Zoloft side effects

Anyone who has taken Zoloft (sertreline), what side effects did you have?

I'm starting on zoloft again (I haven't taken it for a couple years) and although I don't remember it effecting me negatively before, I can't stop thinking that it's going to change my personality, make me gain weight, or cause other medical issues. But I really need to take it for my anxiety and depression.


Any information would be helpful. Thanks in advance

Hello there!
I have been using Sertraline on and off for about 8 years now. The typical side effect for me is always the same.
Increased amount of anxiety/panic the first week. That's all.

- No weight gain (well if you don't care about your diet you gain weight, DUH)
- NO, antidepressants don't cause changes in personality -.-'
- Consult your DR if you are already using some heavy medication as all together can cause a bit stress on Liver.
- And side effects differ from person to person...

Any side effect is worth having for treating the TORTURE called Anxiety/Depression.

Please keep us updated

Hi there,

I've recently just come off of Sertraline and am working my way through the discontinuation syndrome, hence my new membership for those rough moments. My biggest complaints with the side effects of Sertraline were:

• Complete apathy. I just didn't care about anything as much as I felt I should have, and that sucked. I'd just shrug off a lot of things. The kicker was that I got myself a puppy about a year back, and while I love her more than pretty much anything - don't worry, my wife feels the same - I still felt very detached. That was where I decided to wean my way off. I definitely think that was a major side effect since I've been experiencing much stronger emotions with the less I took.
  
  
• Sex drive and performance. This is a pretty common complaint and it hit me square in the pricks. Sex became very difficult from the get-go.
  
  
• Lethargy. Along with apathy, I also didn't want to do anything. It was a nice change of pace from before I started on Sertraline, though, because I've always been non-stop. It got a bit out of hand the longer I stayed on it.
  
  
• Weight Gain. My psychiatrist assured me that Zoloft does not have any weight gain side effects. Maybe that's true, but it could be the combination of apathy and lethargy with underlying depression that makes it so you just don't care about getting healthy, or that you feel so much more comfortable snuggled on the couch watching The Office for the fourth time than exercising, or that the idea of getting out of bed and forcing yourself to socialize feels like what you need to do for that day to maintain whatever healthy steps you've made. For me, I put on a lot of weight in just a few years on Sertraline, 45 ell-bees. Maybe unsurprisingly, since weaning off, I don't have as much of a sweet tooth and I find it easier to turn away foods that I couldn't have six months back.
  

With all of that said, I needed some help at the time in my life when I got it. Nobody wants to be on antidepressants and they should be a last resort, in my opinion. You can handle the side effects for a time, be it indefinitely or for just a few weeks. And if you can't really remember what they're like, then that means they didn't have enough of an effect on you, to begin with!