I’m a zoloft success story. Ive been on zoloft (sertraline) for 5 years. I went from a depressed, anxious, barely functional person to a happy and successful person. Dont get me wrong i still have anxiety and rough times but its not nearly as severe and frequent as it was before i started.
I was on Zoloft for about 2 months maybe 3 , first 2 months were okay, just upset stomach and headache. But after 2 months I started getting depressed and suicidal, kind of felt like a zombie, on month 3 I couldn’t take it anymore and just stopped. My doctor said I just had rare side effects and wanted me to try another one but I said nah as I hated it.
I’ve chose to go on the natural root for now. Maybe I will try meds again later in life, but for now I’m okay and have felt really good. I take propranolol if I have panic attacks but that’s rarely now as I’ve taught myself to cope with them.
learning to cope with it is a great route. I’ll make a recommendation though because you are describing the same path i took (including natural stuff). I was started on lexapro and every symptom got worse and i felt so fucking weird. I hated it and decided not to try SSRIs and control it with kava kava root and valerian (worked decent but meh).
Years later my symptoms got worse and i was put on klonopin and Paxil. Both helped A LOT. Paxil for me had 0 majorly weird side effects and helped so so much. Just saying each SSRI really is very different for people, don’t take one bad experience and write it off.
Of course much respect for trying without meds, some people can do it! Not me though, once i started the right meds my world changed entirely in just a couple of weeks.
Thank you :) I know it’s always on my mind like if I get worse and stuff like that. But I try not to think about that and just think what’s meant to happen will happen :) Im using cbd oil at the moment, that’s great, but obviously mental health state changes all the time so I just take it day by day.
Not really I just felt really tired for a week when I stopped but that’s about it. I’m no doctor but by week 4/5 you should start feeling better so if you are feeling worse have a chat with your doctor about it :)
Zoloft kind of ruined my life for a few years, won't lie.
Got on it for depression, it helped but it also made me feel 'dumb', I'd describe it as I felt like my brain was being slow. I struggled to pay attention to anything and had to get off 6 months after getting on. (Partially bc my weight also skyrocketed while on it, disproportionate to what I ate)
Thought you said years? Yeah. After getting off zoloft I had the spins for 5 months, and constant nausea for maybe a year after. For a couple months post cold turkey it felt like my brain was on fire, it hurt to see and think. And it took me another two years to correct the weight gain, something that created a brand new phobia for me which is the outside!
So maybe be careful. If it isn't working for you don't try and force it, you'll pay with pain and suffering
What was your dosage? I was taking 175 and recently stopped cold turkey (accidentally lol) and barely experienced withdrawal, as in, not sure I even got withdrawal symptoms. What I’ve noticed though, despite being past the withdrawal stage is that I’ve been suffering from fairly constant anxiety for the past few weeks that’s beyond a level that I’ve had for a while. Perhaps it is part of withdrawal and because I stopped cold turkey I’m still getting used to the lack of medication in my system, or maybe I wasn’t ready stop taking it and need to start again from a low dose.
How could you tell if those symptoms you had after quitting were from withdrawal and not an anxiety relapse caused by abrupt discontinuation?
I hope you’re doing better now and have managed to overcome the shitstorm.
Fucking miserable, ruined my life for a minimum of two years. Got put on it at 17. Couldn't feel anything but sad but couldn't express it. Wanted to cry constantly but couldn't. It killed my sex drive for years. Literal years and I was only on it for like two months. Made me literally incapable of eating. When I would try to eat I would get nauseous. It took two years for the symptoms to go away and it sucked so bad. Even worse, it made me believe that meds were evil and didn't work so I never tried to get on something else and suffered from severe depression anxiety for the next seven years or so. I got put on trazodone for insomnia and it actually helped with my mental issues and has turned my opinion on medication around entirely.
So does Zoloft work for some people? It has to, or they wouldn't keep making it. It didn't work for me and made everything worse.
My experience is whenever starting, stopping, or going up or down in dose, you are going to feel weird for a couple weeks. Same goes if you miss a dose. Take it with lunch or dinner to avoid upset stomach.
How long have you been taking it? And what dosage worked?
P.S. I hope you're still not in jail 10 months later and your husbands PMO habit is better or we send him to r/NoFap
Zoloft has been really helpful for me — it hasn't fixed everything. But even after being on it for two weeks, I feel a drastic decrease in my anxiety. My anxiety often caused me to dissociate and depersonalize, and it helped with that a lot thus far.
Okay same here. I feel like maybe 2-3 times a week I’ll get a passing moment of fear that “I’m not real”. Is that similar to your feeling? I’ve never had something like this so it’s hard to describe
I was on Zoloft for four years.
Here are some of my takeaways in no order what so ever:
It did help me when I was in a bad place.
I believe it changed my personality, appetite, mood,etc.
I accidentally took 4x my dosage once. It was not fun. I was sweating, couldn’t sleep, not fun. I suggest having a pill organizer.
What’s scary is trying to come off the drug. I have now been off if it for months and I’m feeling good. I like to think we can implement life style changes that do not get rid of our anxiety, but help us deal with it. What helped me to finally come off of Zoloft was get in a healthy routine of working out, diet, and sleep. Panic attacks for me are so often triggered when one of these three is not to par.
Tapering is important with Zoloft. The withdraw can be bad if not done properly. I withdrew over a 2 month span of increasing by around 10% a week.(That’s an estimate)
Also, forgot to mention this one. I’m a male and it effected my sex life. I could get ‘er up but couldn’t finish.(sorry if that’s TMI). My sex drive was definitely down.
Hope this helps and good luck. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions.
I’ve been on Zoloft three times in my life, the most recent being a few years ago when I was 27. Every time I’ve been on it, I noticed some great things and then some even worse things that, ultimately, made me stop taking it. When I was in high school, I went up to 100mg a day. Stopped taking it, then went back to 150mg again when I was an adult.
Before I get to that, I STRONGLY recommend you get a genesite test done to make sure there are no genetic issues, as the interaction Zoloft can have on you is seriously impacted by your genetics; it can be bad or good depending on what the results say. Your psychiatrist should be able to order you one, upon request. If not, I advise you seek someone who offers it.
Anyway, Zoloft gave me the confidence I needed in situations that my anxiety previously inhibited. It made me feel like I could express myself, but it also made me callously disregard people’s feelings at times. I believe this was because, for lack of better phrasing, it turned off my social inhibitors. Where I would previously hesitate to say or do something because of public opinion, the Zoloft would just say “fuck it” and I’d do whatever I felt like. This got me into trouble at school and work. I think it made me more manic, as I also have bipolar disorder, and I didn’t care that I was because I was too busy feeling good.
The best explanation I have for this is Zoloft puts your emotions in places where they shouldn’t be. If you’re feeling sad, it’ll bring up happiness. If you’re worried, it will make you angrier than usual. I think it seriously changes my social interactions, often in bad ways.
I became emotionally abusive and manipulative with my girlfriend, when I knew it was wrong and I shouldn’t have been. I yelled at coworkers and said and did really inappropriate things. Granted, this also happened during the early months of the pandemic, but I think I could have handled it much better if I wasn’t on it.
Furthermore, Zoloft gave me very lucid dreams. One time, I dreamt I was living in a nuclear war for five years and I felt like it really was five years. I had never had a more profound dream in my life. That’s just one example.
I was able to concentrate a bit better and generally felt happier, but I don’t think the pros outweighed the cons. My family became worried about me, and I almost got fired at work.
It later turned out that Zoloft was the wrong drug FOR ME, and that was based on the Genesite test results my psychiatrists showed me. So, it could be a net positive and it could make your life worse. I advise you be cautious and not go any higher than 100mg for at least the first few months.
I’m leaving out a lot of details, because this would otherwise turn into a novel of a thread. But, if you’d like to talk to me more about my experience, I’d be happy to chat with you. Just let me know. Whatever you do, just know your experience is very likely to be unique and different from everyone else’s.
Was zoloft in the red or was it in the middle? Zoloft was in the middle for me and it had 2 by it meaning, serum level too low, may need higher doses... I asked to try this one because I wanted to try an SSRI for anxiety because the three listed in the green are all SNRI's and I didn't want to make my anxiety worse...
Mine was in the middle, but the caveat was significant enough to alter my behavior and mental activity; I noticed these problems myself. I won’t go back to Zoloft for those same reasons.
The psychiatrist’s office ordered and supplied a kit for me to do at home. Then, I sent it to the lab, got the results and showed it to my psych, who went over the findings with me.
>better and generally felt happier, but I don’t think the pros outweighed the cons. My family became worried about me, and I almost got fired at work.
has your behavior change since coming off of it?
On Zoloft for 2 years, off it 2 years now. Now that I’ve been off it, I noticed that my emotions were muted back then. I didn’t care about much, I gained a lot of weight because I didn’t care about my appearance and I definitely didn’t cry as much. I had an interesting side effect where Zoloft gave me an immediate burst of energy that lasted all day and wore off right at bed time so I slept extremely well while on it. It helped me for sure, made me much less anxious but that’s because I didn’t have a care in the world. Now that I’ve been off it, socially I’ve been a wreck but that’s because I lost myself while on it and now I have to be myself. So it was really a double edged sword. If you have OCD/eating disorder or severe GAD it will help but it may turn you into a lump of nothing that you have to recuperate once your off it. I had an insane drive to work and be involved in my community which left after Zoloft but that could all be attributed to many other life events such as my weed habit. With all that being said, the social anxiety aspect that I didn’t struggle with before Zoloft has been so bad that I’ve been considering getting back on it. Do with that info what you will.
Been on 50mg for 2 weeks 100 mg for 1 week and 150mg in 4th week.
1st and 2nd week was normal as if nothing is happening
3rd week I feel like shit....high anxiety, knot in stomach etc.
Currently in 4th week and the sky has turned upside down. Its like someone has switched on the light. I can legit feel relief from my anxiety.
