Zoloft for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Blair...
• June 29, 2015

"I began taking Zoloft four months ago after being diagnosed with OCD, which I have suffered with for probably 15 years. I started with a dosage of 25 mg and experienced quite a bit of nausea for the first few weeks. I also dealt with a spike in anxiety, which I combatted with Clonopin and relaxation techniques. My psychiatrist slowly increased the dosage to 150 mg over the past few months. During that time, with the addition of psychotherapy, I began to slowly recognize that my symptoms were decreasing. It has become much easier to recognize my intrusive thoughts as OCD, and to say "no" to the multitude of rituals that I engaged in on a daily basis. In fact, since I have reached 150 mg, my anxiety and other symptoms have almost disappeared."

• Ash...
• September 10, 2016

"I have OCD & PTSD. Zoloft is the only medication I've been prescribed. I have been taking it for 3 months, but am overjoyed at the results. I started at 25 mg. It took a month to start working. The first thing that I noticed was that I didn't feel as depressed anymore, and I lost the urge to do most of my compulsions. I am now taking 50 mg and barely have any anxiety anymore, and intrusive thoughts do not bother me anymore, though I do frequently have nightmares similar to the intrusive thoughts I used to have. I also have headaches and occasional diarrhea, but the benefits far outweigh these minor inconveniences."

• Sam
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2020

"Zoloft works pretty well after being on it for nearly a month. In the first two weeks, my mood was bad, and I had very jittery hands and what not, this was while was on a 25mg dose. Then I started to feel slightly better, then upped the dose to 50mg. During this time, I felt the side effects all over again, and I believe now it's just levelling off, and I finally feel a shift again, where I am able to appreciate things more, laugh more, etc. The obsessive thoughts aren't gone, but they are way more manageable and I don't ruminate on them nearly as much."

• Average...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 3, 2021

"I started Zoloft after a period of stress led to me having a mental breakdown that led to weeks of crippling existential angst and depression. Before this I was studying at university and was extremely into bodybuilding and fitness. I would describe myself before this first breakdown as being a very happy person who definitely was highly strung but nothing severe or that I would classify as anxiety. After this mental breakdown occurred I was left devastated. I lost 10kg of muscle and I couldn’t eat or be bothered to look after myself. I started Zoloft at 50mg reluctantly and continued to live but barely existing. After a horrible couple of months of side effects I just woke up one morning feeling normal. The things that plagued my mind just disappeared and didn’t matter anymore. I felt myself again. This drug allowed me to save my life"

• Nocd
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 23, 2022

"I am on 200 mg of Zoloft and I had no worse side effects (compared to lower doses) but helped me more with my OCD thoughts. Yes. Night urination and less sex drive is true but not a big deal. If will be needed I'll go up to 400 mg. 200mg is maximum FDA approved for MDD. For OCD your doctor can take you up to 400 mg. Wish I never had OCD. Stupid pure O total waste of time thoughts fill us with fear and anxiety."

• duder...
• March 29, 2017

"I started on 25mg and went up to 50mg/day for a relapse of pure-obsessional OCD. It took about a month for it to start working but this drug in combination with learning the principles of Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP Therapy) - a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have allowed me to regain control of my mind. The depression that came with the relapse vanished in two weeks, anxiety and intrusive thoughts slowly dissipated/reduced in intensity about a month afterwards. I feel normal again and I couldn't be happier. If you're one of the unlucky folks who have been blessed with OCD, give sertraline (Zoloft) a shot. Just make sure to combine it with therapy otherwise it won't be as effective."

• Finally...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 6, 2015

"I have always struggled with intrusive thoughts that manifest in various forms (obsession with being "perfect", eating disorders, social anxiety, etc.) But for several years of my adult life, I wanted help so bad because I was miserable... Just completely uncomfortable & restless with anxiety that would come and go but stayed with me much longer than it would stay away. I tried talking to local counselors & was very disappointed, as they were not educated on OCD. After a year of no luck with counselors, I found one (university counselor) who knew what I was going through & how to help me. Life is SO much better! I started at 50mg & currently take 200mg"

• moww
• January 30, 2013

"I have OCD/general anxiety and depression as a result. I was considered a very severe case. A few months after the worst time in my life, I am happy and healthy. I am managing anxiety/OCD a lot better and I have VERY rare bad days. I have been taking Zoloft with therapy for a little over six months. I experienced about a week of side effects (nausea, increased anxiety, fatigue) but over quickly. I get away with taking 50 mg. Apparently the most common side effects are weight gain and loss of interest in sex. I am happy to say I am experiencing NEITHER! I gained a little bit of weight (5-10 lbs) in the last few months, but I lost about 30 lbs before Zoloft due to anxiety-linked anorexia. Now without depression/OCD, I finally have my sex drive!"

