Has anyone ever taken Zoloft?

My sis is taking zoloft and I was wanting to know if anyone here has taken it before and did it help them or not.

What did it do for you?

What is zoloft?

Scott

I think that's for treatment for depression and anxiety right? Other than that I don't know about it.

I've taken it years ago for depression. Without gettting into great detail, it was extremely helpful. It balanced out all the "highs" and "lows" and made me feel much better. I don't take it anymore and only took it for a few months, but it did make a great difference. Results may vary.

personally no, I have never taken it. but I have 2 close friends who are on it still with very good results and very few, if any, side effects.

Discussion of anti-depression meds seems to come up here fairly regularly and so I'll repeat what I've said so often in the past.

These drugs do not make you happy. There is no artificial high or anything like that. What they will do is give you back your ability to cope with your depression or difficulties. Everyone has difficulties and things to be depressed about, but the balanced brain can cope and get on with life in spite of them. When you can't get up and face your life, or you can't function because your response to your life is out of proportion then you need help.

If you're asking around you'll undoubtedly receive advice from others that basically boils down to "snap out of it" which is no help at all from people that have never been in a situation where they needed it. There is no harm in trying the pills for a few months and see where it gets you. This class of drug is usually very well tolerated.

If your doc is prescribing these for you then you're in 1 of 2 places. Either you dont have a regular doc and you've been to a new one or a clinic about depression and the first thing they did was to prescribe you a drug, or your existing doc has decided that from your descriptions of your issues and what he already knows about you that it's worth while to try this. A lot of people dont like the first case, but I'll explain why it's the right thing to do to take them even if that is how you got there. Properly diagnosing a depression that can benefit from the drugs takes a lot more than a 15 minute office visit. But most people can not afford the multiple visits necessary and insurance wont cover them and in any case it can take weeks or months to get several appointments and what are you going to do in the meantime? If you're not having a real clinical depression that can be helped by the drug, taking them wont do anything to you at all. If you are, then they can start to help very quickly. So taking them right away lets them help the folks that need it, without hurting those that might not since there is absolutely no way that the doc can tell for sure which category you're in immediately.

Make sure you make and keep the followup appointments so that you're not on a drug that you dont need for too long if that turns out to be the case, and that you get the dose adjusted properly and get the maximum effect with the minimum dose if you are one that can benefit from it.

Zoloft is also ocassionally used to assist with weightloss as it is known to have an appetite supressing effect. It's main purpose is however as stated above.

Andrew

Hi, I took anti-depression medications (More like ate then every meal.)
They don't make you happy.
They make you feel "really dull" (Imagine being an emotionless clone). You'll pretty much never have any "extremes" (Happy or sad), but you'll always be somewhere in the "middile" zone, and pretty boring to talk to.
You'll also feel somewhat stupid (Due to the no "extremes" thing)

If you're married, you should know of one very common side effect: "decreased libido."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoloft

From Wikipedia: "Libido in its common usage means sexual desire, however more technical definitions, such as found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative, or psychic, energy an individual has to put toward personal development, or individuation."

Anybody ever try St. John's Wort, Sam-e or any of the herbal anti-depressants? Do they work at all and/or have the same lack of libido side effects?

I use to manage a vitamin Shoppe and found Many people liking SAM-E (including myself). For me, it helps with Joint pain and also liver function. Do not take them together but try the Sam-e first.

From Consumerlabs.com

"A substantial amount of evidence suggests that SAMe can be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis, the "wear and tear" type of arthritis that many people develop as they get older. 1 However, the supplements glucosamine and chondroitin are much less expensive and better documented.

Some evidence suggests that SAMe might be helpful for depression. 2

This supplement has also shown some promise for a variety of liver conditions such as cirrhosis, chronic viral hepatitis, pregnancy-related jaundice, and Gilbert's syndrome. 3,10 SAMe may help the painful muscle condition known as fibromyalgia. 11,12

SAMe has undergone some investigation as a possible supportive treatment for Parkinson's disease. One study suggests that it may reduce the depression so commonly associated with the disease. 13 In addition, the drug levodopa, used for Parkinson's disease, depletes the body of SAMe. 14,15 This suggests that taking extra SAMe might be helpful. However, it is also possible that SAMe could interfere with the effect of levodopa, requiring an increase in dosage.

