How to get rid of the side effects of Zoloft?

[PierreC]

I’ve been on Zoloft 50mg for 8 weeks and so far it is definitely helping with my SA and Depression in some way, BUT the side effects are a major blow:

Every night it’s the same thing, can’t sleep, keep waking up 4 or 5 times at night, then I feel exhausted all day and the pattern repeats over and over again. Zoloft seems to make me feel drowsy in the day time but unable to sleep at night.

I also feel numb inside, wondering if it is cause of the med or if it's just me? I can't get excited about much of anything, not much motivation, just numb. My mood is more stable, but I feel out of it, like I'm floating thru my day.I feel very indifferent to EVERYTHING! I'm not sure if this is something that will pass? I'm hoping it does as I feel like a walking ghost and everything is just muted. I want things to matter to me and I want to feel motivated or moved by something! I want to feel happy, not numb.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Are all antidepressants like this? Is there anything else I can take with Sertraline that will help me sleep and not make me feel like a zombie? Are there better alternatives?

I'd appreciate your thoughts on it. Thanks :=)

btw: I always take my 50mg dosage early in the morning.

[snowghost57]

Sorry dear, I can feel your pain, I lasted 20 days on 25mg of Zoloft. I was the same way, zombie, no emotions. I bailed and work with a therapist and friends to get over my anxiety. The doctor said she could switch meds to something else, but I went down that road before. Anxiety can be overcome, it just takes a lot of work. Check out threads under GAD.

[panic_down_under]

Has anyone experienced something similar? Are all antidepressants like this?

Insomnia is quite common with SSRIs and other serotonergic antidepressants. It usually diminishes after a while, but can be an ongoing issues for some. The recommended remedy is small doses, 25-75mg, of immediate-release trazodone (Desyrel) an antidepressant which at low doses acts only as a very sedating antihistamine. If trazodone isn't available then 15mg mirtazapine (Remeron) would be a good alternative, however, it has a much longer half-life (20-40 hours) than trazodone (3-4 h) so the sedation may continue well into the next day.

The emotional blunting usually also diminishes within a few months. If it continues the only remedy is to switch meds. While generally all SSRIs can cause it, not all will for an individual.

btw: I always take my 50mg dosage early in the morning.

It doesn't matter when you take sertraline as after about a week blood plasma levels stabilize to a steady-state of around 2-2.5 times the peak from a single dose and then don't vary much across 24 hours.

[PierreC]

Sorry dear, I can feel your pain, I lasted 20 days on 25mg of Zoloft. I was the same way, zombie, no emotions. I bailed and work with a therapist and friends to get over my anxiety. The doctor said she could switch meds to something else, but I went down that road before. Anxiety can be overcome, it just takes a lot of work. Check out threads under GAD.

Insomnia is quite common with SSRIs and other serotonergic antidepressants. It usually diminishes after a while, but can be an ongoing issues for some. The recommended remedy is small doses, 25-75mg, of immediate-release trazodone (Desyrel) an antidepressant which at low doses acts only as a very sedating antihistamine. If trazodone isn't available then 15mg mirtazapine (Remeron) would be a good alternative, however, it has a much longer half-life (20-40 hours) than trazodone (3-4 h) so the sedation may continue well into the next day.

Thank you for the advice.

The emotional blunting usually also diminishes within a few months. If it continues the only remedy is to switch meds. While generally all SSRIs can cause it, not all will for an individual.

Shouldn't Sertraline's dopaminergic component counteract the negatives?

[panic_down_under]

Shouldn't Sertraline's dopaminergic component counteract the negatives?

It may do at higher doses.

[PierreC]

If trazodone isn't available then 15mg mirtazapine (Remeron) would be a good alternative, however, it has a much longer half-life (20-40 hours) than trazodone (3-4 h) so the sedation may continue well into the next day.

Mirtazapine, wow, that's one potent antihistamine. Did you have experience with both of these? Which one do you find better for sleep? I have a really messed up sleep cycle and unrestful sleep/low quality of sleep. I wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. It is negatively impacting my mood.

It may do at higher doses.

100mg or are we speaking of really high doses like 200mg?

[panic_down_under]

Did you have experience with both of these?

Only with trazodone as part of a trial run by the organization I worked for.

Which one do you find better for sleep? I have a really messed up sleep cycle and unrestful sleep/low quality of sleep. I wake up feeling like I haven't slept at all. It is negatively impacting my mood.

Which one is better depends on the sleeping pattern. If the problem is difficulty getting to sleep but then you stay asleep for ~8 hours trazodone is probably the better med. OTOH, the longer half-life mirtazapine will likely be the better choice if the issue is waking in the early hours and then not being able to get back to sleep.

100mg or are we speaking of really high doses like 200mg?

100mg will likely do the trick.

Most need to take 100-150mg to get a good response from sertraline anyway.

[PierreC]

Which one is better depends on the sleeping pattern. If the problem is difficulty getting to sleep but then you stay asleep for ~8 hours trazodone is probably the better med. OTOH, the longer half-life mirtazapine will likely be the better choice if the issue is waking in the early hours and then not being able to get back to sleep.

It's a combination of difficulty getting to sleep and waking up a few times during the night.

100mg will likely do the trick.

I will talk it over with my doctor!
I have a good feeling about this

[panic_down_under]

It's a combination of difficulty getting to sleep and waking up a few times during the night.

Then mirtazapine may be the better option, but get your doctor's input.

[Duckbruck]

Trying Citalopram might be an option!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citalopram

H1 binding of 283 nM is rather strong compared to other SSRIs, so it should be more sedating than Sertraline. Other option is to augment the Sertraline with something like Nortriptyline, Mirtazapine, Trazodone...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16433010