[mas215]

I have a family member that has taken Zoloft in the past for depression with good results. She took it around 8 years ago and stayed on it for a couple of years. Then she stopped. Recently she got another prescription from her doctor.

My question is, will it work as well the 2nd time around? I once heard somewhere that if you take an SSRI and then stop for awhile, it won't work as well the next time you take it. Is that true, should she by trying something else or will the same drug work after years of not taking it anymore. Thanks.

[Robert_325]

There is too much left unanswered here. Don't know what kind of problem she was having to require the zoloft, the amount of her zoloft dose, how long she took it, how the dose was increased over time ... at least some of that information helps.

It's impossible to provide accurate information when we don't really know any specifics about the situation. To answer your question everyone is different. Without more information a correct answer will be nothing more than a guess. God bless.

[mas215]

You're right Robert, more info would be needed, but I guess my basic is using it (or any SSRI) after not using it for a few years and starting up again. She was depressed after the death of another family member. This was back in 2002. The Zoloft definitely made a difference and she stayed on it until 2007. She then stopped and was doing fine up to about a year ago. The depression returned, her staying in bed all day, not looking forward to anything. I finally got her to see her doctor and he prescribed Zoloft again, same dose. I know you have to give it time for it to work, she's only been on it for a couple of weeks. It just seems that last time, her mood vastly improved after a couple of weeks. Again, someone told me that the doc should have tried something else as the Zoloft won't work the same way it did the last time. I did ask the doctor and he said that's not a factor. So we'll wait and see, it's just sad to see someone lose all hopes and just lie in bed day after day. I'd prefer she see a psychiatrist but her health care doesn't cover enough and we're financially strapped right now. Thanks.