I started taking Zoloft for my depression and anxieties. When I started it took about 3 weeks for it to start working towards my mental health. In the meantime, I started getting dizzy, nauseous, loss of appetite, and just zoned out at times. Like nothing bothered me. One thing I didn't like is that it took away my bubbly personality. I was just in LALA land. When it finally started working it was a great feeling. I started off with 50mg and after two months the doc increased my dosage because it wasn't working as effective. He increased my dosage to 75mg. A month in a half later i had to increase again to 100mg. At this point I was gaining excessive weight, had insomnia, and headaches. My mental health was pretty good until I started gaining weight and feeling depressed again. I decided to weave off on my own (I know its not recommended). This is my third week and withdrawals are horrendous. I'm getting a light headedness, dizziness, nauseous , headaches, and sometimes my head feels so heavy. I feel like my head is zapping and my ears are ringing. I'm currently on 25mg and was hoping that i would taper off this week because last week I was on 25mg, but I cannot do that yet with these dizzy spells. I will have to give it another week before I can consider taking 25mg every other day for an additional week and end this nightmare. I cannot wait to be off. I know it helped me with my anxiety and depression to some extent, but the side effects while taking them, and the withdrawals after trying to weave off the pills are not worth it.

Sane4EVR

New York

Zoloft is good medicine as long as you take it.The main advantage of Zoloft is in long term (more than year). it does work for major depression and schizophrenia. However, once you stopped taking it its effect will gone as you never took it. In addition to that it has really powerful side effect (if you will take it for the first time then be aware that you will get Substance intoxication and Dizziness )

malki

USA

I took Buspar for years. I thought it was doing an ok job. I started getting really bad heartburn and after trying several different medications along with a total diet change, I was still having issues. My dr made me have an endoscopy, in which they found absolutely no signs of heartburn. It was determined to be caused by my anxiety. So I immediately stopped the heartburn medication and allowed my dr to change me from the Buspar to zoloft. She initially prescribed me 100mg. I honestly thought I might die after that first does. I felt so dizzy and and felt like I was going to pass out. I was so tired, but could not sleep. Everytime I started to drift off, I would jerk awake and felt like I had an adrenaline rush. The next day I took just half, and it made a world of difference. The only side effect I had was clenching my jaw and yawning non-stop which subsided within about a week. I still have bouts of yawning, but nearly as bad as that first week. I felt great the first 6 wks. Then slowly my anxiety was returning and I felt so run down and tired all the time. At my appt, my dr wanted to put me back up to the initial 100mg but I said I was reluctant since I already was so tired and run down. She asked if I was taking it at night and I said I was. So she added welbutrin to take along with it to combat the side effects. So far so good. The yawning is gone and I don't feel as tired. I still have some anxiety but not nearly as bad as it was. I go back in 2 wks and we will see if I need to go up in dose slightly or not. I did notice my heartburn is gone, so it was indeed anxiety related. I had really high hopes for the zoloft as I had heard great things about it. Years ago I was on effexor which I liked, but couldn't take it when I was trying to get pregnant, etc, so I was switched to the Buspar. I am tempted to ask for that again if the zoloft keeps "wearing" off. But overall it seems to be a decent anxiety medication.

snoopyh77

Stevensville, MI

I like the way that this med makes me feel but it causes me to have out of this world cravings for sweets and carbs and just mindless eating when I am not truly hungry. Does anyone else have this problem with zoloft? If so do you have any helpful tips or other meds to try?

MissyDL

USA

I actually liked Zoloft alot for the first few months that I was taking it, it gave me my personality back it saved me from my anxiety and helped with my depression. But I want to CAUTION and WARN others, after a fews months of taking zoloft, every fews weeks I would wake up in the middle of the night not long after taking my zoloft and suffer from SEVERE! heartburn. I'm currently a college student and the heartburn would be so bad I would call my brother to my apartment building at 3 am and have him sit with me because I would have a panic attack and want to go to the hospital. it would be accompanied by chest pain and slight nausea. I took the 50mg over the counter zoloft known as Steraline. The zoloft actually caused me to develop problems with the lining of my esophagus and stomach. I notice that I was popping Tums and other anti-acids like "candy" and be drinking pepto bismol from the bottle with no relief at all from the severe heartburn. I know this may be a rare side effect but if you start to develop the symptoms see your doctor and save yourself from painful worry some nights. In my opinion relief from my depression and anxiety wasn't even worth it because of the severity of the stomach problems that developed.

FDNY144

USA

This was the first antidepressant I was prescribed, and I did not like it. Gave me stomach aches and made my mood snappier than usual. The first two months I took this medicine I was more sociable but it was not worth the stomach aches, headaches, and after the third or fourth month I was crying more and getting angrier easier.

rabbitastronaut

USA

this medicine was a miracle for me. after my third hip replacement by the age of 45, i can't even explain how depressed i was. the doctor prescribed zoloft for me and i will forever be grateful to him for that. i didn't have the high and low feeling that is usual for a a drug for depression. the best way i can describe it is that i felt "normal" again. i had no side effects. one of the side effects that is common with this drug is that it makes you sleepy. the trick is to take it at night instead of in the morning. i slept soundly at night and woke up feeling refreshed and looking forward to the day instead of dreading it. zoloft was also easy to come off of when i didn't need it any more. all i can say is it was a miracle for me.

shurdy

Eatonton, GA

I have been on Lexapro for about 4 years for anxiety and panic disorder. It was working well at suppressing many of my symptoms, but I had been feeling very lethargic, unmotivated and tired. So my doctor switched me to Zoloft, saying it would cover a wider range of symptoms. I gave it about a month and a half before I switched back to Lexapro. I've never considered myself a depressed person, but I dropped into a LOW LOW depression just a week after taking my first Zoloft. After just a few days I had intrusive thoughts that would circulate non stop, 24/7. I even had thoughts of "I can't believe I have to live like this another day," hopelessness. Hopelessness is the key word, I felt like I would always feel like this. HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE worries, thoughts, anxiety, depression. I wasn't hungry and lost weight. Went back to Lexapro and am now feeling motivated, excited about life and hopeful.

floridagirl444

Lake Zurich, IL

Sertraline does not work for me. I suffer from depression and anxiety. My mother died and my father is an alcoholic. My doctor prescribed me 100mg and I've been taking it for about a month. I had an anxiety attack about a week ago and cut myself. This medicine has done nothing for me I feel exactly the same as I did before. I don't know what to do now...

Monavee

Beverly Hills, CA

This medicine works wonders with me. Just a couple of days after starting on Zoloft I was a totally different person. I have been on Zoloft for 8 years now and would not want to change. The problems I find with Zoloft is a low sex drive and weight gain. I am still on Zoloft because I feel the benefits outweigh the side effects.

blazercrazy83

Gardendale, AL