Any experience with Zoloft or other drugs?

Hello, fellow avoidants!

I've just come back from my first appointment with a psychiatrist, and he's perscibed me zoloft. I'm extremely uncomfortable with taking medicine (I try to avoid even aspirin if at all possible), but I've recently gotten to a point where I'm struggling to cope with my anxiety and depression without outside help. Hence the psychiatrist (who was sort of intimidating, by the way). He reassured me multiple times that zoloft is a well-trusted drug that's been on the market for a long time and I shouldn't worry, etc., but I'm still incredibly nervous about taking it.
Have any of you ever tried this drug? Has it helped? Has anything else worked for you?
I realize drugs like these effect everyone a little differently, but I suppose I'm hoping to know that it's worked for someone.
I'm sort of at the end of my rope...

Love,
Mal R.

The generic name for Zoloft for is sertraline (to which i'm sure you already know) which is what I was on before switching to another SSRI.

I found that it did help a little and I personally can't say I think I had any side effects. Personally I think you should at least give it a try and if you find it really isn't improving your anxiety and/or depression (remember the effects can take a few weeks to become apparent!) then I would return to the psychiatrist and discuss either a dose increase or another medicine would be possible.

Hi there

Yes, I took Seroxat (paroxetine) for many years and found it very helpful for dealing with both depression and also to boost confidence. It was hard to come off it but well worth taking in my opinion.

I have recently re-started on sertraline as I have been getting very depressed without medication - and also my social confidence has plummeted. For me at least, I think SSRIs help with that.

In terms of side effects, yes there is likely to always be something initially I think, but it's just a necessary evil to get the drugs into your system and they're not too bad at all. Medicines are designed to be OK for the human body after all and modern medicine is a great thing, on balance. Just give it a go anyway; much better than struggling on in vain.

Good luck!

I have tried "all" of the SSRIs, but have been off for many years now. I will never forget that the
psychiatrist I had said I have to take it for the rest of my life, and I begin to think he was right. My life really sucks as I'm very sensitive to other people, and the feeling of rejection is really painful.

Paxil. It is horrible stuff. No positive effects but the side effects are very real. The withdrawal effects are pretty bad too. Recent studies have shown that positive effects from SSRIs like Zoloft and Paxil are mainly from the placebo effect.

Meta-analyses of antidepressant medications have reported only modest benefits over placebo treatment, and when unpublished trial data are included, the benefit falls below accepted criteria for clinical significance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term ... 20scoboria

Have you ever talked to a psychologist? Psychiatrists have been on the wrong track for decades with their idea that all our problems are from a chemical imbalance in the brain.

You can't really report your own experience with meds like it's objective truth. I've tried lots and I know others who tried the same meds, and our reactions to them were very different.

In my case, I'd say around 90% of meds had nasty side-effects and I had to give them up. Other 10% didn't have a strong enough curative effect. But it's a very subjective experience. Only one med I've tried had no side effects, but it wasn't helpful, either. And one other med had very mild side-effects but was too expensive for me, so when I needed to raise the dosage I couldn't afford it.

As I love music I will not start taking SSRIs again, as they kill the love for it.

Zoloft. Felt like I had something in my throat that I couldn't swallow, or like a tie that was tied on too tight.

Cipralex. Made me sleep an average of 12 hours a day, destroyed my sex drive, and gave me panic attacks.

SNRI (whatever it was called). My whole body tensed up and was constantly being pushed to its limits. Could never relax on it. Oh, and then there was the electrical shocks in my brain when I weaned off it.

Cannabis (Hashish). No ill effects. Felt better. Not addictive. It's illegal, though, so it's much better to take prescription drugs like the ones I mentioned previously that destroy you mentality and physically in the most ###$ up ways imaginable.

It is my understanding that Zoloft is one of the "milder" anti-depressants, so it might be a good place to start to see how you react to SSRI's. It didn't really do much for me as far as depression goes, and I was already on Valium so I can't vouch for it's anti-anxiety effects.
I switched to Prozac a year or so later and it helped a bit more but I've since stopped. Too numbing.

Suggest to your doctor that you start on a low dose if you are apprehensive. It can always be increased. Keep in touch with your doctor regarding it's effects on you. Remember, you can always stop taking them if there are problems.

I don't believe anti-depressants should be taken for anxiety alone. If you have trouble with the Zoloft and still have anxiety you can inquire about a mild benzodiazepine. If your depression is aggravated by anxiety, as is for me, you'll be killing two birds with one stone.

Don't feel obligated to take any drug if you're not comfortable with it's effects. They don't work the same on everybody.

4everalone wrote:I have tried "all" of the SSRIs, but have been off for many years now. I will never forget that the
psychiatrist I had said I have to take it for the rest of my life, and I begin to think he was right.

That's how they make their cash

OP, I would try to stay clear of relying on meds in the long term, and maybe leave it as a last line of treatment. I'm not completely anti-meds, for some sufferers of anxiety & depression that hasn't responded to other treatment, and manic depression they can give sufferers back their quality of life and allow them to be functional, but those are the cases where the 'good' of the drug outweighs the 'bad', you know, true desperation. In the mean time, maybe look for a qualified (i.e. pre-check their credentials) CBT therapist.

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-supp ... aline/#sid

^ This is a list of the short term side effects. Keep in mind that meds don't really 'treat' the disorder, just mask the symptoms -- hence why you would need to take them over the long term (which consequently is risky given that there isn't much information on the long term effects, or at least none that they're willing to disclose to the public...)

Rigning wrote:Cannabis (Hashish). No ill effects. Felt better. Not addictive. It's illegal, though, so it's much better to take prescription drugs like the ones I mentioned previously that destroy you mentality and physically in the most ###$ up ways imaginable.

Especially CBD strains.