Sertraline and Depression: What Users Say (Page 5)

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 18, 2019

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on this medication just over 2 months now for anxiety and stress. When I first started, it increased my anxiety and paranoia so much, this went on for the first 3 weeks or so. Recently, I have been feeling really depressed. I wasn’t depressed before taking this medication. But even though I’ve been on it over 2 months, I’m still getting these depressing feelings. I have noticed my anxiety calm down a bit, but I’m still really paranoid in a lot of situations. Should I still be getting side effects 2 months in?"

• Lot...
• December 11, 2019

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I've started taking them 3 months ago and have now decided to come off them. I felt like they first helped me to cope with my periods, mood swings, etc. They definitely helped with social anxiety, but in the past 2 weeks, I felt that they are making me feel worse in relation to depression. It had worsened. The doctor said I should try 100 mg, but he's not right. I know what I feel. They have helped me for a while while I needed them, but now I don't feel depressed, and anxiety is so much better to control that I just want to come off them to start feeling normal again. If you're only mildly depressed, then I would advise against them. I try sports instead. When on sertraline, I was detached and zoned out, which at first felt good, but now it's worse. Everyone is different, so this is just my opinion. I just listen to my body and mind and feel that the doctors don't know what's exactly right for me. I spoke to different docs, and they both advised me differently. Just trust yourself. You know best."

• Mel...
• October 7, 2019

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I have been on this medication, sertraline 25 mg, for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely 'out of it.' No energy, no motivation, things seem to affect me more, cannot concentrate, I avoid talking to or seeing people, and feel more depressed. I hate this medication and was put on it because of my BPD and OCD, which has helped with OCD but not BPD. Feeling discouraged, wondering if these side effects will pass soon."

• Mel...
• October 7, 2019

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I have been on this medication, sertraline 25 mg, for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely 'out of it.' No energy, no motivation, things seem to affect me more, cannot concentrate, I avoid talking to or seeing people, and feel more depressed. I hate this medication and was put on it because of my BPD and OCD, which has helped with OCD but not BPD. Feeling discouraged, wondering if these side effects will pass soon."

• all...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 25, 2018

Sertraline for Depression "I've been taking it for nearly 4 months now. For about the first month, I experienced hypomania, which is fairly common to my understanding. Then, on my cycle, I still felt a little depressed, so my doctor upped my dosage from 100 mg a day to 150 mg a day. After that change, I was fairly manic and hyperactive all the time, except the week of my cycle, during which I was 'normal'. My friends and family have noticed changes in me that neither they nor I particularly like (zoning out, agitation, frequent dizziness, etc.), and more recently, I have had semi-emotional numbness/no motivation to do anything and have had elevated thoughts/actions of self-harm and suicide (before this, I hadn't self-harmed for several years). Now, I sometimes get into a headspace where I am thinking very irrationally and don't consider consequences. My anxiety is still high, and at this point, it doesn't seem to be helping my depression either. I plan to stop taking this."

• all...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 25, 2018

Sertraline for Depression "I've been taking it for nearly 4 months now. For about the first month, I experienced hypomania, which is fairly common to my understanding. Then, on my cycle, I still felt a little depressed, so my doctor upped my dosage from 100 mg a day to 150 mg a day. After that change, I was fairly manic and hyperactive all the time, except the week of my cycle, during which I was 'normal'. My friends and family have noticed changes in me that neither they nor I particularly like (zoning out, agitation, frequent dizziness, etc.), and more recently, I have had semi-emotional numbness/no motivation to do anything and have had elevated thoughts/actions of self-harm and suicide (before this, I hadn't self-harmed for several years). Now, I sometimes get into a headspace where I am thinking very irrationally and don't consider consequences. My anxiety is still high, and at this point, it doesn't seem to be helping my depression either. I plan to stop taking this."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 9, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "I read all these reviews, and they were the only thing that kept me going. My experience has been 25 mg for the first week, the first two days were horrendous. I felt suicidal, depressed, sick, and had insomnia. You really do feel worse before better, although no one can really prepare you for the fuzzy head, nauseous feeling. Week 2 went up to 50 mg, and the whole week I was shaky, very low mood, and nauseous. I’m now on week 3, and I have turned a corner. I can eat again, sleep, and feel calm and happy. Worst two weeks of my life, so if you're going through the same right now, stay strong, you can do this. It really is a frightening experience, it just takes time. I had three weeks off work and was glad to have people around me."

