Whilst Sertraline (UK Zoloft) has changed me for the better, how do you come to accept you need a medication to stay afloat, and that it isn't a massive 'defect' on your part?
I always think that diet, exercise, mindfulness technique, CBT, supplement, gratitude list will rid me of my depression, but ultimately without this medication, I cannot function.
It's a very bitter pill to swallow sometimes - no pun intended.
I went down from 125mg to 100mg on June 11th and I’m crying ALL the friggen time and it feels uncontrollable. I feel more depressed. Is this even normal???
Hi guys,
So I recently got moved from 20mg of citalopram to 50mg of sertealin. I take it in the morning when I wake up, but for the past three weeks (since I started them) I CANNOT sleep 😭 Some days I do around 30,000 steps, my body absolutely exhausted and I feel tired, but my mind feels wired. Like I can just feel that switch to transition to sleep will not flick off. Sometimes I even think I can feel tremors inside me, like there's a poor traumatised dog in there shaking! Sounds wild but I can't explain the sensations.
Currently only able to 2/3 hours of sleep when not on sleeping aids to help. Ideally I don't want to be having to take zopiclone or promethazine hydrochloride to help me transition. I suffered from insomnia before this, but not because my sleep drive wasn't there. I've always had a sleep drive, but not right now. Does this last forever? I can't cope with 2/3 hours sleep a night. I feel awful 😭
Alas, it has helped with my daytime anxiety a lot already! Any help, info or advice would be great. Thanks!!
Zoloft has changed my life.
I was scared to start. I read horror stories about symptoms and was terrified. But it has been AMAZING.
So, I started Zoloft at 25 mg on April 13th. I didn’t have any side effects and didn’t feel any better. My doctor increase my dose to 50 mg on April 26th. The only side effect was I felt a little jittery/heart racing. I still felt anxious and depressed. My doctor increase my dose again to 75mg on May 6th.
I would say about two weeks later I was out running errands and I was like “wait a second, I feel happy. And not anxious”. It was like a light switch.
Since starting the 75mg I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. I feel happy, confident, not as “in my head” as I used to be, less anxious, and less socially anxious. I feel more energetic. When I was in social situations, having a drink would let me become more “myself” and less anxious. Since being on 75mg, when I’m in social situations, it feels like I’ve had a drink when I haven’t. And it’s almost like I don’t even need that drink to feel confident and less anxious.
I’m less depressed. I used to be sad for no reason. I would cry a lot (almost every day for a couple months). Now, I haven’t cried in 6 weeks. There was something sad that happened a few days ago, I got a little teary eyed, but it passed SO quick (within like 30 seconds) and I moved on.
Zoloft is amazing. I hope I never have to get off of this drug.
Alright I have been on the generic Zoloft 50mg for almost 2 years. my periods just seem worse I get these headaches behind my right eye, brain fog…just all around enough to make me wonder is it time to come off??? It has helped in so many ways but now I just wonder if the pros outweigh the cons but I’m scared. What’s it like to come off Zoloft what should I look for? I feel mentally better than before but these periods…and the weight gain!
Guys I’m on 9th day of sertaline I keep having these thoughts the voice in my head feels loud like I’m going to die I’m going to be punished sometimes I’m okay but now I feel like I’m going to die and my mind is just fucking with me so hard idk I hate this but everything feels intense the mental loops EVERYTNING am I okay is this normal my panic attacks are so bad at night and my heart is like gonna pump out of my chest what’s wrong is this normal and I okay is this okay am I okay
I find the edibles feel flat, but inhalation once a day is potent. I am on 50 mg of Zoloft daily. I use cannabis nightly as a relax and unwind ritual.
