# Ask the Guy Who Just Got Out of a Residential Detox Facility **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847 "2012-06-30T20:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/61 "2012-07-05T03:28:25Z")
> [@Crawlspace](#): > > And it is a delay. I was not prescribed an SSRI by the psychiatrist in med-school (with whom I met three times for 5 hours), he mentioned it as one of several possibilities. While going through intake I asked them a few times to contact him for his assessment and plan thinking I’d meet with the psych at least once a day for 10-15 minutes and he could either concur or disagree. They never did and the prescription was written based on what I could remember from his summary mostly because I was upset they couldn’t get me into inpatient. I filled the prescription. I have a new patient meeting with a PCP a week from today and I’ll discuss it with him to make sure I’m not being overly paranoid about the potential long term side-effects. I’ll even read up tonight and might be able to convince myself I’m being paranoid. But Zoloft is some pretty serious stuff and isn’t even a first line treatment for social anxiety. I filled and am taking every other prescription. OK, good. I’m happy to think I was too hard on you. 🙂 Please keep at the aftercare, of whatever kind. And do get yourself into some kind of therapy as soon as you can. You unfortunately got dealt a lousy family life, and up to now, I suspect that drinking has been a way of managing that unhappiness. If you can learn new ways of dealing with those feelings, it can reduce alcohol’s pull. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/62 "2012-07-05T05:36:03Z")
What side effects are you concerned about from the Zoloft? Is there a different medication that you were hoping to get instead? While nobody here can say that it is the right med for you, if it is any consolation, I can tell you that Zoloft is very commonly prescribed for anxiety disorders and I have heard from a psychiatrist I used to work with that Zoloft is one of the more effective SSRIs for anxiety. I have seen in the past, when I worked in a psych inpatient unit, that MANY alcoholics seem to be anxious people who use alcohol to self-medicate for their anxiety, so I can see how getting the anxiety under control (as with an SSRI) might be helpful to prevent relapse. I definitely hope you are able to find a way to get the anxiety under control and that you’re able to avoid relapsing. ---
**Author:** ![Phoebestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Phoebestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoebestar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/63 "2012-07-06T18:06:34Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > What side effects are you concerned about from the Zoloft? Is there a different medication that you were hoping to get instead? As an inpatient psych social worker, I have to agree with **lavenderviolent** , Zoloft very much IS a first line treatment for social anxiety. And as far as medications go, it’s not heavy duty, it’s an SSRI. I would seriously consider taking it, and I say this as someone who’s been on an SSRI for depression and anxiety for about 15 years. My life is very much improved for it. And I also say this as someone that had serotonin syndrome a few months ago. It was horrible, but I have chosen to stay on the SSRIs even with the risk of it happening again (if I take another serotonergic medication). If the drive to stay sober is strong enough, you’ll do ANYTHING short of murder to maintain it. By the way, Trazodone is actually an antidepressant, although it gets used much more for sleep than it does for its antidepressant purposes. I have never seen it used as an antianxiety medicine (or anxiolytic). I’m glad you medically detoxed, however, and I wish you continued sobriety. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/64 "2012-07-06T21:22:13Z")
> [@Phoebestar](#): > > And I also say this as someone that had serotonin syndrome a few months ago. It was horrible, but I have chosen to stay on the SSRIs even with the risk of it happening again (if I take another serotonergic medication). Hey, I had that. But I’m surprised they let you keep taking it. They won’t let me take the medication I was on anymore (even though I’d been on it for years before I got serotonin syndrome, and was on a really high dose and wasn’t careful enough about taking it a full 12 hours apart). ---
**Author:** ![Phoebestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Phoebestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoebestar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/65 "2012-07-06T21:40:41Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Hey, I had that. But I’m surprised they let you keep taking it. They won’t let me take the medication I was on anymore (even though I’d been on it for years before I got serotonin syndrome, and was on a really high dose and wasn’t careful enough about taking it a full 12 hours apart). It wasn’t severe (but it was awful nonetheless), and I didn’t see an MD until it was resolving. I’m not taking the OTHER medication (Reglan), which is the medication which put me over the serotonergic edge. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847/66 "2012-07-07T18:48:06Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > OK, good. I’m happy to think I was too hard on you. 🙂 > > Please keep at the aftercare, of whatever kind. And do get yourself into some kind of therapy as soon as you can. You unfortunately got dealt a lousy family life, and up to now, I suspect that drinking has been a way of managing that unhappiness. If you can learn new ways of dealing with those feelings, it can reduce alcohol’s pull. Pretty much. I called my insurance on Thursday morning to get a list of outpatient centers and therapists. The two outpatient centers closest to work include 1-1 counseling as part of the program, as well as group sessions. The one closest to work only offers Intensive Outpatient (IOP) which is 4 weekdays per week and Saturday. The one a little farther away has a 9 hour per week IOP and a non-IOP rehab, so that’s my most likely choice. I’ll try to sort that out this weekend. > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > What side effects are you concerned about from the Zoloft? Is there a different medication that you were hoping to get instead? I was most concerned about serotonin syndrome and the potential for sexual side-effects that can last months to years after discontinuing use. I was hoping to go without medication, just therapy. I felt as if I had the anxiety under control once I realized what was going on in my head. I talk in the lab, maybe too much. But then I realized that anytime I have to go to another lab (or anywhere that’s not “my territory”) I get an out of body feeling and stumble through my sentences, if I talk at all. I also realized that worrying about every bad thing that can happen 5 miles down the road is pretty much anxiety, so I started taking the sertraline (zoloft) Wednesday night. > [@Phoebestar](#): > > And as far as medications go, it’s not heavy duty, it’s an SSRI. True, but the only thing that came to mind when I saw what was prescribed was, “That’s what they gave Mike Tyson.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-just-got-out-of-a-residential-detox-facility/626847.md?page=3)