I’m scared to take Zoloft?

[dancingpumpkin]

I have tried paxil, prozac and lexapro, all of which caused a tremendous amount of nausea so severe I nearly got sick. Now, I'm petrified of trying something else. I asked about zoloft in the treatment thread and only got two responses. Can anyone please provide me with your experience on zoloft. I need to know if it caused you nausea, how long? did it go away and after how many days? Did you take it w/ or w/o food? In the AM or PM? What food best worked for you to avoid nausea? how many mg did you start with and end up with and how long before it started making a positive difference on your anxiety or depression or whatever you took it for? I feel paranoid about SSRI's but really need to wean myself off the xanax. I know I can't stay on xanax forever. I'm forcing myself to try yet another SSRI such as zoloft because I've seen counselors and they have given up on me and I have done the same. I won't see another counselor. This was the last straw for me so i have no choice but to try meds which I'm against. I'm scared of the suicidal cases against these drugs. I remember after one week of paxil, I had this severe, dark and scary episode of depression that lasted 24 hrs. I cried nonstop for no reason with any commercial. I felt more depressed than I really was and wanted to stop living.Thank God I never had the courage to do anything to myself but I did wish I would just not wake up one morning from a natural death. I know I'm asking for personal info. but please give me some relief. I went ahead and just had a light meal like a few roasted potatoes, a few broccoli florets and some melted cheddar cheese and then took only about 12.5 mg of zolft. I took a 25 mg pill and cut it in half out of being a chicken. I hope I feel fine. I hope I can take xanax with it so I can go to sleep and see how I wake up.


Please respond.


Pumpkin

[dancingpumpkin]

ok, it's been an hour and a half since I took 6 mg of zoloft with food and feel queasy. This nausea feels just like the one I had with the other SSRI's only milder cuz it's a smaller dose. I'm convinced that If I had taken the whole 25 mg. I would have v*. I guess I'm just the kind of person that can't tolerate SSRI's. I already took xanax and some phenergan and it should have worked since it's been 40 min that I took it and I only got some mild relief from anxiety but it hasn't made me drowsy like it used to. This is why I had to try some SSRI because I'm afraid I'm needing to increase my xanax dose after using it for a year and half consistently and I think I'm building tolerance or just a stressful time at work. I'm having a panic attack due to the nausea. Now I feel I might not sleep and I feel so tired and sleep deprived. Help!!!

[Girlygirl1980s]

I have heard that Zoloft is one of the best tolerated SSRIs. I've thought of going on it myself, but have been too chicken. I once tried Paxil and experienced nausea like you.

[sela]

I took zoloft for a few years quite a long time ago and I know it made
me seriously naseous for about 3 weeks.....but then it worked
great. I started Celexa 6 months ago and the first month, I had a
major increase in anxiety but no nausea at all and the meds are really
helping a lot. If you find the zoloft makes you feel super
yuck....I recommend trying Celexa....although the increase in anxiety
at the beginning sucks....you don't feel sick with it....this is my
experience anyway! I wish you luck....try to persevere....after
the initial yuckies....they really do help alot!!!

[dita]

I took zoloft for about 6 months, and i didn't really get nauseous, but i definitely had NO appetitie whatsoever for about 2-3 weeks. I got off zoloft because it made me a walking zombie......it helped w/ depression, but it made me feel soooo sleepy all the time so i quit. When i started to get off of it, it made me really dizzy and weird feeling for about 1-2 weeks. I never have gone back on it, and my depression hasn't came back since. I think it is different for everyone, it just depends on your how your body reacts to stuff.

[tanyarn]

When I started on Lexapro I had gotten real sleepy, light-headed and nauseous. As for Lexapro, I felt fine. Just a bit nervous and it made me sweat a lot. Prozac made me feel the worst:O(

[japa]

pumpkin --


I know that you posted this way back on the 22nd. I have never taken Zoloft, so I don't have much to tell you about that.


But your suicidally depressed episode after one week of taking Paxil: Sweetie, I really don't think that was caused by the Paxil. One week of taking it is not going to send anybody into a downswing like that. That was something that you were going to go through anyway. They take about six weeks to have positive effects on mood and for what is usually mild side effects to go away. (perhaps you are intolerant or perhaps your anxiety about the pills is compounding everything) But one week is just not significant enough to have some tremendous effect on your mood in a negative manner either.


The suicidalfeelings that people complain about from SSRI's happen after going off of them supposedly. And the rest of the suicidal stuff is about children and teens who are meant not to take these drugs anymore because they react differently than adults do.


I really think that your fear about the drugs is just making you feel effects that you would not be feeling otherwise. I wonder if you could take Xanax with the Zoloft until you get used to being on it and realize you don't need to be afraid of it.


I'm also disappointed to hear that you've sworn off therapy. Why? What happened? How is it that counselors gave up on you?

