# Experiences with SSRI's (especially Zoloft) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468 "2003-07-01T00:48:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/21 "2003-07-01T14:48:24Z")
I’ve been on Zoloft twice in my life, both times for around six months. Once for depression, the other time for a panic disorder. It didn’t cure either, just made them a bit less acute so I could work my way through the problems that were necessitating the drug. I’ve been off Zoloft for over three years now. There were some sexual side effects, but given my gender dysphoria it’s hard to say if those can be correlated to the Zoloft. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/22 "2003-07-01T15:40:52Z")
I had anxiety attacks in the early 80s before the condition was well known. Once I couldn’t even get out of bed or move from one side of it for 5 days. I got hungry enuff so I left. I went to a behavioral therapist and with NO drugs I went from that stage in December to being virtually over it by May. I later got laid off and after a while the anxiety came back. I knew I couldn’t wait 6 months so my doctor gave me imiprimine (Sp?). This worked within 2 days I was back to normal. Only side effects were constipation and dry mouth. I was on it for 6 months then went off with no effects. Back in 1997 I had to fly. I was terrifid, my doctor gave me Prozac. It did NOTHING but kill my sex drive. I tried Zoloft, it did NOTHING. So I didn’t fly. Last year I had to fly again and despite a few valium the doctor gave me I couldn’t even get past the airport. Then he gave me PAXIL. It worked within HOURS. I had NO anxiety what so ever. I fly without any valium or any ill effects. I am calm in all aspects. Of course when I go off it the anxiety comes back. I have NO side effects, sexual or otherwise with Paxil. Moral is a drug that works well for one doesn’t always work for everyone. Also if cost is an issue the older tricyclites may be best. They are cheap and for me worked basically as well, but with a few minor side effects. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/23 "2003-07-01T15:53:07Z")
Just a warning on tricyclics: they are very physiologically addictive, have nasty withdrawal symptoms, can cause heart problems, and may seriously impair normal sleep. Use with extreme caution. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/24 "2003-07-01T16:03:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Markxxx \* > \*\*Last year I had to fly again and despite a few valium the doctor gave me I couldn’t even get past the airport. Then he gave me PAXIL. It worked within HOURS. I had NO anxiety what so ever. \*\* This is inconsistent with what the [manufacturer’s website](http://www.paxil.com/about/nw_pxl.html) says: > [@](#): > > Don’t get discouraged if your symptoms don’t improve right away. **It could be several weeks before you start to feel better.** Most people find that SSRI’s take 3-6 weeks to have any effect against anxiety or depression. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/25 "2003-07-01T17:06:01Z")
Personally, I’ve always noticed SSRIs to have an immediate stimulant effect for a day or so, which subsides before a slower improvement over several weeks. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/26 "2003-07-01T18:30:44Z")
That’s so interesting that you guys say that Zoloft gives you headaches. My neurologist has prescribed me 25 mg of zoloft a day to keep my migraines away. And it works, I only get migraines once or twice a month now. ---
**Author:** ![Padmaraga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Padmaraga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padmaraga)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/27 "2003-07-01T21:01:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\*There are also SNRIs (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) like Effexor to consider. \*\* And Serzone. I’ve been on it for several years now for depression and anxiety, and I don’t have any side effects. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Curtains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@Black\_Curtains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Curtains)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/28 "2003-07-01T21:11:51Z")
**Fear Itself:** I’ve been on that same .25mg dose of Alprazolam for three years 🙂 I guess I’m a rare case… unless it’s all in my mind _L_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/29 "2003-07-01T21:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Black Curtains \* > \*\ ***Fear Itself:** I’ve been on that same .25mg dose of Alprazolam for three years 🙂 I guess I’m a rare case… \*\* Not rare, just lucky: [Toxic Psychiatry: The Minor Tranquilizers](http://www.breggin.com/minortranqs.html) > [@](#): > > Individuals who take only one pill daily for sleep or anxiety are not exempt from withdrawal problems. In my private practice during the last few years I have worked with several people who were unable to stop taking a once-a-day standard dose of Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, or other minor tranquilizers. In each case, the attempt to stop the medication led to a disturbing degree of anxiety or insomnia within twenty-four hours. The problem seemed to be caused by rebound anxiety or rebound insomnia (see ahead). In a personal communication in late December 1990, internist John Steinberg confirmed that patients taking one Xanax tablet each day for several weeks can become addicted. Steinberg is medical director of the Chemical Dependency Program at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and president of the Maryland Society of Addiction Medicine. He points to research that Xanax and other short-acting benzodiazepines can cause a reactive hyperactivity of the receptors that they block. The hyperactive receptors then require one or more doses of Xanax each day or they produce anxiety and emotional discomfort. Steinberg calls the impact of Xanax “a fundamental change in the homeostasis of the brain.” **After the patient stops taking the Xanax, according to Steinberg, it takes the brain six to eighteen months to recover. Xanax patients should be warned, he says, that it can take a long time to get over painful withdrawal symptoms.