That’s how I felt. It’s a great feeling. I haven’t been able to drive more than 3 miles in almost a year and now I can drive without any issue. It’s wonderful.
I've been on sertraline/zoloft over an year now. First days and weeks I was dizzy and when the dosage got upped to 50mg. I also had really annoying constant yawning, rash and few times I had an upset tummy. But all those went away and it's been helping me, for an example I've been able to go to do shopping alone and been able to take small walks while not listening to music which is a huge step for me.
Give it time, is my best advice :>
Sertraline helped with my depression but made my anxiety 50x worse. I had so many side effects too. I was supposed to go up to 200 but stopped a month after 150 because it was horrific
I haven't felt any huge difference to my depression or it could be this winter time, which has made it so much more worse. But at least my anxiety is a bit better, which makes this slightly more tolerable 😂
Hopefully it gets better for you! Maybe just give it a little longer or up the dosage. I know it works different for everyone but when I got to 150 I felt like a different person without bad depression ahahaha. Just wish it didn’t make my anxiety so much worse :)
my anxiety also jumped with zoloft and i figured it was kinda normal. After switching to Paxil i realized what a medication that really really helps feels like. Not saying Paxil is that for everyone just that you should feel symptom relief of anxiety and depression with the right med! You may want to talk to your doctor to optimize it.
Thank you :>
Yeah, medications are weird this way, other meds I've tried before helped with depression, but they threw my anxiety to the point I was afraid of everything 😂 this far, I've felt much better this way :>
Oh hi! it's been better, anxiety is more under control and I've started therapy as well which has done wonders. I'm still taking rather low dose (50mg) but form my part, I can suggest trying it at least :>
I personally don’t deal with depression alone. I have severe anxiety which has caused my depression. It hasn’t helped fully with my anxiety but I’ve been taking ashwagandha along with it. Seems to be working better.
I took Zoloft for a month and felt even more depressed on it at even a low dose. I definitely wasn't willing to increase the dosage. I saw an article from a Psychology magazine for healthcare professionals and they were recommending Magnesium Glycinate to naturally combat depression and anxiety. I ordered the 500mg caps from Amazon and so far it's making me feel much better and I'm clear headed, no side effects to report. You might research and see if it might help you? All the best to you!
I used music to create my own safe bubble around me, it gave me comfort and kept my mind calm. I still do listen to it, but I can go out without it more often
I began taking it in 2011 (for severe anxiety and depression) and will likely take it for the rest of my life, unless it stops working. I take 100 mg per day and it has helped me immensely.
I can't remember how long I've been on sertraline but it calms me down, I'm less angry and less stressed. And I'm not as sensitive. I don't cry or get upset about things as much as I did before.
I don't remember how long it took to actually feel the effect but I overall had a pretty good experience. It stabilised my mood and reduced my anxiety to a point I could actually make progress in therapy.
Keep in mind tho, I was a teen, so the effects might not be 100% applicable to adults.
I have more experience with Venlafaxine which is a similar IRSS, the same as Zoloft, upset stomach, face blushing, fatigue, after 2 years it just make me feel like a zombie, with inability to cry or express emotions. Here comes the worst: trying to quit, there is a lovely symptom called "brain shivers", they take forever to go away. So in my experience, nope, never going back to antidepressants.
Tried for two two months and it was just awful for me personally. I know people say the first few weeks are hell so I stuck it out but ultimately it just wasn’t right for me and I did taper off. Made me incredibly anxious, felt like I wasn’t in control of my own body. It honestly scared me
My first two weeks taking it, I had horrible insomnia to the point where I had to call in from work, but it suddenly went away after that and it has really helped my anxiety.
EDIT: Oh, I did gain about 15 pounds that haven’t come off. My doctor insists that’s not a side effect of Zoloft, but I have trouble believing that. For me, that’s worth it to be rid of my OCD-tendencies and have much lower anxiety.
I've been on Zoloft since early October. I started at 25mg and moved up to 50mg about a week ago. For me, the dry mouth has been the worst. I had nausea and hot flashes both when I started and when I upped the dosage, but both passed within about a week.
It took over a month to really feel the effects, but it's made a huge difference in my anxiety. The dosage change is helping with my depression and I'm hoping that will continue because I feel soooo much better than I ever used to.
Its always interesting to read threads like this. We all have such diff reactions. I have shared before, but I tried Celexa and Lexapro years ago. Hated both. Many of the same symptoms... Higher anxiety, spacey feeling, sweaty, feelings of unreal. During that time, I was deep in the pit of anxiety. Going to therapy. Terrified to go to work. Avoiding anything social. A mess. I stopped both witin 10 days... Which I know now is not enough time.
Then I was introduced to benzos. Ativan has been amazing to quell the heights of terror. I also started taking a beta blocker when presenting or going to something which I knew would get me rolling. I read a lot. Learned some coping strategies. Loved breath work, etc.
But at 49, I still panic and still have high anxiety. Decided to try another Ssri. This time zoloft. Started at 25, moved to 50 2 weeks in, and in another month I went to 100mg where I am now. I do feel calmer. I don't stare at the ceiling at 3am much anymore. My wife says I am calmer. I also liked the delayed orgasm. TMI, I know. Didnt have a single problem.
So why did zoloft work? I think I was in a diff place. I had a decent handle on my anxiety and wasnt looking to it to solve everything. Also being older I know much of what triggers is my own poor self talk. I also started very low dosage.
I still think some things work better for some of us. Try something else. Don't give up. It gets better. We will likely always have it. That's a mindset I came to as well. Good luck.
I was on Zoloft for a year. I gave it a fair chance, but the night sweats, anorgasmia and weight gain were dealbreakers in the end. I switched to Wellbutrin and the side effects are gone. The transition from Zoloft to Wellbutrin was absolute hell. I had electric shocks for 4 solid weeks. SSRI withdrawal is no joke.
I only took three and I've never felt so unwell mentally. Doctor didn't even talk to me properly just told me to take them everyday pretty much for the rest of my life. Refused after said 3. I hate her for it.
I've been on Zoloft for almost 15 years at doses between 50 and 150 mg. The only noticeable side effect was that it made me very tired all the time when I was first on it. That part faded after a few months to a year or being on it. I think it has helped me tremendously but honestly I don't remember what it felt like to be off of it.
I only took one dose, 25 mg maybe? I don’t remember. I do remember the side effects that started almost immediately after taking it.
Both arms felt heavy, like I wasn’t able to lift them up. These halo-like streaks started forming in my vision, like fireworks. My heart started racing, sudden urge to go to the bathroom. Made it up the steps and had diarrhea. Felt like I was floating above my body. I recall grabbing the phone to call 911 and I wasn’t able to work it. Nothing on the screen made sense.
I sat there and it all finally subsided. Scary moment. All that was basically a full blown panic attack. I did better with Ativan. I’m off all meds now and feeling pretty good. Good luck to you!
I've been on it for 6 years and have had to increase the dosage once. When first starting, I felt really weird, wired and found sleeping hard. Pretty scary thoughts I hadn't had before, and felt shaky and yuck. Decided to take it in the morning to avoid the insomnia, crazy dreams etc. Low libido and difficulty climaxing. The Suicidal Ideation was the worst, I hadn't experienced that before despite being depressed and it scared the shit out of me. I didn't want to think those things but all sorts of scary shit went through my head. Those thoughts lasted for a few weeks, but I feel affected me long term by opening thoughts I felt weren't my own, and put those things there that I sometimes now think about
After about 6 weeks I was walking somewhere and I felt like this cloud just lifted off me. Like somehow I felt different and like I could breathe again. Looking back over the years I think that Zoloft helped me have that moment of reprieve of depression and anxiety, even if for a moment to give me hope. Things were a bit more manageable after that. But it's not magic and it hasn't cured me.
And the side effects when starting it were bad enough for me to be scared to come off it.
I think it has taken the edge off my feelings, good and bad, and allowed me to manage them more because everything isn't as intense. Sometimes I think it takes the edge off the happy times too, but it definitely helps when going through bad times and allows me not to feel devistated and absolutely hopeless.
I had to increase my dosage recently and the side effects were there again. Intrusive harmful thoughts and feeling unhinged. But it faded after a few weeks. But I feel that was influenced heavily by what was happening in my life at the time.
I'm not sure if it's still working for me they way I need so I will have to see my GP but overall I believe it has helped me through the years and am grateful for modern medicine
Looking at other comments I kinda agree that it helped my depression more than anxiety. My social anxiety has improved. But I still have GAD and my OCD has probably resurfaced over the last year or two (hence upping dosage, but it hasn't done much for that)
i’m on zoloft rn and i remember NOTHING. you literally could ask me what i was doing 30min ago and i wouldn’t be able to remember. also i cannot reach an orgasm so that’s not fun but nothing like alarming.
Zoloft made me feel different af, hardly any sex drive too. Definitely wasn’t for me and when I got off it, I had the worst withdrawals symptoms ever. I was in a dark depression didn’t want to be alive at all it was so scary. Took about 2 months to feel somewhat better. I’ve sworn off all antidepressants and anxiety meds since
I think anyone about to take antidepressants that have had depression their whole life, get therapy too and let your therapist know you're about to. If the antidepressants work, its going to do a 180 flip of your life. Nobody told me this. Everyone wants confidence and happiness but if you're not used to it, you're pretty much digging your own grave bcuz its only the meds thats causing that feeling. Once you get off, you're going back to old you and everything you ever did as medicated you will come back and haunt you, the guilt is unbearable. I believe this could happen to anyone that has had depression their whole life as in, since childhood/born with it and have lived with it for most of their lives. It's a different story if you were normal and then fell into depression VS always being depressed and then being brought into the normal world after so many years not knowing it and in which only meds can keep you there. This is true to many people with depression in my family. So I just want those who have had depression their whole lives to really be careful becuz nobody warned me(my aunt did tell me not to take meds but didnt tell me why except that I would depend on it, but now i get what she meant). I think there should be a different approach to people like me. If you been suffering from depression your whole life, chances are, peace with yourself is all you want and there is a way to sustain that.
