Depression Blog.com

I've been on Zoloft for six days now, 25mg. I feel weird, like I'm no longer alive and feeling anything. Yes, the benefits are I no longer feel stressed, but the negative thing is a no longer feel anything. I've had a headache for four days, I feel like I'm in a total fog, sick in the stomach, waking up throughout the night and now I feel like I'm dizzy even though I'm sitting down. Plus the tiredness! I could sleep my way through the day the only problem is when I lie down at night I have trouble sleeping. I have a very bad phobia about spiders and the last two nights I've been absolutely terrified of bad dreams with spiders in them. I wake up literally feeling terrified. I'm seeing my doctor again tomorrow and I think I'll go off this drug - it makes me feel too foggy and too weird. I don't see how I can function on this, I'm having trouble concentrating and don't feel "connected" anymore.

Started taking this a couple of months ago for anxiety after my hysterectomy. Initially, I felt good, relaxed and less bitchy about everything (my husband liked my happy pills). After a couple of weeks, I started having non stop diarrhea and lost 5 lbs. Stopped taking this about 11 days ago and finally the diarrhea has almost stopped. However, I can't sleep and have headaches and am extremely exhausted. Am almost afraid to try anything else.....

Started taking this a couple of months ago for anxiety after my hysterectomy. Initially, I felt good, relaxed and less bitchy about everything (my husband liked my happy pills). After a couple of weeks, I started having non stop diarrhea and lost 5 lbs. Stopped taking this about 11 days ago and finally the diarrhea has almost stopped. However, I can't sleep and have headaches and am extremely exhausted. Am almost afraid to try anything else.....

Started taking this a couple of months ago for anxiety after my hysterectomy. Initially, I felt good, relaxed and less bitchy about everything (my husband liked my happy pills). After a couple of weeks, I started having non stop diarrhea and lost 5 lbs. Stopped taking this about 11 days ago and finally the diarrhea has almost stopped. However, I can't sleep and have headaches and am extremely exhausted. Am almost afraid to try anything else.....

I went on Zoloft (reluctantly) because of my intense fear of weight gain and obsession with food and exercise. I have dealt with this eating disorder-though it has taken many forms-since about age 14. Although the doctor said there was no chance of weight gain, after the 3rd month or so on the meds I gained ELEVEN POUNDS in 5 weeks time. I am so hurt, angry, feel deceived...Fear of weight gain is WHY I got on the meds, and it only made it worse!! I stopped the medication 10 days ago but I want to know how long until I may see the weight come off. I count my calories religiously and work out 6 days a week, weight training and high intensity cardio. None of that changed while I was on the medication; in fact, I actually decreased calories at one point in an effort to stop the weight gain...no such luck. Now I just feel like suing. I do, however, feel okay and have had no withdrawl symptoms, yet, anyway. I don't typically ever get headaches and Zoloft actually eventually didn't make me tired...just bad dreams and damn weight gain...GRRRR...

I've taken Zoloft for 6 weeks now - the first time I've ever taken any prescription med for a prolonged time at all. The initial two weeks were the weirdest ones; dizzy spells, feeling numb, sick stomach... yep, side effects seem to be frequent and abundant with this SSRI. However, over time my anxiety and depression disappeared (a good thing!) while I am in a state of indifference and I too have trouble staying asleep at night. It's an ok trade-off, but not one that I like to live with for much longer. The worst is that I gained 14 lbs in 4 weeks (from a solid 210 to a wiggling 224lbs) and I don't feel comfy in my skin anymore - I used to work out 5 days a week... now I watch TV and pat my belly instead:). Well, this too shall pass! I am also being terribly forgetful these days(to the point where I have to keep notes with me), that is no fun at all. So I am planning on tapering off very very slowly to get off these pills within a reasonable amount of time. I'll see....

