Sertraline Hydrochloride (Lustral, Zoloft, etc...)

[~Nobody~]

Well, I have been prescribed Sertraline. Not just for the depression, but for the PTSD and the general anxiety and panic that accompanies it. I'm "starting" on 50mg a day, but not until Saturday because I have an exam on Thursday and the psychiatrist said I should wait until afterwards in case it makes me ill.

I was just wondering how many of you have used this, either for depression or an anxiety disorder (or both). Did it help? How quickly did it take effect? What side-effects (if any) did you experience? How much did you find you needed to take and for how long?

Any advice of this nature is much appreciated.

I've read all that Wikipedia etc has to say, so I know the technical stuff. I was just wondering what the actual experience is, in real life. I'm also particularly interested in how it reacts with alcohol, diazepam, and tramadol (not all at once though!!). Again, I've looked it up but various sites don't seem to agree at all, especially with regards to alcohol.

Thanks :smile:.

 

[~Nobody~]

Anyone? Was just hoping maybe someone could give me a little input before I start taking this on Saturday.

No problem if no-one here has taken it, I just thought a few of you probably would have. Apparently it's a very 'popular' SSRI.

 

[theleastofthese]

I've been on it for several years and it's worked very well for me. I've gone off it a few times (only cause I ran out and couldn't afford it, it's expensive) and going back on it brings back the initial side effects, which for me are, nausea. That goes away in a week or two and I experience no other side effects/ill effects. There is one rare side effect - one of the last listed side effects - that I like very much. It says "may cause bizarre or unusual thoughts or dreams". I have the most strange and interesting dreams! Not upsetting or scary, just really weird. I call it "the Zoloft Cinema"... only problem is, as soon as I "leave the theatre", I forget the movie!:wink: :rolleyes: As for "bizarre thoughts", I've always been an oddball so my thoughts have always been bizarre!:rolleyes:

I started out on 50 mg a day, then went to 100 mg, then my depression got worse over the holidays so my Pdoc upped it to 150 mg, which seems to be helping.

I'm sure there are people who haven't been helped by it, everyone reacts differently to meds, but it's been a lifesaver for me. For an interesting site on psychotropic medicines go to www.crazymeds.org There's a lot of interesting info on just about every drug there.

Good luck and hope it helps you.

least

My Pdoc said you're not supposed to drink alcohol while taking it, so if I have a drink or a glass of wine, I don't take it that nite.

 

[~Nobody~]

Thanks Least :smile:.

Just thought I'd update things...

I've been taking the Sertraline for about two and a half weeks now.

As of yet I haven't experienced any improvement in my mood or my anxiety levels. I have to keep at it for another four weeks before they consider upping the dose though (why?).

No drastically awful side-effects. It makes me feel queasy if I take it on an empty stomach, so I just make sure I drink a milkshake or something with it if I don't feel like eating and then it's okay. It made me very drowsy for a while but I think that's worn off now (or I've just got used to it).

I'm really willing it to make a positive difference for me. I guess maybe I just need to be taking more of it, or something... I don't know.

In terms of interactions with other stuff, for some reason taking ibuprofen seems to make me feel very giddy, so I've stopped taking it and haven't even tried diclofenac. I've just been taking paracetamol. The alcohol thing seems to be okay. I figured I'd try it out and take it carefully and it just seems to affect me a lot quicker. I'd say that a glass of wine affects me about twice as much now as it did before (what a way to save money eh? :tongue. No negative effects provided I'm careful.

That's it really. I'll keep you posted. If anyone can provide me with any more information/experiences that'd be appreciated too. :smile:

 

[Bob26003]

Hello Nobody...... I have been on Zoloft for 2 yrs.

Before that I was on xanax for probably five yrs. When they took me off the xanax two yrs ago I quit College and work and began isolating. Two yrs later, I still Isolate.

Zoloft, just like other SSRIs are not miracle drugs. They work slowly, and you may not even notice.

The zoloft seems to keep me from hitting the very low lows. More emotionally consistent.

It is not enough to get me functioning again, but for me, only a good benzo can do that.

Give it a shot, lemme know how it is going........ Good Luck

 

[Bob26003]

Oh Yeah, they say it will help with anxiety....... They are full of shit IMHO

 

[bombeni]

I started zoloft about 6 weeks ago, first at 50 mg. then my doc upped it to 100 mg a day about 3 weeks ago, and it is helping both my depression and my anxiety. It is helping a lot. I tried other antidepressants and none seemed to help me much, including prozac. But my son, who was very depressed and had become very isolated started on zoloft a year ago, and the transformation in him was unbelieveable. He is a different person now, he is much more outgoing and has more energy, and his mood is definitely better. So I thought I better give it a try and can only say good stuff about it. Don't know about the side effects w/ the alcohol though.

