topic Re: zoloft side effects in Wellness

zoloft side effects

natesgrandma — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:09:59 GMT

I am seeing a Dr. and I am trying to get in touch with him today. I have been on zoloft for 4 weeks - I have been feeling sick the whole time. nausea, headaches, stomach trouble,etc. Isn't this a long time to have these side effects? I am trying to stay with it for a couple more weeks, but don't know how much more I can take. I just need some opinions if anyone has taken this. Like I said, I am talking to the dr. today. I am taking zoloft for generalized anxiety disorder. I feel like I am never going to be normal again.

Re: zoloft side effects

K9buddy — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:14:04 GMT

My cousin is very sensitive to medications. When she started antidepressants she had to start off with a miniscule dose and work her way up. Perhaps you are on too strong a dose for your system. After 4 weeks, seems your side effects shouldn't be so severe. Could also be the wrong antidepressant for you,

Re: zoloft side effects

hoosieroriginal — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:24:23 GMT

The only side effect I ever had was my vision got worse - which there are a lot of articles on line re people complaining of same thing.

Re: zoloft side effects

jubilant — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:09:59 GMT

A doctor tried Zoloft on me years ago and I couldn't take it. It slowed my digestive system down too much and gave me "plumbing problems".

Re: zoloft side effects

Krimpette — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:18:13 GMT

I have anxiety issues also. NP put me on Lexapro. I had to have her change that.....it made me sleepy all the time! I mean I felt like I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat any time of day. Tried it for about 4-6 weeks. I checked with the pharmacist and she said usually that drowsy feeling ends sooner, so I called the NP. I'm now taking Buspar (Buspirone). She had me ramp up to 10mg AM and PM, but I found that appeared too strong for me. I'd feel "weird" (not a pleasant type of weird, either) for at least an hour or so after each dose. I've since decided to cut back to 5mg twice a day and it's much better. And it does seem to be helping me.

I will add that I don't feel my anxiety to be as severe as many people, but it's a condition I felt the need to try and resolve.

Good luck in your search. By the way, if your doc is not available to discuss what you're experiencing, call your pharmacist....at least until you can reach your doc if need be. Pharmacists are very knowledgable about those types of questions, I've found.

Re: zoloft side effects

peace6576 — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:36:07 GMT

I am on Zoloft for anxiety and it has been a lifesaver. I feel 100% better. I never had much trouble adjusting to the med other than some nausea and jitteriness, however my husband started Zoloft a year ago and went through terrible side effects...nausea, headaches, insomnia. I remember it taking him quite awhile to start feeling better. I'd give it another week or so. If you are taking it in the morning try switching to bedtime, so you sleep through the peak blood levels. He is very glad he stuck it out, because he feels much better. I've been on a lot of different antidepressants for anxiety and in my opinion Zoloft is the most effective. It is one of the older drugs so it takes a bit longer to adjust, but it's good stuff.

Btw, I started on only 25mg for a week or two then adjusted up to 50 slowly.

Re: zoloft side effects

Reba055 — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:47:40 GMT

Too often they ramp up your dose quickly , or start you at a higher dose than needed. Some people can only tolerate very low doses. Also, Zoloft might not be the med for you.

All drugs that act on serotonin only have always given me bad side effects. I hope they figure it out and you feel better soon!

Re: zoloft side effects

hckynut — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 19:40:55 GMT

@natesgrandma

I was on Zoloft for about 3 years and had no side affects. I did not and do not get my psych meds from my GP. All of my psych meds have always been prescribed by my mental health specialist who is a Psychiatrist. She is way more in tune with what meds work best for each specific patient than a GP.

While I am very happy with my GP, I will leave my mental health to someone that is a Specialist in that field. I have many doctor friends and doctors in my family. Anyone of them could prescribe Zoloft/ Klonopin or Wellbutrin to me during a visit, but I know they would yield to my Psychiatrist, who better understands those types of meds.

I don't know what type of doctor you are seeing, I am just expressing what I know from my experiences of being diagnosed with Clinical Depression and Anxiety/Panic Attacks.

hckynut(john)

Re: zoloft side effects

Moonchilde — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 19:46:15 GMT

I was prescribed both Zoloft and Buspar at different times for (hopefully) more or less short-term situational depression, not clinical depression. I know they are also prescribed for anxiety, but IMO I wish doctors would stop almost automatically prescribing anti-depressants for anxiety reactions, just because they're considered "safe" in the non-addictive sense. They often times just don't work, or are inappropriate over-treatment, for anxiety NOT necessarily caused by depression - which I have also had.

I stopped both medications after 2-3 weeks due to side effects - GI, sleep disturbance/nightmares, and just an overall "weird" feeling, as someone said, and not a good feeling.

I was working in a busy, high pressure job and had to be on my toes at all times, so could not handle feeling "not in control" of myself.

Zoloft also gave me dysarthria - when I opened my mouth to speak, although I knew what I wanted to say, gibberish came out. I took it for three week and it took *two months* for that to go away.

I decided I'd rather be depressed, or anxious, or both, than have those side effects. And neither drug, BTW, made me feel better emotionally.

Re: zoloft side effects

Reba055 — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:04:54 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
I was prescribed both Zoloft and Buspar at different times for (hopefully) more or less short-term situational depression, not clinical depression. I know they are also prescribed for anxiety, but IMO I wish doctors would stop almost automatically prescribing anti-depressants for anxiety reactions, just because they're considered "safe" in the non-addictive sense. They often times just don't work, or are inappropriate over-treatment, for anxiety NOT necessarily caused by depression - which I have also had.