Hi I've been 3 months and 21 days since iver started sertraline (currently on 100mg). The first three months on it were rough on me mentally but the past few weeks I feel like i've regained that hope for life that I thought I'd never get back. I just wanted to share!! For anyone that is currently struggling
For reference, I am a 33 year old female, diagnosed ADHD and depression since the age of 8. I used to take concerta, Zoloft, remeron, and lexapro from the age of 8-18. Got back on my remeron and concerta in 2024. Seemed to help some, but not with my anxiety that’s become a pretty decent problem. All started when I went through an episode that I could not sleep after switching to nightshift and after 48 hours I was in full blown panic the job was severely short staffed and the DON an absolute awful person, I quit suddenly, but haven’t had trouble finding and keeping work since but the anxiety remains, when my doctor tried to start me on Zoloft and venlafaxine 3 weeks ago it sent me into panic mode, pupils like saucers felt more anxious than every, felt the same I did when I quit that job in 2024. I’m trying to not do the venlafaxine and just start the Zoloft but I’m still feeling anxious, a little manic to be honest and all around uncomfortable. I don’t remember it making me feel this way as an adolescent. Any thoughts? Current diagnosis are ADHD, Depression, Anxiety disorder. I will say it may be relevant my mother is diagnosed bipolar 1, and drug induced schizophrenia. I do sometimes wonder if maybe the Zoloft isn’t sitting well because I am bipolar, type 2. I don’t want to self diagnose, it’s worth mentioning the dr prescribing me these meds is a GP, thinking about seeking out a psychiatrist considering one of my nurse practitioners at work stated that you should never start an SSRI AND SNRI at once, but I do like him as a general practitioner very much. Any advice? I have a follow up on Wednesday.
I was put on zoloft while away in a rehabilitation facility without consent or even telling me they were changing meds. My experience with it was not fun at all, I had severe DPDR. Everything looked straight out of GTA, I had lines in my vision, and visual and auditorium hallucinations. Nothing crazy, just seeing people in my room, hearing doors opening, peoples breaking in and people luaghing.
While I was using this med, I couldnt just quit weed. I ate cheap gummies everyday. (just enough to be aware) and it backfired. The syntoms I mentioned worsened. But I'm so addicted I just couldnt stop, so I decided I had enough and stopped taking zoloft and risperidone (antipsychotic, something else they put me on without telling me) all together. F*** the weaning it. My med handler who only knows me thru a screen, says no to stopping them. But how can he tell me what to do when he dosent even know me in person? And after what I told him? Nobody would listen to that ***.
Its been 8 days since I stopped Zoloft. At first I had severe brain zaps, memory loss, racing heart, panic, tinnitus, coordination loss,migraines,palpitations, nausea, dizziness, and shaking. Now on day 8 I feel myself again minus having minor brain zaps and palpitations, occasional dizziness, and still seeing lines in my vision. BUT, ive been craving my edis more then ever. Everytime I reach for marijuana my brain zaps me 5x and my heart drops. Im obviously to scared to test it because weed acts as a megaphone for things.
Fellow marijuana users, how do you do it? when will this all stop? Its been since June27. When am I free to use weed? Why do these syntoms happen?
Went up to 100mg Zoloft/Sertraline just over 3 weeks ago. 50mg was working very very well for me for about 5 months. Then I had a return of depressive and PTSD symptoms. First two weeks of dose increase the physical side effects were really intense (all the usuals) and low mood. I still have low mood into Week 3 and I’m sleepy/groggy and lacking motivation. 50mg worked so well for me I’m hoping the same will happen now with 100mg. Do I just need to wait it out? How long did it take others for low mood to shift after dose increase? Thanks in advance for any stories/advice!
Been on Zoloft 10 weeks for ptsd / it’s starting to work and I’m getting my life back .
BUT - having sexual side effects. Libido is not really an issue to be honest - but it’s so fucking hard to ejaculate. Even if I go days without doing it makes no difference .
Does this get better ?
I just started zoloft about a week ago (25mg) and haven’t been able to sleep at all since, i started taking them at around 9am for a few days but was getting no sleep at night so i switched to taking them at 8pm before bed and have been getting around 3 hours of sleep total and the rest of the night i just toss and turn. Should i try switching the time i take them again to around midday or try to stick it out before bed? I am so tired i just want to sleep 😭
ive been on sertraline for about little over half a year now. i take 50mg daily and i still feel the same as i did before i started taking the medication. i still have frequent suicidal thoughts, etc.
is this normal? should i wait it out? what should i do???