Highly preliminary evidence suggests that SAMe can protect the stomach against damage caused by alcohol. 16"

Zoloft is a Selective Seritonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) developed by Pfizer in thier Groton, CT facility. It works by increasing the amount of Seritonin (a neurotransmitter) in parts of your brain. Depression is usually caused by having too little seritonin or norephinephrine (another neurotransmitter) to bridge the electochemical connections between two adjecent nervers (the synapse gap). For all to be well these neurotransmitters have to be in relitive concentrations to work best. Whe we boost norepinephrine is causes a host of unplesent, but mainly benign and transitory side effects. Boosting seritonin usually causes less side effects. Prozac was the first SSRI used in the US. It was used for 10 years in Europe before it hit the Amerrican market. It got a bad rep because it was being prescribed by General Docs and Family Docs, who had little experience treating depression, but who felt OK prescribing meds with such a low side effect profile. Well, giving Prtozac to someone who had a depressioon based on a norepinephrine imballance was like trying to treat the flu with an antibiotic. The Docs thought the patient would get well, didn't monitor them and just let the depression progress and get worse and worse, some folks committed suicide. It was the practice of Bad Medicine not a bad medicine that got their patients in trouble. Talking with teh researchers at Pfizer, they admitt that all the SSRI's are basicly the same. Picking which one to use is an art, not a science, a best guess. Soime folks respond well to the first choice (guess) with complete symptom relief, some go through many before finding the one that will work best for them. I have only encountered a handful of people, who went through the whole series and were treatment resistant. With those folks other classes of antidepressents or adding another substance (thyroid or a stimulent) willact to jump start a positve resopnce (augmentation therapy). Hope this helps, excuse the spelling, its very late.:devil:

Hmm. If that stuff makes you "numb", then it won't help me because I'm apathetic as can be. Somethign bad/good can happen and I won't bat an eye or feel emotion. I think once I move away from my enviroment and live alone/ in peace I will be a lot different. Heck I'll probably have a smile on my face when things are going normal, because right now, normal = stress. I have wondered about those anti-depressants but that isn't what I need, I need to change my enviroment.

antidepressants will help those who have true, clinical, (biological/chemical imbalances), depression. They should be used when cases are severe. In most other cases, appropriot therapy and conseling are more rewarding for the patient, and thus have a longer lasting effect.


More importantly: And this goes for anyone suffering from depression.
Look around at our world. Look at the connections between your survival, and your daily tasks. You, like many others, may find, that there is very little corrilation. 100+ years ago, your actions had a direct impact on your continued exsistance. After building a teepee and killing your buffalo, you would be proud, content, and happy with your success. The result is that you would be content to stare into a fire and go to sleep. Now, video games, movies, radio, all the entertainment in the world isn't enough to keep us out of depression. We are not fullfilling our power proccess by doing a repetative desk job, flipping burgers, or delivering parcels. These actions don't relate directly enough to survival to feel rewarding.

The technological/industrial takeover of the planet will result in every human being a minion to the system, performing those tasks that the machines still cannot. And we will be further deprived of our desire to fullfill the power proccess. Eventually, every human will require drugs to sedate our highs and lows so that we can be looked at as usefull members of the society.

The only way to rid the world of the need for zoloft, is to destroy the machines. MATRIX BABY!!

sorry... I realllly rambled way to far here.

If that stuff makes you "numb", then it won't help me because I'm apathetic as can be.