• van...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 15, 2019

Sertraline for Depression "Just plain awful. While on it, I gained 10 lbs, still felt depressed, still had anxiety, and was mentally unstable. Because I'm an idiot, I went off of Zoloft cold turkey over the summer of 2017 and was absolutely miserable and extremely mentally unstable (because I wasn't crazy enough while on it, apparently). Super unstable + brain zaps = catastrophe. However, we later found out I didn't respond to it because of my genetics, so I can't be too mad about it not working since I'm a super small part of the population."

• Joe...
• May 30, 2018

Sertraline for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "One of the worst drugs to give anyone. The side effects are out of control. The fact that a medicine that has been approved to treat PTSD can make you harm yourself is beyond me. Took for 3 months before the active duty Navy doctors finally changed the medicine. Not only did it make everything worse (not able to sleep, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, among others). On a weekly basis, my spouse was concerned for my well-being, requiring her to call the ambulance about 1 to 2 times a month. After being taken off the medicine, I was able to get away from the awful feelings. A new up-to-date study needs to be done because I am not the only one that has had these effects."

• Joe...
• May 30, 2018

Sertraline for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "One of the worst drugs to give anyone. The side effects are out of control. The fact that a medicine that has been approved to treat PTSD can make you harm yourself is beyond me. Took for 3 months before the active duty Navy doctors finally changed the medicine. Not only did it make everything worse (not able to sleep, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, among others). On a weekly basis, my spouse was concerned for my well-being, requiring her to call the ambulance about 1 to 2 times a month. After being taken off the medicine, I was able to get away from the awful feelings. A new up-to-date study needs to be done because I am not the only one that has had these effects."

• men...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 6, 2015

Sertraline for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "For a long time, I've struggled with OCD, trichotillomania, depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Now I take Vyvanse for ADHD, but for the rest, I take Zoloft, and I take 150 mg every day. By the way, I'm a 15-year-old female. It's really helped with the anxiety and depression, and my trichotillomania has gotten better with the use of the drug Lamictal at night, which is a mood stabilizer (50 mg)."

• Jon...
• February 20, 2020

For Depression "I started sertraline 2 years ago after taking fluoxetine. I had awful anxiety on fluoxetine. Initially, I was on 50 mg sertraline, which wasn't great. I went up to 100 mg sertraline, and within a month, I'd gained 2 stone despite no dietary changes at all. As time went on, I've experienced extreme bloating, gastric reflux, continued weight gain, elevated liver enzymes, elevated cholesterol, and decreased motivation. An incessant cough also plagues me. Despite seeing my GP, there has been no help because they cannot see a reason for it. This medication has ruined my health, my stomach and throat, and everything else. I do not recommend this medication. My depression and anxiety have not improved at all with this medication, I am unable to work."

• Jon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 30, 2022

For Panic Disorder "I told myself that I would share my experience if sertraline (Zoloft) helped me, so here I am. I'm a healthy young man, with a fantastic life. Got a job I love, kids, and a wife I adore. I have no obvious reason to struggle with my mental health, yet I somehow developed intense panic disorder. I would wake up all night and be shaking, my muscles twitch and tic, I had constant diarrhea, and a feeling of intense dread and despair 24 hours a day. Sertraline made all of that go away almost entirely! The first 2 weeks were very hard. Everything got worse, but by day 10 I could feel it starting to work, and my panic attacks beginning to go away. By day 15, I was sleeping through the night, and by week 3 I was great, with no side effects. My thoughts are clear and I've stopped worrying all the time. I think I might have OCD and that's also gone. I love sertraline."