I've been taking Zoloft for nearly three months, now. I had been feeling extremely depressed for many months and had gotten to the point of waking up every morning considering suicide. I was in so much emotional pain, I had become literally immobilized by it. Finally, I worked up the courage to confide in a local GP about my feelings and my situation. He prescribed Zoloft. I started with a 25 mg per day dosage and moved up to 50 mg per day after one week. Like others, I found the first two weeks felt the strangest, on a perceptual level. I did not trust myself to drive my car even a few miles those first two weeks. But my mood was almost immediately better, even with the odd changes in perception. I no longer "over-reacted" (in my partner's words) to criticism and was much less prone to getting angry. The WEIRDEST aspect is that I feel as though my emotions are in some sort of cocoon. They are there, but there is an important moment inserted where I can THINK before I act or react. Now my partner and others can say or do some genuinely thoughtless or ugly things to me and I don't even flinch -- sometimes I even laugh! (Trust me, folks...it's better that I "roll with the punches" for the time being). But at about one month in, I began getting hit with the non-stop diarrhea and low-level nausea side-effects others have mentioned. I am actually living with these inconveniences because the alternative -- reacting like a normal human being would to absurd or negative stimulus -- is not a luxury currently available to me. I was apathetic before and the Zoloft hasn't changed that: that problem is no worse and no better. I have to struggle against apathy and am unwilling to take other drugs or switch to and adjust to another SSRI at this point. When I move away from my partner and the place I'm living, I intend to wean myself off this medication. Meanwhile, even with the inconveniences mentioned, Zoloft is helping me survive and work my way out of a situation that had been constantly upsetting, distracting and ultimately life-threatening. What is better? Crying my eyes out for days and wanting to die because someone with a few drinks in them insulted me? Or living with some side-effects, shrugging off the insult, accepting that I'm dealing with someone who is verbally abusive and some number of sheets to the wind, networking with friends, getting on with and rebuilding my life?

i didn't like how zoloft made want to hurt my self and othres around me , i took it for 3 weeks and now on lexapro which dosent seem to be helping . im better off not taking any thing . but i need something for anxiety . have to see the doctor again ,but i think this drug should be off the market

Holly, I hear what you are saying, I often have the same urges. I currently take 200mg a day, I really thought it was helping at me first, but now after about 7 months, I just my kinda lost in my own head. Not to mention some of the side effects really bother me at times.

I am a 52 year old woman who has been on Zoloft for over 15 years. I guess I have been on it so long now, that I have either overlooked the side effects. I tried to get off of it several times and at one point was off for six months. I don't remember any terrible effects at that time, but my family kept insisting I needed to get back on, so there must have been something going on. My question however is this........."has anyone just gradually gained weight over a period of time while on this drug?" I guess these past 15 years have slowly caught up because I have gained 17 pounds of ugly, dimplely fat that will not go away. I have started exercising and it won't go. Some people report weight loss......I am reporting a gradual wt gain........

I am currently trying to stop taking zoloft. I was so stressed out at work and would get anxious over anything that I was completely desperate. I am a young mother of 2 and after having my son my problems seem to have crept up on me. I am a Christian and extremely devoted to church and serving God. I have been taking this medication for 3 months now. I told myself in the beginning that it was temporary and that I wouldnt allow myself to become addicted. I dont really have all of these side effects people are talking about except for the fogginess but hey its enough for me to call it quits....I think I have had enough time to figure out that when I freak out...its ok and its just anxiety, I have also joined a gym in hopes of helping the stress. I have been told by several people that this works. PRAYER does too. I hope that this will be encouragement to others that you can LIVE without antidepressants. They dont really help.

Zoloft improved my mood, but in only 6 months on the drug, I have gained 25 lbs! No amount of diet or exercise has helped.

I think I'd rather be off the medication and deal with my depression some other way than suffer this awful weight gain.

been on zoloft just 2 days(25mg).I didn't get bothered by anything today ,(great)zest for sex is gone also(not so great).when i looked at the women outside while driving i had no mental stimuli.i gonna try cutting that little pill in half and see what happens.

I've have been taking zoloft for 2 days and I have decided to stop. I have had a horrible time sleeping (panic attacks), dry mouth, numb lips, difficulty breathing (to be fair, this might just be anxiety - not the zoloft), and loose stool (to the point of water). This morning I woke-up and felt like I had drank about 6 cups of coffee – my chest was on fire and I could not relax (this is after a night of about 3 hours sleep).

I have been on zoloft for about 2 months now and to be honest it has reallly helped by anxiety and depression. I did not realize how bad I felt before I started taking it. I was to the point where I would wake up every morning and cry, and I could have took a nap at anytime during the day. The only negative thing about this drug, is that for about two weeks now I have had diarrhea. I have lost about 6 pounds in 2-3 weeks??? I don't understand why this side affect is now happening?

I have been on Zoloft for about 5 months now. It has made a huge difference in my anxiety and panic attacks and I'm very thankful that I am taking the medicine. However I too have some side effects. I started on 25 mg with no side effects. Shortly thereafter I moved up to 50 mg and about 2 hrs after taking the first 50 mg pill I thought I was going to have diarrhea. That went away, but about 5 weeks after this it all came back. Since then I seem to have a lot of dyspepsia (fancy word for gas/bloating/general indegestion) and diarrhea when I drink coffee. I had some of these symptoms occasionally, but now they are here all of the time. For me it is worth the trade off because my OCD/anxiety is much better.

