Sertraline/zoloft Round One Of Meds...

[Sludge]

I know this forum is kind of old but I was wondering if anybody has had tiredness while taking Zoloft or maybe it's just that since the beast hasn't let me have a good night sleep in months.

The first six weeks, yup. And every time your dose increases, yup. Good news is if you gut it out, the side effects stabilize. Take advantage of it, if you are tired, SLEEP. One thing most PTSDers have in common is sleep loss. Take advantage of it. If you are tired when you cant sleep because of work or school, talk with your Doc and get the schedule/dosage shifted. Any Doc worth their overly expensive training will gladly work with you.

Just keep in mind that most meds take weeks or months to build up in your system. They are not actually working in most cases for 90 days+/-!!!
The side effects for Sertraline DO go away, and by that time the drug is doing what it is supposed to do- modulate your brain chemistry to level out the ups and downs. What is hard for a lot of combat vets is they are so used to being up and down, they get frustrated because they feel "flat" when in reality they just need to realize that what we consider "flat" is how "normal" people actually fell all the time without realizing it. It is very abnormal to be like us, either full on , all steam ahead, guns blazing, or huddled into a fetal ball and whimpering. We are ju7st so used to that we have both consciously and subconsciously associated such behavior as "normal for me".


Anyway, with Zoloft, you know the drug is doing what it is supposed to if you sleep better and don't notice the side effects.

 

[Sludge]

If by tired you mean smacked in the head with a brick to lay flat out until it wears off... Then yes. Xanax knocks me out even faster. Neither is good sleep, wicked vivid dreams, but if I'm on a hardcore insomnia jag either will do the job. And hurt less than a brick.

As for Xanax and all benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, etc) in general, it is important to remember a few things:
1. The helpful therapeutic effects are good for roughly 3-6 months, after that they don't do shit to help you. Also increasingly large doses are required to have the greatest effect
2. Benzos are obscenely addictive and will actually trigger rage outbursts and psychotic/depressive breaks with long term use due to their highly addictive and volatile contraindications. In short you have to take more and more and more to the point just a few hours will result in massive withdrawl symptoms, which in us is letting the Beast of the chain full-time!
3. Benzos have proven time and time again to be OK for short term use in combat vets while waiting for the useful drugs to kick in, but in the long term are worse for combat PTSDers than heroin, meth and PCP combined.

I would seriously question any MD that prescribes them for more than 90 days. Combat PTSD has proven to be a very different animal than the other forms.

Like Jack Reacher said "...the difference is everyone I dealt with was a trained killer long before they became criminals."

 

[holdenmonty]

Yeah I have started taking 5mg of melatonin about an hour before I go to sleep so I'm able to sleep better. You are so right about feeling flat. I have felt up and down for so long that feeling normal feels flat or almost numb. Now the struggle is to be ok with what I feel now.

 

[Sludge]

Yeah I have started taking 5mg of melatonin about an hour before I go to sleep so I'm able to sleep better. You are so right about feeling flat. I have felt up and down for so long that feeling normal feels flat or almost numb. Now the struggle is to be ok with what I feel now.

Just be careful with that melatonin (works for me too, even though it's use is based on bad science and holistic hokum), you brain will become dependant on it and it can contradict prescribed meds. Better keep the use minimal and talk with your Doc!

 

[HereticCurt]

Interesting post. I feel that I can relate to the feeling of not wanting to take sertraline. The first week or two I had a lot of the bad symptoms, like difficulty falling asleep, nausea, mental fogginess, and an unusual increase in sexual desire. As time went on, these symptoms went away. I'm on 200mg of Zoloft and have no sexual desire. I'm not sure if it numbs my moods or not, but the intense negative ones are definitely suppressed by it. That, and when sexy time does happen, it takes either a ton of time working up to an orgasm or a lot of concentration. I experienced ED before taking the meds, but everything seems to have leveled out in that department while on the meds.

 

[HereticCurt]

A word of caution though, melatonin and a ssri like Zoloft may not be safe in higher doses. Since both melatonin and serotonin are connected by the same precursor molecule, there are worries about the conversion of melatonin to serotonin. This could result in serotonin syndrome, which is not pretty to watch someone experience. I'm far from an expert on the subject, but was warned by my PCM about possible interactions.

 

[holdenmonty]

Thank you, I talked to the doctor that prescribed the Zoloft about the 5mg of melatonin and he said it was fine as long as I didn't take any more than 5mg.

 

[Woodman]

They tried me on it and had to stop because of one word "diarrhea". Other than that I kinda liked it but not the side effect.

 

[dutchiedelta]

On a serious note, I had serotonin syndrome and thought I was a goner. Wished I was a goner in fact.
The serotonin storm in the brain was like the worst acid trip you can imagine.

 

[holdenmonty]

I will make sure I keep that in mind. I'm doing alright with the 100mg so far. I'm thinking I could benefit from the 150mg but will how it continues to go.

 

[holdenmonty]

Sooooo... I it is the first time in forever that my wife and I have both been in the mood and had the "porn star effect"

 

[Grizzly]

Sooooo... I it is the first time in forever that my wife and I have both been in the mood and had the "porn star effect"

Bragger!