Zoloft for depression/anxiety - can anyone give advice?

[Oneiropolos]

I'm currently on .5mg clonazepam three times a day, 14 100mg of neurontin, and .5 xanax a day. (I am very slowly weaning off the xanax entirely so I can take it purely on an 'as needed' basis. My body currently hates me for this and is showing every addiction sign it can.) My doctor recently prescribed zoloft to help with my 'depression'. Firstly, I don't feel like depression is a major issue for me except on days when the anxiety gets overwhelming. THEN I get depressed because it feels like I'm never going to be able to live my life normally or to finish college (I'm 3 classes away from graduation, but had to drop out due to anxiety.) I think these are reasonable things to be depressed over, not irrational or conjured up 'sadness'. I know Zoloft is an SSRI.... and I've had REALLY bad reactions to other antidepressants like Effexor (the worst, didn't help depression and caused severe body reactions), Prozac (increased my anxiety), and Lexapro (made me feel out of it all the time, and my memory was completely shot). I'm really scared about starting Zoloft, particularly since I do seem to get addicted to these drugs easily and seem to go through hell when it comes to get off of them.

Can anyone identify or be able to give me tips/warnings on Zoloft? Is it addictive, did anyone find it more easy to handle in terms of side effects than other anti depressants? The information I find is so conflicting and I just don't know what to do anymore. I just discovered on my last Psychiatrist trip that my therapist is actually telling my psychiatrist what I tell her in therapy. (They're in the same building.) I feel really betrayed, and as a result, when I tried to discuss incidents with my psychiatrist, I got brushed off with "Yeah, your therapist told me" instead of letting me explain. I feel this is why she's insisting on the antidepressants, because there was one episode where I did get extremely depressed. But I was never a threat to anyone or myself. As a result of all this, I don't feel like I can trust my therapist anymore, and my psychiatrist just doesn't seem to be listening to what -I- say. She didn't even give me any information on what the zoloft was supposed to do- but at the same time criticized me researching medications on the web. Sorry, but my dad was a doctor for thirty years. I know doctors aren't infallible and the psychiatrists failed to tell me how addictive Xanax was, and now I'm left trying to wean off and it's horrible. I've rambled a bit, and I apologize. Can anyone help?

[autum]

I was on lexapro when I first started taking meds, and it made me tired all the time, a little spacey, hard to wake up, and memory loss badly, then I started taking welbutrin w/ it ...  after that I was getting tremors, and it caused me to have anxiety attacks due to me taking 10mg of lexapro and 300mg of welbutrin...which wasnt helping me...  now the doc has me on zoloft and it has helped me tremendously...  I am not tired all the time, I didnt have any affects but just a little not to noticeble ones in the beginning...  I do have xanax, but I only take it when I feel an attack coming on... which that med makes me really tired and hard to wake up too...  so i dont take it unless I cannot control my attack..  Zoloft worked for me, but everyone is different...   also if you get off any meds like this and stop taking them you must slow down (what my doc says) and not stop the cold turkey... which isnt a pretty site, since I did it due to finacial issues...  but I have been taking Zoloft for atleast 3 or more months and I have been handling things good... I still have a little anxiety attacks but they are not major...  I notice them a little...  I think its a good med, but you have to try it to find out...  also your therapist, I dont think they can do that, email the medical board and let them know what she is doing...  just type in medical board and it should lead you to where you can make a complaint...  I would stop going to her and go to another one...  let them know what is going on....  I think your therapist just wants the money and is not looking out for you at all..  thats how i feel about that...

hope this helps
autum

[Oneiropolos]

Thanks for the response. I've decided to risk it and take the Zoloft, though I am still extremely nervous over it. Fortunately, there's nothing I really have to do this week if I adjust badly. Here's hoping!

[sumihari]

Hi,

I had been on Zoloft before for insomnia induced depression/anxiety. It was not too bad , made me less depressed/anxious. But later on did have some side effects - nothing major I think but I just wanted to try another medication instead. Zoloft seems to work for many unlike Prozac. So my advice is try to be objective and see how your body reacts to Zoloft. If the side effects are really intolerable at any stage you can always get off it. So try to not be too worried at this stage.

As for your therapist and psychiatrist, I think it is time for you to shop around for new ones. If possible -don't get your therapist /psychiatrist to write to your new therapist, that can only bias your new therapist and they will lose objectivity.

Sumi