I’ve never taken it. Got a new doctor and they prescribed it. I’m also on Lithium. On Lithium almost 15 years. Have been on and off various anti depressants that whole time but pretty solid on Lithium the whole time. Have never really been that impressed with an particular anti-depressant.
Overall, I’m pretty stable. Not very motivated but pretty stable. Consistent I mean, rather steady, bad mood sometimes but generally I feel “ok”. If I’m not that depressed do I even need an anti-depressant for Bipolar?
Anyway, anyone ever been on Zoloft? I presume at least a couple of people have…
I’ve taken it, on and off (due to lapsing medical coverage), for years. It helps a fair bit with my Dysthymic disorder (now called persistent depressive disorder) and with the secondary depressive episodes I’ve had.
For me, SSRIs like Zoloft seem to make the world a bit “brighter”.
I’ve taken it for the past 13 years or so. It’s not a cure-all for depression by any means. But I have found it to be a necessary component to my daily life, without which I simply cannot function. The side effects are negligible, IMO (at moderate doses, at least).
My personal experience is that it dulls you emotionally. Yes you won’t feel the pain as much, but neither will you feel completely alive. Medically it has come into question lately, both for the effect of the drug itself as well as the idea that lack of serotonin should be the cause of depression. My suspicion is that it will be removed sooner or later and there will be some apologizing from the psychiatric profession. Basically the idea behind Zoloft and SSRI is that depression is caused by serotonin shortage and that the drug adds serotonin and fixes the problem. Unfortunately it seems neither of those are actually true, and that most of the benefits are simply placebo. Here’s a long text explaining it from both perspectives.
There are many non-chemical ways to deal with depression that I think is much better and healthier. Meditation, yoga, exercise, nutrition, music or psychotherapy. All these are to prefer from taking a pill that not only has limited effects, but also won’t actually cure the problem (once you stop taking them, the effect stops as well) or add anything else that is healthy.
If you want to use a chemical treatment I would recommend psilocybin if that is legal were you live. Or attend an Ayahuasca ceremony, that is probably the most psychologically healing treatment you can get. Unfortunately I think there are some potential side effects of using Ayahuasca together with Lithium.
SSRIs have been shown to work for those suffering severe depression, so it’s not just “placebo effect” for all. Zoloft may not be the best option for the OP, however, if his depression is not severe (which it does not appear to be). Say what you will about the ‘evils’ of SSRIs, but for some, including me, they are life savers.
I was for several years. Towards the end I felt like it was not helping me so much as making me feel completely numb. I didn’t care about anything, including things I really needed to care about. It did not help at all with stabilizing my mood, and I can’t personally see much difference in being depressed and feeling nothing at all. I had a psychotic (dissociative) episode while I was on it and that hasn’t happened again since I got off, but whether it was due to the med or having bipolar disorder I don’t know.
It was very hard for me to wean myself off of it though. That’s my biggest issue with it. There were electric shock feelings for several months.
I’ve been on Zoloft off and on. I went through a number of SSRI’s. None of the more ‘advanced’ ones were any more effective. Zoloft has a generic and so has been the most cost effective. With every SSRI I have experienced sexual side effects, Zoloft no less or more so than others.
Sorry if my post was not balanced enough, hopefully the link I provided will alleviate that, I think it looked at it objectively from both perspectives.
But being dependent on a drug for 13 years like you have would not be acceptable for me. I want a cure, not something that keeps the problem in check while you keep using it. I also prefer positive side effects to negative ones. The suggestions I made fill those criteria better.
The most effective medicine I have ever used was probably Ayahuasca. I think those kind of substances* will eventually revolutionize the mental health industry.
I’ve used hallucinogens (psilocybin and LSD, never had occasion to try Ayahuasca). The experience definitely has the capacity to feel very revelatory, and can leave a lasting impression on one’s perception. But I think at least part of that is just the bizarre nature of tripping. I’m not sure it can really be seen as a permanent “cure” to anything, as much as I’d like it to be. And I don’t think the modern medicine establishment will ever really accept it as such, just because the effects are so extreme and some people are not well-equipped to handle that.
I’m on Zoloft for anxiety issues. I’ve noticed a small improvement, but nothing major. It does, however, give me the most zanily entertaining dreams I’ve ever had. I never used to remember much about my dreams. Now it’s like watching a new David Lynch on a 3D-IMAX every night! That’s pretty awesome
Obviously, if I could choose my outcome, I’d like to be cured of my depression. I don’t like being dependent on a drug in order to function but it is currently my reality. The suggestions you made, with all due respect, are laughable for someone who has dealt with major depressive disorder for the majority of his/her life; we’ve exhausted each and every other avenue of treatment and found the only thing that works.
