I've been on Zoloft for a little over 4 years now. I started taking this anti-depressant for severe PMS (sometimes known as PMDD) when I had moved to a different country & town. I was alone, working a job that would make anyone miserable and knew I needed support. So, after looking at my family history of depression, speaking with my relatives about their anxiety disorders & how zoloft had helped them I figured I'd give it a go.At first, I loved zoloft. I felt as though the fog around my head had cleared. I worked out all the time, lost some weight & kept the struggles of my job in perspective. I swore by Zoloft. I thought it was a miracle drug & couldn't understand why I hadn't started taking it earlier.
Fast forward 4 years.
The fog is back stronger than ever. I've moved countries again, run a successful company and am self-employed. I have an amazing family, supportive friends and a great lifestyle of health, fitness & nutrition. But...something isn't quite right. I went from 50 mg of Zoloft to 100mg thinking it was just that I needed to change my dose. Then up to 200 mg.
Now I fall asleep every afternoon. I sleep 10 hours a night and still...I'm exhausted. The backs of my knees hurt. I weigh 196 pounds (I was 160 when I started taking zoloft). Last year, I worked out 3-5 times/week and once a week with a personal trainer. I lost 10% of my body fat which was fabulous. But still, no weight loss.
Don't get me wrong here - I am not fixated on dieting, weighing myself on the scale or counting calories. I do read about nutrition & eat a healthy, well balanced diet. I refuse to "diet" as hey, we all know the pitfalls of dieting.
I eat healthy and I am active. So, today I did some research online. Turns out there are a whole lotta people out there complaining about zoloft and weight gain, sore joints & exhaustion. Well how about that?
I believe in the law of attraction & have found that it has worked wonders in my business & professional life. So, I've decided to quit Zoloft cold turkey & use the powers of attraction, Omega 3 & a multi-vitamin and exercise to make this work for me.
I am aware of the side effects of quitting in this way - I will likely feel dizzy, get headaches, sleep differently than I usually do & generally feel quite rough. I know it is not advised to quit any medication cold turkey. But I also know that I can do this. I quit smoking this way, and while zoloft and cigarettes are not one & the same, I need to try this for me.
Follow along on my journey to quit antidepressants & get healthy, fit, active & most importantly - happy! Clear head, here I come!
So to start this journey, I'm off to go for my first bike ride of 2009. It's a beautiful sunny day and since I am self-employed I can take off whenever I like.
But how about you? You must have stumbled across this blog for a reason - what is it? Are you trying to quit zoloft as well? Please share your story in the comments below.
I have a few friends that were/are on Zoloft. My one friend was told it was ok to be on it while pregnant, by her doctor. They were insistent about it. But her son was born with a few problems. Nothing severe, but he's a year and a half old and JUST took his first steps. He was also late with holding his head up. And he physically looks no older than 8 months, he's VERY tiny. That, along with the other "side affects" I've heard about, are enough reason for me to never use it, and try to keep others from using it.
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