Questions before taking Zoloft

I was presribed 50mg Zoloft for stress, anxiety and migraines last month but haven't taken it yet due to concerns and fears about all the negative side effects I've read about.

Will I gain weight if my diet and exercise remain the same while on Zoloft? I'm slim and like to exercise and eat a healthy diet so even gaining 5 pounds would likely make me more depressed.

Will Zoloft help my PMDD? I get so irritable and depressed a week or two before my cycle that life is totally unbearable.

I'm a vegetarian and usually have a poor appetite from stress so I take a Multiple with Iron, Zinc 50mg, B-complex, B-12 100mcg, Vitamin-E 200iu, Biotin 1200mcg. Are these okay to take while on Zoloft? If so, should I take them in the afternoon if I take the Zoloft in the am?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

A small percentage of people gain weight no matter how well they eat and exercise, but if you remain diligent, is it likely you will be okay.
Yes, it should help the pmdd.
The vitamins will not interfere, and it doesn't make any difference when you take them.

[sparkeler]

Yes it is okay to take zoloft w/those nutrient pills you take. If you exercise reguraly i doubt u will gain weight.  I've been on a few medications, including zoloft, and I've never gained weight on any of them. I'm on lexapro now and actually lost close to 15lbs (and I was very slim to begin with.) Everyone is different.  Try the zoloft for 6 weeks or so and if you don't like the side effects switch.  It may take a while to find the appropriate anti depressant.  Hang in their.

[maryann77]

I started in zoloft and had scarey TERRIBLE sides because, I shouldn't of started with such a high dose to begin with.  They should of done it gradually.

[sunflower21]

I was thinking of taking 1/2 of a 50mg pill to start to see how bad the side effects are. The pharmacist said that was okay. I was reading something about Zoloft causing teeth grinding and I'm already a teeth grinder so that worries me too.

[borninquisitive]

Perhaps the teeth grinding will slow down with medication? I've heard that those with a great deal of tension grind their teeth.

If it's during sleep, I have seen mouth guards at Walmart. There are better ones out there (apparently) but the price reflects it.

Just a thought.

[Jimmy1965]

Sun,

Good luck with ZOlOFT and please try not to be afraid. I'm currently on 100mg of ZOLOFT and it has helped me with depression and anxiety. I've been taking it for 4 months. My psychiatrist tells me not to think or worry about side effects because you can actually bring them on by worrying to much. Try the Zoloft for at least 4-6 weeks and if it doesnt work then there are other good meds out there that might be more suitable for you. I think your doing the right thing by starting at a low dose. I am thinking about switching over to Lexapro because I've heard it's a good med and I have more issue's with Generalized anxiety and I hear Lexapro is really good in covering that.

Good luck with the Zoloft!

[je_moi]

ok. my story is rather long. When I was about 14, I started having some strange symptoms, which led me to believe I was suffering from depression. no one believed me, so I didn't do much about it. a couple of years later, I ended up in a hospital. there, they gave me risperidonum(rispolept). I remember I took about 4 and 1/2 mg per day, plus carbamazepinum. after a while I also started to take seroxat. I had horrible side effects from the risperidone. and I gained about 12 kilos in weight. so, I went off the seroxat and the carbamazepinum. I became so frustrated with my weight gain, that I decided to withdraw the risperidone also. so, basically, the treatment lasted about 4 months. I was feeling rather ok, until, about a month later after ending the treatment, I went to the mountains. that was when I started having some really bad anxiety. after I returned, I was feeling better, but I still felt something was wrong. one year later (this summer), I went to the seaside and there, I had one of the most horrible panick attacks ever+generalized anxiety. eversince I returned, I feel horrible, I spent my birthday feeling anxious. basically, right now, the things that trouble me are these: agorafhobia and an intense feeling of depersonalization. I saw a doctor at a free clinic, because in my country, psychiatrists(who work on their own) are extremely exepensive. anyway, she gave me zoloft. I've been taking some xanax (0,5mg)for a couple of weeks, but I still have smaller panick attacks, and I don't want to become addicted. I haven't taken the zoloft yet, because I'm extremely scared because of the time I took the risperidone. I know they are two very diffrent things, but.....the things that scare me the most is this: will I gain weight? how much will it affect my sex life? the doctor I went to said, she might keep me on 25 mg, only. and an offtopic question: is it possible that the risperidonum might have caused some damage to my mental health? because most of the doctors I went to after the teratment, after they evaluated me, they said it is a very powerfull drug and that they didn't understand why the doctors at the hospital prescribed it. I have to do something. I can't live with the feeling that I'm going to die at every moment.

[sunflower21]

Well I finally started the Zoloft today. 25mg. No negative side effects so far. For any of you who've taken Zoloft, did the side effects start right away or take a while?

[Tksbussong]

A friend of mine just started taking Zoloft 3 days ago.  Her side effects were immediate.  Day 1)  Cloudy headed (not dizzy) Day 2)  umm...maximum exitus.. (Lol)  Day 3) no side effects..

She seems to feel better, though!

[karynjakeezra]

I just started a week ago. The first day I felt kind of drowsy. Then I felt really tired and weak.Sometimes I feel stable other times I feel anxious/depressed. I go up to 50 mg tommorrow. Im kind of scared. will my side effects get worse?

