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zoloft  

post #1 of 42
11/4/08 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
i'm starting zoloft today. i am so scared. i never take meds. i just cant function any more. does anyone know how long it takes to work?
post #2 of 42
11/4/08 at 1:25pm
i been on it for a week soo far and it is working i hear the first 2 weeks r the hardest soo far it just makes me tired everyday at 5pm i start wanting to pass out for the night i still have my high sex drive
post #3 of 42
11/4/08 at 1:33pm
I felt relief within 3-4 days, but it can take a few weeks to feel the full effects. If you're not feeling better in 2 weeks, I'd call your doctor/practitioner. I hope you start feeling better soon.
post #4 of 42
11/4/08 at 1:45pm
Within days for me. The side effects of going on it (fatigue, nausea) lasted for a week or so. I kept getting better and better mentally as the weeks went on.
post #5 of 42
11/4/08 at 10:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilyS View Post
i'm starting zoloft today. i am so scared. i never take meds. i just cant function any more. does anyone know how long it takes to work?

I've been on and off for about 5 years. I'm told it takes about 2-3 weeks to notice a difference...but after I've started taking it I notice an immediate (1-2 days) change. Don't be scared. Be glad. It's going to help and you will be so much better. It's going to be ok...it really will.
post #6 of 42
11/5/08 at 1:37am
I took zoloft after my dd was born and then again 3 yrs later after one of my m/c's. Both times I think it took a good 2 wks before I felt the dark cloud lift. Those first 2 wks I felt pretty crappy - mostly tired and some headaches. But it did go away and then I felt SO much better. Give it a little time.
post #7 of 42
11/5/08 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your replies. I feel like there is some hope for me. mY biggest fear is that I will go crazy and not be able to care for my kids. I hope I got help in time.
post #8 of 42
11/5/08 at 10:47pm
I found that I gradually felt better, starting after a few days of starting.
post #9 of 42
11/6/08 at 1:59am
Oh honey...I totally felt exactly the same way. I'm sure that I said the exact same thing when my anxiety was the worst. I couldn't imagine feeling any better and I do now. I feel tons better....

Please just hang in there and know that it will get better soon.
post #10 of 42
11/6/08 at 2:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilyS View Post
Thank you all for your replies. I feel like there is some hope for me. mY biggest fear is that I will go crazy and not be able to care for my kids. I hope I got help in time.

You're reaching out now. Good for you! You've taken the initiative to get better and be a better mom for your kids. How are you doing?
post #11 of 42
11/6/08 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
I guess I'm doing OK. I just have these bouts of extreme anxiety where I think I'm going crazy and I just want to push the STOP button and then times where I feel fine.
Did anyone else ever feel shakey the first few days o Zoloft? Also, everyone talkes about how "if you can get through the first two weeks"....can you tell me what I have to look forward to (feeling better wise) after the first two weeks?
post #12 of 42
11/6/08 at 6:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmilyS View Post
I guess I'm doing OK. I just have these bouts of extreme anxiety where I think I'm going crazy and I just want to push the STOP button and then times where I feel fine.
Did anyone else ever feel shakey the first few days o Zoloft? Also, everyone talkes about how "if you can get through the first two weeks"....can you tell me what I have to look forward to (feeling better wise) after the first two weeks?
Yes, I did feel shaky - I also noticed a difference with brands - I don't know if you got generic or not, but the blue oval generics made me a bit shaky, so my DH told me to ask for the yellow little pills, and those have been much better

The shakiness did wear off after the first week, but I notice a difference with the yellow pills. It's the manufacturer, so I don't know what they do differently. Anyway, after a few weeks, I just felt more rested and calm, it didn't bother me so much I was getting enough sleep, and I stopped yelling at my DH. And I felt happy, like excited about doing stuff and I laughed a lot more. I guess I felt more like me. And I could make decisions easier.