• jesssse
• November 8, 2015

"Zoloft is an excellent medication for treating obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety..all of which I have. Ever since I started taking it I have been so much happier and worry free. However I am 24 years old and I enjoy to go out to the bar with my friends..and let me tell you. If you want to drink on this medication, be advised that it will completley cancel the drug out. Everytime I drink I have severe anxiety the next day. But other than that I would recomend this drug"

• ocdmu...
• March 7, 2012

"I have been taking Zoloft now for 7 Years. I felt almost instant relief for about a week after first taking it only to come crashing back down again. I guess it was some kind of placebo effect. But sticking it out and uping my dose to 200mg a day, after about six weeks I felt so much better. I could function and instead of my mind having 100's of things running through it I could focus on the one thing and work through my problems. My only side effects was an upset tummy. But that passed. I'm grateful for this medication. It saved my life."

• rchip...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 29, 2014

"I was offered sertraline (Zoloft) after a relapse of Generalized Anxiety Disorder which brought with it a severe case of Pure-o intrusive thoughts of the harm variety. These thoughts were ruining my life and making me depressed. I was prescribed 50mg per day. The first 3 days were hell with a huge increase in fatigue, depression and intrusive thoughts. I almost gave up it was that bad. I was using diazepam 2mg In those first 3 days and thought they weren't playing nice with the Zoloft so I stopped them. I saw instant improvement after doing so. Now I am 7 days in and have had the best day ever. My intrusive thoughts are far fewer and far easier to simply dismiss. Amazed."

• Anonymous
• August 13, 2008

"I've been on Zoloft (50mg) for 18 mos and the results are wonderful. (I had a hard time letting kids be kids; everything had to be done my way or I'd lose my temper; and I dreaded going to social events - I'd much rather stay at home by myself with a drink.) Not only is family life better but my outlook at life is better as well. I no longer fret over the little things. Heck, sometimes I don't even fret over the large things."

• Ann
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 23, 2019

"I recently got diagnosed with OCD (almost 2 mouths ago). My therapist suggested I start taking something to better deal with this issue and recommend Zoloft dose 50mg/per day. I can honestly say it changed my life for the better. Usually antidepressants work for OCD patients to around a 40%-80% improvement rate, and I can proudly say I am one of the people with higher percentage. When it comes to side effects I do get a little bit nauseous and I'm generally more tired, but apart from that I feel much better and my only concern at the moment is it stopping to work for me."

• Jojo
• June 21, 2018

"Zoloft really changed my life for the better. I was struggling with intrusive thoughts and rituals as part of my OCD and while Zoloft didn’t completely eradicate all that, it really helped me combat it. 150mg gave me some minor side effects, 100mg is great."

• Neal
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 15, 2020

"I have moved on and off sertraline, as well as increased and decreased doses, for the last few years. Consistently (at all doses) I find that it has helped alleviate obsessions, as well as the anxiety and distress associated with the obsessions. Thus far I have found the best results when mixing a medium dose (~100mg/day for a 200lb male) with exercise and CBT. I’ve found 50mg doesn’t help me very much with obsessions but it does help with some of my GAD symptoms; 200mg w/ CBT alleviated almost all major obsessions, but the dose was too hefty and I was struggling with side effects such as energy levels and fatigue. I am currently on 50mg and planning to push it back to 100mg while maintaining CBT & consistent exercise."

• Chels
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 29, 2019

"I have bipolar type 2 and have been diagnosed for 10 years. Once I turned 29, OCD manifested itself into my life. I could no longer drive, performing poorly at work, and could barely leave the house due to checking. After a year of trying various Combos of lithium and anxiety meds, I had enough and begged my doctor to put me on antidepressants. They were reluctant because I could induce mania, but heard me out and started me at 200mg. It changed my life. Two months and I was free of OCD symptoms and driving again. No side effects, however I tolerate medication well. This is a life saver."

• Linda
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 5, 2020

"I was on Zoloft about 15 years ago under the care of a psychiatrist. She had me on a few different things at once and I remember feeling great for the first time in a long time. I haven’t been on medication for over 10 years, however the pandemic has brought my OCD to the surface. My general practitioner gave me 50 mg of zoloft because I told her it worked in the past. I am on day 25 and I feel awful!!! The mornings are the worst. I feel jittery and emotional. I have to take xanax to even function. I have had this weird pressure and tingling in my head for about 10 days and I wake up 4 times a night in a sweat. With my OCD I, of course, thought I must be dying. Then I started reading this thread and realized that the sensations and emotions could be coming from the Zoloft. I made an appt with a psychiatrist who specializes in psychopharmacology, but I have to wait until next Monday (6 days away)."

• Anonymous
• November 24, 2011

"I was diagnosed recently with purely obsessional OCD and social anxiety and started on 25mg/day of Zoloft. Aside from a brief period of what I would call adjusting to lack of anxiety and a few mild side effects (nausea from time to time), Zoloft has given me peace and stability. The obsessive thoughts are mostly gone, but even when they do rear their ugly heads, the anxiety isn't there. It's also had an awesome mitigating effect on my ADHD. The side effects show up once in a while, but I'm willing to take a little bit of nausea over constant obsessing and crippling anxiety any day."