- I Do feel stable and calm but I feel that way in a very specific way, I used to feel so many emotions, its not like my thinking or my mental state has improved it's just that my negative emotions have dimmed down, I still feel negative a lot of times it just I feel less strongly about them, If I wanna put this in gamer terms lets say I am a dnd character and without pills I used to take 80 emotional damage and now will pill I am only taking 30 emotional damage, so all in all my depression and my negative thinking is not gone but my sensitivity to it has been reduced
- one side effect I am facing constantly is that I am having digestive while I am on my meds, another weird thing is certain food now make me feel sick, cheese sandwich and pizza, now I crave sugar more but weirdly I feel disgusted myself with eating more then certain amount, I am going into habit of eating less or throwing half of my sandwich that I usually get or make at home. it is wild for me that my body doesn't like pizza anymore, big sad.
- I do think that it helps me get better at my job I work at a fast paced work environment and sometimes I cant keep track or focus on everything, it has gotten a little better
- I am feeling slightly less afraid of talking to people irl but I am still not that social, I am still afraid of letting people get close to me irl but I dont feel scared of strangers anymore and it was a huge problem about 2 years ago
again this is how I feel after 2 weeks + few days, do you have any advice for me or what should I do to improve more ? or tell me how was your journey with SSRIs ?
EDIT: I forgot to add how boring I feel and even good things that usually helps me feel good doesn't feel that fun anymore
Hi everyone,
I'm currently on day 9 of 25 mg sertraline for anxiety and depression, and I'm wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.
I already had sleep problems before starting sertraline. I would sometimes wake up suddenly with a jolt, and occasionally I'd get what felt like an electric shock through my body as I was drifting off to sleep.
Since starting sertraline, though, it feels much more intense. Now, every time I try to fall asleep, I get these sudden shock/wave sensations that go through my body just as I'm about to drift off. It can happen over and over again for hours, making it almost impossible to fall asleep.
Has anyone else experienced this during the first couple of weeks on sertraline? Did it go away as your body adjusted to the medication, or could this just be my pre-existing sleep issue being made worse? I'm trying to figure out whether this is a temporary side effect or something unrelated to the medication.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!
Hey Everyone,
I take 100mg Zoloft and it’s sorted me out nearly 100% so my doctor has prescribed it to my younger brother who is 20. He’s got learning disabilities and he has bad anxiety and some depression and since taking it he’s almost gone manic like he’s doing things without thinking and complete disregarding anyone in his life who’s trying to help him. Has anyone experienced a loved one doing this and is it something we need to just sit back and watch as he’s legally an adult but he is on the learning level of a 15 year old or can we do anything about it?
Guys. Please, please help me. I literally don’t recognize myself in the mirror anymore!!! Give me hope PLEASE!
Here are the specs. 2023, in a bad spot, pressure from all sides (doctor, parents) to get on medication. I wish to God I had tuffed it out and ignored them all. I will hand it over, it helped me out of a tough spot. Probably saved my life. But it has RUINED my figure. It’s done more detriment to my mental health than what I was struggling with back then. I’m 5’8”, was maybe a 145 pounds soaking wet. Why wasn’t I more grateful for how gorgeous I was then? I want to go back in time and shake myself!
In August of 2023, I was put on a starter dose of 25 mg, then gradually increased to a max dose of 100 mg until this most recent February. I decided that I was in a good enough spot mentally (for the most part) that I wanted off the Zoloft train and I did a very slow taper, ending at the end of February. Vivid nightmares, sweats, full body twitches. You know the drill.
People! I weigh 185 pounds now! Zoloft was the ONLY thing that changed.
It was a gradual change, but one day I realized I was only sizing up. I’ve been trying EVERYTHING! Working out, barely eating, drinking lots of water. I just bought a three month trial of the Instagram ads for Fuel Health which I’m pretty sure is a scam but I’m DESPERATE. I’m crying constantly. I can barely look at myself in the mirror. I’ve donated more cute outfits that I can’t fit in anymore than I can stand to admit. My boyfriend doesn’t know how to help and he’s sad. Self confidence: guttered. I DO NOT want to resort to GLP-1’s. Give me hope that this weight goes away!!!!!!!! I see the magic number of six months, and I know I’m not quite there, but I want to get married next year and I don’t know if I can mentally take looking at pictures of someone I don’t recognize in my mother’s dress for the next eighty years.
PLEASE GIVE ME HOPE!!!!!! Please give me any success stories.
FFUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK EVERYTHING. THATS IT.
If anyone wants to know more just ask. I’ll be happy to share my misery. 👍🏻