I have been on Zoloft for about 3 months and I love it. It has made me a new person. However, I do have some side effects of the drug. The worst is the diarrhea. I will not stop taking the Zoloft because of this. It's the best medicine I have taken for my anxiety.

Great drug for the first year, resolved my anxiety and depression. I became very energetic, very focused. Really impressed my boss. I had been slim my whole life but i suddenly developed a voracious appetite and gained 30 pounds in one year, mostly in my belly. To my wife's delight, i reacquired the sexual libido and performance of an 18 year old, i am 36 now. I experienced lengthy and painful erections. Sometimes i could not achieve ejaculation even after nearly two hour of sexual intercourse. It was a wonderful time; i thought i would want to keep taking this medication forever. Then the fog set in my mind, like many others here, i became emotionally numb. Stone cold heart. I would be restless at night, tossing aroung, waking up my wife. I would sweat profusely during my sleep and wake up soaked cold with transpiration. Then the headaches started to put pressure behind my eyes and i felt like a vise grip was tightening around my brain. My daily dosage was 100M/D, i had to take it early we i woke up, if i took the medicine later in the day, i could not sleep at night. I would be restless, sitting in front of the computer until 5AM when i would be so exhausted that i would finally be able to fall asleep. I started experiencing memory loss and it became problematic because i was not able any longer to carry out an intellectual conversation with my spouse or friends. i could not find the words for the things i wanted to express in conversation. I nearly lost my ability to enjoy aesthetic experiences. I had little feelings left. This drug desensitized me physically, psychologically and sexually. I started feeling mentally blank. I nearly broke up my relationship with my wife because of the way I became. After 20 months, i was ready and eager to get off zoloft. I lowered the dosage progressively for the next two months, the side effects were getting worse so i finally quit while on a trip in Paris. The withdrawals were severe and painful. Heart throbbing, uncontrollable feeling of electric current buzzing through my body. I felt like my nerves had turned raw. i could not sleep. It was hell. I ended up having to take muscle relaxers and painkillers to function on a daily basis. I became addicted to some strong pain meds, i slowly lowered my intake and finally quit after 6 months. Then, a couple of stressful and traumatic events happened and i relapsed in deep depression accompanied by anger, sexual dysfunction, also lost 20 pounds since i quit zoloft. I have no appetite any more. Food tastes terrible. I took a couple of zoloft pills this week to help me cope with stressful events, the headaches immediately reappeared. The blank stares, dumbfounded mind, heartless soul came back to haunt me. Just took 3 Tylenols to help with headache. I cannot function without pain meds anymore. Currently looking at alternative meds and solutions.
Good luck to you all. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post, i will check back.

I am on Zoloft for like 6 months...I cannot seem to lose the weight I have gained..I am on the correct dose of Zoloft after trying other dosages but was wondering if anyone else had this trouble.

I was on Zoloft for 18 months. My first side effect was my blood pressure increasing from 106/65 to 180/128 and then from a starting weight of 130 lbs at a height of 5'8" to a weight of 168 lbs. After the 18 months, I had gained 35+ lbs, despite the fact that I had never had a problem controlling my weight in the past. Everything I had done in the past to lose weight didn't help anymore and I was becoming increasingly frustrated. I did read some blog right when I got off of Zoloft and it made me feel better about the weight gain, but 3 months later I am still having problems with memory and losing the extra weight.

The most troubling problem, aside from the weight gain, has been extreme trouble with my memory. I am a degreed engineer and am very disturbed by the fact that I still can't retain some of the simplest information. It's very embarrasing for me to have to admit that I can't remember what someone told me the day before. I am at my wit's end here and hope someone can give me some hope for getting out of this pergatory I got myself into by taking Zoloft. Some people call it a wonder drug and I call it something else. I pray nightly to have a good night's sleep and have a good day tomorrow. I pray.

I tapered off Zoloft recently after being on 50 mg/day for just over 3 years. During the first 9 months or so, I found Zoloft to be quite helpful with my anxiety (I was starting grad school and feeling paralyzed with anxiety at all I had to do, fear of failure, etc.). Zoloft allowed me to cope, I was less negatively reactive and I felt I had more energy. I experienced no negative side effects while starting on Zoloft.