** Since doctors frequently don’t realize this, they, too, are likely to be confused and to continue the drug in the hope of “treating” the patient’s drug-induced anxiety and tension. > > Many detoxification beds are occupied by patients addicted to minor tranquilizers and even more by those who are cross-addicted with alcohol and other drugs. Steinberg says that Xanax is “by far and away” the worst offender and that it definitely causes addiction without being mixed with other sedatives. **Steinberg estimates that one in ten patients receiving Xanax will become addicted. \* (Based on an estimated fifteen million people receiving Xanax each year in the United States, Steinberg concludes that 1.5 million Xanax addicts are produced each year.** ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/30 "2003-07-01T22:09:31Z")
I’ve taken Prozac and Serzone, but for plain old boring depression, not “social anxiety disorder” (whatever that’s supposed to mean.) Had very few side effects, except for Prozac which initially gave me MAJOR insomnia that lasted for three weeks!!! Right now I’m taking nothing, aside from an occasional Xanax to help with panic attacks. And I would strongly recommend NEVER taking Xanax, or any other benzodiazepine, on a regular basis…not only are they heavily addictive, but in some cases – including mine – they can cause _extreme psychosis!!_ :eek: I did take a tricyclic antidepressant for awhile (forget what it was called) and yeah, the side effects were pretty nasty. Especially the total loss of libido…I had to have my doc take me off it because I literally couldn’t “come” anymore. Oh, and ditto what **Lateralus** said about the magic mushrooms. 😃 Except I always thought it was the Lithium that it interacted with… ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/31 "2003-07-01T22:11:28Z")
Oh, and I’d take that “Toxic Psychiatry” link with a very large grain of salt…as we all should with badly formatted HTML pages that try to scare you into buying something. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/32 "2003-07-02T15:19:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\*Oh, and I’d take that “Toxic Psychiatry” link with a very large grain of salt…as we all should with badly formatted HTML pages that try to scare you into buying something. 😉 \*\* Web design aside, is there anything specific on the _Toxic Psychiatry_ site that you disagree with? All the claims are well documented, and the notion that all of America’s mental health issues can be solved with the right combination of expensive pharmaceuticals is something that must be investigated. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/33 "2003-07-02T17:35:21Z")
I actually was never on Zoloft. Ask me about Prozac, Effexor, Serzone, Anafranol… now I’m on Luvox (OCD, officially) and probably will be for at least a little while anyways. But my sister had a bad side effect from Zoloft that nobody prepared her for - arthritis. At the student health center at her tiny private college, they gave the stuff out like candy. A few days after starting it, she found she could barely walk because her knees hurt so bad. When she crawled back to the health center, they told her “Oh yeah, sometimes it causes some inflammation in the joints. Here, have some painkillers.” She said “Forget it,” and eventually ended up on Prozac (prescribed by a _real_ doctor). Funny thing, I’ve told psychiatrists about that little episode in my sister’s life and they generally say “Well, that’s a new one on me. Never heard of that happening before.” Just goes to show you, they don’t know everything. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/34 "2003-07-02T18:44:22Z")
On Paxil for about a year and a half now. I had suffered depression and anxiety for years and years. I tried various herbal remedies and all the standard coping mechanisms. In the fall of 2001 nothing worked; I was having crying jags throughout the day and could not sleep at night. After getting to the point where I cried one night for 3 hours and was unable to stop, I asked my doctor. She listened (she’s real good at that) and prescribed Paxil, and explained that you have to start off at a small dose and see how it works. Also said to stop all other remedies first, including things like St. John’s wort. After determining that the small dose was working, and not causing any side effects, we increased the dose. Now I don’t get panic attacks, and things like exercise, taking a nice walk, getting involved in interesting activities, and all the other coping mechanisms actually work. It’s like a gray curtain has been lifted. Obviously this is just my experience, YMMV. There are lots of different meds out there, and what works for me may not work for another. Assuming you have a good doctor, try out the suggested dose, and report all effects, positive and negative, to him/her. If the first medicine doesn’t do what you want, I’m sure he/she will have another to try. I am not a doctor. However, I’ve observed in myself and in others that underlying anxiety and tension can decrease one’s ability to deal with problems, creating a vicious feedback cycle. A friend of mine who is in the mental health profession says that often a course of a medication of this sort can be useful in order to help a person become receptive to therapy. Once the cycle is broken, sometimes people can taper off the meds. But not always. I think (IANAD) that in some of us it’s a chemical imbalance, not unlike diabetes, that will not respond well to therapy alone. Good luck to you – it sounds to me like you have a good attitude toward the issue. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/35 "2003-07-03T11:51:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \*\*\*Web design aside, is there anything specific on the _Toxic Psychiatry_ site that you disagree with? All the claims are well documented, and the notion that all of America’s mental health issues can be solved with the right combination of expensive pharmaceuticals is something that must be investigated. \*\* Because it seems totally one-sided, mainly. Anything that focuses solely on the bad (OR the good) side is deserving of suspicion. I’ve had some terrible experiences with prescription drugs, even when taken “properly” – FAR worse than any “illicit” drug I’ve ever taken. OTOH, I’ve had some mild to moderate success with other 'scrip drugs. So if his premise really is, “ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE BAD”, then right off the bat I know he’s wrong. Of course, maybe I should just shut up until I read the book for myself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Melanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Melanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melanie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/36 "2003-07-03T12:24:53Z")