• Jon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 30, 2022

For Panic Disorder "I told myself that I would share my experience if sertraline (Zoloft) helped me, so here I am. I'm a healthy young man, with a fantastic life. Got a job I love, kids, and a wife I adore. I have no obvious reason to struggle with my mental health, yet I somehow developed intense panic disorder. I would wake up all night and be shaking, my muscles twitch and tic, I had constant diarrhea, and a feeling of intense dread and despair 24 hours a day. Sertraline made all of that go away almost entirely! The first 2 weeks were very hard. Everything got worse, but by day 10 I could feel it starting to work, and my panic attacks beginning to go away. By day 15, I was sleeping through the night, and by week 3 I was great, with no side effects. My thoughts are clear and I've stopped worrying all the time. I think I might have OCD and that's also gone. I love sertraline."

• rsb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 14, 2017

Sertraline for Depression "Gave one star to Zoloft for its effort, but really it deserves zero stars from my experience. I was on Remeron, then Cipralex (Lexapro for American users) for almost a year, and when it stopped working, I decided to go with Zoloft after reading good reviews. Zoloft slowly turned me into the worst version of myself. Constant anger, irritation, nausea, no appetite, no motivation, and, man, the heartburn was unreal. And the list goes on and on. I took it for a week at 25 mg and 3 weeks at 50 mg to give it a shot, but I had to stop because I was just falling apart. I am currently on Effexor, it's been almost a week, and it is slowly putting me back together from the Zoloft disaster."

• Kfr...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 23, 2016

Sertraline for Major Depressive Disorder "I've been on Zoloft for about a year, at 25 mg. But I've recently developed panic disorder and can't seem to handle the side effects of going up. I believe I'm not even at the optimal dose yet. My doc prescribed me Effexor XR, and I'm on day one of taking that, and I feel completely emotionless. I'm going back to Zoloft tomorrow because initially it worked for depression and anxiety. Everyone is different, but I've tried citalopram, escitalopram, and now Effexor, and they all make me feel numb and like a zombie. Zoloft all the way. My doc won't prescribe me benzos, and I feel that Zoloft will be great with Xanax! Going back to the doctors next week to tell them to shove the Effexor, and I'm staying on Zoloft."

• Bar...
• May 13, 2015

For Depression "I began sertraline 50 mg approximately four weeks ago. I wasn't sure whether to take it at night or in the morning, so I experimented with both. I found that during the day I would become very lethargic and yawn constantly with little energy but would then wake up in the middle of the night stimulated, regardless of the time I took it. This frustrated me as I have always had a good sleep schedule and am an active person during the day, but I had read that others had experienced similar side effects and the effects eventually ceased. I felt better for several days-not as downcast, brooding, heavy. After three weeks of taking it, the effect seemed to even out, and I found myself struggling with feelings of hopelessness and doubt again. I felt better, certainly, just still struggling-I don't expect a pill to “cure” me of negative thoughts. I know I have control over my own thoughts, but it was that feeling of heaviness that tends to settle upon me-like a dark cloud. When I went back to my doctor for the follow-up, he increased it to 100 mg. I said let's try 75 mg first. He agreed. Within a couple of weeks of taking 75 mg, I still yawned a lot, but I wasn't having trouble with lethargy and sleep issues as much. My attitude was much better. For example, I found that I really am a funny and silly person! I forgot that I was funny being under depression. I didn’t realize how serious I had become, how reclusive. I also found my creativity really opened up. I had forgotten how creative I was. I also have been going to the gym and eating well. I try and smile and interact with people more-even if I don’t feel like it. I may just greet people or hold the door for them, but it’s better than me avoiding people like I used to. Some days are harder than others, but I can say that overall my experience with sertraline has been positive."

• tah...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2023

Sertraline for Depression "NOTE: I was on this medication for a short period while my doctor was trying to change over my previous medications. I took this medication with an antipsychotic to manage sleep only. In short, this medication did not work for me. After deciding to change my medications, my doctor decided to put me on Zoloft. I only took it for two weeks and was told to have a direct switch with my medications because it just wasn't working the way I needed it to. I had low moods, sadness, and lethargy, was heavily deprived of energy, and had no motivation. However, I did not experience severe depression, which was the reason I was taking medication in the first place. I believe that this occurred because it just didn't do much compared to my previous medications and was probably not strong enough. This medication is not strong at all, so it is a very safe option with minimal side effects, especially if a patient is just beginning to take antidepressants."