I stopped both medications after 2-3 weeks due to side effects - GI, sleep disturbance/nightmares, and just an overall "weird" feeling, as someone said, and not a good feeling.

I was working in a busy, high pressure job and had to be on my toes at all times, so could not handle feeling "not in control" of myself.

Zoloft also gave me dysarthria - when I opened my mouth to speak, although I knew what I wanted to say, gibberish came out. I took it for three week and it took *two months* for that to go away.

I decided I'd rather be depressed, or anxious, or both, than have those side effects. And neither drug, BTW, made me feel better emotionally.

@Moonchilde Antidepressants don't have that great a success rate honestly, though they are lifesavers for some. I agree, they need to quit throwing an antidepressant at everything.

The best med for anxiety is a benzo. It just is. Works, works fast, and has few side effects in low doses. But we know how that goes....

Re: zoloft side effects

Krimpette — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:17:46 GMT

@Reba055: I agree about benzos. I keep a small amount of generic valium around. A 30-count bottle of 10 mg tablets lasts me more than a year. I've only ever taken it when I've needed to take the edge off, so to speak. I've always cut the 10 mg tabs in 1/2 or even 1/4 sometimes. Just that small dose almost instantly makes me feel less anxious about whatever the situation that was causing me such angst. I even asked the NP if she'd rather me take the small doses on a more regular basis, but she said absolutely not. Hence, the buspar. But so far, I seem to be helped by the buspar, so in my case, maybe she's right.

Re: zoloft side effects

Moonchilde — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:22:54 GMT

@Reba055 wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
I was prescribed both Zoloft and Buspar at different times for (hopefully) more or less short-term situational depression, not clinical depression. I know they are also prescribed for anxiety, but IMO I wish doctors would stop almost automatically prescribing anti-depressants for anxiety reactions, just because they're considered "safe" in the non-addictive sense. They often times just don't work, or are inappropriate over-treatment, for anxiety NOT necessarily caused by depression - which I have also had.

I stopped both medications after 2-3 weeks due to side effects - GI, sleep disturbance/nightmares, and just an overall "weird" feeling, as someone said, and not a good feeling.

I was working in a busy, high pressure job and had to be on my toes at all times, so could not handle feeling "not in control" of myself.

Zoloft also gave me dysarthria - when I opened my mouth to speak, although I knew what I wanted to say, gibberish came out. I took it for three week and it took *two months* for that to go away.

I decided I'd rather be depressed, or anxious, or both, than have those side effects. And neither drug, BTW, made me feel better emotionally.
@Moonchilde Antidepressants don't have that great a success rate honestly, though they are lifesavers for some. I agree, they need to quit throwing an antidepressant at everything.

The best med for anxiety is a benzo. It just is. Works, works fast, and has few side effects in low doses. But we know how that goes....

Exactly, @Reba055! Try to get a Rx for Valium any more, from anyone. Some users, and the AMA and FDA, ruined the use of a perfectly good drug because of its *potential* for misuse. So now that there is the *potential* to misuse codeine, people who just honestly need pain medication for valid reasons will start being denied it.

Re: zoloft side effects

Azcowgirl — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:32:23 GMT

Years ago, I tried a low dose of it, and I felt terrible...I was afraid to even drive as it felt as though I was having an out of body experience . Havnt tried anything else since.

Re: zoloft side effects

catwhisperer — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:58:06 GMT

I don't handle stress well, and I'm always stressed about something. The thought of taking meds with all their side effects scares me to death, so I would rather just continue living with my stress anxiety. I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have had so many problems with the meds. Not very encouraging.

Re: zoloft side effects

Hearts4Me — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:51:40 GMT

I have extreme OCD and anxiety issues. I started on Zoloft 3 weeks ago. Started on 25mg and will move up to 100mg this week. OCD requires much higher dosages of SSRI's rather than what is prescribed for depression (which I think I also have due to hating the empty nest).

Anyway, I haven't really noticed anything too terrible yet with the side effects. I expect I will as I keep moving up the dosage.

For many years I refused to take anything for the OCD, but it's just so extreme that it's ruining my life with my family. (I don't like germs...and that obviously is putting it mildly).

Re: zoloft side effects

catwhisperer — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:57:05 GMT

@Hearts4Me...I'm sorry you have such severe symptoms. I truly hope the medication helps you.

Re: zoloft side effects

Hearts4Me — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 22:11:14 GMT

@catwhisperer wrote:
@Hearts4Me...I'm sorry you have such severe symptoms. I truly hope the medication helps you.

Oh, wow, thanks! Sadly many people do not realize how life altering anxiety (or any mental health issue) can be. Very worrisome for all.

Re: zoloft side effects

Moonchilde — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 23:33:12 GMT

@Azcowgirl wrote:
Years ago, I tried a low dose of it, and I felt terrible...I was afraid to even drive as it felt as though I was having an out of body experience . Havnt tried anything else since.

That's a very accurate description, @Azcowgirl!

Re: zoloft side effects

Moonchilde — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 23:35:30 GMT

@catwhisperer wrote:
I don't handle stress well, and I'm always stressed about something. The thought of taking meds with all their side effects scares me to death, so I would rather just continue living with my stress anxiety. I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have had so many problems with the meds. Not very encouraging.

The sad thing is, the benzodiazepines don't have a long list of side effects and they are short-acting, i.e for 1-4 hrs, so they would be much better for many than the anti-depressants with many more side effects.

Re: zoloft side effects

morganjen — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 23:39:02 GMT

Zoloft was the first SSRI I was on. I gained a lot of weight on it after awhile.