frequently had headaches. My dreams were vivid and frightening, and I never felt like I was fully asleep. I also experienced uncontrollable trembling and shaking, as well as teeth chattering. Especially if I yawned or stretched. My muscles would tense up and my teeth would chatter uncontrollably. Toward the end of my time taking the medication, I started to experience hallucinations. That was when I decided that I couldn’t take the pills anymore, so I talked to my doctor (at the time) and had him take me off of the meds. After stopping medication, I realised that my anxiety was far worse than it was before starting, and I began having panic attacks. It was a long road uphill from there.
Now, I’m not saying this is the norm, or that my experience is a common one. 50mg is a significantly smaller dose than what I was taking, and I was also taking other medications at the time, to counteract the side effects from the Zoloft. In fact, the dose I was taking then is now well over the current highest recommended dosage of Zoloft, so I was badly over-medicated.
However, having said that, I don’t know if the side effects would still be there if I had been on a lower dosage. Perhaps just less intense. I don’t know if my anxiety would have gotten so much worse after stopping medication. I have met other people that took a lower dose of Zoloft, and also experienced sexual dysfunction, sleeplessness and the trembling/teeth chattering. I don’t think there is any way to know for sure if the medication will work for you, without frustrating side effects, unless you try it.