• tah...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2023

Sertraline for Depression "NOTE: I was on this medication for a short period while my doctor was trying to change over my previous medications. I took this medication with an antipsychotic to manage sleep only. In short, this medication did not work for me. After deciding to change my medications, my doctor decided to put me on Zoloft. I only took it for two weeks and was told to have a direct switch with my medications because it just wasn't working the way I needed it to. I had low moods, sadness, and lethargy, was heavily deprived of energy, and had no motivation. However, I did not experience severe depression, which was the reason I was taking medication in the first place. I believe that this occurred because it just didn't do much compared to my previous medications and was probably not strong enough. This medication is not strong at all, so it is a very safe option with minimal side effects, especially if a patient is just beginning to take antidepressants."

• Sat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 28, 2021

For Anxiety and Stress "These reviews pulled me through the hardest days starting this medication, so I wanted to share my experience and hopefully help someone else! I started 50 mg 12 days ago. The first 4 days, I unfortunately experienced tough side effects (vomiting, no appetite, increased anxiety, and feelings of depression). On day 5, things started to turn around, and I physically felt a lot better, still off mentally. By day 10, I was feeling much better and more interested in socializing and exercising again. I’m trusting these reviews that I will continue to feel better more and more each day! I would recommend taking some time off work if you can when you start, just in case, and don’t give up hope that you will feel better soon!"

• Kot...
• July 30, 2016

For Anxiety and Stress "This medication does work. I had been through a lot of stress at work for 3 years and finally decided to start taking 50 mg of sertraline. I didn't have any side effects, and within two weeks I noticed that I am finally calm and 'happy.' Nothing bothered me anymore. In a month after I started taking the medication, I was laid off. I didn't even cry. It was a shock, though, so I checked with my doc, and she advised to increase the dose to 75 mg. I was taking it for about three months and started feeling emotionally numb, and it seemed that the med stopped working. Also, my hands/fingers were 'falling asleep' at night and from holding an iPhone for more than 2-3 min. They still do. I am on 150 mg, and my mood is fine. It's been 13 months altogether."

• Aar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 5, 2018

Sertraline for Social Anxiety Disorder "I think Zoloft caused permanent brain damage and more depression than I had before. I was only on 50 mg for about 3 or 4 months but started having serious memory problems like having no clue where I parked. Not even a general direction. The scariest part was that I noticed when people were talking to me, things stopped registering. Like I was trying to listen but couldn't. I stopped taking it hoping this would go away, but it didn't after over 2 yrs now. And now I'm left with more depression than before and serious cognitive issues. I might not be able to keep my job or function in life anymore. It did make me feel better and be more social, but wasn't worth it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 13, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I've been on sertraline now for nearly a month. I'm on 50 mg. I suffer from just general anxiety. Since starting these tablets, I lost a lot of weight in the first week along with feeling depressed and fatigued. I soon got my appetite back, though. Recently, I have been suffering with a bit of social anxiety, kind of getting anxious about going outside and feeling anxious. May sound silly! With this medication, you have to work around it and give it time. Work with the medication, eat good, sleep good (if you can), and listen to music and do anything that makes you happy. I really hope I see some more improvements soon as I'm out of work and being 18, I'm missing out on going out and seeing my friends because I don't feel like I can at the moment!"

• Wor...
• February 23, 2016

Sertraline for Panic Disorder "I have been on this medication for over a year. Was prescribed 50 mg by my doctor due to severe anxiety and panic disorder. I have since not had a single severe panic attack, it also helped a little with my social anxiety. However, it takes longer to reach orgasm, and I am only in the mood at nighttime. I have gained 40 pounds, and I seem to lack motivation. I also feel like the effects are slowly wearing off, so I may have to up the dose slightly or switch to a new medication. I had no initial side effects. I think this medicine works a lot better for anxiety than depression."

• Sas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2019

Sertraline for Major Depressive Disorder "I started on 50 mg of sertraline for two weeks and had nausea and a dull headache as side effects. I am now on 100 mg and have been on the 100 for two weeks, and I can honestly say I feel dreadful. Nausea, fatigue, and no motivation. The doctor would like to try me on venlafaxine, but I have heard that these are even worse. Don’t know what to do."