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It doesn't make you numb. If prescribed for the wrong type of depression (and there is no way to tell what your specific imbalance is except by taking the drug and looking at the result) then it actually can give you that feeling. But for a person who is going to be helped by the drug it does NOT make them numb, it makes them normal again.

i know for a fact that if I have to take a course of antibiotics that it will give me a bad case of the scoots But I don't not take it just because of that as I know that will get better, and I know the bacteria will get much worse if I dont. If you're not helped by the prescription of zoloft or prozac or whatever, then you either try something else, or a whole different class of drugs. The effects of an ineffective prescription are not permanent. You absolutely have to follow up with your doc to get it right.

antidepressants will help those who have true, clinical, (biological/chemical imbalances), depression. They should be used when cases are severe. In most other cases, appropriot therapy and conseling are more rewarding for the patient, and thus have a longer lasting effect.

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Certainly, but the presentation of "true, clinical" depression varies wildly from person to person. As I said above, a 15 minute office visit cannot diagnose this properly and thats all your insurance will pay for. So you get a prescription to cover the possibility that you do have that condition and make a followup appointment.

Just because we're removed from picking our food off the trees and picking the ticks off our mate doesn't mean that we're going to be depressed. I for one, embrace technology. It often frustrates me But it doesn't depress me.

A depression that needs medication is one that is an inappropriate or amplified response to your real circumstances. If you can get up in the morning and look forward to your day then you probably dont need it. If you're no longer able to cope with your life then you need to look into getting help. These drugs do not make you happy, as I said above, they return your coping skills to a normal level. What a week ago seemed insurmountable will seem like something you can now handle if you're on the right drug. The fact that you can handle getting up and doing what you need to do is what makes you happy and feel in control again.

There are MANY levels of real clinical depression. It may be that you function quite normally most of the time but during a particularly difficult period in your life you need some chemical assistance coping with it. This is not a bad thing. The same set of circumstance that might stress one person only slightly, might push you towards the end of your rope.

If a person gets to the point where they actually approach a doc about their depression, then it's usually real. People mostly suffer in silence. If you are to the point of asking for help, then you most likely honestly and really need it.

I think it is important to see the difference between the normal human emotion of sadness and depression.. I've seen a lot of folks who were sad, either due to life events or thinking (cognitive) events, they were not depressed in a biological way. Medication is of little help for them. Of those that are depressed they fall into two general flavors. Those who have neurotransmitter ratios out of whack and those who have a disregulation problem with their moods (bipolar aka manic depressive). These folks in the latter two groups will most likely present with a cluster of physical signs (vegitative signs of depression) of which the subjective feeling of depression is just one diagnostic sign and is NOT needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Medications will greatly help folks in these groups.

Read James S's posts...they are accurate

Crazy theory of mine. Plot the normal curve for neurotransmitters concentration for folks that lived 100 years ago. For illustration, let's say the average lever was 100 units with a 20 unit standard deviation, making 80-120 the normal range 100 years ago.

OK, so 100 years ago if person "1" had a level of between 80 and 100, they fell in the "normal range" and had no symptoms of depression, they were a person within the group 1 SD below the mean.

Fast forward to today, we still have the same genitic coding for neurotransmitter levels. A lot has changed around us. The environment has changed, social roles and expectations have changed, but the normal range of levels has not.

Well, well, I'll bet that most of the folks who are treated for depression are folks with "normal" levels from the group 1 SD below the mean. They are not "sick", they do not have an "illness", their brains are working just fine...but there are not enough neorotransmitters available to deal with todays complex world. We have not evolved fast enough to keep up with the changes of our world. Folks with levels 1 SD above the mean (100-120), don't have symptoms of depression...yet:devil: just my theory...don't quote me

Just because we're removed from picking our food off the trees and picking the ticks off our mate doesn't mean that we're going to be depressed. I for one, embrace technology. It often frustrates me But it doesn't depress me.

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I too embrace technology and really try to find activities and hobbies (LIKE FLASHLIGHTS!!!) that keep me interested and happy. I hope we can equalize harmoniously with technology, but I fear that our biolocial need to fullfill the power proccess is hindered with each advancement.