• FlBa
• April 18, 2015

"I've suffered from OCD for about three years. It was pretty bad but still manageable, but then two months ago it became unbearably horrible, my life was a nightmare. I would spend almost every waking hour ruminating about my obsessions while feeling intense anxiety. Then I began taking zoloft. I was started on 25 mg and I noticed some improvement within 5 days, and there was massive improvement within 9 days. I've been on it for a month now, and I'm at 100 mg. The OCD is definitely still here, but it takes up much less time and I am able to ruminate without feeling intense anxiety. I didn't have any major side effects. At the beginning I was yawning a lot and I felt more irritable. There's also lack of appetite, and I've lost 4 pounds."

• sonoria
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 21, 2022

"Zoloft actually saved my life. I'm currently on 50 mg, which I do need to bump up after talking with my doctor. I've been taking it for around 6 months, and the difference between then and now is incredible. I have always dealt with debilitating OCD, intrusive thoughts, and mainly just constant obsessions. I was consistently awake and detached from my surroundings because I was trapped in my head panicking about how I can't fix everybody's lives. I still get those feelings sometimes, and I still get upset like the average person, but I can actually work and sleep and read and eat without the incessant voices in my head. I don't feel like I am being controlled by some external demon manifestation of myself, rather that I am the controller of myself. It's insane. At first, I was very loopy on Zoloft, in the sense that I just felt so awake all the time. That lasted about two weeks, at most. The drug fully kicked in around a month and a half in."

• georg...
• May 10, 2017

"I had OCD for 3 years. I could not sit down. I was eating while I was unable to concentrate on anything else than my thoughts. I would avoid going to the bathroom because I could not seat down on the toilet. In order to avoid my thoughts I was walking about 11 km per day. I would fall asleep thinking about something and in the next morning I would wake up thinking the same thing. I had the same exact thought for 3 days until something else stuck in my mind. I am taking 250 mg a day now and everything is good. The only think is that Coffee and Alcohol messes up the medication. One day after two coffees I had to take something else to calm my self down."

• Leetl...
• June 1, 2015

"I have suffered from OCD for over a decade and it has taken over my life. I've been on zoloft for three months and am seeing progress. It has helped mildly with the anxiety. I am finding that my life choices are changing. I am eating healthier, going outside more, taking up new hobbies, reconnecting with old friends, maintaining a healthier relationship with my family members, my anger has decreased significantly and I am not ruminating on repetitive thoughts quite as often. This medication is very helpful for getting on the road to recovery. I am using it in conjunction with meditation and mindfulness therapy. The only drawback is that it gives me diarrhea and short term memory loss. I have been using post it notes."

• laney
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 14, 2022

"I told myself when I started this drug, 10 months later I would come back and write a review because I remember when I first started Zoloft, how helpful the reviews were. We are 10 months in! I had a baby 10 months ago and suffered from severe Postpartum OCD. I also suffered from Postpartum depression and anxiety. I cried everyday, had very bad OCD thoughts and would make me depressed and have anxiety. I started Zoloft and all the reviews said to give it time. I started out at 25mg and I got a little better but it was still very bad. She moved me up to 50mg. It was about the same. After she moved me up to 75mg I quit crying everyday and was happier but still was having OCD thoughts and it was still bad and not where I wanted to be. She put me on 100mg and I am so much better. I think I finally found my dosage. I’m very happy I didn’t give up on this drug. I still have OCD thoughts, but it’s 90% better. Zoloft saved me. I hope you decide to give it a try."

• jimwest
• October 19, 2015

"I started having panic attacks when I was 20. The docs put me on zoloft and it helped me tremendously. Not only that, I stopped being the shy person that I had been prior to that. However I stopped taking it after a year because I figured I had been cured. I spent years after that without any anxiety until I had a severe bout of OCD at the age of 27 which was threatening to really destroy my life. I resisted taking medication for 2 years which was such a stupid idea. I don't know why I chose to suffer even though I knew zoloft would help me again. Anyhow, I went back on zoloft and poof! problem solved. But then I quit again and now after many years that I tried going back on it its not working as much. I wish I had stayed on it :("

• OhNoL...
• April 16, 2011

"Got diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in February of 2011. Started taking Zoloft at 50mg in the morning on April 8 (1 week ago) and my oh my what a difference! The depression is lifting significantly! - I'd say it has gone from a 2 to about a 7 in just a week's time. The intrusive/obsessive thoughts have dropped about 75-80%, the compulsions are all but gone and the general anxiety is all but gone. The next to go are the annoying ruminating thoughts and the difficulty concentrating and organizing thoughts (but since I've been so depressed for so long, I think those parts of my brain had forgotten how to function). Starting tomorrow I kick it up to 100mg a day. Hoping for the continued improvement. "