Hi - I am new to the program, currently on tape 4. I have always been an anxious person but over the last 2 years I have had a total hysterectomy, breast biopsy (with great results) and then Christmas week both of my in-laws passed away 4 days apart. I went into a real anxiety/depression episode. Since starting the program and seeing my doctor I am feeling slightly better. The bulk of my anxiety is in my stomach and I am just starting to eat again. My doctor put me on .5 mg of ativan and that is helping. He also put me on .50 mg on zoloft which I took for the first time last week and woke up in the middle of the night sick to my stomach and I threw up. I stopped the zoloft and saw the doctor yesterday and he wants me to start it again at half the dosage (.25 mg) but I am afraid. I cried all weekend and felt that I needed to do that and have felt better since. I'm just terrified of the zoloft and want to do it without it. My mother and husband think I should give it another try but then I hear about withdrawal and I don't want to be on it forever, I am also on estrogen replacement. Can somebody offer some words of comfort? I actually feel a bit better today and even heard birds chirping this morning.

I have been on Prozac and I am in the process of going off of Prozac. I know it's not the same drug as you were prescribed, but I thought I might be able to give a bit of insight.

I am having some withdrawal going off Prozac. However, it helped me so much at a really hard time that I would take it again if I needed it, even with the withdrawal. The helpful thing to remember is that, when you are going off the drug, you are through the really rough time and you have skills from the program to get through it. My suggestion (and I'm not a doctor or anything) is to give it another try at half dose like your doctor suggested.

Good luck!

Helen

Thanks, Helen, I really needed your message of support today. I appreciate your taking the time to write.

Rachel

how is zoloft working for you.

Hi Rlepree.

Don't feel bad about taking the Zoloft. I'm in the process of switching back to Zoloft. In the beginning of all of this.I took Zoloft.WOW it made me feel great.......Then I went off cause I felt fine..Then I had a relapse.

I started to take Paxil. It worked somewhat for me. I've been on it for quite sometime now. I'm changing again back to Zoloft since I did so well with it before.

But this time is very different. I feel the way you feel with it. Afraid of it. But just go slow with it. Follow what your doctor says.

These feelings won't last forever. They're just temporary. Hang in there.

rlepree,
I just got off my Zoloft for good and feel great! There is that slight scary thought of "what if it comes back"? but even that is not bad. I started on Zoloft (.25 every day for 3 weeks then .50 every day thereafter) almost 1 year ago. I stayed on it for about 3.5 months hating the idea of being on meds the whole time. I weaned myself off and thought I was doing great so I stopped practicing the skills of the program. 3 months later I went back on Zoloft. For about 2-3 weeks after starting the zoloft I had some diarreah, a metal taste in my mouth, dry mouth, but it all went away. A month or so later those symptoms came back and I cut to .25 per day. Toward the end of this year I cut back to .25 every other day and did fine. Finally a few weeks ago I realized that some alergic reactions I had been experiencing were from the zoloft and figured that was a good indication I was ready to quit so I did. No withdrawls or problems at all. Just remember that when you come off of meds like this you need to do so gradually and under a docs care.
We are so fearful of things when we have this condition that it is pretty normal for you to worry about being on meds. Work at it slowly and don't beat yourself up about using meds to get you over the hump and in condition to really be able to put the skills of this program to use.
Keep us posted on how things go for you!

rlepree, i have to ask, how is the zoloft working for you. i am taking it, and i have been on it maybe a couple of weeks, it does however cause insomnia at night. i want to know, what exactly is it suppose to do for you. when should i start seeing some results.

I decided not to start the zoloft. I am just too afraid of the side effects. I am on a low-dosage of ativan when I need it and so far I am doing OK. My main problem is anxiety, not depression (although at times I am down) but for the most part my major issue is anxiety.

What does antivan do?

Ativan is an anti-anxiety medication.

I have been allergic to 3 different anti-depressants, Paxil, Celexa. and Effexor and everyone made me worse and I was very sick on each one. I now am put on a mood disorder drug, Neurontin. I have not noticed any side effects except extremely drowzy and tired, and I haven't noticed any good changes either. Is there any medication that can make you feel happy?? or pick you up to get you through without having the severe side effects. My system is extremely sensitive. I am allergic to a lot of things and have had I.B.S. for about 4 years. My weight fluctuates drastically as well.

I'm not sure if my experience with Zoloft is typical, but I have had a great time with it.

I was very lucky in that I didn't have to go from med to med, either because they were ineffective or because of side effects. Zoloft was the first drug I tried, and it worked great. Unfortunately, I had to stop several months ago because my insurance ran out, and had a very bad "rebound" effect, but I am currently in the process of getting back on to it, so I can give you some sense of what it feels like, at least for me.

I have mitral valve prolapse, which means I am susceptible to heart palpitations, so I start out on a very, very lose dose (12.5 mg) and got up 12.5 mg every week, until I get to 50 mg (although this time I may end up at 75 mg, since at 50 mg I was still having some panics). Which I am adjusting to the medication, for the first two months or so, I also take Xanax, in order to counteract a lot of the side effects--jitteriness, anxiety (which is just initial--eventually it really helps with the panic), sleeplessness. The one very irritating symptom is a loss of appetite, mostly in the morning, but that passes quickly and I've had no weight fluctuations.

