Zoloft question.....

Since I have been on "psych meds" for 38 years, I think I can comment on some of what you are asking, even as it is so true that all of us are different, and become more so as we age with our various exposures, diet, habits, stressors, etc. How long were you on Zoloft before going cold turkey? If you were on it for a long period of time, and then just cut it off, you definitely had a situation where your brain was used to it, and then all of sudden you "yanked" your brain's neurochemistry around. Also it may depend to some extent on what dosage you were on.

Did you change any other habits (such as drinking alcohol, starting other drugs, etc.) around the time you went cold turkey? Since I am not an MD or psychopharmacologist, I really cannot comment other than by asking this question when you ask about "new symptoms arisiing." What other new symptoms started occurring? Also, I don't think there is a definitive answer to your question about how fast the Zoloft will kick in. Has your work or home life environments changed? Is there more stress in your life? I personally have had medications quit working, but it occurred more because of my environment since I have not gone cold turkey on anything in decades, except regarding cigarettes and alcohol many years ago.

I wish you the best as you restart your Zoloft.

Well, lets see if I can answer a few of these questions......First off I was on Zoloft for 11 years....religiously until last August. From Sept-early January I had three major events happen (not good things) and shortly after the third one in early January I began to have panic attacks again. I should have seen the red flag then but being the determined individual I am, I thought I could handle it. But by the time the "bottom dropped out" about three weeks ago I was in full-blown anxiety, panic and depression. Those are the same issues I had before but the depression was worse then....this time the anxiety and panic are through the roof!!!! Therefore, I was just curious if possible going off the meds cold turkey may have played a part in the symptoms manifesting towards the anxiety/panic. Given what happened, I would have thought the depression would have kick my butt a lot harder.

In any event, I went to my doctor today......We talked for almost 45 minutes and he has added Xanax XR to my everyday routine to work a little harder on kicking the anxiety. I'm almost scared to say this but I almost feel just a tiny bit like the Zoloft might be kicking in....and the only reason I say that is because I was able to eat today and apparently not eating must fuel anxiety because after eating today I didn't have much anxiety....I don't know, maybe I'm wrong but I hope I am right.

In addition, my doctor wants me off work for two weeks so he can monitor me a little more closely. Plus, I am going to beef up visits to my therapist to twice a week. My hope is that by the end of those two weeks, things will be much better. And, now that I am home I can start walking again.....that was amazing for me back in 2001 when I was first diagnosed!

Finally, thank you all so much for your input. As you know, reading all the support from everyone is so important to getting better!!!

Hugs to you all!
Packer.

Post Edited (GBPacker) : 3/2/2012 5:29:00 PM (GMT-7)

Hi GBP
I recently stated back on zoloft myself. It's been about 4 weeks now. I was on it for about 8 years then went off it in October last year. Personally I don't think it's taken any longer for it to take affect than the first time i started. if anything i think it's worked a bit faster but that might be because I was so bad the first time and I know how to cope better with the panic attacks this time round. the first 2 weeks were rough with a lot of general anxiety. I ended up missing several days of work because of it. apparently it's common for things to get worse before they get better.
Anxiety kills of my appetite too and now I'm eating proper meals again. I hope you can find time to take up walking again. It helped me a lot too when I was first diagnosed. it helped me build up confidence as well as burning off some nervous energy.
I saw on another post you were asking about omega 3. My doc recommended it to me as well. I've started introducing more into my diet by eating more fish etc. I haven't started the supplements yet. I let you know how it goes.
Best of luck and hope your feeling better soon :)