[sunflower21]

50mg is still a low dose so I wouldn't worry too much. From what I read, some people feel more anxious in the first week or two. The handout the pharmacist gave me said it could take 4-6 weeks to feel the full effect and know if it is working for you. I'm on day two now and still don't notice a difference. I'm not having any noticeable side effects which I'm happy about so far.

[hyposteph]

I just started taking Zoloft 2 weeks ago from today for anxiety/hypochondriac. The side effects I noticed right away were Fogginess/feeling spaced out, headaches, clenching teeth, a tiny bit of nausea, decreased appetite, shaking hands, ringing in ears, very tired, wake up a couple times during the night and yawning all the time!(weird). These are all pretty mild and was able to go about my normal day at work, etc. For the first week I took half of the 50 mg. then went up to the full pill. The same symptoms happened only for the first couple days after I took the full and now it is all gone. It didnt really start helping my anxiety until 10 days after. You should really give the med about 2 weeks to start working and about a month for its full effect on your correct dose. So far I am feeling alot less anxious and dont have any more anxiety attacks but still have some thoughts that shouldnt be in my mind. Hopefully by the full month everything will be all better. I know a couple people who are on it as well and it has worked great for them.

[Tksbussong]

When you were having the side effects happen to you, were you visiting the doctor?  Some of those things sounds like it affected your blood pressure...?

[hyposteph]

No I didnt see the doctor in person but I did tell her over the phone what I was feeling and she said that they were normal side effects...I also read all of the side effects that other people had on another forum and they were all alike....They were all pretty mild to me and they didnt occur all at the same time...They would come and go throughout the day...It was nothing like what happened to me after I took the Lexapro..Whew was that a horrible experience!! Thank you for your concern though...Thankfully now all the side effects have surpassed except for the slight headaches and loss of appetite.I am starting to think that maybe I am gonna start taking it at night so I dont have to feel it during the day...

[hollyloxx]

I am a 24 yr old female who has been off and on Zoloft since i was 12.
it does take lots of time for the affects to kick in and your body to adjsut. i would say about 2 months. it is a good idea to write down anything u notice that does change to inform your dr.

i took paxil before and it made me have nightmeres and wake up in clod sweats every night. i thought it was just me but after a week of violent dreams that my boyfriend would have to waske me from i( i would cry and scream in my sleep waking him up) i went back to the dr. she said that the dream is a rare side affect few people have i was then swithced back to the zoloft.

i didnt experience many side affects for the first 5 years i was on it but i went off for reasons that i felt things were good in my life. and i could function ok w/ out it. that only lasted 2 years. any time i go through anything stressful in life (death of a loved one or health issues w anyone i love. it scares me and causes too much stress and anxeity w/ depression for me to function normally.

the 2nd time i went back on them i was 19 and it was ok but the worst thing is going off ZOLOFT

it is very scary. even if you go down to tapering off like they suggest for 6weeks, i had all the withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms.
u get the shakes, brain zaps. achy feeling all over. crazy dreams. sweats.

jsut going off of it made me feel like i was going crazy. be very careful if you do decide to go off it at anytime to talk to your dr first

i am now looking into other ways to deal w/ my anxiety and depression than medicine

different things work for different people. good luck

[Alymerfud]

I have just started taking 25mg of Zoloft.  I am going to a Birthday Party and would like to know if I can have a beer without causing any harm.

[sunflower21]

Your not supposed to drink while on Zoloft. It's hard on your liver and could interact with the drug. I've heard some people that might have one drink while taking it, but most doctors won't recommend it.

[carolinagirl78]

I have been on Zoloft for about 7 to 8 months now and I have experienced little side-effects. I was recommened it after about 4 months of severe depression and anexity/panic attacks. I am now 17 years old and on 25 mgs a day. I would recommened Zoloft for anexity suffereing people because it subsides anexity completely, for me anyway. The only side-effects after taking it for this long period has been hair loss. I think this is a possible side-effect with any antidepressant. Does anyone have this side effect, if so what do you do about it? I have been taking a tablespoon of cider vinager and am curious about mixing Biotin with Zoloft, because Biotin helps your hair and I have heard Zinc does also. I have both but am a little concered as to how or when to take them, if even at all. I was also thinking about going off of Zoloft because my life has remained normal for the past 6 months and I am able to do all that I was before and Im not a fan of medicine even though it did appear to be my only way out. Is this a good idea? I understand that side effects can vary completely from person to person. My advice to anyone going through what I went though, being a christian individual, is to pray every night, every hour, whatever it takes because God is the ultimate medicine. Advice and comments will be appreciated

[sunflower21]

I have heard of some people having hair loss from Zoloft. I had a problem with rapid hair loss earlier this year which was part of the reason my doctor put me on Zoloft because she thought the hairloss was due to extreme stress, but it turned out to be a zinc deficiency. I had little white spots on a few of my nails which is a sign of a deficiency. I started taking 50 mg of zinc per day and within a week my hair loss stopped. Now I'm taking biotin, zinc, multiple, e, c and its working great. Hair loss can be from stress, hormonal inbalances, thyroid problems, anemia, dietary deficiencies and other medications so you might want to rule out those things before you stop taking Zoloft.

[tambi66]

I was a teeth grinder before zoloft, now coming off it I am grinding my teeth like crazy and getting bad heachaches due to it.  I sure wish I would have known this before I took zoloft.

[tambi66]

I was a teeth grinder before zoloft, now coming off it I am grinding my teeth like crazy and getting bad heachaches due to it.  I sure wish I would have known this before I took zoloft.