Have you used "ZOLOFT" to treat depression? Whats your experience with it?

@megs85 (3142)
Australia
January 27, 2007 2:17pm CST
When I was diagnosed with sever postnatal depression, I was prescribed Zoloft to help treat it. At the beginning i was both ashamed and embarrassed at having to use medication, but my experience with this drug has been nothing but positive. The side effects were minimal and the effect they had on both my mood and coping skills was indescribable. After two months, I stopped taking them (cold turkey like I wasnt supposed to OOPS) but I have felt great ever since.
3 people like this
14 responses
@tigrashadow (1086)
• Australia
28 Jan 07
first id like to say (for anyone reading this), no one should feel ashamed or embarrassed for having to use medication to help them cope. if it helps your moods then it helps those around you as not all people can handle those who suffer depression, nor do they know what to do. whilst you are supposed to come off medications slowly, if you are fine now then thats great! i have had different medications and havent tried zoloft but my ones are working for me - which is all that matters. some people have good experiences with one medication and others have a bad reaction to the same one. the trick is to find the right one for you with the help and close monitoring of your doctor. all anti depressants (and of course other medications) warn of side effects but ive been fortunate enough not to have experienced them. i dont really think zoloft is any different to taking any other anti depressant, but depends on how one's body reacts to each individual medication.
3 people like this
• United States
29 Jan 07
I took Zoloft several years ago for depression and I had a negative reaction to it. It made me want to sleep all the time. Which wasn't good because that's what I was wanting to do anyways. My doctor took me off it put me on Paxil. Which did work for a while. One last thing. It wasn't a good idea to come off of it cold turkey you could have had a very bad reaction.
@megs85 (3142)
• Australia
29 Jan 07
i think i was pretty lucky to do it the way i did, cold turkey. people have told me horror stories since then...
@megs85 (3142)
• Australia
31 Jan 07
LOL: my bones are just fine and dandy thanks for your concern ;) Just out of curiousity, have you got any links, or any research/info you can share to back up these claims?
@imsilver (1665)
• Canada
2 Feb 07
I'm really glad that it worked for you. I was prescribed zoloft at one time years ago for my depression but had issues with it. I felt that it totally.. um... zombied me maybe is the word I'm looking for.. i wasn't depressed but I wasn't happy either.. I wasn't anything.. it was like walking around in a haze.. and I'd rather have the good and bad days than just the same old blah day everyday..
@patgalca (18164)
• Orangeville, Ontario
1 Feb 07
I took Zoloft, but I cannot tell you for how long. The side effect I experienced was difficulty in urinating. I am not ashamed that I am on anti-depressants. I think I will probably have to be on them forever. I believe it is a chemical imbalance because I did try on two occasions to wean myself off the anti-depressant I am on now (Wellbutrin). I immediately became tired and down. When the insurance company put me on the generic brand I went into a terrible depression for a month. It took me that long for me to realize that the generic was having the opposite effect. As soon as I got back on the name brand Wellbutrin my mood changed within a couple of days. Anti-depressants are a good thing (sorry Tom Cruise!)
3 people like this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
1 Feb 07
I was on zoloft for a short period of time. It gave me migraines so I had to stop it. My neice though was on it longer and although it did help with her depression she also gained weight on it. Yeah it's one of those atypical side effects. Most lose weight, she gained it and she gained a lot. She's just now starting to lose it and she has a ways to go. With any med if you see a change you need to call the doctor and let them know, don't just quit. I am glad though that you did well on it and still doing well. Make sure you check with your doctor on it though, be on the safe side.
• United States
1 Feb 07
I took Zoloft for anxiety and depression. It actually changed my mood and my temper as well! I swear that if I wasn't taking it, I would yell more and get mad easier. It just made me a happier person. I hate to blame happiness on a pill, but this one works!!! I also had no side effects (besides elevated mood!)
3 people like this
• United States
1 Feb 07
I've been taking zoloft for about 2 years now and haven't had any problems with it except possibly fatigue, but that could also be due to other medications I am also taking.
@msqtech (15074)
• United States
6 Feb 07
I think it is a great thing that it worked for you. We all need help from time to time and we shouldnt be embarrassed by it. It is a great problem that we view problems as weakness. Everyone has problems.
2 people like this
@norteh (615)
• Netherlands
27 Jan 07
I'm a psychiatric nurse and i have seen patients get better with the treatment of zoloft. It's one of the medicine which have small side-effects. I have seen great results with it.
@megs85 (3142)
• Australia
31 Jan 07
Theres still no substantiated evidence to support that claim, lol... My experience has been nothing but positive, but I know others that did have bead reactions to it, or for whom it had no effect.
@Lydia1901 (16351)
• United States
7 Feb 07
It sounds like that was not great for you at all. I never really used it before, so I do not know how it feels to use it whatsoever.
• India
28 Jan 07
No i have not tried because i have not ever got depressed so i have not used this type of problems. if i come to occur this type of situation then i will make it to try your advice
@Mazna123 (65)
• India
31 Jan 07
hello..... well tis medicine u r talkin abt Zoloft.... where do u get it... well i hve tried anti depressant they dont help... i m frm india u cn think of any whc cn help.... my only depression is i m gettin maried to a guy i dnt love... so well tell me cn i find any medications....
@megs85 (3142)
• Australia
31 Jan 07
My advice to you would be to go to talk to a doctor or counsellor regardign the way you feel, before even considering medication...
@cersei (62)
• United States
29 Jan 07
It's good to hear you had a positive experience with Zoloft! I took it for a while when I was depressed, and I guess it helped some. The weird thing about it (and other medicines like it, I suppose) is that you don't really notice them helping you till you go off of them. At least, that's how it was for me. I forgot to take my pill one night and was in a depressed stupor for a week afterwards. But yeah, it was okay until I had to switch.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18164)
• Orangeville, Ontario
1 Feb 07
I find this true with vitamins and supplements as well. For my fibromyalgia I take 3 Mag-Citrate pills a day. I get depressed when I think of how much money I spend on supplements because insurance doesn't cover it. When the three stores in our town that sell Mag-Citrate sold out, I went without it for a week and I truly found out the difference it was making for me. My pain increased when I was not taking it.
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
1 Feb 07
I"ve been on zoloft twice in the last 4 or so years. The first time, i decided to stop taking them because i felt great, but then I fell into even deeper depression. I've been on them again now for over a year and i feel great. soon i'll be seeing a psychologist to help me deal with my issues and wean myself off the pills. But no one should be ashamed for taking them. All they do is regulate your feel-good chemicals and make you feel normal until you can see someone and resolve your issues.
• United States
1 Feb 07
Its important when on psychiatric medicine not to ever go off them cold turkey. You have to go off gradually or the problem recurs worse than you even had it to begin with. Its too bad society stigmatizes mental illness, they should view it similar to diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
@besthope44 (12123)
• India
23 Oct 10
Well for depression, medicines are not solution. Do Meditation, try breathing exercise, it will help you balance and handle depression.