Zoloft

[Nicole]

Anyone ever tried it?

As far as I'm aware, there are three drugs currently approved by the FDA for social anxiety disorder: Paxil, Zoloft, and Effexor.

I really don't want to try Paxil, mainly because I've heard so many bad things about it. I have a few friends that have used it, and have suffered severe withdrawal symptoms (like getting electric jolts through their body). Apparently, this is relatively common and there is a lawsuit against Paxil right now related to the issue.

And from what I've read, Effexor sounds like a nightmare. I have yet to read one positive experience with it.

That leaves Zoloft. My stepmother is currently taking it for depression and says she's pleased with it. I don't have depression, just generalized social anxiety disorder.

Any thoughts?

[Sanity FreeZ0ne]

Hi Nicole,
I've been on Zoloft (or Lustral as it's called here in the UK) for 2 months now and found it to be pretty good at reducing my social anxiety/depression. The only bad thing I'd have to say about it is that it makes my insomnia a lot worse but sleeping pills help with that. Bad thing is that it has now been banned in this country for those under 18 as it was belived it the bad effects outweighed the good ones. The thing with medication is that they all effect each person differntly so I would suggest you just experiment and try and find what works.

[Nicole]

Thanks for the advice!

I don't have insomnia at all, so I don't suspect that will be a problem.

[spitzig]

I've tried all three. The only one I noticed a significant difference with was Paxil. This may've been connected to when I took them, though. The only side effect I had was a lowered sex drive. Considering how often I was with a girl, this was a positive. Also, I never had trouble getting it up--I just wasn't constantly distracted by sex as much.

I had withdrawal from the stronger version of Effexor (XR?). This was because I stopped taking it cold turkey, though. The withdrawal wasn't that bad. I started crying over emotional Beatles songs, and things like that which I would not normally do. About 5 times in a week or two. Maybe a little extras depression, too.

[Low]

Zoloft worked for me but side effects like brittle hair , hand tremors(very noticeable), gritting teeth, lock jaw, brittle bones, insomnia were not worth it.
The positives were I became very chatty and could talk up a storm (hence no more shy). The outlook on life greatly improves and I felt like I could do anything. Things that would usually bother me, I could brush off or recover more quickly from. I talked to people I would never have talked to before and was a social butterfly. It was also great for weight lost.
I took Zoloft mainly for depression, but they are other alternatives. I still have depression and now I take St. John's Wort and HTTP. I have figured out a dosage that works. No drug is absolutely fool proof, even when taking Zoloft your depression is higher at times and the dose needs to be increased or your body gets used to the drug and a low dosage no longer has the same affect. The same with taking St. John's Wort. I don't have any major withdrawals, the only thing is I still grit my teeth and sometimes wake up at nite with my teeth clamped down on my tongue.

[HAZE]

if i where you which in theory i am
i wouldnt bother with any pills like that unless they had REAL possitive effects. im thinking about taking something for this shit too, so im gonna research st. john's wort and loads of other herbs like that. but believe me the more shit food stuffs we eat the more complicated it all gets.
but just all be really carefull about what you put in your bodys

[Nicole]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Haze -

Yeah, I'm probably not going to take Zoloft or another SSRI, mainly because I'm not depressed. (I've heard it's not real successful for those with only social anxiety disorder). I take St. John's Wort when I have PMS and it works well. (Most people can't feel it for a few weeks, but I'm very sensitive to drugs and I can feel it immediately. It makes me feel more clear-headed.)

I'm currently taking Propranolol (a beta-blocker) as needed for blushing related to social anxiety. It seems to be working. Not a miracle cure, but it's decent.

And yeah, I do eat very healthy foods. I am really careful about what I put it into my body, most of the time. Or, at the very least, I research substances a great deal before taking them. Psychoactives and their effects are one of my main interests. I'm not sure if this is something to be proud of, but I know a lot about drugs.

[spitzig]

I tend to think extensive knowledge is one of the better things to be proud of.

[Nicole]

Well, I just meant that some of that knowledge is through personal experimentation, so I'm not sure *that's* something to be proud of. (Illegal experimentation, that is.)

But it's a personal research interest of mine as well. I'm getting my Master's in Religious Studies, and I'm interested in the connection between psychoactives and religious experience.

[HAZE]

if you fancy a traditional religious trip, try peyoti cacti..ya'll be flying for days

[spitzig]

Nicole said:

Well, I just meant that some of that knowledge is through personal experimentation, so I'm not sure *that's* something to be proud of. (Illegal experimentation, that is.)

But it's a personal research interest of mine as well. I'm getting my Master's in Religious Studies, and I'm interested in the connection between psychoactives and religious experience.

Experience is the best source of knowledge.

I'd like to get a Master's in religion. There's no money in it, though. So, I'm doing Comp Sci. I got a minor in it during my Bachelor's.

