Chicagoan

It has been a few days since I have posted,
have been unable to do so.

I'm an alcoholic that was put on Zoloft by
my psyche MD. Many bad side effects on
Zoloft which couldn't be resolved. Now on a
cross taper (day2) with remeron and that
is even more horrible. All the side effects
of Zoloft but much amplified.

If I survive this, I will NEVER be placed
on an ssri again. I wouldn't wish this
on any creature. These drugs have
apparently helped many people. For me,
they are very toxic.

Most MD's will not acknowledge the
horror that these drugs produce in
many people, in spite of multiple
pt complaints. I should have
researched this drug before putting
it in my body.

The generic name for these drugs are
sertraline and mirtazapine

I will be back when I am able.

Jupiters

I am so sorry you are having an awful experience. I also was given Sertraline a few years back and within months, I knew it was not a good thing to be on. Idiot me, went cold turkey off it and it was not fun. Nor do I recommend it...so I am glad to hear you are being tapered off it.

hang in...hopefully you can get to a spot where you don't need the remeron or the Zoloft.
I know many people who have had great progress with them, but like you, my body did not like it at all.

Chicagoan

Didn't mention, I attempted to withdrawal
from Zoloft and it was worse than any alcohol
withdrawal. That is why I am on the cross
taper.

ScottFromWI

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough go of it Chicagoan. Your posts were always helpful and welcome here - hope you can make it back to join us soon!

Verte

Welcome back Chicagoan I'm sad to read that you are having such a hard time with these medications. Good to know that they are not good for you, eh?

I hope your wife is hanging in there as well during this adjustment period. She must have been really worried with all that you have gone through before and now.

Staying sober is a super positive in a this.

aasharon90

It took me a good yr. to find the right
meds for my chemical imbalance/anxiety.

All the ones I tried had some sort of side
effects and was extremely uncomfortable.

Working closely with physicians to ensure
I remain healthy in recovery took time. It
takes time for the body to get one med out
of the system before trying another.

Time and patience.

Not all meds work the same on people
because we are all have different systems
inside. So, no need to suffer. There is a
solution for you and only you.

songthread

Chicagoan, great to see you again and take care! I was prescribed Zyban once to quit smoking, which is a SSRI and which is an anti-depressant medication under another name. About two or three days into it, I had some uncontrollable shakes just before falling asleep, it was scary, almost like a small seizure. I never took more after that experience.

Get to feeling better soon.

Anna

I'm really sorry you are having such a tough time with this.

I hope that you get through the taper safely and I'm glad your dr is involved.

Fwiw, I do take an SSRI and it works well for me in that it levels the playing field and I have no side-effects. I do know not to go off it suddenly though.

EndGameNYC

Actually, Zyban (known as "Welbutrin) is an NDRI (norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor) and works very differently than do SSRIs. I believe it's the only NDRI available. When people with depression were prescribed Welbutrin, many reported that their desire to smoke virtually disappeared, while others stated they smoked less, and many eventually quit completely. That's when it began began marketed as Zyban.

Others reported decreased appetite, loss of pleasure from certain foods (among the most notable effects was a loss of pleasure in drinking coffee) and, ideally, a positive change in attitude.

SoberCAH

Thanks for sharing this, Chicagoan.

I hope that you successfully taper from these psych meds and that you stay with your sobriety.

LBrain

I didn't like sertraline either. Tapered off in three weeks - was only on it for a month or so.

I also didn't like the fact that they pushed it on me only a couple weeks after I stopped drinking. My brain wasn't reset from alcohol and then zoloft thrown into the equation...

Ruby2

Hi Chicagoan,

I am sorry that you are going through a rough time but I am glad that you posted to let us know. I've missed seeing you around here and was wondering if you were ok.

Hang in there.

Dee74

I'm glad you gave us an update. I hope you feel better soon Chicagoan

D

letitgo

I take Zoloft. I really don't think it does anything but help me through a rough patch. Or so I think it did. I have stopping taking it for a few days but the brain zaps are terrible. Also been getting a lot of headaches since I quit drinking. Unsure if the two are related. I think Zoloft ramps up my anxiety. God luck getting off it. I have heard its horrible to get off.

Link91

I take zoloft. I white knuckled & suffered through an emotional roller coaster of anxiety & having to deal w/ life, feelings, emotions, stress, etc newly sober. I sought help shortly after my 90 day mark. The start-up side effects were quite a ride, I was an emotional wreck day to day, highs & lows. For me I started leveling out around 5 weeks post zoloft. I will take this medicine for the rest of my life probably. It certainly fixed whatever chemical imbalances I have that I was self medicating myself w/ alcohol everyday.

scintillady

For me, Wellbutrin (same thing as Zyban) was a wonder drug. Prescribed along with prozac which IS an SSRI made a huge difference the last time I was sober for 8 months, which was about 10 years ago. Now that I am sober for 24 days, i am looking into getting back on it to help with the depression, which was a big factor in my self medicating with alcohol, which made the antidepressants less effective. Sorry to hear that you are having a hard time of it, but there are SO MANY options now for antidepressants that a good doctor can tweak until they find what's right for you.