Zoloft anyone...???

I can't imagine working nights - it must be hard on your body. I bet night-shifters have higher rates of depression/anxiety and other physical ailments.

What about seeing a therapist?

Actually nights work out great for me...I'm not much of a morning person. So I get to sleep in and I don't have to force myself to wake up and force myself to go to bed like I did when I worked days. I love working nights. It's only 3 nights a week anyways. It's not as bad as it may seem.

I'm obviously not a doctor-- but what I can suggest is maybe asking your doctor about a mood stabilizer. I was once ruled by those constant racing thoughts of worry.. Seroquel took those thoughts away, and slowed down my mind a lot. It's helped a TON with my depression and anxiety. And if Seroquel is not for you, there are many other options. I am currently on both Seroquel and Zoloft and I am doing really well, for once in my life. The only time I get depressed and anxious now is related to PMS (which I'm hoping to take care of with birth control).

One thing I need to stress to you is DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT lose hope because the first medication you try doesn't work!! Everyone is different, and if you play around with different medications and dosages, you WILL find something that works for your particular chemistry. Don't give up. If Zoloft isn't working after a few months (remember it takes several weeks to have any affect on you)-- ask for something different, or pair it with another medication. There is always hope for depression and anxiety, you just need to put aside that negative thought process you get when you think a medication isn't working for you.

Good luck with everything! (:

if you're not happy with the results zoloft gave you, i would seek a new medication. i dealt with the same issues, the depression being a side effect of OCD. celexa was a godsend for me, and i was able to come off of it after a year and now do well with a b-12 supplement. i also am now able to recognize the thought patterns when they happen and turn them around quickly.

Hey thanks for all of your replies. It really helps to hear other nurses out there who also suffer at times. Thanks again.

Self-medicating with old meds is not a good idea. It is really important to take those under Dr supervision as that 'mania' could be a harmful reaction. Psych meds are so plentiful and randomly hit or miss. I've been getting mental health treatment for years. As brilliant (=P) and knowledgable as I think I am, I still know not to play with those meds on myself. I hope this all improves for you =)

I liked Celexa a bunch; it really kept me at an even level all the time. I didn't have to worry about my ups and downs all the time. I was on it for about a year, then I was really broke so I couldn't afford it anymore and had to stop taking. There were no ill effects that I ever experienced.

i take zoloft, works okay i guess. if nothing else it eases my mothers mind. 100mg in the summer 200mgs few weeks before finals. i get flack from the docs because i have gone off cold turkey several times. always at the beginning of school, i like the extra stress to get me motivated.

Dear dhammo01: You asked for thoughts.

Check out this website. http://www.neuroassist.com/ They have LOUSY customer service, they didn't want to answer any of my questions. HOWEVER, it did give me new information I had not read before. It gave me ALOT to think about. I highly recommend you read it, then search the internet for other info, similar to what the NeuroAssist says.

Talk to your doctor. If s/he agrees that it won't hurt, and it just might help... I URGE YOU... DO YOURSELF A HUGE FAVOR!!! GO TO WIKIPEDIA. GET A LIST OF ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS (AAs). TAKE THAT LIST TO A VITAMIN STORE. GET AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTS. GET A FORMULA THAT INCLUDES ALL THE ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL AAs. (The liquid tastes terrible. The pills are huge, horse pills. The benefits completely outweigh the bad taste and large pills.) YOUR BODY NEEDS ALL THE AMINO ACIDS TO MAKE THE PROTEINS TO MAKE THE ENZYMES TO MAKE THE BRAIN NEUROTRANSMITTERS. DRUG COMPANIES WON'T TELL YOU THIS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T PATENT AAs. SO, THEY CAN'T MAKE MONEY OFF OF IT.

Three things to think about. (1) 50 years ago, people thought cigarettes were harmless. Today, people know the truth. (2) Today, commercials advertise "diet" soda to make you skinny. Go on youtube.com, and search for diet soda. Turns out, diet soda makes you fat. Today, people are just starting to realize the truth. (3) Drug companies MAKE LOTS and LOTS OF MONEY advertising LOTS and LOTS of antidepressant and antianxiety medications. I wonder if, in the future, new research will come out that says the truth is... the pills that are on the market in 2009 don't work well, and there are better ways to treat depression.

Also, try meditation.

Keep looking for answers. You'll find them.

dhammo01,

Please talk to your doctor. If you do research all things recommended, :

( "TAKE THAT LIST TO A VITAMIN STORE. GET AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTS. GET A FORMULA THAT INCLUDES ALL THE ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL AAs. (The liquid tastes terrible. The pills are huge, horse pills. The benefits completely outweigh the bad taste and large pills.) YOUR BODY NEEDS ALL THE AMINO ACIDS TO MAKE THE PROTEINS TO MAKE THE ENZYMES TO MAKE THE BRAIN NEUROTRANSMITTERS. DRUG COMPANIES WON'T TELL YOU THIS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T PATENT AAs. SO, THEY CAN'T MAKE MONEY OFF OF IT." )

please remember that vitamin/health stores make their money from unregulated products.

~Hoot~