[Nicole]

Haze:

Yes, I am interested in peyote, among other things. Never had the chance to try it, though.

spitzig:

Really - you got a minor in Religion? That's really cool. My Bachelor's is in English, which is just as impractical and unprofitable as Religion. I've never been terribly concerned with money, though. My goal is to become a professor, but you can imagine the difficulties with my social anxiety/frequent blushing issues. It isn't easy.

[spitzig]

Nicole said:

Really - you got a minor in Religion? That's really cool. My Bachelor's is in English, which is just as impractical and unprofitable as Religion. I've never been terribly concerned with money, though. My goal is to become a professor, but you can imagine the difficulties with my social anxiety/frequent blushing issues. It isn't easy.

Actually, it was philosophy and religion, but most of the classes were religion classes. I just took the classes for fun. Eventually, I realized I had enough classes to get a minor if I had the philosophy/religion professor change a mythology class to a religion class. I thought it might look good to have another "point" on my transcript or whatever. My BS was in CompSci and my Master's will be, too. The minor's not going to help a whole lot with that.

I'd think the odds of getting a job as a professor would be too low. Just the numbers graduating and the numbers of professor positions. But, I think I'd suck at being a professor.

[Grey Goose]

I have been reading various comments on this site and I am intrigued in that so many of you find life's complexities so troublesome that you have to resort to taking drugs or prescription drugs to solve problems that mankind has dealt with forever?
All my friends and I have made ourselves as a group overcome our so called insecurities of life. Drugs are a crutch and all drugs have side effects many of which are very difficult to shake.
It seems to us that the youth of today don't handle what is being called stress very well and instead of working through your problems by talking to your best friends, many of whom have suffered your same pains, you opt out for a pill.
Any comments will be welcomed as a discussion.

[Nicole]

spitzig:

Philosophy is another of my many passions.

The odds of getting a job as a professor *are* low, but I'd like to think I have a good shot at it. I currently have a teaching assistantship in the Department, which makes my chances of getting into a good PhD program much higher. Academia is definitely the place where I belong; it is where I have always excelled. Also, my area of specialization is South American indigenous religions; unusually (and luckily), there are more jobs than applicants for that particular field!

Grey Goose:

I partially agree with you. However, I also think that "drugs" and "mental illness" are too often misunderstood by our society.

To begin with, I wasn't sure if your comments were also directed to the references to psychoactives like peyote.
I am very interested in the "hallucinogens" (a term I dislike), but in a primarily academic sense. I don't use them as a crutch; in fact, I don't use them at all. As a full-time grad student and teaching assistant, I don't have time! I am currently researching iboga (an hallucinogenic bark) for some research in African Traditional Religion. But, although I am not adverse to it, I don't actually *use* iboga.

As for the pharmaceuticals, I too think they are often over-prescribed and over-used. However, I also think some people genuinely *need* them. Would you object to somebody taking medication for diabetes or cancer? Of course not. I think most people have a tendency to distinguish between "physiological" illness and "psychological" illness, as if they are wildly disparate things. I don't think they are two different things, mainly because I don't accept the dualistic division between mind and body. Your brain is just as physical as your arm or your stomach. If I cut you on your arm, you'll probably bleed. Similarly, if I lower the serotonin levels in your brain, you will likely become depressed. Mental states are caused by physical conditions.

However, I am not saying that mental states can only be corrected by medication. I think that other things can change physical conditions as well (meditation, prayer, positive thinking). However, is someone is so depressed that it is not possible for them to engage in positive thinking, I think medication might be needed. If it's the difference between Zoloft and suicide, I can confidently choose the former.

I'm not depressed and I'm certainly not suicidal.
I honestly do not even consider myself terribly "shy."
I do not spend my days in front of the computer. I have good friends, I'm in a happy relationship, I enjoy socializing, I like to go out clubbing, etc. However, I do struggle with social anxiety and I always have. Something as simple as speaking in class, for example, is enormously difficult for me. I feel that I am a strong enough person to conquer the psychological anxiety on my own. (Some people might not be.) However, I cannot control the physical manifestations of this. I turn beet red if someone even says my name, I shake, my voice quivers, etc. I know that this is genetic. (All anxiety disorders have a genetic component.) My mother had the same symptoms when she was my age, although to a lesser extent. I take Propranolol (a beta-blocker for high blood pressure) to control these physical symptoms like blushing and a pounding heart. Propranolol has no effect on your mental ability or emotional state, which is primarily why I'm taking it.
I don't take it as a "crutch" but as a way to control an overactive nervous system. It helps a lot, and it helps me to perform my job more effectively. (What students will listen to a teacher whose voice is quivering so much it sounds like she's crying?) I'm 26, and I've been this way since I was born. (My pre-school teacher even complained about it to my mother when I was 4.) It is not something that "talking to my best friend" will alleviate. In fact, if you do some research on social anxiety, you'll find that most mental health professionals do not advocate "talking about problems" (i.e. psychoanalysis) as an effective therapeutic method for the disorder. Actually, it often makes things worse. Cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes medication is seen as ideal.

Out of curiosity, where did you get the name "Grey Goose"?

-- Nicole