Philiphb: I like your theory, I think it makes a lot of sense-

I see a lot of people with Seasonal Affactive Disorder (SAD). They get depressed (not sad) in the winter months. Well guess what...we have skin not scales and we are mammals. When the light gets shorter with shorter days, our biology kicks in...all of us have a hibernation responce. Those of us more sensitive to it get depressed. BTW, this kind of depression can also be treated well with meds, or with phototherapy (light banks), or trip to Aruba. Zoloft is an SSRI, there are two other major groups of antidepressents, tricyclic antidepressents (Tofrinil is still the gold standard of treatment) and Monoamine Oxidace Inhibitors (MAO-I's). The tryclycics also boost norephinerine which causes unpleasent side effects, like dry mouth, constipation, blood pressure drop when you stand up, sweating, and an inability to focus your eyes quickly when looking near to far point and back. But enven with the side effects, these medications work very well. The MAO-I's, Nardil and Parnate, also work quite well but can cause a rapid rise in blood pressure when certin food are eaten. Some Docs shy away from them because of this.

If Zoloft works for your sister and she gets complete symptom relief with little side effects, she's one very lucky woman. It can take up to six weeks at theraputic dose levels (we start on low doses to see if you'll grow a third eye in the middle of your forehead) to see a change. A lot of people first become aware that their dreams take on a "you are there" quality as their brain chemistry changes. Then if all goes well there is a slow realization that, "Gee, I haven't felt too bad these past few days". The effect sneaks up on you. Enough psychopharmocology 101 for now. "Be Peaceful"*

* Dr. Peter Deckers- a true human being:devil:

but there are not enough neorotransmitters available to deal with todays complex world. We have not evolved fast enough to keep up with the changes of our world.

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I like it But I'm not sure that dealing with life in the past was really any easier! Sure, I have to get the kids to soccer and deal with my boss and my computer and get through security at the airport and plunge the toilet and and and..... But I dont have to worry about my next meal, I dont have to hunt what I need to eat, I'll never go hungry because I failed to kill something with an arrow and I am in very little danger of being stalked and eaten by a mountain lion, no monkey is going to hit me over the head with a rock and take my mate away, and flea problems can be solved with a simple bath I dont think there was any golden age where human beings were not stressed and driven to survive. I think in the past people just had nervous breakdowns and spent a few months in the sanitarium until their life was far enough away that they could catch their breath.

James S said:

I like it But I'm not sure that dealing with life in the past was really any easier! Sure, I have to get the kids to soccer and deal with my boss and my computer and get through security at the airport and plunge the toilet and and and..... But I dont have to worry about my next meal, I dont have to hunt what I need to eat, I'll never go hungry because I failed to kill something with an arrow and I am in very little danger of being stalked and eaten by a mountain lion, no monkey is going to hit me over the head with a rock and take my mate away, and flea problems can be solved with a simple bath I dont think there was any golden age where human beings were not stressed and driven to survive. I think in the past people just had nervous breakdowns and spent a few months in the sanitarium until their life was far enough away that they could catch their breath.

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That was before the industrial revolutiuon. Look at air polution, chemically treated water, water with high nitrate levels from fertilizers, nutrasweet, high fructose corn shush and a host of other environmental yucks. Just moving from one part of the state to another put bodies under stress, air flow up this river valley has X,Y,and Z while airflow up this river valley has A,B,and C. Not liveing by our circadian biological clocks, going to bed way after the sun goes down, waking at really odd hours. I think there are unique differences that put us under way more stress. Given, there is "good" stress and "bad" stress, but the kind of stress I see frightens me. Now with HMO's and PPO's, 20% co-pays. I tell some people that they would be better off and pay the same for 2 weeks at Club Med rather than 2 weeks in the Hospital.:devil:

I took it for almost 2 years for anxiety (disorder?). Well all I can say is I never really wanted to take any of these SSRI's. I don't particularly like taking pills at all. But I find as I get older It's just going to happen.
Anyway the first 2 weeks were pretty rough but I was told to expect that and after that I was great. Not that I "Felt" any different but I certainly was not having panic attacks. If you've ever had one you know how great it is when you don't!! I was afraid to stop taking it for fear that they would return. But, I balanced that with the fact that I think any drug long term is not the way to go if you can avoid it. So I backed off and so far I'm fine (My Opinion)