However: about 9-10 months or so into taking Zoloft, I began to notice unexplained weight gain. I had always been a fairly slim person, if I did gain a few pounds here or there I could take it off easily. But here I was at age 33 gaining approx. 15 pounds in the course of about 3 months or so. I continued to gain up to about 160 pounds (20-25 pounds over my natural weight), all while eating normally and exercising. When I consulted my doctor she insisted my metabolism was slowing down due to my age and that I had to watch my diet and exercise more (which I was already doing!). After cutting my calories and intensifying my exercise and only losing about 2 pounds over the course of a year, I knew something was truly wrong -- especially after reading countless similar stories from Zoloft users on the web, and hearing the exact same thing from two close friends who had also "inexplicably" gained between 15 and 30 pounds on Zoloft.

I also found that after being on the drug for approximately a year, it was like I was no longer directly experiencing my emotions. It was like I was living at an arm's length from myself. I still HAD emotions, but they seemed dull, muted, and my motivation seemed non-existent. It was much more difficult than it had once been to take action and complete things. In many ways, I did not even feel like myself.

So at 3+ years, the negative effects of the drug outweighed the positive and I weaned myself off over about a month, with (thankfully) minimal withdrawal symptoms. I already find myself "feeling" more, crying more easily for the first time in over 2 years, and I'm hopeful that in time the weight I've gained will come off.

I believe this drug is best in the short-term, but that it is not effective for long-term use. I think the body does not want this drug inhabiting it for years and years. And I know FOR A FACT that Zoloft did slow my metabolism, no matter what the doctors say (such as "you started eating more because you weren't as depressed," or "Zoloft does not cause weight gain, it's your lifestyle that made you gain weight."). If you're having problems on this drug, listen to yourself and not a doctor. You know yourself, your body and your emotions best.

I was on Zoloft for several months three years ago. I weaned myself off after gaining tons of weight and feeling no better - in fact feeling nothing. Three years later, I really believe the Zoloft altered my emotions forever. I don't feel things as deeply. I have cold, remote, and have no true feelings for anyone but my closest family. Anybody else?

After the second day of taking Zoloft, I have noted that I am getting erections throughout the day. Also I have a very significant delay in orgasm. I do not know if this is a blessing or a curse yet.

Can side effects of Zoloft come on late in treatment? Or, do the side effects show as soon as treatment begins and stays throughout treatment? I thought Zoloft was non addictive? If so, why does my wife adamently state she isn't going to quit taking Zoloft and that none of her symptoms are related to Zoloft treatment? She has been taking Zoloft almost two years and has been, over last several months, experiencing tremors or twitches at night, night sweats, teeth grinding, mood shifts, state of emotionalissnes, headaches, extreme fatigue, insomnia to point she takes sleep aid, no desire to have sex, etc. She has stated she doesn't know why she doesn't want to have sex. During her time on Zoloft she has not been diagnosed with any depression, etc. She was prescribed through our family Doctor after her mother had a major brain hemorrage that has left her to this day in state of vegetation. She has not been, to my knowledge, monitored for any condition and treatment of Zoloft. She merrely just has to ask for refill, is this protocol for an antidepressant? What actions can I take? Where should I turn to? When I talk to her about it she adamently states she isn't going to even think about going off Zoloft nor try anything else. She has had all her hormone levels checked and come back good. She does have a lot of stressfull events on hand but she doesn't work to clean her plate. I need some help and or advice on where to go where to turn, what to do, how I can save my wife from becoming a Zoloft "junkie"!

ya i went on zoloft in the adolecent psyche center thingy and i went insane with nightterrors and homocidel and suicidel tendencies its bad dont use it.....(brainwash)

