Zoloft...Any Personal or Professional Advice?

SugarMagnoliaMom · Jul 20, 2004

Hi! I was on Zoloft for a few months, at first I lost a little weight, then began to gain. But that may have been caused by any number of issues!

Last year I switched to Lexapro (I have anxiety compounded by OCD) - the Lexapro was an absolute miracle for me. My psych kept asking if it affected my sex-life, but for me it made it better. While the whole orgasm issue was there (as in, no orgasms), but I felt better to have sex and was more open to it with DH. When I was constantly worried and over-thinking, sex was the LAST thought in my mind.

Right now I am off my medication and using behavior management to deal; I am pregnant and trying to avoid medication (other than my prenatal vitamin, and my daily coca cola for a bit of caffeine).

nycegyrl · Jul 20, 2004

Oh, by the way, I find doctors that doctors just don't know the facts of antidepressants. I was told that there was absolutely no withdrawal effects (which turned out to be VERY wrong) and that it was something that would cause no side effects at all (luckily, it didn't for me, but MANY people experience side effects).
I think the only way you'll know how well you'll do on it is to go on it and try it for a few months. Weigh out the pros and cons of it, though. Realize that the side effects can be VERY real. Research it. There's more to it than the doctors tell you.
Good luck!

I agree. While getting my dosage just right or forgetting to take my medicine I have experienced unusal feelings. At times it felt like a bolt of electricity was going through me. I fear going off my medicine for that reason. I mean, every few seconds of your day you feel a dizzy feeling and an electrical charge. Followed by a feeling of anxiety. It almost takes your breath away. Has anyone else experienced that?

December716 · Jul 20, 2004

That is so weird! One of the symptoms I experience when I take my Celexa too late is a buzzing in my head (like electricity). When I quit Celexa the first time, it was AWFUL for three months. I couldn't get out of bed. I cried, yelled, screamed and made everyone's life around me generally miserable. I had panic attacks. The buzzing in my head was a hundred times worse than it is when I take my dose late. I remember laying flat on my bed, staring at the ceiling, talking to my husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) on the phone and telling him I felt like I was going insane and I didn't know how I could go on.

I didn't just stop taking my medicine cold turkey either, and my symptoms were this bad. I took it every other day for two weeks. Then every three days for two weeks and so on, yet the withdrawals were horrible.

My depression was just so severe for a few months that I decided to get back on it, despite the horrendous withdrawal experience I had. Just be warned, I think maybe some people don't experience withdrawals, but if you do, it's AWFUL. I don't know how I would work or go to school under those circumstances. Luckily for me, I didn't have either to worry about at the time.

Be safe and weigh out the pros and cons of any medicine you take. It's definitely not something to try lightly though!

bpowers · Jul 20, 2004

I took zoloft for many years and was able to take myself off of it a couple years ago during all the joy before I got married.. Due to situational depression/anxiety I recently tried taking Wellbutrin for my symptoms and for the hope that it might help me quit smoking. Well, it didn't help...so I started back on zoloft 50mg last month...I definately have noticed less worry, depression and anxiety. I plan on starting a family within the next year or two and am concerned about stopping the medication again now that I'm feeling better. What kind of behavioral management are you using to help you right now? Also, can you tell me more about Lexapro and how it's worked for you? I also have been diagnosed in the past with OCD component and am wondering if Lexapro is known to work better on people with the OCD component.

Hi! I was on Zoloft for a few months, at first I lost a little weight, then began to gain. But that may have been caused by any number of issues!
Last year I switched to Lexapro (I have anxiety compounded by OCD) - the Lexapro was an absolute miracle for me. My psych kept asking if it affected my sex-life, but for me it made it better. While the whole orgasm issue was there (as in, no orgasms), but I felt better to have sex and was more open to it with DH. When I was constantly worried and over-thinking, sex was the LAST thought in my mind.
Right now I am off my medication and using behavior management to deal; I am pregnant and trying to avoid medication (other than my prenatal vitamin, and my daily coca cola for a bit of caffeine).

SugarMagnoliaMom · Jul 20, 2004

Bpowers :) !

Here is a little about my behavior therapy and such...

Hi! I began seeing a therapist who specialized in behavior modification. The main things she said to add to my day:

1. 20minutes of sunlight (helps with serotonin)

2. 20minute walk

3. Breathing exercises (I do this when I lie down for bed)

4. Some sort of prayer or meditation (I do this while doing rbeathing exercises).

She recommended two WONDERFUL books I now consider my supplementary bibles...

Food and Mood by Elizabeth Somer

and

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157224223X/002-9632951-1406465?v=glance

I've also been re-reading a favorite classic The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale - this book is not nearly as corny as it's title! :) It is a very deep and spiritual book filled with inspirational stories of people who have used prayer and positive thoughts to help triumph over anxiety and fear.

A lot of my anxiety manifested as overwhelming fear and worries (my thoughts would loop a lot). I was first diagnosed when I was 15, by my family practitioner who suggested to my mom I take Yoga. That was truly a blessing. I havent practiced it in a while, but I do find yoga --- or ANY STRETCHING, can help soothe nerves.

It progressed until I was 24 then, I began medication - Zoloft.

It was when I also recieved the OCD diagnosis that i was put on Lexapro. I am telling you, it is amazing! (at least for me!) A friend of mine was on Celexa and experienced similiar to what another post noted - an electric buzz! I was so stunned to see you had the same description!!! Lexapro is a little sister of Celexa - it is a refined version (I am not certain how, but my psych said most people who use lexapro do not get the same side-effects as celexa). Lexapro is quite effective in the treatment of OCD (a lot of OCD and Anxiety diagnosis are also a good Chicken or The Egg type situation - which caused which???)

I was diagnosed with ADD YEARS ago, but since the OCD and anxiety were treated ALL my ADD symptoms have vanished. My belief is, the hyper activity was a side-effect of the OCD and a need to control and deal with things. And the short-attention span would be my anxiety, it wasnt so much a short attention span as it was an inability to focus on anything outside my worries.

Hope I could help you some!!

I have been doing extraordinarily well during this pregnancy w/o my medication. I am not sure if I will use Lexapro after the birth of our baby or not. I will just wait it out. And continue to monitor.

I have had too many friends go off medication and not monitor themselves, so I really try to keep a journal to review and make sure I am not rewriting over and over the same worries (to me, that is a sign my anzxiety and ocd are interfering with my life).

Hope I was able to help a little! :)

I will link a couple sites as well, that have some great behaviour modification. As a side not, Zoloft is approved for use during pregnancy, I have two friends who used it and have very happy, healthy children! :) So at least I know that option is available if my anxiety does become overwhleming!

:)

camay1221_RN · Jul 20, 2004

My husband and I love my Zoloft!!

I started taking it about five years ago for what is now called PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Or, as my husband put it, raging PMS. I started at 50mg, and I am now taking 100mg. I have been on 100mg for almost three years, and it has been working wonderfully for me.

As for the weight gain, I didn't gain anything I didn't already have in the first place, so I didn't notice any reactions there. Someone else mentioned the decreased sex drive and difficulty orgasming, I had those side effects to begin with, but they passed.

Good luck to you!

lsyorke, RN · Jul 21, 2004

On World News Tonight with Peter Jennings tonight(Wednesday) there running a story on the suppression of clinical data by Paxil manufacturers on the suicide risk.

My son and I were filmed yesterday at my home, just in case your interested.