do the side effects of zoloft outweight the benifits?

yeah i was able to work but i remember it makin me sleepy but only for a couple of days i was tried on others but they didnt agree with me but zoloft does if i feel my serotonins low & im dizzy i can take it (sometimes even a little extra) if its a stressful time i guess it just agrees cuz my mom & dad both take it it helps them with anxiety but it never worked 4 me as far as that goes so doc put me on klonopin everyone is so different but just tell ur doc how u feel & if an even lower dosage gives u side effects maybe ur allergic there r certain meds ive been tried on in inpatient like a guinea pig & they gave me bad side effects i explained how they made me feel to doc & he put me down as allergic i get plenty of regular exercise which naturally helps brain chems & mood i hope u find the rite thing 4 u

jpny ...

You wrote: "I guess as a 7 year vet of taking this you know best."

Actually, no ... I do not know best, nor do I consider myself a "vet" in any defintion of the word for having been on this medication for a *brief* seven years.

More likely than not, there are others here on the forums who have been taking this medication since its introduction to the public by Pfizer, Inc. back in 1991.

Additionally, the various medically trained individuals who frequent the Pysch Central website and corresponding forums, are more apt than myself to provide you with advice regarding Zoloft and the various medications that fall within the SSRI family.

Maybe you should seek their advice?

vertebrae

Hi J
What side effects did you read about? I have taken Zoloft for 15 years for ADD. And have had terrific results. It is the least mind altering of all the anxiety/anti depressants out there (pretty mild.) I started on 50mg and still take that amount.
It controls the release of seratonin on the brain. It doesn't add any.
And 75 % of seritonin in your body is used in the digestive tract.
So the first few weeks you will frequent the bathroom more.
This goes away as your body adjusts to it.
Your libido may be a bit low, but not gone. I'm not sure if your male or female, there are libido enhancers (viagra) for guys.
I now have spectacular dreams, am no longer obsessive or self conscious,
I can focus on reading (which was a first.)
I urge you to give Zoloft a try. I am very reluctant to take anything strong.
So it has to be low key. This drug made life easier for me.
Good luck Tricee

thanks for the vote of confidence! I met the him today and when I told him about how I was feeling...he said I was definatly having side effects of the meds. He suggested that I take half in the morning rather than whole at night...probably because I don't really sleep. (I'm lucky if I get a full 4 hours per night). I felt better after he told me that, of course there are always other factors that play into the equation. It's very difficult to open up to someone you don't know, especially when if comes to how you are feeling. It's too bad that there isn't an over night cure...then we would all be ok.

thanks for the advice.

Thanks!!!
I met with my pdoc today and told him about how I was feeling. He did give me a couple of options...to continue with the zoloft at a low dose and different time or try something new. He feels that this drug has the lowest side effects and thats why he chose it, so I told him that I would continue and cut the pills. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for your input! I guess right now I just have to put some kind of hope that this doc knows what he's doing is right for me.

Hi jpny! I'm glad you're feeling a bit better after your appointment and that you have a new plan! I think it sounds like a good idea to split the dose and I really hope that helps! Let us know!

So I don't really feel any different. The headache and dizziness are still a problem but at least my stomach doesn't hurt so much. I have had more anxiety with the pills then before. I has taken the week off so that I could be home and wouldn't have to be around anyone, but I don't think that it's going to be enough. I was never a big fan of crowds to begin with but now I'm incredibly self concious. I know that it's supposed to take up to a month for this to work...what are you supposed to do in the meantime? I feel like I can't function.

Hi jpny. I'm really sorry you're feeling worse. That sucks! Some people get a prescription for anti-anxiety medication to help them through the start-up phase of a new SSRI. I've never done that because the side effects I've had haven't been that bad. But that is one option to consider and you could ask your pdoc about that.

I really hope things improve. If not, there are definitely other medications you could try instead of Zoloft. But let's hope the Zoloft may yet bring you some relief

I think that at this point I'm just going to try to stick it out. Things haven't been so easy of course this doesn't help the situation any, but I'm all out of options.

i'm meeting with my t tomrrow...i hope that it will help... i could use a littl support!

wow this reminds me i keep forgettin to take my second zoloft a lot lately & ive had that feeling of low serotonin & also come to think ive been on it for about seven years & even took it while pregnant thanks to this post ive been reminded to take other dose also one time when i went to reg doc appt this young nurse was like "hmm zoloft ive never been a big fan of zoloft" i bit my tongue but i wanted to say ur job is to take my temp & bp oh well she was really young i guess she will figure out shes a well i dont even know if she was officially a nurse but shes whatever & not my doc & i couldve probably told the little girl more about ssri than she ever knew sorry for rant in a mood ok time for zoloft klonopin cigarette & bed goodnite

Good luck with your T tomorrow (((((((((jpny)))))))))

I'm still taking the pills eventhough they still don't agree with me. I really don't like feeling this way. I don't think that I want to continue with this, think it was a big mistake.

