Anyone on Zoloft for a long time, like 20 years plus?

Posted , 8 users are following.

On and off z for 20 yrs. recently had a rather noticeable relapse, was on 25mg when I had relapse about 2 weeks ago, on my 5th day of 100mg. Last major attack was in 2013.  Can I hear from your experience if you'd been on z for a long time? Very disappointed in myself with this relapse, can't imagine going thru these attacks for the rest of my life, in early 40s. Thanks.

0 likes, 20 replies

20 Replies

Next
  • Posted

    Hello. I've been on an anti depressant for over 15 years.

    Please don't feel disappointed in yourself, being ill isn't anything you can have influence over. I remember saying to my Doctor, I shouldn't need these anti d's, I should be stronger and be able to get through it myself. She got cross with me and said if you were a diabetic you wouldn't refuse medicine would you?

    She is so right, it's hard enough dealing with this debilitating illness without adding pressure on yourself. Be gentle to yourself, talk to yourself as if you were talking to your best friend.

    • Posted

      Jane, thank you for the encouragement. Are you on it for depression? I am on it for obsessive thought, depression, anxiety and panic attacks. During the whole time you're on it, how is it working for you? And if you don't mind me asking, what is your dosage? 

  • Posted

    I am 44 years old and started sertraline at 31. I was on 100 mg for 5 years and went off because I thought I was cured. Boy, was I wrong. It came back with a vengeance. I went back on them and was on 100 for 7-8 years. Things were going good and then over the past year I could feel it creeping back, while I was still on the med. I thought, this can't be happening, I take my pill every day. I crashed in July of this year and the doctor put me up to 150 and I'm still not better. It actually gives me anxiety to think that I will have to go through this forever, I am tired of fighting with my own thoughts, it's so exhausting.

    • Posted

      Hi Vanessa, I hear you and I know what you mean. If you don't mind me asking, are you saying that z doesn't work for you now the way it used to, even at 150mg? Did something happen before your crash in July? 

    • Posted

      As a matter of fact, yes something terrible happened. In may, the city I live in was burning down around us and we had to be evacuated. About a month after that, I had a medical emergency at an airport. I thought I was fine but as soon as we came back to our home, the anxiety started. I'm doing much better now, so I do feel my meds are working, just not as good as I'd like. I'm also going for a total thyroidectomy this Wednesday.

    • Posted

      Hi Vanessa

      I live in Colorado, land of wild fires, flash floods, avalanche...I am so sorry you were evacuated. And the thyroidectomy, mine was the day after 9/11, September 12, 2001. I lost my thyroid to cancer. March of 2002 I had radiation and I have been clear ever sense.

      We have a great thyroid discussion...perhaps you will join us...

      Wednesday I will hold you up in prayer.

      hugs

    • Posted

      Thank you very much. Congratulations on being cancer free, that must feel great! Where do I find this thyroid discussion? How are you finding life without a thyroid?
    • Posted

      Go to the bottom of this page....click on Discussion Forums...then scroll through to the Thyroid group.

      No thyroid because of cancer means my TSH must be 0.05 or less, but detectable...my TSH is typically 0.01 very hyper. The worst part is having to see my endocrinologist every 6 months for the balance of my life...sorta like you never recover

  • Posted

    Hi

    22 years....love your neighbor as yourself...means you must love yourself, and then love your neighbor with the same love...

    • Posted

      Thank you for this reminder, and thou shall not kill and whenever I go thru this I have to remind myself that suicide is considered self-murdering so I won't go to Heaven. Besides, I am too chicken and too guilt-ridden, you know, you have to live for others and I have a husband. But mind you, I do pray that if there are no better days ahead for Him to take me home in my sleep...painlessly. So are you on z for depression or anxiety? And is z still working for you? 