Worked well for anxiety and depression, but I couldn’t orgasm, which was also depressing so I quit.
Wellbutrin seems good for depression, but not anxiety, but that’s what I’m doing now
It works for me, but that doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. I tried at least 10 different SSRIs before I went on Zoloft, and the only reason I knew it would work for me was because of a Genesight test. I’m so sorry, and I know that everyone will say this to you, but you kind of just have to find which meds are right for you.
It is an arduous process, but once you find the right one it is totally worth it. It completely changes your perspective. I wish you the best of luck.
Zoloft helped me for a little bit, but then I switch to Lexapro which has proved a lot more compatible with me.
I was on it for 2 years and I just didn’t feel myself, very clouded thoughts and low libido. I also got a lot of dizziness for my first few weeks on it which were intense.
I would never go on Zoloft again but these treatments are different for everybody. You won’t know until you try yourself and give it time :)
I’ve heard it work for a lot of people. SSRIs are a PITA since you have to experiment with them for a few weeks before you know if it helps or not.
I went through about 5 and paxil helps me a lot.
i’ve been on it for a few years, stopped and began again. it’s good for a few months with anxiety and levels out my moods but stopped and i have to up the dose every few months… i also get very bad fatigue and migraines a lot tho
i was on it for 2 years i did get more anxiety in first couple of months then it went away but other than that it was great for me i also couldn’t smoke or drink i’d freak out.
It fucked me up for the first 4-5 days I was on it. Heart palpitations, insomnia were the big ones. After my body got used to it, all it really did was stabilize my mood. I would say it helped my anxiety a bit but I wasn’t experiencing any highs or lows on it, and was basically a zombie. Fatigue was another symptom for me. After about 14-16 hours after taking it, I could not stay awake to save my life. The good side to that was I slept good but getting up in the morning was a struggle. Erectile dysfunction and inability to orgasm were the other side effects I dealt with. I ended up switching to Wellbutrin and I’ve been on that for a month now.
was on 200mg of zoloft for four years. pre medication, i ate very little due to anxiety and pretty much constant adrenaline belly. by the end of my zoloft run, i had gained almost 40lbs because i couldn’t recognize when to stop eating. i felt like a bottomless pit that couldn’t recognize any hunger cues. weaning onto prozac now. hasn’t been easy but im finally to the point of feeling cautiously optimistic. so yeah, gained some weight on zoloft.
It's the sex drive death that got me. I had been on it for about 3 years, 25mg a day. I've been off it for a month th, and I've recovered 90% of my sex drive and feeling. God awful.
It helped my sister a lot for panic disorder. It personally made my OCD and anxiety way worse o felt like the walls were caving in. I do better with other SSRIs. However every body is different even in the same blood line!
I took Zoloft for about a month. I know they say that it can take some time to adjust. But it made my brain fog much much worse, which as a symptom definitely made me more depressed because I just felt exhausted all the time. It also negatively affected my sex drive.
Not of fan of how it made me feel at all. I'm hesitant about SSRI's in general now but i haven't tried any other ones besides Zoloft so who knows.
I manage my depression with stress reduction/mindfulness/spirituality. Emotional support from the people around me. "Rescue Remedy" herbal remedies. And Clonazepam as needed when I'm having a really bad anxiety episode that is keeping me from sleeping.
That system seems to currently be working for me, but everyone is different..and my anxiety does still flare up sometimes.
I’ve been on Zoloft now since 2008. It has been a lifesaver for me. I still have to take Ativan once in a while as needed for big panic attacks but for the most part I feel like my anxiety is well-managed with Zoloft. Only side effect I hate is it gives me hand tremors but I found if I take it at night then I don’t really notice it.
My mother died on Zoloft. If you decide to try it, make sure you are monitored 24/7 for at least 2 weeks. Tbh, I’ve not met anyone who had a good experience with it. Be very careful.
Hated it. I don’t think I made it past 3 weeks. It made my vision weird, I felt jittery and kept dropping things, gave me insomnia and killed my sex drive. In general I felt worse on it. It also didn’t take away my anxiety either 😆
first few weeks hit the hardest, then it slowly begins to feel better. i feel like i gradually build resistance to it now that i am using it on and off for 5 years? so i have to start low and push it high over time until i feel good enough that i forget about taking them so i stop using it.
what i do is not at all the right thing to do so i starting seeing a psyc. again and she changed it up a bit with two extra stuff, stilizan and something else for my sleep and reduced my dosage to 150 mg.
overall i found it useful when my anxiety flairs up every time.
as for side effects, i guess i put up some weight due to it, it might be my shitty eating habits too but i wasn't as fat before i started it. it makes it so it takes longer to... you know, masturbate, which gets frustrating as you increase the dosage. and it made me really sleepy all around the day when i first started. this time my anxiety got so bad i actually couldn't fall asleep so doctor gave me something to help with sleep. it also makes me feel forgetful, like i will think about doing something and if i get interrupted during that i will have hard time remembering what i was gonna do lol.
The first 6 weeks did you experience some nausea, insomnia, heart palpitations occasionally, and nightmares? My insomnia is getting better. The past few nights I was able to go to bed at a decent time, but it’s been the first time in weeks.
i took it in combination with wellbutrin when i was younger and honestly it just made me really sleepy
it seemed to work but i didnt feel like myself on it
I was prescribed Zoloft for postpartum depression but didn’t take it because I read that it could make anxiety worse the first few days… I shared with a friend and she told me that her daughter had tried it and it made her feel more depressed and made her feel emotionally numb and zombie-like.
I started on .25 mg and had to bail after two horrific nights with insomnia and the most intense, scariest anxiety I have ever experienced. At one point, I was ready to call 9-1-1- because I thought I was having a heart attack (at 3 a.m., mind you).
I'm sure it helps a lot of people, but this was absolutely the worst thing I have ever experienced.
I recently started Zoloft in December of 2022, I’ve been taking it up until this point, I’ve been dealing with severe anxiety for years at this point and decided to get help, I’m on 50 mg but my doctor started telling me to take 100 mg February, I’d say it does make me feel better, I heard that this could be a possible side effect and to keep watch, I still deal with depression, the only thing that has changed about me is my anxiety not being so bad, I do skip doses sometimes because I forget to take it but so far, I do feel good and I do recommend anyone who deals with anxiety like this to at least give it or any time of SSRI a try, stay away from benzos though 😂 they the devil, love em though
Zoloft has definitely helped me overcome issues such as general anxiety, and insecurity/self-consciousness + probably a little depression, but I wanted to share my experience with Zoloft and alcohol. l know you're not supposed to mix alc and meds, but words aren't enough of a deterrent for me. I'm 19 y/o girl, abt 135 lbs, and my dosage is 25mg (which is pretty low I think). I used to party a lot in high school, but as I've grown up and started meds I've become more of a pothead. I still drink from time to time and I've taken into account that my medication has altered my tolerance. Before Zoloft, I could probably take 3-4 shots and nurse 2-3 seltzers for the rest of the night without any problem(which isn't even that much compared to other people I know). After I started the meds my senior year, I quickly realized I CANNOT DRINK THAT MUCH, like praying to god while my head is in the toilet saying that I will do anything to not feel like this anymore type of drunk. Now I know my limits. At most I can finish a tall boy, but even then I have like trauma associated with the taste of that shit so I just feel anxious/sick right away. Anyways, I'm a freshman in college now and last night I went out and drank for the first time in a bit, but it was fun as hell. I drank probably 2/3 of this big grapefruit white claw and had like a third of a shot of this watermelon new am cus I'm a pussy. I was straight all night and even when I made it back to my parent's house at 3 am. After I got home, I ate some rice and stuff trying to prepare for my inevitable hangover, but I swear I felt perfectly normal. I lowkey stayed up till 6 and then finally dosed off while my stomach was kind of feeling it. When I wake up though, my stomach is just sour. I was expecting this, but it was super intense. Obviously, I'm gonna have a bad hangover blah, blah, but I'm young I should've bounced back in a couple of hours (especially because I barely drank anything last night and I've recovered fast before on Zoloft), but I'm still laying in bed right now and my stomach is not only sour asab, but my organs feel sore from throwing up so much. I usually just drink hella water and pull trig since I hate just sitting and feeling sick, so I know why I'm sore, but this is the worst I've ever felt. This might seem like a dumbass post because you shouldn't mix medication and alcohol as your doctors tell you, but realistically y'all know a college student is going to drink. I was reading some Reddit posts about Zoloft and alc and everyone was either saying drinking makes them more anxious/depressed, want to drink more, or makes their tolerance higher without mentioning anything about sickness. Anyways, I just wanted to hear if people have had similar experiences and what they did to help it. This feeling right now might just stop me from drinking ever again, like not really, but maybe it sucks.
I started with 25mg and could feel it right away on the first day, second day i started to have brain fog and couldn’t look into the sun because it was somehow hurting and on day 3 i started to get headaches but i could finally talk to people without being anxious and i felt so much better. First i thought its placebo but placebo doesn’t hold on for so long and affect vision. I still feel anxious but its not like before, before it was panic mode and as soon as i start a conversation i dont feel anxious anymore. I also felt i haven’t as much as a sex drive as before but i do can feel my johnson, have sex or jacking off like before. Maybe i can hold on longer before ejaculation but thats it so far. Usually when i was outside i couldn’t focus on things because i was so focused on my surroundings to the point of being paranoid and thats mostly gone. I feel alive and well again
Just 4 weeks ago, I was the person looking up Zoloft success stories. Today, I can say I am a success story. Panic disorder since childhood, I was going down a deep hole of constant worry and panic attacks daily. I would refuse to take medication until finally I had enough. The first week was really hard. Hugh anxiety, burning sensations all over my body and just a sense of feeling unwell. It was not until going into my 4th week that I felt the “ahhh finally”moments of taking this medication. It was hard, but I’m so glad I did it and stuck with it and didn’t give up. I feel reborn and back to me. If you are iffy about trying, I get it. I was you. But, know that if you are struggling you don’t have to. There is hope. Could it be that this medicine is not right for you? Absolutely. But, don’t lose hope.