I do have a slight problem with sexual arousal on the Zoloft. However, (and maybe this is because I usually have a very high sex drive ), it's never left me unable to orgasm or completely unaroused; it just takes me longer than usual, which isn't an issue for me or my husband at all. My husband, on the other hand, once took Prozac for depression, and found the sexual side effects so severe and upsetting that he discontinued the medication (and is doing fine--his depression was very, very situational, and probably shouldn't have been used for more than a very short time anyway).

Anyway, this is just my experience. But, I have had a great experience with Zoloft, and I am very, very sensitive to medications. So, if you choose not to take it for personal reasons, that's fine, and I wish you the best of luck. But if you are only not taking it because you are worried about side effects, I would say to give it a try, especially if your doctor is willing to prescribe Xanax to help take the "edge" off of the inital side effects until your body adjusts.

As for the Xanax, the only negative effect I have is in the morning. The drug is very short-acting, and there is a high occurance of "between-dose anxiety", and I find that I wake up quite anxious a lot of the time. But, if I eat my breakfast and take my meds, I'm fine. And, once the initial adjustment period to the Zoloft is over (usually 2 to 3 months) I've *never* had a problem getting off of the Xanax.

Best of luck
Lori

Try to ask your doctor (in a very sincere tone) why he would want to try a drug that you had side effects from instead of something similar?

Maybe, "Dr., is there any other drug with similar advantages that "we" (remember you're supposed to be a team) could try? I am a little weary about how bad this drug made my stomach feel." OR, "Dr., I feel really aprehensive about trying that drug again. It made me feel so bad before."

These doctors feel safe using the same ole stuff and sometimes need a little nudge to go in a different direction.

I haven't been on Zoloft but have had miserable side effects from drugs. It really bothers me when there are so many drugs on the market and doctors won't try something else. I'm sure it's out of fear of losing theirs licenses from lawsuits, etc.

I get symptoms of low blood pressure and close to fainting from anti-depressants. 13 years ago, even after telling my doctor about having had this side effect, he put me back on the same drug along with Xanax. I ended up in the hospital (Psych unit), unable to stand errect without feeling dizzy, and my insurance wasted all that money housing me there, and it wasn't until my blood pressure bottomed out that he took me off of the drug.

Two weeks of fear and misery out of my life and about ten thousand dollars into the pocket of the hospital because of one drug.

Xanax was the wonder drug for me. Some doctors are so afraid to prescribe it using the "addiction" excuse as to why they won't prescribe it even though it has been approved for panic attacks for several years now.

------------------
Always Hopeful, Betsy H.
Marietta, GA (East Cobb)

Dear Rachel:

I have been on two antidepresants in the past Prozac and Imipramine(trofanil) and I had nasty reactions to both. The Imipramine made my heart beat so fast that it literaly woke me up in the middle of the night. I was about 22 and in the hospital at the time and my heart rate was up so much that the nurses wouldn't let me go back to bed untill it went back to normal. It also turned me into a "zombie". Some one could have hit me in the head with a base ball bat and I wouldn't have known.

But that "ain't" nothing compared to what the prozac did. This I took at home before I was ever hospitalized. I'm convinced it's what put me in the hospital all though a lot of doctors would not agree. The reason it was perscribed to me was because of an anxiety disorder. But I had such a bad reaction that within 11 days of taking it I couldn't sleep for more than 45 minutes in a 24 hour period, I had horrible stomach aches, my heart raced constantly, I lost like 20 pounds, and I started to become suicidle. Things I had never experienced before. Even though I had anxiety I could sleep fairly well and eat and basically fucntion. I just had panic, if that wasn't bad enough.

Incidently I was diagnosed with Obsesive Compulsive Disorder and was told that I would never get better with out medication. Well guess what I haven't taken any medication since then and that was over ten years ago. I don't have OCD any more. I wonder if I ever really did. I do still however have problems with anxiety but I can deal with it so much better than before. I truly belive that education is the key and that the more we learn about how to deal with anxiety the better things get. Don't get me wrong I'm not totaly cured, not by a long shot but the more I learn the truth about my self and this condition, the better I feel.

So don't let any one tell you that you "should" take this or you "should" try that if you don't feel comfortable doing it. You know your body better than any one else ever could Dr or not.

Do What You Feel Is Right For You

Sincerly Mellie

Hi Rachel!
In my opinion Zoloft is a better solution (at least for me). We all have different chemistry. I myself had a really bad experience with Paxil. My doctor doubled my dose and I ended up in the emergency room having siezures-it was very unpleasant to say the least. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I know what you mean, I was very leary of taking any other drug after "the Paxil thing". I do, however, believe that medication can be a big help. It can get you through until you can walk on your own, but we don't need it forever. It's a tool.
Just keep in contact with your doctor-even if you feel foolish. Sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on. Write. Ing