[hopeless85]

The doctor finally has prescribed 25mg of generic zoloft for my 20 yr. old son who has been seeing a therapist. He was holding off due to my sons alcohol use, which seems to have stopped now.
I am looking for feedback on this generic. I am worried about the side effects esp the sexual ones because if that part gets messed up he is likely to stop taking the pills.
I worry about him turning 21 and drinking while on this medication.

I worry about the weight gain because he has been on lexapro and has gained weight also.

I guess I am worried but I know he needs help because he is not happy. Does nothing except smoke weed and sits in his room. He goes to college and has good grades but talks to no one and hangs out with no one.

[Keyslost]

My sis takes generic and it's worked really well for her. But she also opened up to me so maybe he needs to open up to someone in the fam as well? As far as the sexual SE, from what I've heard, it's possible it won't happen but I understand the concern there. Wish I could help more than that I hope it works out

[hopeless85]

Thank you Keyslost. He is seeing a therapist as well. He won't open up to anyone in the family. Kind of has pushed us away. He rarely even sits at the table with us. I pray the meds work and he becomes the young man I raised. I am very fearful of when he turns 21 in a few months because it says you can't drink alcohol and take the medication.

[barelycoping16]

In re: to the alcohol and generic Zoloft. I took that for quite a while. I'm not a big drinker by any means but do drink a glass here and there or occasionally have a beer. I did this while on the Zoloft. I think that mixing the two impairs you quicker but it is not harmful per say.

[pinkflower17]

Originally Posted by hopeless85

The doctor finally has prescribed 25mg of generic zoloft for my 20 yr. old son who has been seeing a therapist. He was holding off due to my sons alcohol use, which seems to have stopped now.
I am looking for feedback on this generic. I am worried about the side effects esp the sexual ones because if that part gets messed up he is likely to stop taking the pills.
I worry about him turning 21 and drinking while on this medication.

I worry about the weight gain because he has been on lexapro and has gained weight also.

I guess I am worried but I know he needs help because he is not happy. Does nothing except smoke weed and sits in his room. He goes to college and has good grades but talks to no one and hangs out with no one.

Regarding drinking and any of the SSRIs, including Zoloft, alcohol is a depressant. You combine a depressant with someone who's already depressed and it's likely going to worsen their depression, regardless of meds. The chemical receptors that the anti-depressants effect and the ones alcohol effect are not at all related (except maybe both being in the brain), so drinking with Zoloft just lowers the chance of it being successful because it has more "depressive" chemical changes to overcome. and more neurotransmitters are affected.

The sexual side effects with any SSRI are often significant and Zoloft is no different. It's possible he'll escape this side effect, but it's more likely it's something he'll either have to chose to deal, switch to something else, or augment with something else. There are some techniques some people use regarding timing of meds in order to diminish this effect, but it can be kind of hard to figure out and I don't know off the top of my head if this works with Zoloft. PM me if you want more info on this.

Zoloft is slightly weight positive for most people, meaning some people gain no weight, while most gain a small amount. Very, very few gain a significant amount. There are more weight neutral or weight negative meds out there if this is a significant concern.

There's a lot of controversy among this topic, especially among people with mental illness, but greater than 90% of the recent data suggests that marijuana exacerbates depression. If it's something he could quit or at least decrease in use, it may help him feel better.

He does sound like he's depressed. Have you tried encouraging study groups, maybe joining a campus club or organization or club sport? Something to get him involved in something and somewhere to meet people? People usually feel better when they have some kind of social interaction, a good support network and a reason to get up in the morning.

Good luck. You're a good parent. It's nice to see someone care so much about their child. Feel free to post anytime with any further questions, or PM me anytime. Take care.

[Ocean5]

Just to warn you. I've read with Zoloft alcohol cravings can go up.

[hopeless85]

Thank you pinkflower17! I may have more questions for you then. Ocean 5- I read that too and I am worried sick over that. He literally was heading towards being an alcoholic. He would drink 24 cans in a 12 hour period and would be horrible. He has stopped drinking for about 2 weeks. Prior to that he had been cutting down. I am scared that it will make him crave it. The therapist he sees I also have been seeing because I need to have tools to deal with him. Due to confidentiality, he does not share with me anything my son says but does answer my general ?'s about the meds and side effects and how I am to react if my son seems off. I have an appoitment to see him this week and this is one of my questions for him.

I wish he could give up weed. I am hoping that if the zoloft makes him feel better he won't feel the need to smoke weed. The therapist felt that he would not want to drink because he would feel better as well. I hope this med works this time. He used to be this funny young man who would spend time with his family. Now all he does is sit in his room. His personal hygiene is not good and he does not bathe like he should. I can't understand him at all. I hope he soon turns around. It is heartbreaking watching him. He does nothing at college except go to class and then comes home. He doesn't have any friends there that he hangs with or goes to eat with. Spends all his time alone. He was living in an apartment alone but got so depressed there that he now commutes.

[Danny Leary]

While I'd never recommend mixing alcohol with any meds, alcohol seems to be relatively safe with Zoloft. I'm surprised the doctor was so worried about mixing Zoloft with alcohol, as I was prescribed Zoloft by a doctor at an alcohol dependency clinic and they expressed minimal concern. Sounds like you have an overly cautious doctor.