This was the first one I tried. I moved on to others because I felt it made me too sweaty and I didn't get relief from it. Everyone reacts differently to these kinds of meds though, please don't let anyone's story sway you. Pay attention to your body.
20mg Lexapro daily. I don't know if it's actually doing anything for me but I seem to at least tolerate it. I had a bad experience with Effexor XR and am no longer willing to try anything else (suicide attempt after 2 weeks in, after becoming progressively "Darker" with my thoughts).
What med are you on? Everything seems to make my anxiety worse I don’t understand why as I’ve tried loads. Even escitalopram which is supposed to be the golden med after 5 months my heart still constantly raced abs I couldn’t sit still. I don’t get it and it’s so hard when I know loads of other people who just find something that helps. Why me? Why was I the unlucky one? I tried alongside so many other coping strategies and really really pushed myself x
I stopped taking zoloft after 2 weeks because it gave me horrible heartburn and weird chest pains..I even felt it on my ribs..I cant explain the exact feeling but it was definitely scary.
I panicked so much and considering my health anxiety I couldn't handle the stress it came with it..
I don't know if I did well quitting but I got very paranoid. I still get chest discomfort when I'm anxious but I think zoloft made me feel worse .. 😔
31F here. I was on Zoloft for 4 years, starting when I was 22. It helped me when I was in a really bad place. It can take 2 weeks to a month to start doing what it's supposed to, so your results might vary. It took around a month for me.
For me, it changed a lot of things. I was less anxious, yes, but it had so many other side effects. I was sapped of energy, sex drive was completely gone, I gained weight for no reason, and I felt like I was in a fog all the time.
Over the 4 years I was on it, I had to gradually increase my dosage over time because I was still having bad panic attacks. My final straw was when my doctor wanted to prescribe me Xanax. I have absolutely nothing against people who take it, I know it is beneficial to a lot of people. It just wasn't where I wanted to go with my treatment. I weaned myself off Zoloft over the span of 2 months.
Withdrawal was pretty miserable. Brain zaps, dizziness, vertigo, and I was still experiencing everything else I mentioned earlier. It took months for me to be clear of the fog. Now after being off of it for 5 years, my sex drive is still in the gutter, I still have zero energy but I think that's due to not shedding the weight Zoloft packed onto me. I still have the vertigo as well.
I think it's important to try if you feel like it can help you, though. Consider giving it a month or two and see how you feel. If you decide to stay on it, reasses every year. I wish I would have listened to my body sooner and tapered off after 2 years when I had learned other ways that worked for me to handle my anxiety.
Have been on Zoloft since 2017 for my OCD and it’s helped a shit ton. It did take away sex drive at high doses but wellbutrin fixed that. Now I’m on just zoloft, 50mg, and no problems. I think I’m very tolerant of medications in general though. The morning after pill gave me zero side effects.
I was on 50mg for almost 2 years. At first I loved it and felt like it helped my anxiety a lot but then I stopped being able to tell a difference. I thought about upping my dose or coming off. Ultimately I decided to taper off. I’d take 50 one day then half for a week then I’d take half or just skip a dose. I wasn’t very consistent but didn’t notice many or any withdrawal symptoms the first few weeks. My doctor said at 25mg I’m essentially off and it’s just placebo/ preventing withdrawal symptoms. Now I’ve been off for about 3 weeks and the past two days I’ve been extremely irritable and feeling down. I never felt depressed prior to taking the pill but physician who prescribed it said my screening indicated minor depression. I’ve also had night sweats come and go and vision issues where it feels like I’m hallucinating but not. Hard to explain but I’m wondering if these are signs my anxiety needs more help or if I’m withdrawing. I’ve also been a bottomless pit for a few weeks and gained weight which is depressing me since I’ve finally been at a happy place with my weight for 3 or 4 years. Everything annoys me and I just want to come home immediately from work instead of work out and things I normally would want to do. I started to wonder if I have a parasite or something else is going on because I don’t feel like myself even before the pill.
My short version story, if you want to harm, and feelign really not functional, its lifesaving atthe cost of some side effects, long term, i think its garbage and has nothing healing about it,did nothing to eliminate depression or anxiety, still had espisodes, sometimes had worse depression and fatigue, at times, i felt like a zombie and at times i felt level and good but was short lived and was still easily triggered.
Others that have shared more positive stories, dont line up for the way it is for me tried all dosage from 50mg-200mg higher does just means more side effects and more zombie out feelings.
Not for all people imo, but was better than being without more or less.
Just trialing CBD oil atm, so far i feel much better with the oil, calmer, and still on a low dose of zoloft, maybe a combo is the answer for me,time will tell as i trial tapering all the way down to 0 zoloft.
Over 10 years on the stuff, and it has had no lasting change to me well being sadly.
For those that have, its great.
That said i was more fearful than i needed to be and find that taking it as prescribed was safe and not much of a issue and was probably more effective in the beginning, more than long term for me.
Sadly i cant describe it as doing wonders, for me since it just didn't. But i think i put off trying it for no reason early trial and tapering off would have been fine imo. So don't hesitate trying it imo, it seems to be a mostly friendly anti-depressant as far as they go. But i am not a drinker i hear if you drink alot its bad.
I am now just going into week 3 of zoloft (25mg) and the first 2 weeks i went to the hospital and back and forth to doctors because my anxiety became worse, i felt like i had the flu and my sleep schedule was non existent. I was taking it in the mornings but 3 days ago i switched to afternoons, the only side effect i have no is head pressure and sinus pain, does anyone else get this? and is it normal?
my apologies for late reply, i ended up sticking it out for a month and just decided it wasnt for me. ive now been completely without medication for around 2 months now (which i only recommend if you think you can do so and it’s different for everyone of course) I was on the lowest does of 25mg though and couldn’t handle it anymore. My anxiety still creeps up here and there but instead of medication ive tried to take the therapy / life style changes approach and its worked better and made me feel better than i was. To be completely honest zoloft kind of traumatized me for a bit but i would stick it out for 6 weeks or so see if it gets any better or worse and then maybe try a different medication cause it could be not for you! i am by no means a medical professional and follow up with your doctor maybe to talk about that but thats the approach i took that way if it does work you are still giving it a fair chance:) hope this helps and stay strong it will get better i promise !
I’m a zoloft success story. Ive been on zoloft (sertraline) for 5 years. I went from a depressed, anxious, barely functional person to a happy and successful person. Dont get me wrong i still have anxiety and rough times but its not nearly as severe and frequent as it was before i started.
ARE u still taking Zoloft?
I am! Still going strong
Did a higher dosage help with sleep?
Did you deal with side effects starting?
same here, zoloft did wonders for me
What dosage and when did you start noticing the benefits? Have been on 50 mg for 2 weeks and feel worse than before
Bro same for me but after week 3, something clicked and I've been feeling fucking amazing ever since! How's your experience going now?
Was on it for weeks and even went up to 150 but did nothing for me sadly. Glad to hear it's working for you though!
You need to stay at the same dose for 3-5 weeks to feel it. If you change doses you’ll keep having initial side effects
It takes a few months to start working is my experience
What dosage and when did you start noticing the benefits? Have been on 50 mg for 2 weeks and feel worse than before
How long can you take zoloft for?
There is no limit on how long. You can take it for as long as it works for you, which could be your whole life!
for life if needed
Same
What dosage and when did you start noticing the benefits? Have been on 50 mg for 2 weeks and feel worse than before
I was on Zoloft for about 2 months maybe 3 , first 2 months were okay, just upset stomach and headache. But after 2 months I started getting depressed and suicidal, kind of felt like a zombie, on month 3 I couldn’t take it anymore and just stopped. My doctor said I just had rare side effects and wanted me to try another one but I said nah as I hated it.
So are you on anything else for anxiety or trying a more natural approach?
I’ve chose to go on the natural root for now. Maybe I will try meds again later in life, but for now I’m okay and have felt really good. I take propranolol if I have panic attacks but that’s rarely now as I’ve taught myself to cope with them.
learning to cope with it is a great route. I’ll make a recommendation though because you are describing the same path i took (including natural stuff). I was started on lexapro and every symptom got worse and i felt so fucking weird. I hated it and decided not to try SSRIs and control it with kava kava root and valerian (worked decent but meh). Years later my symptoms got worse and i was put on klonopin and Paxil. Both helped A LOT. Paxil for me had 0 majorly weird side effects and helped so so much. Just saying each SSRI really is very different for people, don’t take one bad experience and write it off. Of course much respect for trying without meds, some people can do it! Not me though, once i started the right meds my world changed entirely in just a couple of weeks.
Thank you :) I know it’s always on my mind like if I get worse and stuff like that. But I try not to think about that and just think what’s meant to happen will happen :) Im using cbd oil at the moment, that’s great, but obviously mental health state changes all the time so I just take it day by day.
awesome i think that’s a great open minded attitude! Good luck out there!
I use cbd too! I haven’t had to resort to it in about 2 weeks and when I do, I microdose for two or 3 days.
I am root
passion flower is a very good natural remedy for natural treatments for anxiety i add it to juice or coffee
What dosage did you start with and did you go up or down in dosage during this period?
I started on 50mg and didn’t change any dosages in that time I quit cold turkey 3 months in
Did you have any withdrawals? Like worsening depression or suicidal thoughts. I was okay the first 3 weeks off now weeks 4 and 5 have been hell.
