Depression Blog.com

I have been taking Zoloft for 6 mths for anxiety. I am pleased with the results and will continue to use it. Side effects I have experienced include night sweats and bad dreams, aside from this I feel fantastic.

I HAVE BEEN ON ZOLOFT FOR OVER 3 YEARS, BUT MY PRESCRIPTION OF ZOLOFT 100MGS. RAN OUT AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY DID NOT DO MY REFILL IN TIME THEREFORE I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT ZOLOFT FOR 3 DAYS NOW. I AM NOT STOPPING IT, JUST RAN OUT AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF I WOULD START TO GET THE MIGRAINES BACK. SO GOOD SO FAR.

My husband has been taking Zoloft for several months now. I was amazed at the difference it made in his personality just a short time after he began the medication. He went from an angry, grumpy person to normal. It has been great. However, he also has begun to question his own values and spiritual beliefs and has begun to act in ways contrary to those beliefs in accord with his newfound "realizations." He has asked his psychiatrist if this could be a side effect of the Zoloft and I, too, have asked my psychiatrist about this. Neither psychiatrist believes this is being caused by the medicaiton. I would be very curious to know anyone's thoughts on this matter and whether this has happened to anyone else as a result of beginning this medication. Needless to say, this turn of events, while improving our home life in many ways, has caused a great upset in others. Any assistance offered would be appreciated.

I was taking paxil and now I am on Zoloft, I am loosing weight (not much) it also says that is one of the side effects.

I have been seeing what I can find out about Zoloft on the internet when I came across your page. It seems to have only negative feedback. I would like to say that I have been taking Zoloft for over 3 years now and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Since as far back as I can remember I was a depressed child and then adult, with violent mood swings and constant thoughts of death being the answer, yet not having the courage to do anything about it, thus living in a horrible suspended state most of the time with little hope. This was not a constant state, but happened regularly enough to make life a misery overall. I have had some side effects, unusual dreams and muscle spasms, but they don’t really cause me any real problems and I have gotten used to them. These minor side effects I consider a tiny hinderance compared to the benefits Zoloft has provided in improving my mental state. After reading all the negative feedback, I can only conclude that perhaps Zoloft is more effective for a person with my condition, and is being misdiagnosed in the cases where it is being found unhelpful or even harmful. Of course I hope that being on Zoloft long term does not cause me to develop any longer term side effects which might not yet be known, as I do not intend ever stopping taking it, as I cannot envisage going back to the constant mental battles I suffered before I started taking it. All I can suggest to people who are worried about taking Zoloft when prescribed, is that they keep in close contact with their doctor and relay any problems that they thing it may be causing them. As I live in Australia it would also seem that it is a lot cheaper here as the government must be subsidising it, as I only pay around $22 for a month’s supply. I seem to be benefiting all round!

I like Zoloft. It makes me feel much better. I do yawn alot though. Sometimes when someone says something real funny I start laughing hesterically and I can't stop. I have to get up and leave the room and go hhide someplace until I get under control. Do you think this sounds nutty? Oh and sometimes I feel more nrevous than normally.

I have been on Zoloft for 7 months. I have had depression all of my life. The first two weeks after starting it I was very sleepy and felt disconnected from my body. It did go away. I have had no trouble sleeping, no headaches and no nausea. My depression is much better, but not gone. I have been diagnosed as bi-polar. The side effects I have experienced are diarrea, loss of appetite and weight loss. I have lost 7 pounds due to this and 5 pounds due to a surgery. I went from 50 mg to 100 mg.That was when the weight loss and the appetite loss started (approximately 2 1/2 months into it).

I am a psychology MA. I've taken Zoloft for 5 years now, for Panic Disorder. I started on 50 mg and after two months went up to 100 mg. I still take it. I neither gained nor lost any weight, but I do have an increased appetite, have slight nasal problems, soft stool, palpitations and headaches. When I skip a day or so (usually due to refilling a prescription) I get the brain-zaps and mania. But....considering that before Zoloft I was unable to function or to hardly get out of bed, I'll take the side affects.
Those who are complaining of major problems because they switched drugs quickly or stopped cold-turkey, don't ever, ever do this! These are drugs that mess with your brain chemicals. You have to taper off slowly before switching or quitting. Otherwise you will have serious problems. Also remember that Zoloft does not work for everybody. If it's not working or has stopped working, or is causing side effects much worse than your original illness, either you need a different med or a different doctor (because you aren't really sick....your problem is emotional, not neurochemical).

I suffer from OCD + high anxiety...Zoloft is a God -send...

I feel much better & don't ever want to go off them.

The only side effect I've had is weight gain..20 kg's..that's a bit too much...but with a calorie controlled diet & over the counter
appetite suppressants I have lost 13.5 kgs & will reach my ideal weight soon.
I love ZOLOFT!