 

[Just_visiting]

I wasnt sure whether to post on this or not. I took zoloft for a while when i was very depressed. I was pescribed it after prozac didnt help. My dose was increased quite quickly to 150 mg and it made me quite ill. I developed something known as "sertraline poisoning". Now i must emphasise here that my DR told me that this is very very rare and there have only been about 10 reported cases in the world... so it is not something that people should b concerned about. Basically the symptons i got was very rigid muscles, strong reflexes, a tremor, slurred speech and absences. Thankfully most of these side effects disapeared after i was taken of the meds, altho it did take almost a year for them to disapear completely.

As i sed i was told this is very rare, and was partly to do with being on a high dose for someone my size so i dont think anyone taking zoloft should worry. I just thought i would share my experiance
L1

 

[Freakstorm]

Different things work for different people. I was on it for OCD and Depression at varying doses, eventually I was on 200 which is the maximum they could give me at my age. Didn't do anything for me, but I hope it works for you.

 

[broken_slate]

i'm the same as above, i was on 200mg for about a year, and it didnt do anything for me, but i have met people in hospital who are really pleased with the differences when on it. like above said, different meds work for different people, and i hope you get the effect you want from it. take care, xxx

 

[~Nobody~]

Still no effect :dry:.

Seeing the psychiatrist tomorrow though (at last) so maybe she'll see sense now and up it or change it or something...

 

[toniejean]

I have been on antidepressants for about 12 yrs. I started out on zoloft and it worked for about 6 months increasing the zolft to I think to 200 mg. I noticed that i was becoming depressed again. When I saw my doctor he explained that the medication can stop working. News flash to me. Anyway
I was switched to effexor xr 100mg which worked for a while.

Since then I have had my meds change several times. At this time I am on effexor xr 75 3 a day x 1 and 1 wellbuttrin xl 300 mg x 1 a day.

I have not had this feeling of wellbeing ever. I pray that it will hold for a while.

My doctor has told me that what ever is going on for me they can fix it. He has hasn't failed me yet. I just have to learn not to settle on a little depression.

I have:ocd/severe aniexity/ and so on. I have just gotten clear enough to see what has been happening with my behavior. My family ,bless their hearts, have been trying to understand.

Best to you all, tonie jean

 

[Somombo]

Nobody - How did your appointment go? Have you upped the dose?

I'm currently in the process of coming off Citalopram to start on Sertraline. I was on 40mg Citalopram, cut down to 20mg two weeks ago and a week today I'm swiching to 50mg Sertraline.

Kind of scared. This threads been helpful

 

[~Nobody~]

Nobody - How did your appointment go? Have you upped the dose?

I'm currently in the process of coming off Citalopram to start on Sertraline. I was on 40mg Citalopram, cut down to 20mg two weeks ago and a week today I'm swiching to 50mg Sertraline.

Kind of scared. This threads been helpful

Hiya,

I'm glad this thread's been helpful :smile: :hug:.

The appointment I referred to got cancelled at their end (boy was I cross), then the one after that I couldn't get to because I'd just had my appendix out :dry:. I have one tomorrow and hopefully they will put the dose up because it's really doing nothing for me at 50mg.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow! :rolleyes:

 

[Gothic-Midnight-Rose]

I've been on 50mg a day for about a year and a half.

Meds and I don;t like eachother. They start working and then 6 months later they stop lol
I'm not sure if this is related but when I don't manage to take it for a couple of days my lips start to quiver and go all tingly. I've only noticed it when I don't take it.

As for side effects, the only one I got was nausea

Much <3
-Wednesday-

 

[~Nobody~]

Well, they have taken me off Sertraline and put me on Mirtazapine (which there is a thread about here).

I was quite surprised, I thought they'd try putting the Sertraline dose up first (as I was only on 50mg and I know it can be upped to 200mg). But they were worried about my sleep (or lack of!!) and said that Mirtazapine would help that.

So, no more Sertraline stories from me, but I hope other people will continue to find this thread useful :smile:.

 

[~CazzaAngel~]

Errmm... I was on it... didn't help me, made me sick, but it has helped some people.