Should the Toad be taking Zoloft?

[Deja Q]

Saw a new drug dealer today. My work-related anxiety is about to push me over the edge. He seemed attentive and knowledgeable, which was what the nurse said when I called her yesterday.

He prescribed Zoloft.

Of course, when I got home, I read this webpage:

http://www.prozactruth.com/zoloft.htm

Have you used Zoloft ? Did you get facial or body tics as a side effect? If you would like to be part of a potential class action law suit, send us an e-mail. Please state when you started Zoloft, how long you used Zoloft, what your side effects were or still are. Click here to send e-mail.

The side effects of Zoloft are in the same league with the other SSRIs. Pfizer at least goes one step further and admits Zoloft will metabolize in the liver and that people with even mild liver impairment should use caution and a lower dosage of Zoloft. "Zoloft is extensively metabolized by the liver." (From the Pfizer statements above, if your doctor has not conducted a full liver test before prescribing you Zoloft, your doctor has not even read and or understood the precautions in the Pfizer brochure)

I told him up front about the problems I developed with Wellbutrin and how they've stayed to make my life miserable (in the form of facial and body tics, go figure.)

From Zoloft's own website:

Side-effects include:


dry mouth
upset stomach
decreased appetite
feeling unusually tired or sleepy
trouble sleeping
sexual problems in men and women
diarrhea/loose stools
tremor
feeling agitated
indigestion
increased sweating


No problem here except the sex thing. I already have certain problems and this drug might make that worse. But that's all okay as I'm pretty much alone in this shithole of a world anyway... It's ironic, the drug is supposed to make me feel normal so I won't come across as anxious or tense. The irony is, the drug allows me to get to first base but prevents me from hitting the home run. :evilgrin:

Now having read Zoloft's website, I'm pretty certain this dope will work for me. I hope... The side-effects mentioned on the lawsuit webpage (link above) are not pretty and seem to openly CONTRADICT what Zoloft's webpage has stated. Isn't anything regulated anymore?

[jokerman93]

1. the drug companies got the sex thing covered

they want the whole country on anti-anxiety meds, and for the sexual side effects? Why they're happy to sell you cases of Viagra to fix that!

Better living through chemicals baby!

[Deja Q]

5. That was one of the jokes I bit my tongue about...

I am not sick. Society is sick and it makes people sick. Why should I pay good money to be propped up in something that's outright wrong?

[jokerman93]

21. Now there you go

Now there you go, making sense again!

And it's simply marketing for profit, and everyone knows it! To be honest, this free-market capitalism bullshit has gotten way out of hand. Think about it. Look at where we are. Americans have literally allowed greed to turn the world upside down on us, haven't we?

It's not supposed to BE this way, folks!

[Spinzonner]

2. Other: take enough and you wont care either way

[MnFats]

3. it helped me, OK?

and others in my family....depression runs in it.
that's all I know.

[MissAnnThrope]

4. That Page You Found...

... Is run by Scientology. The booklet they offer, "The Way To Happiness" is a way to try to get people to visit their local org for the personality test, which is set up so no one can pass and not need their auditing. The page is a sham.

Scientology has been trying to do away with the mental health profession for many years. They organize protests against the entire practice. Because no one needs drugs or even psychological help. All they need is auditing with the e-meter and to rid themselves of pesky body thetans. Of course, they don't bother to tell you how many from their ranks have committed suicide when they ran out of money for auditing, (how many religions have a set charge anyway?) and they don't bother to tell you they're connected with them. You have to click on the name of the booklet and then at the bottom of that page, see the reference to L. Ron Hubbard.

Any concerns you have about the drug should be discussed with your doctor, not a poll here. If you need it, you need it. Any side effects, if any, should be discussed with your doctor. The bit about the lawsuits, well, Scientologists love to sue. I recognized the page as being one of theirs as soon as I saw it. They want people to give them money, not actual mental health professionals. Don't believe a word on that page.