I've taken zoloft for about two years now. Had depression all my life, had past (not so good) experience with ludiomil (migraines, falling asleep during the day, weight gain) and stopped taking it about 15 years ago.

First few days of Zoloft were interesting, it felt as something was being "adjusted" in my brain. Took me a little while to get acquainted with my new personality, but I like me the way I am now, so does my spouse.

Zoloft does not have the creativity-destroying effect that tricyclics had for me, which is extremely important and is why I couldn't handle taking Ludiomil any longer, that turned me into a robot.

Side effects from Zoloft are minor: bit looser in the bowels (no problem, I like being regular), weird very vivid dreams, dry mouth for the first few days but that is now gone, was always a problem on tricyclics. Sex drive is a little lower than it was, orgasm feels "different" but not in a bad way, that part was pretty numb on tricyclics.

I see no reason to stop taking Zoloft as it's really improved my life and made me a nicer person. I guess I'm a posterchild for the stuff, this is the way it's supposed to work and I'm very happy with it.

I've been taking Zoloft for a long while now. It's only helped me, I've had no side effects on it.

I think what people don't realize about these medicines is that they're very specific to the person taking them. They're not all bad or all good. It depends on the person's body chemistry. So if one doesn't work, you have to try another.

I also wanted to say I love Zoloft's ads with the blobby dudes. They're soooo cute!

I suffer from panic attacks. I was on Zoloft 50mg two years ago. I quit taking it and within 5 months the panic attacks came back. I am currently taking 25mg of Zoloft (1 month) and the panic attacks are gone. Everyone's body is different, but Zoloft works well for me. Some initial side effects are much better then panic attacks.

have been taking zoloft for one week waking up hot and slight increase in anxiety not as depressed 50mg a day have been on zoloft before cant remember it taking this long to take effect also waking with rapid pulse should i be more patient

I have been taking zoloft for three weeks, the first week my depression instensified, by the end of the 2nd week I was feeling better, sleeping thru the night. The 3rd week I now feel pratically back to normal. Side effects have been feeling tired in the afternoon and some delayed stuff going on with sex. I plan to take the full dose for another month and then wean off it.

I started taking Zoloft somewhere around 6 months ago. I was started at 50 mg but have since moved up to 75. It causes me to be constantly tired and lethargic, as well as jittery. After about 4 months on Zoloft, it tapered off and stopped working entirely, and since then I've gotten far worse off then I originally was. Now all my original depression symptons are back, plus some.

I suffered from panic, compulsize thinking, and trouble sleeping for years. A small dose of Zoloft made me feel great right away. Happy and sleeping well. little side effects. after a couple months we needed to increas dosage to get the same level of effect. after a year added Serzone which had a dramatic but different effect, peacefull meditative. higher dosage of Serzone lead to tired, memory and concentration issues. Currently cutting down slowly on the serzone, but would like to keep the Zoloft. Im a 44 year old Male, I take 150mg Zoloft and 450mg Serzone per day.

Since I started zoloft about 6 months ago I have had a positive effect. First, I lost 10 pounds in 5 months. Afterwards, I become more confident and assertive in expressing what I want out of life and what I want from the people around me. Some of them were negative and had to be dismissed, others who were positive are still around. I found that I have been extremely depressed and diagnosed with major depression by my doctor. Well zoloft's effect have been pretty good. I lost weight which I have been struggling with all my life and I'm more confident about myself and my life!

I just want to comment on this post:

My husband has been taking Zoloft for several months now. I was amazed at the difference it made in his personality just a short time after he began the medication. He went from an angry, grumpy person to normal. It has been great. However, he also has begun to question his own values and spiritual beliefs and has begun to act in ways contrary to those beliefs in accord with his newfound "realizations."

Something about this is hilarious - Talk to your doctor if you feel any of these side-effects:

- Spiritual enlightenment
- Understanding of the meaning of life
- Feelings of God-like connections, wholeness

I started taking zoloft about a month ago and increased the dosage from 50 to 75 to 100mg. I felt immediate improvement but in the last week my depression feels like it has come back and I'm back where I started. Could this be caused by the increase in dosage or is it normal and will work its self out eventually?

HI,MY NAME IS ANDREA AND MY DOCTOR PRESCRIBED ME
ZOLOFT ABOUT 5 MONTHS AGO FOR MY ANXIETY/PANIC ATTACKS DEPRESSION SOCIAL ANXIETY SO FORTH...AND
I WAS TAKING 25MG FOR FIRST WEEK FELT OK JUST VERY NERVOUS.THE NEXT WEEK I STARTED 50MG FELT
NERVOUS AS ALWAYS MORE INTENSIFIED AND TOO ALERT
I HATE IT.THEN I STOPPED I FELT NOTHING WOULD WORK.NOW YESTERDAY I DID SOMETHING REALLY STUPID I THOUGHT IT WOULD HELP SO I TOOK 75MG OF ZOLOFT
ALL AT ONCE BEFORE GOING TO BED AND IT WAS THE MOST MISERABLE NIGHT IN MY LIFE I HAD INSOMNIA ALL NIGHT AND FELT LIKE THROWING UP DROWSY I COULD NOT EVEN GO 2 WORK PLEASE HELP ME IF TO CONTINUE ON A LOWER DOSE OR STOP...