Hope you feel better soon, I was on zoloft 4 months after DD was born, and then I had to back on theme recently now that she is 18 months,
post #13 of 42
11/6/08 at 8:29pm
Shakiness is very normal until your body adjusts. You may have increased anxiety or the feeling of heart palpitations for a while, too. But this will go away within two weeks. Your psychiatrist should have told you all of this ahead of time.

It is normal to feel tired, jumpy, nauseous, hungry, have diarrhea or be constipated while starting. It is all very individual... oh and it's normal to have trouble sleeping or to want to sleep all the time. All very normal. It will level out and you will feel so great in the coming weeks.

You asked what you will feel like in 2 weeks or less. Yourself. You will wake up one morning and feel like, "now, what was I so worried about?" Or you will realize that what you have been anxious about, you do not need to be.

Are you in therapy? You really should be in therapy for PPD, also. A therapist can teach you coping skills and help you understand what is going on.
post #14 of 42
11/7/08 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
thanks everyone...i'm feeling a bit better today--day 4, i feel like i count the minutes in the day until i'm feeling better.
post #15 of 42
11/7/08 at 3:21pm
thank you for starting this thread. i am planning on asking my dr about putting me on Zoloft. i have tried all the natural alternatives, and nothing is pulling me out of the black hole. 5htp keeps me from killing myself but i dont feel happy. i am still depressed, just not suicidal.
so, two weeks of hell for really happiness? i feel like sometimes i cant even remember what happy feels like. i dont remember "myself" so turning back into myself sounds so foreign, cause i dont know who that is anymore.
in fact i worry that who i am IS depression.
i have ppd, as well as BiPolar. so i am doubly fecked up.
Emily, please keep us updated. i'd love to know how its helping you.
post #16 of 42
11/7/08 at 4:16pm
Sleepymamabear,

PLEASE stop taking the 5HTP for at least 2 weeks before starting the zoloft. You risk something called serotonin syndrome, which is very scary and could be deadly.

5HTP should never be taken while nursing, either, just for the record.

Please go and see your doctor and tell them what you have been taking and get advice on going off it before you start the zoloft.

You. Will. Feel. Better. On the zoloft. It really helped me and so many moms here.
post #17 of 42
11/7/08 at 4:24pm
we(my ND and i) checked Hales, its safe.
but i will stop taking it before taking Zoloft.
my Dr put me on 5htp. i am sure she will know how to get me off.
post #18 of 42
11/7/08 at 4:27pm
If your doctor is a naturopath, I would highly suggest going to an MD. I psychiatrist, before going on zoloft and checking how to wean off of 5HTP.

Last I checked, Hale did not approve of 5HTP. I have the most recent book and can check what it says, but I know that Julia Ross, who is a huge advocate of 5HTP for depression, says NOT to use it while breastfeeding.

Just be really careful, please.
post #19 of 42
11/7/08 at 4:33pm
From Hale:

THis author does NOT recommend the use of L-tryptophan or 5-HTP supplementation in breastfeeding mothers until we know corresponding milk levels.

Also from Hale:

5HTP is category L 3.

ALSO FROM HALE:

We do not know if supplementation with 5HTP could produce milk levels leading to overdose in the infant.

A bit too scary for me to consider it "safe," especially when there are so many safe alternatives, like zoloft, which we know for a fact do not get into milk in detectible levels.
post #20 of 42
11/7/08 at 5:15pm
seeing as i make MAYBE 5 oz of milk on a GOOD day (bfar mama) and my ND and i have discussed it at length, i am comfortable taking it since it keeps me from jumping off the overpass and leaving my children without a mother.
plus, my baby is a 28lb, 15 month old, not so much an infant anymore. and Vicodin is also an L3, but that is also still prescribed often to nursing mothers.
i AM going to go get on Zoloft, my ND and i agreed that if i wasnt able to get out of the depression with 5htp, EFAs, Bvites, etc, that she would agree to put me on Zoloft.
you know, it maybe me the crazies due to depression talking, but i feel like your typing tone is really harsh towards me. i feel like i am being attacked.
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