ZOLOFT IS A VERY DANGEROUS DRUG!! PLEASE...if you are starting it or starting an adjustment in your doseage, make sure you have close supervision by a family member, friend, or nurse! I was depressed, although functional, and was put on this drug for relief. The mental chaos that accompanied the first 2 weeks on zoloft totally incapacitated me. I could not work, think in complete sentences, drive, carry on a lucid conversation, prepare a meal, or pay a bill. When i notified my doctor of this, little was done. I begged him for help and he gave me 7 doses of xanax. I do believe that without it, I would have jumped off a bridge to end my new insanity. As a nurse, I was not sure if my symptoms were zoloft related, or depression related. My doctor told me that it was simply my overstimulated synapses, which had previously been suppressed and were now 'lit up'. I can't imagine going through this without my sister the social worker holding my hand...and keeping me off the bridge. Those symptoms did resolve over time and the zoloft kicked in my newly-found passive personality; it gave me an 'i don't care' attitude about everything. It took away my inertia...to cry, to care, to be joyful, to get angry. After a year of hearing how dangerous it was to quit this medication, and a year of seeing myself balloon into a couch potato, my doctor convinced me that I needed to increase my dose. I went from only 50mg to 100mg and spent the first night wide awake, convinced that I was having hallucinations, my skin pulling from the inside out, flip-flopping mental activity, that couldn't even be called thoughts, and the feeling that I was in the process of dying, while I watched. NOTHING can describe accurately the chaos that zoloft caused me. After two days of trying my new dose, and being unable to go to work, or leave my house, or look outside, or answer the phone, I prayed. God very quietly told me to get off my knees and to THROW ALL OF MY ZOLOFT PILLS INTO THE TOILET. I did just that, and I didn't tell one soul until a week later. Instead of the horrifying withdrawal that Pfeizer and every prescribing physician will warn you about...I became more mentally lucid and pleasant and joyful and loving than I had been in over a year! It's been wonderful...I'm now organized, able to concentrate, capable of completing a crosswork puzzle or soduko,and I feel as if I have my personality back...what joy. The whole point of this for me, is to express my certainty that more research needs to be done on this medication.

Family doctor told me I was very depressed, was put on zoloft 200mg daily plus 30 mg. valuim daily. I would get panic attacks, loss of short term memeray, loudness, shacking, vomiting. falling. Acted out of it and looked all doped up.
Could not figure out why I was going though all of this. Was on these med's for almost a year could not remember saying something to some one and they would tell me I had told them the same thing like 4 time's. I am going though withdrawl from these med's. Just terrible to live like that, was in the hospital for 4 day's with nothing but throwing up. Could not hold down any food. The doctor's for other problem's thught i needed to see and talk to a perf. like I was mental. And all along it was the zoloft and valuim. Have been going though withdraw for the last week and a half. Was neaver so sick in my life, thank's to the Doctor that had me on all of this for so long. I am just trying to go cold turkey, they told me I would have to wein off these drug's, but I would rather go though hell know and get it over with. Siad it would take 6 month's to a year to quit the med's. I am doing so much better, my mind is back and don't look and act like a zombie. Like I say I was very sick for a good week . Know I am getting thew it ok feel alot more human. Everyone that has seen me since then can't belive the differance in me. I don't want to ever be on this medication again. Quit my old family Doctor and see a new one today.
So if you are going threw this or are taking zoloft please ask your Doctor to wein you off. I am just doing the cold turkey not going to stay on this for another 6 month's to a year. God must have been with me for I don't even know how bad i was until I stopped it all. Hope the best for you or a loved one. But I can say I didn't know I was as bad as I was from this medicine till I quit. I am eating good again and feel 100% better. I was really a mess my family thought I was loosing it. God what a differance with out the zoloft and the valium . God be with you and I hope you feel better real soon. The first week was hell! But I forgot who and how bad I was until I stopped it all. Alot of Doctor's say don't just quit them but I did and I am finally getting back to me! What a new world for me. Good luck to you for I was there and it was awful. I believe the zoloft made my panic attack's come on. Haven't had any since, but he sure messed me up on all the drug's. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS

Zoloft has been the weirdest thing for me. I am 16 years old, and I started taking zoloft a year and a half ago. I went from 50mg to 75mg to 100mg for a little while, and then back down from 75mg to 50 again. For a while, I thought that zoloft was a miracle drug for me. However, I've begun to realize that it has changed me so much, and the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives. I have had an eating disorder for 3 years, and I went to residential, got treated, and i am on the road to recovery. However, I'm starting to think that the zoloft led to my anorexic behaviors turning bulimic. I used to be totally organized, could get my work done efficiently, and still managed to have a good time on the weekends. Then, I started zoloft, because I had depression, possibly from being underweight. It made me happy for a while, but now i can't even organize my thoughts. I will start one thing, then move to the next, and before I know it, I've started 10 activities without finishing any of them... Zoloft has made me a wreck. I cannot even think enough to type this. I need something else...

I have been on 25 mg zoloft for ptsd for 11 days now and I cannot bare another day with diarrhea, sleeplessness and thoughts of doom. I'm not taking it today, end of story. I am a 31 year old heart patient and the dehydration from the D is literally killing me. I think my anxiety was better than these side effects.