Zoloft and bad things
Question:
Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Kilroy wrote….. My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
Hmm…….my thoughts are you can`t believe everything you read on the internet. If you come across a website that is run by Scientologist or other anti-med fanatics, all you are going to read are horror stories. I`m very picky as to where I get info on meds and anxiety disorders on the net, there is alot of crap and misinformation out there. I`ve been at this newsgroup for a few years now, I think if there was really a problem with people getting violent on antidepressants we would have seen anectodal evidence of that, which we haven`t. People have gotten violent while on aspirin, does the aspirin get the blame? Of course not. We are a blame, blame society, when someone does something bad, or acts inappropriately, they have to blame something. You also have to remember that people who commit a violent act while on an antidepressant was put on that med for a reason, they had serious problems. So maybe it was the problem that made them go on the med that was the real cause of the violence? If you are not a violent person to begin with, I seriously doubt that antidepressantts would make you violent. There are many posters at this newsgroup that are on SSRI AD`s and are doing quite well. I`ve been on Paxil for 3 1/2 years, and it hasn`t changed my personality at all. I feel myself, just with alot less anxiety and panic. There is always a risk when taking any kind of medication. Some people do report feeling flat emotionally or unmotivated while on antidepressants, sometimes a switch to another antidepressant fixes that right up. If you do decide to try the Zoloft and you don`t like the way it makes you feel, you can get off of it. What do you have to lose, just alot of you anxiety 
Please, whatever you do, start Zoloft at 12.5 mgs, increasing the dose every 7-10 days. Weaning any faster will more than likely cause uncomfortable side-effects. Take care P.S. Try to not read anymore info on the net about Zoloft……not until you have been on the med for awhile. When I was weaning on Paxil I kept reading stuff about Paxil…..all it did was scare me further. Jackie "Strange how laughter looks like crying with no sound. Raindrops taste like tears, without the pain." – Queensryche – "Another Rainy Night
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
Hi, I’ve been on Zoloft since about October. I started on 25 mg and then went to 50mg after seven days… about a week ago I started on 100mg because the 50mg weren’t working anymore. Unfortunately, sometimes I have "rage" attacks were nothing feels better than throwing things… (not at people, on the bed, mainly the stuffed animal and the pillows)… but I’ve had those since LONG before I started Zoloft… however they have dramatically decreased in frequency while on the med. For the first month, I almost gave up on the meds because I didn’t feel any better… but then slowly… I calmed down… a notch, which for me is a lot. I also work with the public (retail), and have noticed that I have a wee bit more patience with stupid people. Hope I’ve been of a little help, and here are some med sites I’ve found useful. www.rxlist.com and http://panicdisorder.about.com/mbody.htm Talk to you soon, Brooke — Smile! It makes the world wonder what you’re up to…
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
I take Zoloft, Kilroy, and have not had any urge to do violent things. It does help me stay calmer. — Take care, Liz To everything there is a season …and to every season, a special beauty.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
The "It was the <insert name of any med that made me do it" is a favourite line in courts. It is possible for just about any med to cause agitation, but it is a fairly rare side effect. OTOH, a lot of folk with anxiety disorders, especially those that aren’t getting treatment, harm themselves. About 20-25% do so fatally. An antidepressant shouldn’t alter your personality. If you start taking the Zoloft at a small dose, ideally at no more than 1/4 of the 50mg tablet (good pharmacies sell pill cutters) and only ramp up every 7-10 days by a similar amount you are unlikely to run amok. If you do experience agitation then stop taking the med and contact your doctor. Usually a change to another antidepressant, even another SSRI, will fix that. You haven’t said what type of psychotherapy you’re having, but the only ones with a good track record are the cognitive types like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, etc. Ian
Response:
I tried Zoloft for three months. It didn’t do me any good. That’s my experience for what it’s worth… -Doug
Response:
I tried Zoloft for three months. It didn’t do me any good. That’s my experience for what it’s worth… -Doug
It works very well for me except for a weight gain. We all react differently to meds. I find it to be a very good med for me. — Take care, Liz To everything there is a season …and to every season, a special beauty.