[brina85]

i took zoloft and it made me feel sleepy but what i hated the most was the loss of sex drive and the sex sucked thats all i hated it for other then that it is a good med it made me feel soooooo happy no worrys no anything also when i got off it it did make me feel weird and dizzy but it is a good med i started with 25 mg for 1 week then i took 50mg then after month or so you can take 100mg u should stay on it but good lock for sex

[madisonsmom]

I have tried many meds and Zoloft has the only one I have tolerated well. I have never felt sick on it at all. Just tired when I first started taking it.

[valkyriegrl]

I was on Zoloft for years, and I don't recall ever feeling sick from it. It was a long time ago, mind you, but if memory serves me it didn't. It did, however turn me into an emotional zombie! It relieved the crushing depression, but it also took away happiness, anger, my sense of humour, my short-term memory, etc. I still have a short-term memory impairment that I blame on my years of Zoloft, especially since I was taking it in my formative teen years. I was on Effexor for about 2 days, but it caused me to hallucinate and act very erratically - they took me off those very quickly!

[6pksummer]

Hi..i just started taking zoloft. I take 50 mg of it, every night before bed. For the first week, I was N*. I just kept taking it..and kept pushing through every day. The only reason I was N* was cuz there was a nwe drug in my system. Now, I have been on it for about 2.5 - 3 weeks, and I feel great! I notice no n*!!


I take mine before I go to bed, since it is suppose to make you sleepy. I wake up feeling refreshed. During the day, when I did feel naseous, I would eat, and that seemed to help the naseua. Just try it...work through it...it takes a little bit for your system to adjust to it.


Keep me posted on how it is working for you!

[sage]

pumpkin, dude....you poor thing. You really are stuck in this place of being so scared - too scared to even help yourself. The point of all the responses (and there have been MANY threads like this) is that while SSRIs have scared many many emetophobes and several, like yourself, have reported feeling funny when they first take them - even nauseous....there are NO stories of anyone vomiting from it! And after 3-4 weeks you will feel SOOOO much better once they kick in!


I suggest you go to your doctor or psychiatrist who gives you your prescriptions and ask for things like 1) can you take your xanax with the SSRI (to help your anxiety) and 2) can he or she prescribe a powerful anti-emetic for any ensuing nausea. So the trick will be to be LESS anxious and LESS nauseous until the SSRIs kick in (3-4 weeks).


Also...I don't know how old you are, but if you're a teenager it will be important to watch your moods while on the SSRIs and report to your doctor IMMEDIATELY if they get worse (as you described before). Your doctor needs to know this, to adjust dosage or type. And don't mess around with the dosage yourself - ASK YOUR DOCTOR.


Good luck! In a short time, I'll bet you feel SOOOO much better!

[alwaysamber]

Just remember with these responses that everyone reacts different to SSRIs as with any medication. It may not work for others but some people it can work wonders. You really have to kinda go through a trial and error to find what works best for you. I have had to try many.

Amber

[tattoopetunia]

I had the same fear about Zoloft that you did, pumpkin. I has worked really well for me. I take 50mg at night because it makes me a tiny bit drowsy. I have only experienced n* a few times while taking it, but I don't think it was due to the med. Oh and I have not needed my xanax once while on Zoloft. I do carry it around with me though. Sort oflike a security blanket, you know? You will get through this girl. Just keep your head up.

[jandub]

[jandub]

Gosh darnit, I always do that, sorry about the blank post. Pumpkin, I have been on just about every anti-anxiety anti-depressant out there, and had major side effects with every one. I am currently on zoloft and it does have the least side effects although maybe the strangest. I had no tummy side effects, but if I take the zoloft on an empty stomach I get diarreah. So I make sure and eat with it. I also have had memory loss some, and major insomnia, so I take ambien at night. But, the good far outweighs the bad. I also have obsessive compulsive disorder, so I'm on a really high dose of zoloft, and feel like its really working. Could you maybe chug some pepto with your pill or take a quarter of a phenergan with it? I find that any tummy problems I had with the pills always went away in a couple weeks. To the extreme with the paxil, I gained thirty five pounds and lost it when I finally decided to go off it. Anyway, I hope you find something that works for you because it really did help me out, just sort of calmed things down inside my head, thank God. I really do hope you find something for you that you can tolerate, its worth it. I wish you the best! Janna

[samara's on tv]

I take 200mg of Zoloft once a day. It used to be 100mg but they upped the dosage a few months ago. I felt a little sick when they upped the dosage but not anywhere NEAR getting sick...just a little queasy and after a few days it went away. I would say you should be fine with just 25mgs cause I'm taking like 8 times the amount you are and it barely did anything to me. But then again I don't know about your stomach, and different people react differently to meds. I take mine at night and it doesn't really matter if I take it with food or not. I usually don't take it with food actually. But you probably should take it with food if you are worried about getting nauseous.


~Monica