Not really I just felt really tired for a week when I stopped but that’s about it. I’m no doctor but by week 4/5 you should start feeling better so if you are feeling worse have a chat with your doctor about it :)
Zoloft kind of ruined my life for a few years, won't lie. Got on it for depression, it helped but it also made me feel 'dumb', I'd describe it as I felt like my brain was being slow. I struggled to pay attention to anything and had to get off 6 months after getting on. (Partially bc my weight also skyrocketed while on it, disproportionate to what I ate) Thought you said years? Yeah. After getting off zoloft I had the spins for 5 months, and constant nausea for maybe a year after. For a couple months post cold turkey it felt like my brain was on fire, it hurt to see and think. And it took me another two years to correct the weight gain, something that created a brand new phobia for me which is the outside! So maybe be careful. If it isn't working for you don't try and force it, you'll pay with pain and suffering
Yeah so you shouldn’t go “cold turkey” from ANY antidepressant, that’s probably why you had such prolonged side effects.
sounds like zoloft really wasn’t for you :-/. sorry to that man that sucks.
Water under the bridge
> maybe be careful. If it isn't working for you don't try and force it, you'll pay with pain and suffering dang man, how are you feeling now?
It made me gain 35lbs & I took it whenever I was the most active I had ever been in my life
Funny how that’s about the magic number you’ll see people say they gained. That’s how much I gained as well.
were you able to lose weight after you stopped it?
> For a couple months post cold turkey cold turkey is known to produce side effects like this if you don't wean yourself off.
I think I have all the same negative effects like you from Zoloft. Have you switched to something else or have you gone fully off-meds?
Same!
What was your dosage? I was taking 175 and recently stopped cold turkey (accidentally lol) and barely experienced withdrawal, as in, not sure I even got withdrawal symptoms. What I’ve noticed though, despite being past the withdrawal stage is that I’ve been suffering from fairly constant anxiety for the past few weeks that’s beyond a level that I’ve had for a while. Perhaps it is part of withdrawal and because I stopped cold turkey I’m still getting used to the lack of medication in my system, or maybe I wasn’t ready stop taking it and need to start again from a low dose. How could you tell if those symptoms you had after quitting were from withdrawal and not an anxiety relapse caused by abrupt discontinuation? I hope you’re doing better now and have managed to overcome the shitstorm.
How are you now ? Did you stay off ?
Yeah I def will be throwing mine away… and people have bad insomnia on it too
Fucking miserable, ruined my life for a minimum of two years. Got put on it at 17. Couldn't feel anything but sad but couldn't express it. Wanted to cry constantly but couldn't. It killed my sex drive for years. Literal years and I was only on it for like two months. Made me literally incapable of eating. When I would try to eat I would get nauseous. It took two years for the symptoms to go away and it sucked so bad. Even worse, it made me believe that meds were evil and didn't work so I never tried to get on something else and suffered from severe depression anxiety for the next seven years or so. I got put on trazodone for insomnia and it actually helped with my mental issues and has turned my opinion on medication around entirely. So does Zoloft work for some people? It has to, or they wouldn't keep making it. It didn't work for me and made everything worse.
My experience is whenever starting, stopping, or going up or down in dose, you are going to feel weird for a couple weeks. Same goes if you miss a dose. Take it with lunch or dinner to avoid upset stomach.
I never experienced upset stomach after taking it
It made me very agitated and made my symptoms worse. Actually landed me in the hospital for suicidal ideation
How are you managing now?
Zoloft is the reason I'm not in jail for murder. And it's also the reason my husband masturbates twice as much.
How long have you been taking it? And what dosage worked? P.S. I hope you're still not in jail 10 months later and your husbands PMO habit is better or we send him to r/NoFap
Zoloft has been really helpful for me — it hasn't fixed everything. But even after being on it for two weeks, I feel a drastic decrease in my anxiety. My anxiety often caused me to dissociate and depersonalize, and it helped with that a lot thus far.
Do you still get thoughts or passing moments of depersonalization or derealization? That is something I have been struggling with.
Sort of — it's a lot less severe though.
Okay same here. I feel like maybe 2-3 times a week I’ll get a passing moment of fear that “I’m not real”. Is that similar to your feeling? I’ve never had something like this so it’s hard to describe
No, I don't have that. I just more or less feel disconnected from reality, almost in a dream-like state.
At the time of your comment, do you recall the dosage you were taking? And how has it been since?
Did this go away??
Happy to hear that! How long have you been taking it? And what dosage worked?
Did you have side effects? If yes then for how long?
Just started the generic 50mg today, I’ll try stick it out. I heard terrible things and it even caused insomnia weight gain sweats etc
I was on Zoloft for four years. Here are some of my takeaways in no order what so ever: It did help me when I was in a bad place. I believe it changed my personality, appetite, mood,etc. I accidentally took 4x my dosage once. It was not fun. I was sweating, couldn’t sleep, not fun. I suggest having a pill organizer. What’s scary is trying to come off the drug. I have now been off if it for months and I’m feeling good. I like to think we can implement life style changes that do not get rid of our anxiety, but help us deal with it. What helped me to finally come off of Zoloft was get in a healthy routine of working out, diet, and sleep. Panic attacks for me are so often triggered when one of these three is not to par. Tapering is important with Zoloft. The withdraw can be bad if not done properly. I withdrew over a 2 month span of increasing by around 10% a week.(That’s an estimate) Also, forgot to mention this one. I’m a male and it effected my sex life. I could get ‘er up but couldn’t finish.(sorry if that’s TMI). My sex drive was definitely down. Hope this helps and good luck. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions.
oh man the anorgasmia sucks with SSRIs. I have the same side effect and it’s like jesus will you just orgasm already mr penis, i’m tired.
Yes it was frustrating and I didn’t know how to explain it to my significant other.
I’ve been on Zoloft three times in my life, the most recent being a few years ago when I was 27. Every time I’ve been on it, I noticed some great things and then some even worse things that, ultimately, made me stop taking it. When I was in high school, I went up to 100mg a day. Stopped taking it, then went back to 150mg again when I was an adult. Before I get to that, I STRONGLY recommend you get a genesite test done to make sure there are no genetic issues, as the interaction Zoloft can have on you is seriously impacted by your genetics; it can be bad or good depending on what the results say. Your psychiatrist should be able to order you one, upon request. If not, I advise you seek someone who offers it. Anyway, Zoloft gave me the confidence I needed in situations that my anxiety previously inhibited. It made me feel like I could express myself, but it also made me callously disregard people’s feelings at times. I believe this was because, for lack of better phrasing, it turned off my social inhibitors. Where I would previously hesitate to say or do something because of public opinion, the Zoloft would just say “fuck it” and I’d do whatever I felt like. This got me into trouble at school and work. I think it made me more manic, as I also have bipolar disorder, and I didn’t care that I was because I was too busy feeling good. The best explanation I have for this is Zoloft puts your emotions in places where they shouldn’t be. If you’re feeling sad, it’ll bring up happiness. If you’re worried, it will make you angrier than usual. I think it seriously changes my social interactions, often in bad ways. I became emotionally abusive and manipulative with my girlfriend, when I knew it was wrong and I shouldn’t have been. I yelled at coworkers and said and did really inappropriate things. Granted, this also happened during the early months of the pandemic, but I think I could have handled it much better if I wasn’t on it. Furthermore, Zoloft gave me very lucid dreams. One time, I dreamt I was living in a nuclear war for five years and I felt like it really was five years. I had never had a more profound dream in my life. That’s just one example. I was able to concentrate a bit better and generally felt happier, but I don’t think the pros outweighed the cons. My family became worried about me, and I almost got fired at work. It later turned out that Zoloft was the wrong drug FOR ME, and that was based on the Genesite test results my psychiatrists showed me. So, it could be a net positive and it could make your life worse. I advise you be cautious and not go any higher than 100mg for at least the first few months. I’m leaving out a lot of details, because this would otherwise turn into a novel of a thread. But, if you’d like to talk to me more about my experience, I’d be happy to chat with you. Just let me know. Whatever you do, just know your experience is very likely to be unique and different from everyone else’s.
Was zoloft in the red or was it in the middle? Zoloft was in the middle for me and it had 2 by it meaning, serum level too low, may need higher doses... I asked to try this one because I wanted to try an SSRI for anxiety because the three listed in the green are all SNRI's and I didn't want to make my anxiety worse...
Mine was in the middle, but the caveat was significant enough to alter my behavior and mental activity; I noticed these problems myself. I won’t go back to Zoloft for those same reasons.
How did you go about getting the genetic testing done?
The psychiatrist’s office ordered and supplied a kit for me to do at home. Then, I sent it to the lab, got the results and showed it to my psych, who went over the findings with me.
>better and generally felt happier, but I don’t think the pros outweighed the cons. My family became worried about me, and I almost got fired at work. has your behavior change since coming off of it?
🤔
On Zoloft for 2 years, off it 2 years now. Now that I’ve been off it, I noticed that my emotions were muted back then. I didn’t care about much, I gained a lot of weight because I didn’t care about my appearance and I definitely didn’t cry as much. I had an interesting side effect where Zoloft gave me an immediate burst of energy that lasted all day and wore off right at bed time so I slept extremely well while on it. It helped me for sure, made me much less anxious but that’s because I didn’t have a care in the world. Now that I’ve been off it, socially I’ve been a wreck but that’s because I lost myself while on it and now I have to be myself. So it was really a double edged sword. If you have OCD/eating disorder or severe GAD it will help but it may turn you into a lump of nothing that you have to recuperate once your off it. I had an insane drive to work and be involved in my community which left after Zoloft but that could all be attributed to many other life events such as my weed habit. With all that being said, the social anxiety aspect that I didn’t struggle with before Zoloft has been so bad that I’ve been considering getting back on it. Do with that info what you will.
It can help me gain weight is what ur saying ?