[Deja Q]

6. Scientology the cult... THANK YOU for mentioning it!

I'll start poppin' the pills. Let's hope it works, I haven't had a worthy "O" in years anyway so taking the drug isn't a loss... :shrug:

[MissAnnThrope]

10. Yes, Scientology The Cult

I love how at the bottom of the homepage they have "Slavery Of Mankind By Psychiatry Is NOT An Option." But slavery to David Miscaviage, the ramblings of L. Ron Hubbard, who was a major pill popper and quite insane and junk science is.

[Droopy]

7. It's a trade-off, HypnoToad

You are taking a risk of developing side affects if you take any drug. It depends on if you're willing to deal with that to feel better mentally. I've not heard of Zoloft being prescribed for anxiety before, though, only for depression.

I take some pretty heavy duty drugs that keep me sane. Without them I'd be dead or locked in an asylum for the criminally insane. It's a very serious illness. So basically I have to deal with the fact that I have side affects and will possibly develop more serious ones over time. That's just the breaks.

Are you in the same position I'm in? If so, then I'd say you have no choice but to take the drugs. If you can't live a normal life then I'd say it's worth the risk.

[Deja Q]

13. My position, at least the immediate problem:

IT (the acronym alone speaks volumes, particularly in the job market...)

Employer plans to bring in thin client technology and slowly render us obsolete.

Co-workers have lied in an attempt to blemish my performance record to get me out earlier as I have higher seniority. (What they (probably) don't realize is, despite being there longer, I have a lower classification seniority... employment seniority is worthless. So why they want to ruin me is either based on a misunderstanding, jealousy, and/or hate... I see scenarios where any reason is justified.)

The department I support (and is the only reason why I am still sane) might be going away thanks to budget cuts.

I have every right to be anxious and worried. I know what will happen if I lose the department I work for... it'll be worse than being unemployed.

[Droopy]

16. I see

I think you should do what your doctor tells you to do. And I hope you don't get down-sized or out-sourced or whatever. That would be a great source of anxiety for me, too.

[Liberal Veteran]

19. It should work for anxiety...but I use Paxil another SSRI.

It's approved for generalized anxiety disorder.

Zoloft is the same class of drugs and is often prescribed interchangably with Paxil.

[zx22778a]

8. I suffer from psoriasis and zoloft made my fingernails fall out.

No Fun At All.

[Deja Q]

17. Yipes... I've psoriasis too...

Well, at least I won't get any more dirt lodged underneath them...

Doesn't sound like fun at all. Did the doc believe you when you told him/her? (for every problem I've had with these quackery drugs, I was never believed... I'm an uber-fool for still continuing to trust them...)

[NNadir]

9. If you'd like praise for Zoloft, have it declared illegal.

Look what being illegal has done for marijuana. From being a flaming lung rotting cigarette loaded down with carcinogens that makes you tired and more than a little dumb, marijuana's gone to being the drug that cures all people of all ailments, could provide all the world's energy needs and makes you like repetitive Raggae music.

All Zoloft needs to attain this status is to be declared illegal.

For the record though, I really try to avoid all drugs, especially those that claim to mess with your head.

[Nikia]

11. Try it and be attentive to side effects

Drugs that mess with people's brain chemistry often do cause side effects. People experience different side effects of varying severity. Some people find the side effects tolerable. Other people do not . Sometimes the side effects go away after you take it for a while.
My two week trial with Zoloft was alright for the first few days. Then it was hell (I believe its because I increased the dose). Zoloft increased my anxiety. Strangely, I didn't have panic attacks but on an anxiety scale of 1-10, I was at about an 8 almost all of my waking hours no matter how much I tried to relax. I could not handle this. I know a couple of other people who had worsened anxiety also. Obviously, you don't want to have worsened anxiety if anxiety is your main problem.
Try it. If you have any side effects, keep track of them and talk to your doctor about whether or not you should continue. I think all of the side effects are reversable when you stop taking it. If you take it for a long time though, there can also be withdrawal effects. If you try it for only a couple weeks though, you should be able to stop taking it easily if you would need to go off of it because of intolerable side effects.