I just started taking Zoloft today...I feel pretty strange so far. I am hoping that the yawning and the feeling that I am somehow "disconnected" will go away. I had these same feelings with Paxil CR, but I don't think that I took it long enough to allow the side effects to disappear.

I started taking zoloft 5 years ago. I like Zoloft and feel well with it.
20 years ago II have my first depression. I used other drugs and I have lot of side effects.
After this first depressions I feel permanent need of this kind of drugs. If I stop I start to feel tired, sad, no concentration, lack of memory.
I am trying again to get off Zoloft. I am experiencing some head confusion and feeling tired.
There are any problem using Zoloft during years?

I have been taking Zoloft for about two months for severe anxiety. I had no idea how bad my anxiety was until I started taking Zoloft and now feel "normal." The only side effects that I have noticed are that it's much harder for me to wake up and get moving than it used to be (I used to pop out of bed as soon as my eyes opened at 6:00 AM). Once I am moving, however, I seem to be fine. Also, I seem to be much thirstier than before.
Being about to feel as good as I do and not be ruled by panice makes those things seem non-existant to me. I'm very glad to be taking Zoloft.

Sincerely,
Jenna

I took Zoloft about four years ago for a two-year period, and I just started taking it again two days ago. I have had only a little nausea, but it is NOTHING compared to the three days of hell I experienced while on Lexapro. When I last took it, I dieted, exercised, and lost 50 pounds! I did not have weird dreams or anxiety or loss of libido, and I felt overall much better able to concentrate and cope with life in general. I was also in weekly therapy at the time. If a particular drug or combination of drugs doesn't work for you, talk to your doctor!

I also have to agree about weening off from this drug slowly and under a doctor's care. The side effects of stopping can be scary. I had vertigo for about 3 months, but I tried to keep myself hydrated and healthy in other ways and that helped.

I started .25 milligrams of Zoloft last night for chronic anxiety. I had morbid thoughts when I woke up. Have felt o.k. today. I am kind of scared of it because of all the horror stories I've heard, but I know it is different for each person.

I have been on Zoloft for three wekks now. The first few days were interesting. I felt a little "off". But my usual mood was anger, so I kind of had fun with the doped up feeling. After a few days, my head cleared. I was definetly Aware that something was happening inside my head. Now, on wek three, I feel like a brand new person. My days anre clear, calm and focused. I am amazed at the positve outcome.

I started taking Zoloft 6 years ago after being diagnozed with panic disorder. It took about three months to work completely and I worked up to a dose of 150 mg. After I had not had any anxiety for a few weeks my doctor reduced my dose to a 100, then 50 mg. I tried to wean off but the panic returned so I have been on a 50 mg dose for 5 1/2 years. When I was on 150 mg I did suffer sexual disfunction but at my 50 mg dose I have not side effects at all. Like other, I feel "normal" and regret spending such a long time arranging my life around panic and anxiety. Ideally, I would like to live without medication but really I would rather be dead than to live in the constant state of horror and panic I was in right before going on Zoloft.

I have depression/anxiety. I started on 25mg of Zoloft for one week and am on day 5 of my 2nd week at 50mg. I'm really out of it, anxious and tired at the same time and getting headaches and generally feel malaise. Does this subside after being on the drug for awhile? I'm using Klonopin to combat what I hope is just initial anxiety.

hi there. i have been on zoloft for about6 months now. i was put on it after having my 2nd son and experianced high anxiety . I dont have much energy and feel tired alot of the time. i am currently taking 50 mg of sertraline do you htink this could be fromt he sertraline or the anxiety itself. my son is now almost 11 months im jsut wondering when i will get my energy back. thanx