Hi, This isn’t meant to be a joke, but in my last post I totally forgot to mention that since going on SSRI’s my memory is screwed. I used to have an outstanding memory and now it is so bad as to be almost dysfunctional. I can’t even remember who on this board I really dislike 🙂 I can’t even remember your name. I concur with Senor Beef about the empathy. Since not feeling depressed, I have lost a lot of empathy. Interesting. Oui - it completely fixed my migraines. Do you find yours are linked to low blood sugar at all? Cuau - very very interesting. My knees are now screwed, but its probably due to the 12 years of ballet rather than the 7 years on anti-d’s. Stay away from those tricyclics. Shit I didn’t even know they prescribed em any more. Mel. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/37 "2003-07-03T13:37:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > \*\*G’day > > I used to take a tricyclic (amitryptaline) for depression, which produced a few minor side-effects (dry mouth, a fine tremor, and some slight blurring of my vision) but worked very well. > > Then my psychiatrist switched me to Prozac to try to diminish the side-effects (not that I’d ever complained about the side effects). My extra-pyramidal symptoms went away, but I found it very difficult to achieve orgasm. And after a bit my girlfriend got sick of my plunging away for hours and not coming, and after another bit I got sick of faking it. So my psychiatrist switched me to Effexor, which had the same side-effect and gave me headaches. > > No I’ve stopped seeing psychiatrists, and get my GP (who does what I tell her) to give me prescriptions for amitryptaline, and I’m feeling a lot better. > > Tricyclics: good if you have hairtrigger trouble. > > Regards, > Agback \*\* All your life us men are told that women want to go all night long and then when you suddenly find you can is reality like that? No… ---
**Author:** ![obnoxa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7bcc69/32.png) [@obnoxa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obnoxa)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/38 "2003-07-03T16:24:14Z")
I’m on 200 mgs of Zoloft for OCD, it has helped alot over the past year. I started at 25 mgs and gradually worked my way up, each time we stepped up the meds I had mild headaches for a day or two and well, let’s just say increase the breads and cheeses in your diet if you know what I mean. 😉 Because of my OCD symptoms I had suffered alot of anxiety and panic attacks, the Zoloft has curbed those completely which cleared my mind for CBT and habit reversal therapy. It’s not a cure, but it will definitely improve your symptoms and make other forms of therapy possible. Good Luck! ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/39 "2003-07-03T17:35:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blackclaw \* > \*\*All your life us men are told that women want to go all night long and then when you suddenly find you can is reality like that? No… \*\* I had that experience with the first SSRI I was on. I thought it was really cool for about a couple of weeks … Then I began to realize that this ought to be included as one of the official punishments in Hell. “And here’s the third-and-a-halfth circle, where adulterers and pimps are condemned to have sex eternally.” “That’s a punishment?!” “They can’t reach climax. Bwah-hah-ha!!” ---
**Author:** ![PookaKitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@PookaKitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookaKitten)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468/40 "2003-07-03T18:04:41Z")
When I was unipolar depressive, I was on Zoloft. I was on 25 mg for a week, and then 50 mg from there. I actually was able to cut my dose back down to 25 mg, and had no symptoms. My mother, who was also on Zoloft, eventually was able to quit taking it. I later was put up to about 100 mg, but that was because the psychiatrist at the time didn’t test me for hypothyroidism as the cause of my sudden depression and exhaustion. The thyroid medicine helped /so/ much. If you suffer from depression, and your psychiatrist/doctor does not give you a test for it, request it. The treatment is one pill a day, and an occasional blood test. That could be the actual cause of your depression, especially if hypothyroidism runs in your family, like mine. Incidentally, I suggested to my pdoc that I cut my Zoloft to 50 mg was because I was not interested in sex like I was before I started taking the medication. Well, cutting the dose brought back my libido and still kept my depression in check. Mission accomplished. Later, my unipolar depression morphed into bipolar disorder (manic-depression). I tried a series of SSRIs to deal with the depression side of the disease such as Effexor XR, Celexa and probably one or two I’ve forgotten. What works for me now is a combination of Lexapro (a more concentrated form of Celexa) and Wellbutrin which works on 2 different neurotransmitters than a SSRI. I’ve tried cutting down to just one, but that just plunges me into a depression. At least I’m lucky enough to respond to medication really quickly. Now if my pdoc and I can find a way to deal with this memory problem I’m having. I found my memory was worse when he added Provigil to my regimen to try and help my memory. Now we’re trying Aricept, hoping it helps. My opinion is that so long as it helps me, I don’t care that it’s for Alzheimer’s. —Samantha [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-ssris-especially-zoloft/185468.md?page=3)