Is Zoloft(Sertraline) activating?

Hello:) My primary problems are a lack of energy/motivation, procrastination, and having a hard time focusing on a task and completing it (I may have ADD) ...

I'm currently on Bupropion 200mg + Fluoxetine 20mg. I'm considering if I should switch to Sertraline from Fluoxetine (as I continue Bupropion). Has anyone tried both Fluoxetine and Sertraline? Which worked better for you?

I read the article that seems to claim Sertraline has a positive effect on the dopamine level as well. If so, then, does Sertraline give you a lot of energy?

Sertraline possesses the ability to partially block dopamine reuptake pumps. When dopamine pumps become blocked, more dopamine is left to circulate in the synaptic cleft, leading to increased neurotransmission and action. These two substances are often thought of together in psychiatry because sertraline is the only known SSRI that has a significant impact on the dopamine pathway. This additional ability to interact with dopamine is thought to account for the drug’s efficacy and unique effect on depression and other mental illnesses.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-rel ... pamine.htm

Hello. I also have problems with motivation and completing tasks, and have both Depression and inattentive type ADHD. I was one of the very few unlucky people that have very bad effects from Fluoxetine. It gave me muscle spasms and made me more violent and short tempered. I started Zoloft about 5 weeks ago and I think it's safer and better than Fluoxetine. I'm still on a tiny dose of 50mg, so it hasn't really alleviated my depression much (we're going up to 100mg when I see my psych doc), but at least it hasn't had any bad side effects.

I've never heard anything before about Zoloft having a particularly noticeable effect on dopamine. The article you linked didn't cite any sources and doesn't seem to be written by a professional pharmacologist or psychiatrist, so I don't know if it's true. Your psychiatrist might know, though. I'm going to ask mine about it too. If Zoloft DOES help with dopamine reward systems, I definitely want to increase my dose. If it will be of any help, I can tell you how I feel after a week or two of being on 100mg.

Thank you for your reply I guess everyone has certain (in)compatibility with certain meds. Like in my case, the first antidepressant my doctor put me on was Lexapro ... she said many of her patients do very well on it ... but wasn't for me ... I felt even more tired/sleepy most of the day. Stuck with it for a month hoping it's a temporary side effect that'll go away ... Nope. Later I found out my neighbor also takes Lexapro and she said she had her life back thanks to it ... what a difference. For me, Prozac did the trick.

kavajava wrote:I've never heard anything before about Zoloft having a particularly noticeable effect on dopamine. The article you linked didn't cite any sources and doesn't seem to be written by a professional pharmacologist or psychiatrist, so I don't know if it's true.

Good point. I don't know how reliable wisegeek website is either. I Googled a bit more and found this article (but the test was done on rats, not on humans).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20816814

I've asked the same question in other forums, and more than a few people said sertraline was very activating/stimulating ... some of them even experienced insomnia.

My understanding was that fluoxetine has an effect on the dopamine level as well, in fact, I thought fluoxetine was the most activating among SSRIs, that's the reason I chose it. I actually thought sertraline was one of the most sedating ones ... I guess I was wrong. (Though I know the effect of meds totally depends on an individual. Each person reacts in their own way, often experiencing a completely opposite effect from that of others.)

kavajava wrote:If it will be of any help, I can tell you how I feel after a week or two of being on 100mg.

Yes, please! Hearing firsthand experience from a person who uses the med really helps.

I took Prozac for about say, 3 or more years and it worked fine in some ways. Once I took it with a mood stabilizer it lost it's efficacy. I don't know why. I was at the highest dose and it stopped making me feel like I had clear thinking instead of foggy, hazy, tiredness kind of feeling. But it didn't take my depression away, as it turns out I had Bipolar I. I do agree that every drug can affect others differently or the same as other people. Good luck find out about the drug.

Irene Iesu wrote:Good point. I don't know how reliable wisegeek website is either. I Googled a bit more and found this article (but the test was done on rats, not on humans).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20816814

I've asked the same question in other forums, and more than a few people said sertraline was very activating/stimulating ... some of them even experienced insomnia.

My understanding was that fluoxetine has an effect on the dopamine level as well, in fact, I thought fluoxetine was the most activating among SSRIs, that's the reason I chose it. I actually thought sertraline was one of the most sedating ones ... I guess I was wrong. (Though I know the effect of meds totally depends on an individual. Each person reacts in their own way, often experiencing a completely opposite effect from that of others.)

kavajava wrote:If it will be of any help, I can tell you how I feel after a week or two of being on 100mg.

Yes, please! Hearing firsthand experience from a person who uses the med really helps.

Thanks for linking the article; it was a great find! Obviously there's a lot of differences between rat and human neurochemistry, but we both have the same "shape" of serotonin and dopamine receptors, so it's not a huge stretch to extrapolate to humans. I found a few other articles too, repeating the same kind of experiment with similar results. Now I'm quite hopeful about upping my Sertraline dose! I will definitely let you know how it goes.