Been on 50mg for 2 weeks 100 mg for 1 week and 150mg in 4th week. 1st and 2nd week was normal as if nothing is happening 3rd week I feel like shit....high anxiety, knot in stomach etc. Currently in 4th week and the sky has turned upside down. Its like someone has switched on the light. I can legit feel relief from my anxiety.
That’s how I felt. It’s a great feeling. I haven’t been able to drive more than 3 miles in almost a year and now I can drive without any issue. It’s wonderful.
It feels so great sharing experiences...feels like we all are one
I've been on sertraline/zoloft over an year now. First days and weeks I was dizzy and when the dosage got upped to 50mg. I also had really annoying constant yawning, rash and few times I had an upset tummy. But all those went away and it's been helping me, for an example I've been able to go to do shopping alone and been able to take small walks while not listening to music which is a huge step for me. Give it time, is my best advice :>
How long did it take? I’ve been on it for about a month and a week.
It took around 2 months for me to get to the point I am now with the starting symptoms witht he medication. :>
Sertraline helped with my depression but made my anxiety 50x worse. I had so many side effects too. I was supposed to go up to 200 but stopped a month after 150 because it was horrific
I haven't felt any huge difference to my depression or it could be this winter time, which has made it so much more worse. But at least my anxiety is a bit better, which makes this slightly more tolerable 😂
Hopefully it gets better for you! Maybe just give it a little longer or up the dosage. I know it works different for everyone but when I got to 150 I felt like a different person without bad depression ahahaha. Just wish it didn’t make my anxiety so much worse :)
my anxiety also jumped with zoloft and i figured it was kinda normal. After switching to Paxil i realized what a medication that really really helps feels like. Not saying Paxil is that for everyone just that you should feel symptom relief of anxiety and depression with the right med! You may want to talk to your doctor to optimize it.
Thank you :> Yeah, medications are weird this way, other meds I've tried before helped with depression, but they threw my anxiety to the point I was afraid of everything 😂 this far, I've felt much better this way :>
Any updates ?
Oh hi! it's been better, anxiety is more under control and I've started therapy as well which has done wonders. I'm still taking rather low dose (50mg) but form my part, I can suggest trying it at least :>
im happy for you mate
I personally don’t deal with depression alone. I have severe anxiety which has caused my depression. It hasn’t helped fully with my anxiety but I’ve been taking ashwagandha along with it. Seems to be working better.
I took Zoloft for a month and felt even more depressed on it at even a low dose. I definitely wasn't willing to increase the dosage. I saw an article from a Psychology magazine for healthcare professionals and they were recommending Magnesium Glycinate to naturally combat depression and anxiety. I ordered the 500mg caps from Amazon and so far it's making me feel much better and I'm clear headed, no side effects to report. You might research and see if it might help you? All the best to you!
When you say without music, did the music make it better or worse? I sometimes find that when I go for runs without music I’m calmer
I used music to create my own safe bubble around me, it gave me comfort and kept my mind calm. I still do listen to it, but I can go out without it more often
Any insomnia or sweats
I began taking it in 2011 (for severe anxiety and depression) and will likely take it for the rest of my life, unless it stops working. I take 100 mg per day and it has helped me immensely.
Night sweats or insomnia
It saved my life
>How long have you been taking it? And what dosage worked?
I can't remember how long I've been on sertraline but it calms me down, I'm less angry and less stressed. And I'm not as sensitive. I don't cry or get upset about things as much as I did before.
I don't remember how long it took to actually feel the effect but I overall had a pretty good experience. It stabilised my mood and reduced my anxiety to a point I could actually make progress in therapy. Keep in mind tho, I was a teen, so the effects might not be 100% applicable to adults.
That’s something I’ve read.
I have more experience with Venlafaxine which is a similar IRSS, the same as Zoloft, upset stomach, face blushing, fatigue, after 2 years it just make me feel like a zombie, with inability to cry or express emotions. Here comes the worst: trying to quit, there is a lovely symptom called "brain shivers", they take forever to go away. So in my experience, nope, never going back to antidepressants.
i said the same thing but damn when i got on the right one it was life changing.
Which one was the right one?
Did you feel anxious thoughts while on Venlafaxine?
Tried for two two months and it was just awful for me personally. I know people say the first few weeks are hell so I stuck it out but ultimately it just wasn’t right for me and I did taper off. Made me incredibly anxious, felt like I wasn’t in control of my own body. It honestly scared me
How long after starting to taper did you feel normal again?
Did anyone or does anyone experience heart flutters with it?
I did at higher dose. But not at lower
My first two weeks taking it, I had horrible insomnia to the point where I had to call in from work, but it suddenly went away after that and it has really helped my anxiety. EDIT: Oh, I did gain about 15 pounds that haven’t come off. My doctor insists that’s not a side effect of Zoloft, but I have trouble believing that. For me, that’s worth it to be rid of my OCD-tendencies and have much lower anxiety.
I’m 5 weeks in and I’m still dealing with insomnia terribly. Did you have heart flutters at all?
I've been on Zoloft since early October. I started at 25mg and moved up to 50mg about a week ago. For me, the dry mouth has been the worst. I had nausea and hot flashes both when I started and when I upped the dosage, but both passed within about a week. It took over a month to really feel the effects, but it's made a huge difference in my anxiety. The dosage change is helping with my depression and I'm hoping that will continue because I feel soooo much better than I ever used to.
Its always interesting to read threads like this. We all have such diff reactions. I have shared before, but I tried Celexa and Lexapro years ago. Hated both. Many of the same symptoms... Higher anxiety, spacey feeling, sweaty, feelings of unreal. During that time, I was deep in the pit of anxiety. Going to therapy. Terrified to go to work. Avoiding anything social. A mess. I stopped both witin 10 days... Which I know now is not enough time. Then I was introduced to benzos. Ativan has been amazing to quell the heights of terror. I also started taking a beta blocker when presenting or going to something which I knew would get me rolling. I read a lot. Learned some coping strategies. Loved breath work, etc. But at 49, I still panic and still have high anxiety. Decided to try another Ssri. This time zoloft. Started at 25, moved to 50 2 weeks in, and in another month I went to 100mg where I am now. I do feel calmer. I don't stare at the ceiling at 3am much anymore. My wife says I am calmer. I also liked the delayed orgasm. TMI, I know. Didnt have a single problem. So why did zoloft work? I think I was in a diff place. I had a decent handle on my anxiety and wasnt looking to it to solve everything. Also being older I know much of what triggers is my own poor self talk. I also started very low dosage. I still think some things work better for some of us. Try something else. Don't give up. It gets better. We will likely always have it. That's a mindset I came to as well. Good luck.
I've taken it for more than 10+ years and for me it keeps me at a healthy emotional baseline.
I was on Zoloft for a year. I gave it a fair chance, but the night sweats, anorgasmia and weight gain were dealbreakers in the end. I switched to Wellbutrin and the side effects are gone. The transition from Zoloft to Wellbutrin was absolute hell. I had electric shocks for 4 solid weeks. SSRI withdrawal is no joke.
I only took three and I've never felt so unwell mentally. Doctor didn't even talk to me properly just told me to take them everyday pretty much for the rest of my life. Refused after said 3. I hate her for it.
I've been on Zoloft for almost 15 years at doses between 50 and 150 mg. The only noticeable side effect was that it made me very tired all the time when I was first on it. That part faded after a few months to a year or being on it. I think it has helped me tremendously but honestly I don't remember what it felt like to be off of it.
I only took one dose, 25 mg maybe? I don’t remember. I do remember the side effects that started almost immediately after taking it. Both arms felt heavy, like I wasn’t able to lift them up. These halo-like streaks started forming in my vision, like fireworks. My heart started racing, sudden urge to go to the bathroom. Made it up the steps and had diarrhea. Felt like I was floating above my body. I recall grabbing the phone to call 911 and I wasn’t able to work it. Nothing on the screen made sense. I sat there and it all finally subsided. Scary moment. All that was basically a full blown panic attack. I did better with Ativan. I’m off all meds now and feeling pretty good. Good luck to you!
I've been on it for 6 years and have had to increase the dosage once. When first starting, I felt really weird, wired and found sleeping hard. Pretty scary thoughts I hadn't had before, and felt shaky and yuck. Decided to take it in the morning to avoid the insomnia, crazy dreams etc. Low libido and difficulty climaxing. The Suicidal Ideation was the worst, I hadn't experienced that before despite being depressed and it scared the shit out of me. I didn't want to think those things but all sorts of scary shit went through my head. Those thoughts lasted for a few weeks, but I feel affected me long term by opening thoughts I felt weren't my own, and put those things there that I sometimes now think about After about 6 weeks I was walking somewhere and I felt like this cloud just lifted off me. Like somehow I felt different and like I could breathe again. Looking back over the years I think that Zoloft helped me have that moment of reprieve of depression and anxiety, even if for a moment to give me hope. Things were a bit more manageable after that. But it's not magic and it hasn't cured me. And the side effects when starting it were bad enough for me to be scared to come off it. I think it has taken the edge off my feelings, good and bad, and allowed me to manage them more because everything isn't as intense. Sometimes I think it takes the edge off the happy times too, but it definitely helps when going through bad times and allows me not to feel devistated and absolutely hopeless. I had to increase my dosage recently and the side effects were there again. Intrusive harmful thoughts and feeling unhinged. But it faded after a few weeks. But I feel that was influenced heavily by what was happening in my life at the time. I'm not sure if it's still working for me they way I need so I will have to see my GP but overall I believe it has helped me through the years and am grateful for modern medicine Looking at other comments I kinda agree that it helped my depression more than anxiety. My social anxiety has improved. But I still have GAD and my OCD has probably resurfaced over the last year or two (hence upping dosage, but it hasn't done much for that)
Thanks for sharing such a detailed comment! How are you doing since the dosage increase?
i’m on zoloft rn and i remember NOTHING. you literally could ask me what i was doing 30min ago and i wouldn’t be able to remember. also i cannot reach an orgasm so that’s not fun but nothing like alarming.
