Did Zoloft become less effective for you after a few months and what did you do? ?

Question

anxiety has crept back in a bit for two weeks now, but I'm still on low dose of 50mgs (4 months). Yes, I will check in with the doctor as well, but I really value other peoples experiences even though they vary quite often. Everybody is unique, but often there are trends that prevail with meds. thanks

Answer 1

Yes indeed it did, and I changed to Lexapro and it works wonders for me!

Answer 2

yes it did and my doctor put me on Cymbalta, I feel better now, check into it. Talk to your doctor.

Answer 3

Well, my Zoloft has been effective, although I take a much higher dose. I would definitely  seek your doctors advice. I see a psychologist too though, so that probably helps a lot.

Answer 4

I was on zoloft for about 5 months before it quit on me.  And it was doing so well and then one day it just stopped working.  I'm now on pristiq...and it is working great.  I feel so much better.

Answer 5

yes it did. i tried paxel, prozac, and welbrutrin. nothing seems to do the trick. but i keep asking my doctor for help. that is all you can do is experiment. trust me. i am been suffereing from depression for 15 years. they help but in time becaome lame. it is our cross to bear. must have courage to keep trying diff meds. it sucks. i have been on 200 mil of zoloft and i still kick girls. because it doesnt do it all. i hope someday there is a drug that can handle my depression. hang in there ok? someday it WILL happen. i have mood swings and thoughts of suicide but the drugs seem to go up and dpwn into my moods. doesnt make sense i know.

Answer 6

I was just talking with a friend about this very issue. He had mentioned that he suffers from social anxiety, yet hes a talented electrical engineer. He parties, has a girlfriend, a normal life seemingly. He tried many anti-depressants and had no luck. I suspect he thinks that anti-depressant medication will make him superman with kryptonite. Or, that he will never get nervous as long as he's on the medication.

No Way! Anxiety and Depression are totally different. Everyone get anxious, its natural, but it doesn't mean you need anti-depressants. If you are depressed, then it is likely you suffer from anxiety disorder as well. Depression must be treated immediately, a lot worse than people think. Trust me, I know. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and palatal myoclonus after a severe concussion. Not as bad as it sounds, but has many setbacks.

Depression is very specific. Low mood, anger, aggression, digestive problems, sleep problems, sexaulity problems, etc. These symptoms are usually bad enough to cause problems in everyday life. It you need medication, then you are aiming to treat low serotonin (the likely nuerotransmitter) activity. This will stimulate your nerve cells again and you won't have those problems. It won't cure anxiety. Barbituates are better for anxiety. Anxious people need to relax. Depressed people usually complain that those symptoms mentioned above are painful, and thats why they don't face the public. They are unhealthy.

The term 'depression' is used so loosely now-a-days. Most people think its a way of medicalising 'sadness'. Its very different. Its when the biochemistry of your brain is not quite right, and fails to stimulate the important parts of the brain responsible for digestion, metabolism, mood, s*x. etc. Its not 'in your head'. If your sad nothing can be done, as like being anxious. On the other hand, if your experiencing symptoms of depression, then the anxiety is secondary to them and will go away.

To answer your question, it is scientifically proven that anti-depressant medication cannot lose its effectiveness. Its not like antibiotics!

If your lacking in either norephinephrine or serotonin, the medicine will work. It may take a bit longer for the effects to manifest as you get older, because you lose central nervous system proteins (lamans terms for meticulous neurological jargon) as you age. So, its harder to get the same stimulation you had before. When your younger you have ~quadrillions of nerve connections (1 trillion times 1000), and most adults have billions of nerve connections. You could also try a higher dose, and that may speed up the treatment.

SSRI's (Zoloft, Prozac) use the same mechanism to treat depression. They aim to treat serotonin problems. SRNI's (Wellbutrin and Effexor) treat serotonin and norephinephrine (at high doses) problems. I recently read that patients being treated with Effexor report being cured in 50% of the time that it took with SSRI's.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I hated Zoloft and Paxil. After a few years on Wellbutrin and Buspar, I quit the Wellbutrin. Often, Valerian (over the counter) helps (take two, you can go to bed for the night, one for anxiety times). So, it's an individual thing, and Zoloft is over-prescribed.