I started taking Zoloft 2 weeks ago for compulsive negative thoughts and a never-ending sadness. Everyday I felt this begging desperation from within; I think my mundane routine could have contributed. I go to the gym religiously and do vigorous cardio because I felt it was a 'natural anti-depressant'- which really helps. However, I struggled with illegal drugs and abusing prescription drugs since age 14. Since quitting drugs, I've maintained a stable life- though using marijuana daily for my 'mood'. That was OK for 6 months, even did GREAT in school. But going to work stoned was not easy, When I wasn't high I experienced angry out-bursts; my crying tantrums and petty fights with loved ones, especially a sweet boyfriend. I actually pulled a knife on myself one night after not getting my way/ not liking his attitude. I realize I probably damaged my nuero-balance (spelling?) and should seek help. I was WARNED not to take Zoloft by friends and the Internet. I have high anxiety and repetitive thoughts- so I also take xanax daily (.25) it takes some discipline not to abuse the xanax- but I'm doing well! I am very concious of side effects, I have experience with withdrawl & prescribtion. However I am optomistic- I am able to clearly realize if a situation that would previously make me angry- is really worth it. I pick my battles and don't carry that "weight". I'm not gona lie, the first 5 days SUCKED. Wanted to share my story cuz I see so much negative feedback. Keep an open mind- know your body, as they say "patient heal thyself" only you know for sure whats good for ya.

thanks friends.

Oh yeah, and the yawning----
the yawning---
that was interesting.

xo

I have been taking zoloft 50 mg already for a month and a half. I feel fine but I am worried since it has been difficult for me to sleep well. I wake up two or three times at night. I do not remember what my dreams are about and I am suffering of continuos diarrea and uncontrolled bowel movements. I do not know if it has to be with zoloft but since I am taking it things has been like that. Even more I experienced a lack of sex drive that does not allow me to experience orgarsm. Despite this I am still taking the zoloft because it has helped me a lot to feel relaxed instead of the anxiety I used to have continuously. I have not lose weight. But I do remember that when I took lexapro 10 mg I gained a lot of weight. It is true that lexapro makes you feel without appetite, but my eating habits have changed and it is good for me since I do not have the crave for sweets things anymore. That has been my experience with zoloft. I am still worried about the uncontrolled bowel movements, these are at any time and it is embarrasing. Thanks I hope my experience will help somebody else to understand the different side effects this pill can makes us experience.

Can any one really state three 3 Positive effects of Zoloft(What target symptoms affected?)
because a friend want to take itbut i am scare to allow him to take it.

I was prescribed Sertraline to aid my recovery from my 7 year battle with bulimia.
I was so reluctant to take any medication for depression, but gave in when i saw my reflection in the doctors examining room.
It was changed my life, a week later he said i looked like a different person. I was back to how i was before and it helped in my recovery.
However i was advised not to stay on it for too long, it has been 3 years now, and i am beginning to wish i had come off it sooner.

I think it should be advised for anyone to stop taking the drug 3 months after the full effects are seen.
It is non addictive (something i was worried about) as i really dont feel the need to take it anymore and i often miss doses and dont even think about it.
Its imporatnat, ive learned, to not think its the drug working and that its you thats changing, this is just a catalyst in recovery. if you get into this way of thinking, the side effects and anxieties of being on the drug will disappear.

but its fair to say that everyone is different and what works for some, may not work for others.

For me, Sertraline/Zoloft has been my saviour.

Hiya,
I started taking 12.5mg of Zoloft and I never really "woke up" from the drug until 4 or 5pm. I can agree with some on the yawning. I had a constant pressure in my forehead/behind my eyes and it felt like I just wanted to keep my eyes closed all day. Who wants that? Who has time for that? Drugs these days are supposed to help, not hurt. While I know that it takes a while for zoloft to work, I end up feeling more morose about my situation. That's not good..esp when there drugs are being prescribed for anxious/depressed people. Come on! While this is supposed to help with my anxiety, it's making me more depressed since I am being robbed of my day and the quality of my life. Does it really take two-three weeks for these side effects to clear? I can't believe one has to go through this torture to feel better.

I have been on zoloft for anxiety for about 4 weeks now. It really started to kick in this week and I haven't had any panic attacks and haven't felt anxious at all. The first couple of weeks I was yawning nonstop and felt a little nauseated but that has gone away. I heard a lot of people say it caused them to have insommnia and thought it might happen to me since I have had problems with that before but it actually has helped me sleep better than ever. I have also been having headaches lately, but I don't know if it's the zoloft or just allergy problems. I also have had a decreased appetite since taking zoloft. overall, I have no real complaints about it and I think it's been working great.

i took zoloft 200 mg from 1996 to 2003. back off or back out of it.i think its poison.

I have battled with depression since I was in high school. I've taken Zoloft for two extended periods in my life. Both times I've noticed the same side effects. Although I was happy I became almost numb to the important things in my life. I stopped caring about work, starting showing up late and taking days off. My boyfriend complains that I became more messy.
So which do I choose, depression or happy numbness?

Side effects,I haven't any.Unless you call an absent libido a negative one. But, the way I see it is,if I don't want it,nothing lost.
A million positive reasons why I will always take it.For the first time in my ENTIRE life I can say I am happy.I have been on it for 9 years,200mgs.a day.I now see everything in a totaly different way I never thought possible.I am now one of those goofy people walking around with a smile on my face,one of those idiots I used to see and hated.