Response:
Ive been on zoloft for about 6 months…its doing wonderfully for me..hardly any side effects. Like Liz said…we all have to find our own different thing that works
Response:
I have to agree with the past 2 people. I was switched from Paxil to Zoloft a few months ago and I found that Zoloft does better for me with my depression and OCD than Paxil did. Christine
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ive been on zoloft for about 6 months…its doing wonderfully for me..hardly any side effects. Like Liz said…we all have to find our own different thing that works
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
I’ve don’t know of anyone who’s became psycho or violent due to antidepresants. My brother has been using Zoloft for a couple of years for OCD and he seems quite happy with it. I can tell you that he’s far less cranky than he used to be. There was a time when any little thing could set him off. I can’t say for sure whether this change is due to therapy, some spontaneous change, or the Zoloft. I’ve never used Zoloft myself. I have used Paxil. I view Paxil as a totally harmless drug as well. Unfortunately, in my case it was totally useless too. The only problem I had with it was sexual side effects, other than the problem of it not working for me. I also wouldn’t belive everything I read on the net. Some people do violent things. Violence has been around a whole lot longer than SSRIs and I’m not aware of any scientific evidence showing a link between SSRIs & violence. It’s much like the folks who claim that the Nutrasweet in diet soda is responsible for every ailment under the sun, depite a lack of evidence to support their claims. SSRIs are some of the most widely used drugs in the world — I’m amazed by how many people I meet who are using or have used an SSRI. It seems like virtually everyone has tried them. If they really turned people violent this fact should have been noticed by now and would be the top story on the evening news.
Response:
Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence.
hi….the ssri’s do have a bit of "violence" associated in the press. from my experience and those of others i’ve heard, it’s the opposite. made them less apt to react to anything. also made them lose their sex drive, eat, not eat, not care…you name it. something like a mini-lobotomy in some ways, but it is a godsend for some people. guess it depends on your body chemistry. if you feel an ssri is right for you but don’t want to be a zombie, see how low you can get the dosage. tasha
Response:
I took Zoloft a few years ago for anxiety and depression and I did stop taking it because I did feel much more violent. I must say I did feel good though…I just did not care if anyone else did. Now I take Effexor and things are ok. Do not let the bad press these meds get stop you from getting help. Different ones are for different people. Try Zoloft out. I have heard many people say it worked great for them. Good luck. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
Response:
The net can be a pretty depressing place to look for info on meds. My roommate just started on Zoloft, and while trying to look up info on side-effects and how well it’s worked for others, all I could find was stuff on that case where someone blamed the medication for killing someone. People also blame sleepwalking on stuff like that. The important thing to consider though, is that the only problem with the zoloft for him was that it didn’t work. I’m sure so-and-so had issues before the zoloft, otherwise how did he get on it. But anyways…I can honestly say I’ve been treated successfully on Paxil so I’ll let you know what it does when it DOES effect you, and that is subtly. I think the main fault with antidepressants that work is that right when they start working, the person will stop taking it, thinking it’s not doing anything and they’re ‘over’ their issues anyways. That’s how subtle it is. It took me a few weeks of the paxil working on me (after being on it about a month) for me to look back and say ‘hey…I wouldn’t do that stuff before the paxil!’. Things like sitting in the middle of a movie theater, going to a restraunt, or saying more than is necessary to a cashier, like ‘how are you?’. I’d do these things and at no time while doing them would I say "wow! this paxil stuff rules!". It was only afterwards that I’d think "that would have bothered me before". So it’s important to keep track of yourself as otherwise you might not even notice the meds are working. Because of this I don’t think you should worry about it changing you as a person either for good or bad. You’ll still be you…it’s just that the little mental road blocks you hit day to day will turn into speedbumps, and eventually you won’t even notice them anymore. Just make sure you continue to see some sort of therapist or something also. I’m just starting to realize that though I’m not as scared of social situations, I’m still so inexperienced from previous problems that it’s tough to get started. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. The prescription is still unfilled. I’ve read up a lot on Zoloft on the web and not all stories of its usage are good. In fact, some say Zoloft turned them to violence. I’m not a violent person, but I do have great anxiety, especially in social situations. I’m on pyschotherapy, and it’s going okay. I’m resorting to meds because my anxiety has affected my employment and I would like to return to work ASAP without being debilitated by anxiety. In my line of work, I have to come in contact with a lot of people, and unfortunately, my social anxiety has made that difficult. Paxil, Zoloft are the prime SSRIs approved by FDA and prescribed by doctors. I don’t want to get on SSRIs and have them change my personality, to make me psycho and make me do violent things. What are your thoughts?
