Started meds to help with anxiety...

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anyone have any experience with taking Zoloft? My Psych said it should help with anxiety as well as stabilize my moods a bit better- she suspects I've got Bipolar II disorder or Cyclothymia- minor cyclical mood disorders, not as bad as regular Bipolar disorder.

So far, I hate it. 3 days on it and 45 mins after I take it I feel so exhausted and dizzy I feel like I'm going to pass out. 1st day, I had to go to bed and slept for 2 hours. 2nd day, I laid down and was so dizzy that hubby had to go pick up my 5 y/o from Kindergarden. Today, I did ok, but was still pretty dizzy and spacey. I seem to be adjusting. Dr. said to give it a week and see if the side effects improve and 4-6 weeks to see an improvement in my anxiety and other issues- including sleep problems.

So, anyone have any epereince with taking meds like this and did it help at all? I'm pretty convinced that the anxiety problems are pretty well ingrained due to the AS, and that my anxiety is caused more by sensory overload, but I'm willing to give the meds a shot.

The guys from the band Ween seem to like it....(they have a song a song about it)

I have have been zoloft-curious
i am also welbutrin-curious

The only anxiety med I have been on is buspar...and that was very mild. The only way I can describe the way it made me feel is chalky.
It did wonders, however for my schitzoactive bi-polar roommate.

Being tired and all that sounds like what happened to me when I tried stuff like that (years ago before those specific drugs-think it was prozac or something). It's like the stuff they put me on had the opposite, or in some cases no effect.

Are you depressed as well as experiencing anxiety? Zoloft is prescribed for people who are experiencing both anxiety and depression. I have a really great psychiatrist (finally!) after going through so many idiots and I take Klonopin (0.5 mg) for
anxiety. I was taking Valium but the Klonopin lasts longer in my circulatory system than Valium does...they are both in the same
category of drugs and can become addictive, so one's prescribing psychiatrist should be careful.

If the dizziness should continue, that really isn't considered "normal" and you should tell your physician. Another medication, like
Celexa, may work better. There are many drugs out there on the market that help with both anxiety and depression. You may have
to try several drugs before you find one that works. Remember, too that it takes two weeks to really tell if a drug is working effectively, but dizziness is something you should NOT tolerate for two weeks.

Zoloft for anxiety? I'm not so sure about that; but good luck to you. I was on it for a while a while back. It's effects were subtle; didn't really help too much with my anxiety. Like most brain candies, your body will rebel a bit as chemistry is altered. Withdrawal sucked: google the "zaps".

I was on Welbutrin a long time ago; it made me very aggressive and even more unstable than I normally am; my wife made me stop taking it very quickly; ironically, it's one of the few brain candies that doesn't come with a boatload of "sexual side-effects".

Right now for anxiety I'm on Paxil and Xanax. Paxil seems better for the anxiety than Zoloft was, though it makes me more than a bit spacey and loopy, and it makes my libido seem like a pale memory (Zoloft did that also though).

Xanax always seems to work well for slappin' down anxiety, but as a tranquilizer it's a bit of a double edged sword, as it can make you sleepy and lethargic. I suppose it becomes a matter of choosing the least sucky way to feel. Xanax is a rather preferable deal because unlike all of these other brain candies, it doesn't muck too much with your fundamental brain chemistry, which regardless of what the doctors tell you is a big game of shooting in the dark.

I hear Paxil is a b***h to get off of also, but I haven't walked that path yet.

You're probably right about the fun and semi-futile game of trying to drug away your inherent nature. Fun stuff.

Good fortune,

- Icarus Wants Some GLeeMONEX

I do suffer from mild depression- it's cyclical in nature, definitely a bi-polar type of issue. I get melancholy, have no enrgy, want to sleep a lot, then have more manic phases where I don't sleep much, have tons of energy, my brain goes a mile a minute, I get totally OCD. I have long stretches where I'm at a happy medium too, but I ALWAYS have massive anxiety issues. The Dr. said she was being conservative to start my treatment on Zoloft and I may need something that's more of a mood regulator than an anti-depressant. Time will tell.

Thanks for the responses.

i took xanax when i had a serious panic attack back in 2006. it was cool and i'd probably take it again

I never did the Zoloft. Most of the rest I have been on at one time or another and some combined with others.

I too get the faster effects, they say 2 weeks and yet my system seems faster. It should have been explained which side effects are ones to get a hold of the doctor in short order. Don't let them sell you on how you should feel, only you know and stick to your guns. As you have already seen by some of the replies, some work well for some and don't touch it for others. It might take a little to find the right one. But being over medicated isn't the right one either. Some can mess with your sex life, a lot. There are those that don't or at least not as much. That is important to over all well being, weigh the choice carefully.

They were trying all kinds of elaborate drugs for the anxiety/depression and finally I just said I want Valium and with my past history of self medicating it wasn't an easy sell. I have them now on an as needed basis. I probably should do them more then I do. The wild thing is, after a life time of self medicating, I hate taking a pill, even Valium.

I kind of bump into things a bit on this one. A very small side effect compared to some. 150mg had me on the edge of pulling a trigger. 125 had me feeling medicated. 100 has me a bit on a side I like. Not as stable as the 125, but I refuse to be over medicated. So in reality, I'm doing two meds. Three if you count caffeine, I still abuse the hell out of that one.

A simple multivitamin and a B-complex can help with mild depression. The B is water soluble, doesn't linger in the system. But like all these things be very upfront with them about all you take. The so called natural drugs, watch them like a hawk, you wouldn't believe the read out on just St Johns Wort, it's really long with what it can mess with. Natural can be a very deceiving word.

Wishing you well. It really is worth the hassle of finding the right one.

The problem I have with taking medications for anxiety is that my body adapts to the anti-anxiety effect quickly. I build tolerance and then start having withdrawal symptoms if I don’t increase the dose after a few months. This happened with both Paxil and Klonopin. I would say the withdrawal from Klonopin was much worse than Paxil though.

If you think about it anxiety is an evolutionary defense mechanism. It's supposed to keep us out of danger. So when you try to suppress it with medication the body fights back by compensatory neural adaptation. Maybe some people have better luck than me but I gave up trying to medicate anxiety as the medications just seemed to make things worse in the long run.

There's always natural remedies. I take l-theanine and GABA for anxiety.
I often combine it with rhodiloa rosea so that I don't feel too tired.
Also blue lotus tincture..when I really need a quick fix.

Zoloft made me very tired as well. Be careful driving!

It didn't get better over time, though it did help my anxiety. Maybe I was just too tired to be anxious.

that made me laugh because it looked cute. "it was cool and i'd probably take it again"

Anyways, I'm a med-o-phobe and a shrink-o-phobe.

It's hell to get off of. Took me weeks. It's not supposed to be as bad as Effexor though.
I'll never take SSRI's again....Lethargy, weight gain and kiss any sexual thoughts good bye. Not for me

Oh, wonderful!