How do you know if zoloft is working?

It is true that the literature and the "talking heads," are adamant that an individual will not feel the benefit from such an ssri until the individual has been taking the medication consistently for, at least, four to six weeks. Well, the prior statement is partly true, but there is not any empirical data which I am aware which states an individual that has been taking such medication consistently for even two weeks, still may notice subtle changes in how they feel and perform in daily roles, tasks, relationships, self-control, etc. This not to say that the aforementioned said "full beneficial effects," but it is realistic to notice subtle changes as spoken of above. One of my clients told me after taking a similar medication for 2 1/2 weeks, she was noticing only small subtle changes with the most notable being her highs were not as high and she noticed her lows were not as low.

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Also, although she had plenty of symptoms, which were very vegetating to her in her ability to function, she also noted that it was more simple to brush off unwanted opinions and give these no heed. When she used to feed into this drama all the time; this is not to say that the periods of drama were over, they were and are not, but became more manageable. She said that these subtle notations she was experiencing, lifted the intensity of her vegetative existence and she felt as each day passed she was in control of her emotions, not the other way around. So, the answer to your question is it may be producing or giving you some or such subtle improvements, they are not tangible by you yet or that as the literature says, they just are not there, yet. And for you, this may not be the medication. I do not know what your story is about being without a prescriber, but there should be a local mental health center where you can go for assistance, reassessment, adjustment if necessary. Please do not regulate or attempt to regulate your own medications, it is dangerous, you truly need an objective practitioner who has been trained in this field to assist you so that the time you must spend in this area or on this topic, is noted, assistance provided, and you may go on living your life; as you know, life is very, very short! Best wishes to you, Cindy.

binky,

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It has been my own personal psychiatric expeience that ... everyone is different and every anti-depressant I have ever tried is different. I am 56 years old now, and first developed depressive symptoms when I was 13 years old, really the dark ages as far as psych meds go. I think I have tried several flavors of every type of anti-depressant at on point or another in my life, spending most of my time distressed, stressed, anxious and very moody while waiting for the medication du jour to take effect. Although I have never taken Zoloft, I have taken every other SSRI and found Prozac to work the best for me... AFTER I was taking it for a month at least, maybe a bit longer... I really don't recal, but it certainly took a while (I am a nurse). Since the Prozac worked so well on me, I think I tok it for about 15 years and then I developed what is called "Prozac Poop-Out". It no longer was effective and I became extremely depressed (I call the depression situation ' my deep dark, slimey bottomless pit') and required ECT to drag myself out. Believe Me... the whole ECT thing is scary, but it works so fast, when I notice that I'm starting the slide down, I do call for help and request ECT.

The next anti-depressant I tried was Cymbalta. That, to me, was a miracle medication. Within 2 weeks, I felt like a new woman and that life was all happy and sunshine filled... what a relief. And from the time that Cymbalta first came out (can't remember) until now, I take 60 mg every night. But to add another kink to the mess, I am Biplor Type II: depressed. Sometimes I get really manic, not often, but say once every 15 to 20 years. Just is me, but my biggest problem is depression.

My concern with you and your present situation is that you have no psychiatrist to follow you, monitor your progress, tweak your meds, handle anxiety... etc. If you can't afford a doc privately, please get connected with the mental health system in your area. One can get help in just about any county in every state, I have not come across a place that I have lived that I didn't have access to mental health care providers. Some are free, some work on a sliding scale as far as income goes, but THERE IS ALWAYS HELP OUT THERE. Look in the phone book, call HHS, call the police if you have to. I have been taken to many a looney bin via a police car. YIKES! But at least I got the help I needed. I know u can do it. It's time to get your life back. Don't suffer. GO... talk therapy helps a bunch, maybe more than the meds sometimes. I know it gets harder and harder to move... don't let that happen... PLEASE. All of us on this site care about you. Ask anything you need an answer to or just to tell us how u r doing. It is a good thing u reached out for help, that is the first step in getting control of your disease.

Peace, Love, Hugs and Kisses,

The Sweetest Happiest Hippiest Hippie
Laura

Hello I personally have experience on Zoloft when I was 18 I took it for 5 years, I am now 32 and what I remember was I all of the sudden stopped have panic attacks, they just stopped, I remember I was counting the days from when I started and that made it worse for me, way worse because that made the time go 10 times slower, I know I started feel a little better 2 weeks in, but it took a awhile to actually work for me, 7 weeks I think it was. But from the 2 weeks until 7 weeks that period of time slowly improved. I have a lot of experience with anxiety and PA and believe me I know you just wanna feel better quickly but with SSRI's or Zoloft the main thing is your body has to get use to the drug before it starts working. So in the mean time keep yourself busy, what got me through the waiting time is a read books...

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a awesome and popular book that got me through my anxiety and so many others is called "Hope and Help for your Nerves" It makes you understand why your body hits panic mode and how to handle it, once you know how to change that habit way of thinking the anxiety will dissipate. Reading positive things like that helps tremenoudsly, I hope this helps you, I am currently on a anti-depressant that does wonders for anxiety as well.