    • Posted

      Hi

      I had had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, severe JRA for 54 years and also developed other serious autoimmune diseases as well.. the sertraline reinforces my efforts to juggle all of the illness, my peace is in my Lord.

      hugs

    • Posted

      Oh my, sorry to hear that you've been managing all these illnesses. I will pray for you, too. I am in my early 40s and I have been living with OCD and depression since I was a kid. I got on med in last year of high school, and had somehow managed to survive about 8 to 9 attacks for the past 20 yrs without killing myself. I was put on Zoloft when it was still the brand name and now I am on sertraline. But I had been on and off z for past 20 yrs and I am just exhausted. I am okay now, think on my way to recovery, God willing, but I just can't imagine going thru this again. Each time I go thru it I feel like I am going insane and losing my mind. I am pure O when I am in the throes of it. I have never had the guts to do ERP or CBT because I fear it might worsen my condition, and I am afraid that if I stay on z full time it might no longer work one day, so I lower my dosage or get off, and then the attack hits me. I had gone thru these too many times I now consider staying on it at 100mg for the next 20 yrs without getting off. I cannot tell you the number of times I wish I would just sleep and never wake up again because I am too weak and too tired of the pain. I don't have the guts to kill myself. I think I posted this question hoping someone could share some good news and I could live off of that hope, someone in 60s living on sertraline but found their condition a bit better in old age, perhaps the brain stopped firing so much after a lifetime of misfires. So I turn to God and beg that He gives me 20 good solid years and then He takes me home, that's all I want. 20 yrs without another OCD anxiety depression attack. Or He can take me anytime before another attack, just take me home painlessly. Sorry, I don't mean to depress you. I have always believed in the quality of my time on earth as opposed to quantity. 

      I pray for all of us. Happy Thanksgiving. 

  • Posted

    Yes, I too began with Zoloft! And I am 65! And Christ is my Saviour! And I know how very low, how very rough the going can sometimes be.

    I know that I will never be given more to bear than I am able to handle. Therefore, I can handle it. Now that should not be construed to mean that I understand or even see the way.

    Your experiences, your knowledge has value to someone else. OCD is difficult, but it can be managed.. maybe try some humor like Howie Mandel.

  • Posted

    Hello Godservant,

    Twenty years after giving birth to my daughter, I began to have violent and regular panic attacks. I live in France and at that time Zoloft was just beginning to appear on the pharmaceutical market. My doctor gave me 100mg per day for 5 years and then (about few months) I tried to decrease to 50 mg. It has been 20 years since I took sertraline and every time I wanted to stop I had horrible symptoms that appeared.

    This psychotropic is extremely harmful and you musn't stop it without taking precautions and very slowly.

    Majors attacks are provocked by Sertraline too.

    Don't forget that drug modifies brain chemistry and all the times you want to try stop it your brain want to recover its normal state (body is a really perfect thing).

    I completly understand all reasons why we took this drug but you should also be aware of what it does on your body. I'm taking zoloft so I know what I'm talking about.

    Panicks attacks are "normal" symptoms and they appears when your brain want

    to warn you that your life is not going well (a very normal reaction even if it's horrible to endure).

    If you had a good doctor, you would have explained it better than me.

    You should continue to take your medication regularly but also change your way of life. You must take care of yourself and love yourself. Do yourself a favor, say "I love you" in the mirror (it helps a lot !)

    And if one day you plan to stop this medication never do by yourself. You should

    decrease dosages gradually for several months or years.

    The secret of your healing : associate nutrition, sport, meditation and the most important love.

    You should have a notebook to note each day all you have in mind (really important).

    Take care and don't forget that you're not alone. We are all really sensitive persons and  it's our strength and at the same time our weakness, so we must learn to live with.

    Love is all.

    • Posted

      Hi GG. Thank you for this loving message. J I am actually doing great at this point. My 4-month mark back on this med. Currently at 100mg. At this point in my life, I don’t plan to ever get off of it. I hope someday to reduce it to a maintenance dose of 50mg (25mg wasn’t enough, I learned.) Yes, the body and brain are really miraculous gifts, aren’t they? And their potential for healing is mind-bongling! At many points I was so mad and each time, I return back to work and functioning logically and joking and laughing again. At my worst, I even tried to physically smile (even with tears streaming down my face) because I read somewhere that the physical act of smiling could promote the joyous, calm, happy feeling inside. Mind and body very connected. Thank you for all the advice. Yes, I need to walk again, get active, eat healthier, and I should write in my journal every day. Take care, Xx.  

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.