Anonymous wrote:I'm on day one of Zoloft. I'm feeling spacey and dehydrated. I don't like it. Those of you who say its great....what was your experience? I'm not severely depressed -I'm more low level nervous and anxious. MD thought this might help.
Having second thoughts cause I don't like feeling "altered"......

With antidepressants, you will feel the side effects in the beginning and minimal to no benefit for a few weeks. It's best to stick with one until you can determine efficacy. If the side effects are not tolerable, it may be good to switch earlier. A lot of the side effects will resolve as you adjust to the medication.

Anonymous wrote:

There are many other medications that are used now in place of xanax. I don't even think xanax is actually (among psychiatrists) the first drug they go for for anxiety or panic attacks. I believe clonazepam or alprozelam are options they would go to first. But I am talking about PSYCHIATRISTS. Part of the problem is that people go to their regular MD, and they should go to a psychiatrist who is much more familiar with the process of taking psychotropic meds, which ones are better for specific issues, which ones are better for short-term use v. long-term use, and which ones are more difficult to wean off of.

Alprazolam is Xanax. Clonazepam is Klonopin. Both of those are benzodiazepines.

I was on 2 different antidepressants at two different times, the first didn't work and the second was ok. When I went off it, could not feel a difference, so I think it wasn't working.

GP prescribed Xanax after a long and intense panic attack. Here's the thing: its works great and is addictive, so you have to be careful. I only took it when the anxiety was so terrible and not just the usual, oh, I have a work problem that tough to solve type anxiety.

I still keep the meds around (don't need advice here, thanks!) in case of another huge attack, but it hasn't happened in years, thankfully.

Get what you need to get you functional and then move off the drugs when you can. GL.

I take Zoloft and Seroquel for my anxiety issues, it got so bad that even going to the gas station would drive me crazy. I used to dread going because I assumed everyone there stared at me.

Now it doesn't bother me at all. Neither does public speaking. Who knew?

However, there are always side effects to any drug you take and these must be considered prior to making the decision whether to take it or not.

For instance, my pills have made me gain a lot of weight. However, for me on a personal level, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Either for a short-term, high-stakes crisis; or of you are truly debilitated and cannot get relief through other means, and you are in therapy actively trying to get better.

I took Valium to get through the bar exam and severe insomnia leading up to it. That was the right choice.