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My one day with Zoloft and the side effects

Posted by Aaron on October 18, 2001, at 13:04:49

I've been experiencing mild anxiety attacks over the past few years, nothing out of my control. Over the last six months I began experiencing more and more attacks, as well as developing phobias and obsessive compulsive traits. These led me to quit my second job and cut down my current job to two days a week. It also started to affect my relationship with my girlfriend.
So, Monday I decided to talk to my doctor about Paxil and Zoloft. I had printed several surveys off of the internet and filled them out for my doctor to review. He concluded that Zoloft was right for me.
I took my first Zoloft pill that evening, a 20mg starter pill was supplied each day for the first week until it increased to the standard(?) 50mg pill.
That evening I tried to take a short nap but was suddenly awakened by a restlessness in my legs. An hour or two later and amazing sense of euphoria came over me but only lasted a very short time. Both of these effects were tolerable and I expected a few to occur but they persisted to get worse.
The next morning, after only sleeping 3 1/2 hours I was wide awake. I felt as if I had consumed 3 pots of coffee. Lying in bed I started to remember the most vivid-nightmarish dreams I have ever had in that 3 1/2 hours. 10 minutes later my whole body began shaking and I was extremely cold. After 15 minutes this had passed and the hyperness returned to the point that I was dancing and giggling. Then, the chills returned. This went back and forth for the next hour and a half. (Oh, not to mention that I had 7 bowel movements within a 4 hour period). I was also very disoriented, I almost poured Gatorade into a already half-full glass of water and tried to was my hair with body soap...among other embarrassing things.
I decided it was a good idea to return to my doctor. He practically laughed at me and told me that the things I was experiencing could not be coming from Zoloft because it is a mild pill, nothing like Prozac. But, he proceeded to tell me to wait two days before I took another one. A bit contradicting in my eyes.
I went to work that day, barely able to function. Very spacey and "detached" from my body. I thought I saw a 14 foot man on the side of the expressway, not to mention that my anxieties were enhanced 200% about everything. That evening I went to my weekly music lesson and was unable to perform, began shaking incredibly bad and totally broke down crying in front of my teacher.
That night I slept 13 1/2 hours. When I awoke (now Wednesday) I was still in a haze. I couldn't remember phone numbers or what I was doing. It wasn't until 4:00pm that I felt I had regained my sense of being.
All of this from one little 20mg pill of Zoloft, which I vowed never to take again. I know Zoloft has helped many people regain their lives but evidentally this pill is not for everyone. I am going to persue therapy to try to overcome my fears and phobias.

A question for Dr. Bob if he is reading this: I have learned that by taking one 200mg caffeine pill every morning that nearly all of my anxieties disappear and I am able to function my day to day activities flawlessly. I am very social with people and feel like going places and doing things. How dangerous is this 200mg of caffeine a day? What kind of strain am I putting on my body? Do I have to worry about my heart, liver or kidneys? I've read that Zoloft leaves "residue" in the kidneys among other side effects when you try to get off of it, so what would be the lesser of the two evils?

Thanks,
-Aaron


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poster:Aaron thread:81591
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011015/msgs/81591.html