Zoloft side effects

Hi everybody
I am new to this forum and glad that I discovered it. On summer 2015 I got viral infection in inner ear and been diagnosed with Uncompensated labyrintithus . I was doing VRT for half of year but symptoms even getting worse as I keep working. Some days were better, some very bad, but I keep thinking that it all will go away soon. But after extremely busy time on Christmas I started to experience tension and pain in neck almost all the time. Another set of test , everything normal again . On January we went to Cuba and all my symptoms disappeared completely!!! Like miracle. I was so happy bug to early:) as soon as we come back to our cold country everything back to normal - dizziness, tiredness, headache. My doctor took me off thinking it might be anxiety and prescribed Zoloft (25 mg) daily. I guess I never new what is anxiety before taking this drugs. Panic attach every day, depressed, no willing to begin a day. But the worst experience it is terrible sensitivity to sounds, I couldn’t stand my own voice, talk on phone, TV. I also felt that sometimes the notice cause sudden heartbeat and increase anxiety. My arms and legs become numbs and I am shaking like I have a fever.
The neurologist on JusAsk suggested that I have MAV, reading this forum I think I am at right place.
My question- is anyone experienced something similar with Zoloft. Is this a good preventive medicine for MAV.
Great thanks

Hi Galgo.

I had a HELL of a time on Zoloft. My doc started me on 25 mg. for MAV. I started having paresthesias in my feet and lower legs immediately. Since I didn’t read this as a side effect, I thought it might be a coincidence. Then, I started having to take naps, or rather just having to sleep in the middle of the day a bit. Within a few days, I was lying down and felt like my body was shutting down. A few more days and I was unable to go to work, spent my days lying down, only to get up to pick my kids up from school and to drop them off at school, etc… I had more headaches at the same time and increased dizziness. I tried to take it BUT I knew I was on the wrong track as these “side effects” were getting worse by the day instead of better. I HAD TO stop it. My doc said you’ve only been on it for two weeks and a low dose, no need to taper, just stop.

Let me tell you: for THREE WEEKS, I shook like a leaf. My hands would keep shaking as though I was withdrawing from addictive drugs. I shook shoulders down, basically. Two weeks ON the drugs, and withdrawal was for THREE weeks, go figure.

At the end of the 3rd week of stopping it, all the shaking went away.

Yes, Zoloft helped many people, but not me. I would say this: get on it slowly, if the side effects are worsening instead of getting better, get off it SLOWLY. The docs know nothing about withdrawal. When I told my two docs I was shaking during withdrawal, one said that’s not a withdrawal effect (hmmm…ok…) and the other looked at me like I descended from outer space into her office. :(.

That’s my two cents :smile:
Best to you.

Thank you Fussyfussy
It looks like i have a very similar situation - i was able to manage two weeks as my symptoms get worse. My GP advised the same - just quit - as it was a very low doze and only two weeks. Which I did. On a first day when I did not take Zoloft my sound sencetivity increased, i was shaking like I have a vert high fever, blood pressure rised and pulse 90. Whole night i kept waking up from every little sound with hartbeat and feeling like i got stroked by electricity. I am going today to my GP and will ask her which withdrawal scheduler i should follow. BTW, after first week of taking Zoloft i went to see her complaining about panic attac and noise sencetivity and she said that i probably worry that i cant work :slight_smile: and it will go away soon, wait for 21 days. So, honestly, i would rather rely on my intuition .
One more time great thanks for your responce, it means a lot, especially when you are alone with your absolutely strange and scary feelings .

I’ve researched quite a bit about tapering and they say decrease by 10% per 5-7 days. So if you started st 35 mg, reduce down yo about 22 mg. once you stabilize on that, go down to 20 mg. the down to 18 etc. if you can handle it faster, you can adjust down faster.

Relying on your own intuition, like you said, is a good idea.

Glad my post was useful to you. Hand in there :smile:
Best wishes

I haven’t taken Zoloft for MAV, but I took it gor depression years ago and the side effects were horrible. It made my mood flat, I wasn’t happy or depressed, I wasn’t anything. It made me have graphically violent dreams that I would wake up from and not really care that they were that way. It also killed my libido to the point where I didn’t even want to be touched at all, not even a hug. Needless to say, I didn’t stay on it very long. I can only imagine what it would do to me with my MAV.