Alcohol may prevent the Zoloft from working properly, but the side effects are rarely severe. I have taken alcohol with Zoloft in the past... with me, it dulled the buzz of alcohol, that's about it. Zoloft did not increase cravings with me, but I don't discredit the possibility of that being true for some people.

Sexual side effects are a problem that's likely to happen, sometimes they are negligible at lower doses but the higher you go, the worse they get. Onset of sexual problems often takes a few weeks to appear. Weight gain is also possible, but every person seems to respond differently in that regard.

Too much weed is a terrible thing for motivation, and I certainly do not think that weed is harmless like some folks, but that 90% of recent data shows marijuana exacerbates depression quote is completely unfounded and I'm highly doubtful that it's true. In fact, a lot of the new data out there shows the opposite. I know people first hand that smoke it responsibly and it seems to help them. That being said, it does sound like your son is smoking more than he should, but I wouldn't lose sleep at night over it. He's certainly better off smoking weed than he is drinking alcohol, and if it helps him stay away from alcohol then that isn't a bad thing.

[Sinking Feeling]

I took generic too, it worked great the first two times I was on it but each time it just stopped working after a few months so I would stop taking them. The last time I tried taking them it was like a acid trip, really bad. I tried to wait it out but had to stop after just one week it was too much for me. I heard sounds, noises, voices, felt paranoid, I was jumpy anxious, and sensitive to light and sound. It also made me feel outside of myself too. It was like a bad acid trip.

But every time I took it it was always weight nutrual for me. When it works it works good! But the last time scared the hell out of me and I had to stop, I am bipolar so that may have some thing to do with it too.

[pinkflower17]

Originally Posted by Danny Leary

While I'd never recommend mixing alcohol with any meds, alcohol seems to be relatively safe with Zoloft. I'm surprised the doctor was so worried about mixing Zoloft with alcohol, as I was prescribed Zoloft by a doctor at an alcohol dependency clinic and they expressed minimal concern. Sounds like you have an overly cautious doctor.

Alcohol may prevent the Zoloft from working properly, but the side effects are rarely severe. I have taken alcohol with Zoloft in the past... with me, it dulled the buzz of alcohol, that's about it. Zoloft did not increase cravings with me, but I don't discredit the possibility of that being true for some people.

Sexual side effects are a problem that's likely to happen, sometimes they are negligible at lower doses but the higher you go, the worse they get. Onset of sexual problems often takes a few weeks to appear. Weight gain is also possible, but every person seems to respond differently in that regard.

Too much weed is a terrible thing for motivation, and I certainly do not think that weed is harmless like some folks, but that 90% of recent data shows marijuana exacerbates depression quote is completely unfounded and I'm highly doubtful that it's true. In fact, a lot of the new data out there shows the opposite. I know people first hand that smoke it responsibly and it seems to help them. That being said, it does sound like your son is smoking more than he should, but I wouldn't lose sleep at night over it. He's certainly better off smoking weed than he is drinking alcohol, and if it helps him stay away from alcohol then that isn't a bad thing.

Yes, alcohol is one of the safer SSRIs in regards to alcoholism. There's actually some studies being done to see if it can be used to decrease alcohol dependence. That being said, what I said above is true, combining alcohol with an SSRI is going to lower the effectiveness of the SSRI and thus decrease the chance if it being as effective as it could be for the depression symptoms. In regards to the combo, if anything, the combination should increase the effect of the alcohol and one drink will feel more like two etc.
I'm sure there's some first hand data that claims marijuana is beneficial, and some small research studies do show very small amounts might be beneficial, might be, but any pub med search will show any dose larger than a very small amount is dangerous, exacerbates depression, may make individuals more prone to psychosis and may cause schizophrenia. I'm sorry, I can't find the quote with the 90% on it right now, I'll continue to look for it. With all that being said, I'm not sure which is worse, the alcohol or the pot.
Good luck with your son. I really hope the Zoloft works for him and he gets to feeling better soon.

[hopeless85]

I thank you all for your replies! I forgot to add that my son is 20 and is a college student who is doing well in the "work" part. It is the social part that he is lacking. He has not enjoyed college life one bit due to his depression/anxiety. He actually will be graduating earlier than expected due to his motivation to get done and move out of our state. He should make the dean's list this semester and if not should be close. The therapist told me not to worry too much about his weed use because as one person quoted above it is better than the alcohol. At one time my son would drink straight vodka and an entire handle in one afternoon. I thank God over and over that he has cut back and basically when he drank about a month ago it was light beer. I must thank God again because as far as I am aware it has been 2 weeks since he had a beer as well. I love this site and I thank you all for your advice.

[Sinking Feeling]

Some of us, drink to self medicate, so we feel better. And it does work. Only problem is it is short lived and you return to the dull painful life you were trying to escape. s would any thing it can esculate to heavy drinking or substituting for another drug. It's all the same. Som do it for fun and to socialize, some do it for self medicating just to feel better! Good luck!