[cheezus]

12. If Zoloft causes "sexual side effects", try Celexia

apparently it's similar, but w/ less side effects

[DebJ]

14. <<<hugs>>>. good luck. It didn't help my son but he has BP

In fact, he just checked himself into the hospital last night fearing he might hurt one of his roommates at his group home.
Sigh.

He had to quit Zoloft because it was giving him incredible foot pain, non-stop 24 hour cramps, and also (after 6 months of use) he was having increasing difficulty in speaking. The words were there, in his brain, but he could not get them out his mouth. We began finishing his sentences for him, all the time...which is quite bizarre when that person is often quite manic, speaking so quickly you can't understand him. But it worked well for his psychological needs.


Oh phooey, on edit, that was Zyprexa, not Zoloft. With Zoloft, he went completely manic in about 3 days.. sorry. So many meds, so little time. So much sadness.

[KT2000]

15. Anxiety is not Zoloft deficiency

I'm sorry but the drug answer is but one of many avenues you can take to address your anxiety and it may be the least desirable.

I would recommend seeing a physician who specializes in alternative preventive medicine first. Sometimes avoidance of certain products and taking supplements that do such things as balance the calcium/magnesium/potassium in your body may help. Proper management of sugar intake helps too.

As we are learning from Gulf War research, some chemicals can cause the autonomic nervous system to misbehave in certain people when they are exposed. Over time, the defenses against these chemicals can be depleted as is the case of certain enzymes. If you do some searches on some of the chemicals we are exposed to on a routine basis you will see that the nervous system is a target in many of them. Check out formaldehyde - something that is in most products and found in office settings. Also check out benzene and all the yard chemicals that are so prevalent now.

Modern medicine refuses to acknowledge that we are being dosed in our air, food and water with a soup of chemicals. It is not for lack of effects they are not concerned about this but fear of angering the biggest corporations on the planet. The corporate answer to chemical poisoning is to make another expensive chemical to fix it!

Even if you have to pay out of pocket for alternative medical care, you may find a better resolution to your problem.
Good luck, no matter which way you go -

[Liberal Veteran]

18. Remember...ALL people respond a little differently to medications.

I've been taking an SSRI for over a year now without any difficulties.

[sundog]

20. no don't take it - smoke some ganja instead -- works for me :)

--

[Maestro]

22. The sexual problems are for any anti-depressant

I've been on them for 4 years now. I am on the best one yet now but it does occasionally cause the male plumbing to act-up or rather not act-up or whatever, you catch my drift. Anyhow, after a while your body should adjust and it should be fine. Sometimes though you will need to change your drug as for whatever reason your body can't kick some of the side-effects. My body just didn't like Effexor. I was in a stupor all the time. I'm on Lexapro now and things are looking good.

[Heyo]

23. As a person who has tried several SSRI's...

I reccomend extreme caution. They can have effects that are very strange and tough to put words to.. but you feel something is just...."off."

Not trying to frighten you, I am only suggesting you give a lot of thought to how badly you really need it.. as it may be the placebo effect that might calm you down, not the drug itself. I would hate to see you take something that would make your condition worse, either by worsening the anxiety/depression (which it *can* do in some cases) to not helping at all but playing havoc with your appetite, sleep and sex life)

By saying that, I am not trying to minimize or invalidate your axniety, so please don't take it that way. The mind is a lot more powerful that we are aware or give it credit for. I suffered through severe anxiety, depression as well as substance abuse problems, and in the end chemical free is the life for me, and it happened simply through believing that it could be done.

By all means try it if you need it, it may help alot, but give your self credit, too. You are stronger than you know.

SSRI's are like a scatter gun... like if there is a crowd of people and you want to shoot one particular one and you use a shotgun with a 10 foot spread.. yeah it gets the job done, but it's like a bull in a china shop in your brian.. that's the way I see it.

The common image put forth by the drug companies (which I really despise mostly, but that's not what this is about) is that taking an SSRI's is something to be looked at really cavalier and stuff like it's no big deal.. add's with happy littile bouncing neurons moping and then smiling. Keep in mind they are poweful psychotropic drugs which alter you brain chemistry, and can do so long term.

Heyo