I'm really sorry that the Zoloft is making you feel so bad. How did you get on with your T?

I don't think that he gets it...he's the one who pushed me to go to the pdoc to get the meds saying that they would help, and it's not.
Aside from being drepressed...the anxitey, headaches, dizzyness and nausea it's causing more problems. Dispite all his 'experiance' I don't think he's helping much.

jpny ...

Don't give up on the medication route ... you've got to remember that one of the possiblilities of your depression / anxiety / emotional condition / whatever it may be, more likely than not, has roots either in brain chemistry or your physiology.

Just like a diabetic needs insulin in order to survive or a person whose kidneys fail to function properly and has to go to dialysis several times a week, your body needs that chemical / element that either it is not regulating properly or producing enough of.

Don't throw the gauntlet down on this jpny. Not at this stage of your treatment. If this med doesn't work out for you, well then, there are others which may be more agreeable to you. OK? Just dig down inside of yourself and hang in there.

Take care,

vertebrae

Thanks for your optimisim...but I just don't think that I can do it.
I saw my pdoc today and told him of all the problems I was having...he's lowering the dosage and wants me to consider another drug. I had a hard enough time trying this one I don't want to keep switching. They make me feel like some kind of lab rat being experimented on. I didn't want to take this in the first place but the pdoc and my T pushed me too. At this point I don't know if I trust either one of them...they seem to talk to each other more than they talk to me!

New here, this is my first post. I got a scrip for 50mg generic Zoloft last Friday and finally took my first one last night around 6. It's now 9am and I feel terrible. Super anxiety, panic attack when I first woke up. Definitely cutting back to 25. Hate feeling this way. I may hitch a ride on this thread for a while, I've read through it and found some supporting comments. Thanks.

The first day I took it at night and woke up with a panic attack. I've been on 50mg zoloft/sertaline for 11 days...as of yesterday my pdoc told me to cut the pills - making it 25mg. Today wasn't so bad except for a constant headache, but I still have to push myself to do things. Since I started taking the meds I've taken off from work since I had no way of knowing what this would do to me. I was scared to be around the people I work with while going through all this. I don't know if this will help you...but I hope that by cutting back you won't have the same troubles that I found I had.

How were you able to get through it all? I'm really struggling!

Thanks jpny, it helps to have someone to offer some encouragement. I'm really sorry that you are struggling, I think I know how you feel. I really hear you on the pushing yourself to do things. I used to be super active and now doing a load of laundry feels like a pilgrimage. I used to read a couple of books a week and now I can't really keep my thoughts straight enough to read at all.

I took 12.5 last night and I think I feel a little better now than I did yesterday morning. I wish I had a pdoc or someone to talk to about this instead of doing it through a family practitioner. I felt so bad yesterday that I couldn't force myself to go to the gym and I normally go five days a week. Haven't had an appetite for months during the day, I've lost over 50 pounds in the last year because I can only eat dinner if I have a glass of wine or a drink to calm down.

I used to take effexor and then lexapro but didn't really seem to feel any relief from either as far as the anxiety goes so I weaned myself off and haven't taken anything for over a year. I'm wondering if the generic zoloft is going to help or if prozac would be a better choice.

I think that it's a good thing that your doc put you on a low dose to start out. I wish mine had thought about it! Since I've been cutting back to 25mg the side effects have decreased. The anxiety is still bothersome, but I can work with it and I still get the headaches...but they are totaly different.
I still can't sleep, I take a combo of otc things to helps sleep. It's been the only way I can get any rest.
I go back to work on Monday...not really looking forward to it after being out - plus I haven't been to work since I started taking zoloft. I'm nervious and a bit petrified!

That's the thing, the GP didn't say anything about cutting back, I just knew that I couldn't handle the full 50 to start. Woke up about 4 am last night, couldn't get back to sleep but other than that, I don't think I'm experiencing any side effects other than elevated anxiety, had to take .25 alprazolam around 10am yesterday and another .25 at 6pm which really helped. You might consider asking your doc for some to help with the anxiety until the zoloft starts working.