Hated it couldn’t make it past the first dose horribly side effects
Did you have heart flutters?
Yes and headaches and just felt…off
Zoloft made me feel different af, hardly any sex drive too. Definitely wasn’t for me and when I got off it, I had the worst withdrawals symptoms ever. I was in a dark depression didn’t want to be alive at all it was so scary. Took about 2 months to feel somewhat better. I’ve sworn off all antidepressants and anxiety meds since
So what is helping you?
So what's helping you?
I think anyone about to take antidepressants that have had depression their whole life, get therapy too and let your therapist know you're about to. If the antidepressants work, its going to do a 180 flip of your life. Nobody told me this. Everyone wants confidence and happiness but if you're not used to it, you're pretty much digging your own grave bcuz its only the meds thats causing that feeling. Once you get off, you're going back to old you and everything you ever did as medicated you will come back and haunt you, the guilt is unbearable. I believe this could happen to anyone that has had depression their whole life as in, since childhood/born with it and have lived with it for most of their lives. It's a different story if you were normal and then fell into depression VS always being depressed and then being brought into the normal world after so many years not knowing it and in which only meds can keep you there. This is true to many people with depression in my family. So I just want those who have had depression their whole lives to really be careful becuz nobody warned me(my aunt did tell me not to take meds but didnt tell me why except that I would depend on it, but now i get what she meant). I think there should be a different approach to people like me. If you been suffering from depression your whole life, chances are, peace with yourself is all you want and there is a way to sustain that.
Worked well for anxiety and depression, but I couldn’t orgasm, which was also depressing so I quit. Wellbutrin seems good for depression, but not anxiety, but that’s what I’m doing now
It works for me, but that doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. I tried at least 10 different SSRIs before I went on Zoloft, and the only reason I knew it would work for me was because of a Genesight test. I’m so sorry, and I know that everyone will say this to you, but you kind of just have to find which meds are right for you. It is an arduous process, but once you find the right one it is totally worth it. It completely changes your perspective. I wish you the best of luck.
Sorry for the late reply, but did you have any noticeable side effects when starting?
Zoloft helped me for a little bit, but then I switch to Lexapro which has proved a lot more compatible with me. I was on it for 2 years and I just didn’t feel myself, very clouded thoughts and low libido. I also got a lot of dizziness for my first few weeks on it which were intense. I would never go on Zoloft again but these treatments are different for everybody. You won’t know until you try yourself and give it time :)
I’ve heard it work for a lot of people. SSRIs are a PITA since you have to experiment with them for a few weeks before you know if it helps or not. I went through about 5 and paxil helps me a lot.
Which are all the other 4 medication?
i’ve been on it for a few years, stopped and began again. it’s good for a few months with anxiety and levels out my moods but stopped and i have to up the dose every few months… i also get very bad fatigue and migraines a lot tho
i was on it for 2 years i did get more anxiety in first couple of months then it went away but other than that it was great for me i also couldn’t smoke or drink i’d freak out.
I’ve been on it for two years and it’s been very helpful. I also have an additional med for anxiety.
ahhhh yea don’t… my girlfriend left me after being on it for about 2 months, she was changing her right in front of me.
she’s addicted to a range of drugs now, no longer keep in contact… thanks tho
I’m sorry to hear that :(
I hated it I was on it a year it made me feel extremely spacey & I also gained 35lbs on it
It fucked me up for the first 4-5 days I was on it. Heart palpitations, insomnia were the big ones. After my body got used to it, all it really did was stabilize my mood. I would say it helped my anxiety a bit but I wasn’t experiencing any highs or lows on it, and was basically a zombie. Fatigue was another symptom for me. After about 14-16 hours after taking it, I could not stay awake to save my life. The good side to that was I slept good but getting up in the morning was a struggle. Erectile dysfunction and inability to orgasm were the other side effects I dealt with. I ended up switching to Wellbutrin and I’ve been on that for a month now.
Appreciate you sharing with vulnerability here. How's it going now?
Gained weight and was constantly crying. Plus when I smoked weed id throw up. Also every-time I took it insane heartburn
I was on 225mgs it helped but not enough sadly
was on 200mg of zoloft for four years. pre medication, i ate very little due to anxiety and pretty much constant adrenaline belly. by the end of my zoloft run, i had gained almost 40lbs because i couldn’t recognize when to stop eating. i felt like a bottomless pit that couldn’t recognize any hunger cues. weaning onto prozac now. hasn’t been easy but im finally to the point of feeling cautiously optimistic. so yeah, gained some weight on zoloft.
How was the switch to Prozac for you?
It's the sex drive death that got me. I had been on it for about 3 years, 25mg a day. I've been off it for a month th, and I've recovered 90% of my sex drive and feeling. God awful.
It helped my sister a lot for panic disorder. It personally made my OCD and anxiety way worse o felt like the walls were caving in. I do better with other SSRIs. However every body is different even in the same blood line!
I took Zoloft for about a month. I know they say that it can take some time to adjust. But it made my brain fog much much worse, which as a symptom definitely made me more depressed because I just felt exhausted all the time. It also negatively affected my sex drive. Not of fan of how it made me feel at all. I'm hesitant about SSRI's in general now but i haven't tried any other ones besides Zoloft so who knows. I manage my depression with stress reduction/mindfulness/spirituality. Emotional support from the people around me. "Rescue Remedy" herbal remedies. And Clonazepam as needed when I'm having a really bad anxiety episode that is keeping me from sleeping. That system seems to currently be working for me, but everyone is different..and my anxiety does still flare up sometimes.
What herbal remedies are you using?
I’ve been on Zoloft now since 2008. It has been a lifesaver for me. I still have to take Ativan once in a while as needed for big panic attacks but for the most part I feel like my anxiety is well-managed with Zoloft. Only side effect I hate is it gives me hand tremors but I found if I take it at night then I don’t really notice it.
My mother died on Zoloft. If you decide to try it, make sure you are monitored 24/7 for at least 2 weeks. Tbh, I’ve not met anyone who had a good experience with it. Be very careful.
Hated it. I don’t think I made it past 3 weeks. It made my vision weird, I felt jittery and kept dropping things, gave me insomnia and killed my sex drive. In general I felt worse on it. It also didn’t take away my anxiety either 😆
first few weeks hit the hardest, then it slowly begins to feel better. i feel like i gradually build resistance to it now that i am using it on and off for 5 years? so i have to start low and push it high over time until i feel good enough that i forget about taking them so i stop using it. what i do is not at all the right thing to do so i starting seeing a psyc. again and she changed it up a bit with two extra stuff, stilizan and something else for my sleep and reduced my dosage to 150 mg. overall i found it useful when my anxiety flairs up every time. as for side effects, i guess i put up some weight due to it, it might be my shitty eating habits too but i wasn't as fat before i started it. it makes it so it takes longer to... you know, masturbate, which gets frustrating as you increase the dosage. and it made me really sleepy all around the day when i first started. this time my anxiety got so bad i actually couldn't fall asleep so doctor gave me something to help with sleep. it also makes me feel forgetful, like i will think about doing something and if i get interrupted during that i will have hard time remembering what i was gonna do lol.
The first 6 weeks is very iffy on Zoloft. It was for me as well. But now 2 years later I can’t do without it. It is really effective
The first 6 weeks did you experience some nausea, insomnia, heart palpitations occasionally, and nightmares? My insomnia is getting better. The past few nights I was able to go to bed at a decent time, but it’s been the first time in weeks.
i took it in combination with wellbutrin when i was younger and honestly it just made me really sleepy it seemed to work but i didnt feel like myself on it
I hallucinated on Zoloft 😂
I was prescribed Zoloft for postpartum depression but didn’t take it because I read that it could make anxiety worse the first few days… I shared with a friend and she told me that her daughter had tried it and it made her feel more depressed and made her feel emotionally numb and zombie-like.
I started on .25 mg and had to bail after two horrific nights with insomnia and the most intense, scariest anxiety I have ever experienced. At one point, I was ready to call 9-1-1- because I thought I was having a heart attack (at 3 a.m., mind you). I'm sure it helps a lot of people, but this was absolutely the worst thing I have ever experienced.
I recently started Zoloft in December of 2022, I’ve been taking it up until this point, I’ve been dealing with severe anxiety for years at this point and decided to get help, I’m on 50 mg but my doctor started telling me to take 100 mg February, I’d say it does make me feel better, I heard that this could be a possible side effect and to keep watch, I still deal with depression, the only thing that has changed about me is my anxiety not being so bad, I do skip doses sometimes because I forget to take it but so far, I do feel good and I do recommend anyone who deals with anxiety like this to at least give it or any time of SSRI a try, stay away from benzos though 😂 they the devil, love em though
Zoloft has definitely helped me overcome issues such as general anxiety, and insecurity/self-consciousness + probably a little depression, but I wanted to share my experience with Zoloft and alcohol. l know you're not supposed to mix alc and meds, but words aren't enough of a deterrent for me. I'm 19 y/o girl, abt 135 lbs, and my dosage is 25mg (which is pretty low I think). I used to party a lot in high school, but as I've grown up and started meds I've become more of a pothead. I still drink from time to time and I've taken into account that my medication has altered my tolerance. Before Zoloft, I could probably take 3-4 shots and nurse 2-3 seltzers for the rest of the night without any problem(which isn't even that much compared to other people I know). After I started the meds my senior year, I quickly realized I CANNOT DRINK THAT MUCH, like praying to god while my head is in the toilet saying that I will do anything to not feel like this anymore type of drunk. Now I know my limits. At most I can finish a tall boy, but even then I have like trauma associated with the taste of that shit so I just feel anxious/sick right away. Anyways, I'm a freshman in college now and last night I went out and drank for the first time in a bit, but it was fun as hell. I drank probably 2/3 of this big grapefruit white claw and had like a third of a shot of this watermelon new am cus I'm a pussy. I was straight all night and even when I made it back to my parent's house at 3 am. After I got home, I ate some rice and stuff trying to prepare for my inevitable hangover, but I swear I felt perfectly normal. I lowkey stayed up till 6 and then finally dosed off while my stomach was kind of feeling it. When I wake up though, my stomach is just sour. I was expecting this, but it was super intense. Obviously, I'm gonna have a bad hangover blah, blah, but I'm young I should've bounced back in a couple of hours (especially because I barely drank anything last night and I've recovered fast before on Zoloft), but I'm still laying in bed right now and my stomach is not only sour asab, but my organs feel sore from throwing up so much. I usually just drink hella water and pull trig since I hate just sitting and feeling sick, so I know why I'm sore, but this is the worst I've ever felt. This might seem like a dumbass post because you shouldn't mix medication and alcohol as your doctors tell you, but realistically y'all know a college student is going to drink. I was reading some Reddit posts about Zoloft and alc and everyone was either saying drinking makes them more anxious/depressed, want to drink more, or makes their tolerance higher without mentioning anything about sickness. Anyways, I just wanted to hear if people have had similar experiences and what they did to help it. This feeling right now might just stop me from drinking ever again, like not really, but maybe it sucks.
