I taken Zoloft for a week and drove me NUTS! I've been shakey, sick to my stomach and generally feeling worse than being depressed. I saw the Dr today and she changed the med to Paxal (?). We'll see how it works.

I have been on Paxel and Celexa for anxiety and both seem to do quite well at taking the worry away.

Note: All those medications require a ramp up to the full dose and a ramp down if you are changing medications. If you started with the full dose of Zoloft, it could really throw your body out of whack as you describe.

Jim

Bob,
I hope that you are getting your meds from a pyschiatrist and not an a regular doctor - big mistake. These drugs should only be administered by experts and you will need to be followed closely by them, typically monthly.

Bob,
I thought I should clarify this based your private email (I tried to respond privately but it bounced). Actually board space is good for this discussion as well since this is a common side effect of treatment.

There has been a fair amount of press lately about regular doctors over-prescribing powerful anti-depressants such as Zoloft, its cousin Prozac and Paxil. These are very potent drugs and some should mainly be used for long term clinical depression rather than "situational" depression. Many feel that they are over-prescribed, but conversely, many also feel that depression is not being treated at all in many who need it. There are no simple answers. I wish they really could invent a real honest to God happy pill - They came close with pot but it has its problems too.

MO's are far more intimate with body chemistry than most GP's and depression is a common side effect of cancer (or the treatment) but there are risks you need to be aware of. I'm not saying don't take it - just be aware of what you are taking. Talk to your MO, nurse practitioner and pharmacist. Find out what their whole plan is and if and when you will phase out, just exactly what that will look like. You can probably do that on the phone. Ask about the risks and benefits.

My wife is a childhood trauma victim and has been on these drugs for years and it has been a real roller coaster ride while they finally got her "dialed in" and even so, needs to be tweaked periodically. She needs these drugs to function and maybe you do too, like all other things cancer or things related I am a firm believer in being your advocate about this as well.

They prescribed Paxil for me and I refused to take it (I had been on entirely too many drugs by that time). I relied more on anti-anxiety meds and later and occasional "sleepers", like Ambien or Trazadone. My HMO's approach was to start with simple solutions first then ratchet up if they weren't working. I saw a psychiatrist and a cognitive therapist.

More info:

Zoloft Medline Info:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a697048.html

Boston Globe Article:

http://graphics.boston.com/globe/magazine/9-14/depress/page2.htm