This depression thing isn’t new for me. Giving suggestions like “go try meditation, drugs are bad” are, quite frankly, a bit insulting. “Walk a mile…” and so forth. If such things worked (meditation, psychotherapy alone, exercise, etc.), I wouldn’t be taking a fucking anti-depressant. Genius.
I had to take it as a precaution after a major concussion in 1997. The WORST side effects I ever experienced. Anti-depressants can’t tell the difference between good stress and bad stress, so if I were playing fast rock or heavy metal on my guitar, I’d slow down and need to sit down. Same goes for watching an exciting sports game or a good horror movie. It kicked in and simply made me disinterested in any excitement and way too tired.
Don’t take your shit out on me please, and more importantly, please don’t misrepresent what I said.
I didn’t say “drugs are bad”, I said I would not recommend Zoloft and provided plenty of arguments as well as a lengthy article on it. Then I went on and suggested ANOTHER drug which in my experience works much better.
All the non-chemical suggestions I provided have evidence showing that they work. They may not work for YOU, but they do for a lot of people. And even though you seem to have taken it as a personal insult for some reason, I wasn’t even interacting with you, I was answering the OP.
Also, what makes you think my life experience has had any less suffering than yours? How do you know I haven’t walked more than a mile in your shoes? The difference is that I got cured. Which actually makes my advice more valid in my book. I am not dependent on Zoloft or any other medicine for anything anymore. The reason is a combination of the very thing I suggested, which is why I suggested them.
You suggested SSRIs as a whole were to be avoided and you suggested illegal drugs as a replacement. Yeah, good advice. The non-chemical suggestions you have provided DO work, but not for severe, chronic depression, which is why I take an SSRI. I combine the medication with psychotherapy, this gives me the best results; better than either alone.
And if you were “cured” by the things you’ve suggested, then congratulations! But some of us can’t meditate, jog, or talk our way into a depression-free life. I applaud you for your success but that doesn’t mean you’ve found the secret to depression as a whole. You’ve found what works for you. Please don’t try to tell anyone else that you way is the right way.
And you didn’t insult me personally. I took offense for every person who takes these medicines, knowing full and well what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what options, or lacktherof, there might be out there, being told that what they are taking doesn’t really help them and is really hurting them.
And I didn’t say your life experience had less suffering than mine. Aren’t you the one who wanted me to be careful not to misrepresent what you had said? I said “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” before you are so quick to form these sweeping opinions.
And given the fact that exercise, diet, listening to music and taking psychedelic mushrooms did cure you of your depression, while those things did not cure mine (and yes, I’ve tried all of those suggestions), I have to draw the conclusion that my depression was/is more severe, or at least more resistant to those treatments, than yours.
Psilocybin is not universally illegal, I have no idea where the OP lives or where what the legal status is there. Cut your shit.
You don’t applaud me for my success, you’re being bitter and applying a very strange double standard. Am I not allowed to offer suggestions and advice, but you are? And that is because I got cured, and you didn’t? Maybe you need to take a logic pill with that Zoloft.
Stop taking offense for other people. You are not here representing others imaginary offense. In fact, stop taking offense at all. Entertaining thoughts of victimhood is not good for your condition.
I also did not say it doesn’t really help them. I said other things are much better.
And the expression ”walk a mile in someone else shoes” means exactly that in this context. I feel you got pretty well represented there.
Since you’re alive after 13 years I doubt your depression was ”more severe” than mine. More resistant, perhaps, I don’t know how much you’ve done. I dedicated my whole life and everything I owned to beating this thing. It took about two years. Perhaps your commitment level was lower, perhaps you got lower quality treatment.
Okay, Stoneburg, you gave your opinion on what you thought. Let’s not make this into a debate now…take the fighting to the Pit or start your own thread about why you think it’s bad if you really want to. That goes for anyone else who is interested in it enough to carry on this conversation.
I’m not attacking you, I’m responding to your posts. Like this, according to your link, “For patients with very severe depression, the benefit of medications over placebo is substantial.” The medications being discussed are SSRIs.
But some of us can’t meditate, jog, or talk our way into a depression-free life. I applaud you for your success but that doesn’t mean you’ve found the secret to depression as a whole. You’ve found what works for you. Please don’t try to tell anyone else that you way is the right way.