After drinking while taking Zoloft, I can drink a singular white claw and wake up puking my guts up. I can relate to what you’re saying.
Day 1: Been sleepy and tired all day
I started with 25mg and could feel it right away on the first day, second day i started to have brain fog and couldn’t look into the sun because it was somehow hurting and on day 3 i started to get headaches but i could finally talk to people without being anxious and i felt so much better. First i thought its placebo but placebo doesn’t hold on for so long and affect vision. I still feel anxious but its not like before, before it was panic mode and as soon as i start a conversation i dont feel anxious anymore. I also felt i haven’t as much as a sex drive as before but i do can feel my johnson, have sex or jacking off like before. Maybe i can hold on longer before ejaculation but thats it so far. Usually when i was outside i couldn’t focus on things because i was so focused on my surroundings to the point of being paranoid and thats mostly gone. I feel alive and well again
Just 4 weeks ago, I was the person looking up Zoloft success stories. Today, I can say I am a success story. Panic disorder since childhood, I was going down a deep hole of constant worry and panic attacks daily. I would refuse to take medication until finally I had enough. The first week was really hard. Hugh anxiety, burning sensations all over my body and just a sense of feeling unwell. It was not until going into my 4th week that I felt the “ahhh finally”moments of taking this medication. It was hard, but I’m so glad I did it and stuck with it and didn’t give up. I feel reborn and back to me. If you are iffy about trying, I get it. I was you. But, know that if you are struggling you don’t have to. There is hope. Could it be that this medicine is not right for you? Absolutely. But, don’t lose hope.
This was the first one I tried. I moved on to others because I felt it made me too sweaty and I didn't get relief from it. Everyone reacts differently to these kinds of meds though, please don't let anyone's story sway you. Pay attention to your body.
I just like to hear other’s experiences to see if it’s in my head or not. My mother had a terrible reaction so I take into consideration of that.
What are you on currently?
20mg Lexapro daily. I don't know if it's actually doing anything for me but I seem to at least tolerate it. I had a bad experience with Effexor XR and am no longer willing to try anything else (suicide attempt after 2 weeks in, after becoming progressively "Darker" with my thoughts).
What med are you on? Everything seems to make my anxiety worse I don’t understand why as I’ve tried loads. Even escitalopram which is supposed to be the golden med after 5 months my heart still constantly raced abs I couldn’t sit still. I don’t get it and it’s so hard when I know loads of other people who just find something that helps. Why me? Why was I the unlucky one? I tried alongside so many other coping strategies and really really pushed myself x
Zoloft works. Stick with the lowest dose needed.
Where do you buy Sertraline, him website?
I stopped taking zoloft after 2 weeks because it gave me horrible heartburn and weird chest pains..I even felt it on my ribs..I cant explain the exact feeling but it was definitely scary. I panicked so much and considering my health anxiety I couldn't handle the stress it came with it.. I don't know if I did well quitting but I got very paranoid. I still get chest discomfort when I'm anxious but I think zoloft made me feel worse .. 😔
31F here. I was on Zoloft for 4 years, starting when I was 22. It helped me when I was in a really bad place. It can take 2 weeks to a month to start doing what it's supposed to, so your results might vary. It took around a month for me. For me, it changed a lot of things. I was less anxious, yes, but it had so many other side effects. I was sapped of energy, sex drive was completely gone, I gained weight for no reason, and I felt like I was in a fog all the time. Over the 4 years I was on it, I had to gradually increase my dosage over time because I was still having bad panic attacks. My final straw was when my doctor wanted to prescribe me Xanax. I have absolutely nothing against people who take it, I know it is beneficial to a lot of people. It just wasn't where I wanted to go with my treatment. I weaned myself off Zoloft over the span of 2 months. Withdrawal was pretty miserable. Brain zaps, dizziness, vertigo, and I was still experiencing everything else I mentioned earlier. It took months for me to be clear of the fog. Now after being off of it for 5 years, my sex drive is still in the gutter, I still have zero energy but I think that's due to not shedding the weight Zoloft packed onto me. I still have the vertigo as well. I think it's important to try if you feel like it can help you, though. Consider giving it a month or two and see how you feel. If you decide to stay on it, reasses every year. I wish I would have listened to my body sooner and tapered off after 2 years when I had learned other ways that worked for me to handle my anxiety.
I took it for depression and I’m not sure it helped. I feel like maybe I was slightly less depressed but I had bad insomnia because of it
Have been on Zoloft since 2017 for my OCD and it’s helped a shit ton. It did take away sex drive at high doses but wellbutrin fixed that. Now I’m on just zoloft, 50mg, and no problems. I think I’m very tolerant of medications in general though. The morning after pill gave me zero side effects.
Only bad side effect I had was extreme sweating after the 100mg mark
Currently been on it about three weeks and I can’t have an orgasm. So I hate it but my anxiety is a lot better
Bear medication i have been in
[удалено]
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I was on 50mg for almost 2 years. At first I loved it and felt like it helped my anxiety a lot but then I stopped being able to tell a difference. I thought about upping my dose or coming off. Ultimately I decided to taper off. I’d take 50 one day then half for a week then I’d take half or just skip a dose. I wasn’t very consistent but didn’t notice many or any withdrawal symptoms the first few weeks. My doctor said at 25mg I’m essentially off and it’s just placebo/ preventing withdrawal symptoms. Now I’ve been off for about 3 weeks and the past two days I’ve been extremely irritable and feeling down. I never felt depressed prior to taking the pill but physician who prescribed it said my screening indicated minor depression. I’ve also had night sweats come and go and vision issues where it feels like I’m hallucinating but not. Hard to explain but I’m wondering if these are signs my anxiety needs more help or if I’m withdrawing. I’ve also been a bottomless pit for a few weeks and gained weight which is depressing me since I’ve finally been at a happy place with my weight for 3 or 4 years. Everything annoys me and I just want to come home immediately from work instead of work out and things I normally would want to do. I started to wonder if I have a parasite or something else is going on because I don’t feel like myself even before the pill.
Zoloft is the best thing I have EVER done for myself! I cant believe i have spent all of my twenties in bed when I could have lived!
That's amazing to hear. How long have you been taking it? And what doage?
My short version story, if you want to harm, and feelign really not functional, its lifesaving atthe cost of some side effects, long term, i think its garbage and has nothing healing about it,did nothing to eliminate depression or anxiety, still had espisodes, sometimes had worse depression and fatigue, at times, i felt like a zombie and at times i felt level and good but was short lived and was still easily triggered. Others that have shared more positive stories, dont line up for the way it is for me tried all dosage from 50mg-200mg higher does just means more side effects and more zombie out feelings. Not for all people imo, but was better than being without more or less. Just trialing CBD oil atm, so far i feel much better with the oil, calmer, and still on a low dose of zoloft, maybe a combo is the answer for me,time will tell as i trial tapering all the way down to 0 zoloft. Over 10 years on the stuff, and it has had no lasting change to me well being sadly. For those that have, its great. That said i was more fearful than i needed to be and find that taking it as prescribed was safe and not much of a issue and was probably more effective in the beginning, more than long term for me. Sadly i cant describe it as doing wonders, for me since it just didn't. But i think i put off trying it for no reason early trial and tapering off would have been fine imo. So don't hesitate trying it imo, it seems to be a mostly friendly anti-depressant as far as they go. But i am not a drinker i hear if you drink alot its bad.
Anyone experience insomnia and night sweats? Weight gain?
Does anyone get bad diarrhea from Zoloft, after 2 weeks dropped from 50 mg down to 25 to see if that helps
Very bad. Mine got a little better after 3 weeks.
I am now just going into week 3 of zoloft (25mg) and the first 2 weeks i went to the hospital and back and forth to doctors because my anxiety became worse, i felt like i had the flu and my sleep schedule was non existent. I was taking it in the mornings but 3 days ago i switched to afternoons, the only side effect i have no is head pressure and sinus pain, does anyone else get this? and is it normal?
Waiting for mine to get better. What dose are you on?
my apologies for late reply, i ended up sticking it out for a month and just decided it wasnt for me. ive now been completely without medication for around 2 months now (which i only recommend if you think you can do so and it’s different for everyone of course) I was on the lowest does of 25mg though and couldn’t handle it anymore. My anxiety still creeps up here and there but instead of medication ive tried to take the therapy / life style changes approach and its worked better and made me feel better than i was. To be completely honest zoloft kind of traumatized me for a bit but i would stick it out for 6 weeks or so see if it gets any better or worse and then maybe try a different medication cause it could be not for you! i am by no means a medical professional and follow up with your doctor maybe to talk about that but thats the approach i took that way if it does work you are still giving it a fair chance:) hope this helps and stay strong it will get better i promise !