Adverse reaction to one SSRI but not another. You too?

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Hello,

Has anyone ever gone on a particular SSRI like Zoloft - then had really bad symptoms and felt worse once the dose was increased but felt better once weened off the drug? Symptoms like abnormal thinking, racing thoughts or OCD thoughts and increased feelings of depersonalization and derealization?

And this has happened when another brand SSRI may have worked?

I am asking because I have been on 100mg's of Zoloft for 1.5 months and things aren't getting any better just way worse. I wonder if I am having an adverse reaction to it. I was on Prozac years ago and that helped. The only thing it has done has stopped the feelings of anxiety but I still having the bizarre mind symptoms. Please advise..

Omg, yes.

Switching from a tricyclic antidepressant to Zoloft was one of the reasons I ended up in a psych hospital several years ago. That mess didn't do a thing for my depression and had me making rash decisions such as quitting my job and moving to New York for a month. And taking a whole bottle of it was actually my means of attempting suicide, which showed just how "well" it worked.

The doctor at the hospital finally got me on something that actually worked that is different from an SSRI though if I suddenly quit taking it, I go into withdrawal and it's expensive as all get-out. You just can't win, can you?

Yes me too. Too much zoloft made my brain a horrible place to be, I was totally unwell at a higher dose. Let your doctor know so you can get help making a change.

My 13 year old (severe autism) son was on zoloft for a couple of years before we started to see an increase in manic behaviour. He had seemed to tolerate it well and it seemed to work (to decrease anxiety and obsessive behaviours) until then. We didn't know what was happening except over 6mths he started to get more anxious again and aggressive and attacking people... for no apparent reason. He is not verbal (except to ask for food) so we didn't know what he was feeling. His Dr. increased his zoloft to try and calm him down, but it had the opposite effect. Finally took him to emergency dept. and told them we wouldn't leave until he was properly checked out. The doctor's came to the conclusion that he was experiencing activation syndrome, related to the zoloft. Apparently, some people have adverse effects soon after starting zoloft but some can even develop it after some time on the drug. He was weaned off it and our son "returned". I still can't forgive myself for not finding out sooner, it was like my son was trying to climb out of his skin... he was so miserable.
My advice is to try another drug, if it has been a while and it is making you still feel "wrong".

Thanks for all the advice guys! I was starting to go insane and think that this is happening for religious reasons. But I have always had the sense to separate mental illness from religion and I was losing that because I am in a bad state.

I have just asked my doctor for permission to reduce the zoloft slowly. Dropping from 100mg to 50mg tonight.

Could you guys elaborate on the side effects for me? I've been resisting taking medication until a week ago but finally gave in and started taking zoloft. I was prescribed a tapered dose. I'm taking 25 mg now but supposed to start 50 mg next week followed by 100mg the week after. I understand it takes some time to kick in, does that mean I shouldn't expect side effects for 4-6 weeks also?

Happy for you MadMatt that you are getting off it. I've heard some bad things about zoloft, some people just seem to react really badly to it.
I actually took it for depression about 15 years ago. I don't think I was severely depressed and I was on it for less than a year and it didn't cause me any problems that I remember. Depression resolved and it made me feel much better, pretty quickly.
Rascal77s, my advice (if you want it) is to try and monitor yourself closely. I would also let some people close to you (who you can trust) know that you are taking this drug and that in some cases it can cause bad reactions (google for many horror stories). Zoloft is supposed to help you feel better, so if it's not doing that in the first month or two it is possibly not the right med for you. Or if you feel alright and seem to be improving on it, but then things seem to go "pear shaped"- even after a year or two- it could be the zoloft. The side effects shouldn't be much concern, if they are see your doctor. From what I've read people talk about really uncomfortable mind racing, losing touch with reality, feelings of suicide among other things. From what I saw in my son, he was unhappy for every waking minute. He didn't smile for months. He was aggressive, explosive anger. He was very dangerous (to himself and others) and very unhappy.
Not trying to be overly dramatic, but just think this drug (well, all of them really) should be taken with a lot of care. Like I said, it worked for me (and many others), hope it works for you.