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taking Zolaph for deppresion
my doctor prescribed me Zolaph for depression I have been on it for almost 3 months now and ever since I have been taking it and I have been taking it like it says on the bottle but I have been having really bad stomach cramps and been going to the bathroom a lot with the diarrhea lately ever since I have been on the new medicine are these side effects from Zolaph ? Do I need to be put on something else for my depression ?
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Maybe give some free advice about: Mental health?
I have been on Zolaph for a year now it has made me gain weight and I have random crams a lot now,Thst is all, I am in no way a professional
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Here is an on line list of detailed possible side effects to Zoloft:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
So my advice is to call and let the doctor know so he can prescribe something else.
I am very much a proponent of people taking some personal responsibility for their health...all of it mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. The best thing you can do is to study and do searches on line. In some cases, a person must be under doctors care and on pharmaceutical drugs. However, there is a larger community now of those who see the benefits to learning how to prevent some conditions naturally IF they can't be prevented.
There's a saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Adviceman brought up the two possible causes of depression. ONe being a hormonal imbalance in the brain and the second being stress. It can also be a combo of both.
There are many on Zoloft or other artificial serotonin -like drugs to help fight the depression who may only have depression due to stress rather than a deficiancy they were born with.
You didn't state your age. If you are under legal age, you must of course go with your parents and doctors orders.
If you are of legal age, there are things you can try to do in addition to your doctors medications in case your depression is caused in part by stress or completely by stress.
I am talking from experience having two daughters who were suffering depression. The oldest daughter had it start during teen years but kept it hidden from us...it wasnt severe enough that we could notice it yet. But in her early twenties, after having a baby, she was launched into post partum depression and using natural means was not helping. She had the chemical imbalance she was born with and had to go on medications. I have another daughter who due to employment problems and a succession of being dumped by 2 guys in a period of 5 years, fell into deep depression. I asked her to try the list I am going to give to you but she did not. That was just moms silly natural health stuff. Her current job allowed one free visit to a phycologist which she made. She told her problems, and since she couldn't afford going for counseling, he told her what she could do for herself and gave her exactly the same suggestions I had given. She came back excitedly to tell me and began to implement them. She has made a complete turn around. She is such a happy cheery positive person, even more positive than me now!!
Do not stop taking the new prescription your Dr. will give you.
But add the following changes and see if you feel any different. After some time, you may want to revisit the Dr. and ask to be put on lower amounts of the medication to see how you are doing. That can be repeated until you are off meds if the case is that you don't need them. If however the meds are needed, you will know once taking less of them and then just go back to Dr. and get put back on the full amount.
So here is my list. The hormonal imbalance can be affected by stress. Serotonin is what helps your neuro-transmitters to work properly...where you will be in a stable place emotionally. Our levels of naturally made serotonin can run low and not be remade due to stress. But there are things we can do...silly as they may seem, but its been proven to increase the levels of naturally occuring serotonin in people. This works if its stress related but not so much for more extreme deficiancys from birth.
Movement such as excercise, running, dancing is helpful to raise these levels. I have tried skipping like little kids do. You'll never see an adult do it cus it looks silly but I have done it and cant help but laugh too as I do and I can feel my happy levels come right back up.
Listening to your favorite songs...the words arent as important as the melodies. Melodies of songs that when you hear them, your heart feels light like a balloon as if it were going to float right out of your chest. The melody uplifts you. One such melody that does it for me is Clocks by Coldplay. There are a handful of others. When I begin to feel stressed, I play those songs, dance along or the third thing to do, sing your heart out. Singing does alot to help.
You've heard the saying, Laughter is the best medicine" Well it is true for some things like depression. So watch a comedy movie, read some hilarious stories or jokes. Start keeping a collection of the stuff that makes you crack up every time, no matter how many times you've seen it or read it.
Another is hugging. If you look up hug therapy on line, you will find stuff about it and people who are very serious about it as a depression fighter.
You can't give a hug without receiving one in return. The hugs needed here for therapy are not those quick loose hugs with a light pat on the back...we're talking about really big hard, long bear hugs.
Good luck dear and blessings to you.
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I'm going to contradict the responder below. What you are describing ARE common side effects of Zoloft. According to WebMD, common side effects of Zoloft include: sleepiness, nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, skin rash, headache, diarrhea, upset stomach, loss of appetite, abnormal ejaculation, dry mouth, and weight loss.
You should report these side effects to your doctor, and see about switching medications. There are a lot of options for depression treatments. It is common to have to try a number of different medications before finding one that works.
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What you are experiencing are not published side effects of your medication. It does not mean that the medication is not causing the problem. One of the side effects of the medication is heightened anxiety which can affect how often you need to use the bathroom and be the cause of diarrhea.
What I suggest is you see the prescribing doctor and ask for a different medication. Zoloft is a medication that has been around for a long time and is generally prescribed by family doctors as it is an inexpensive and generally safe drug to prescribe.
If you are being treated by your family doctor for depression I would suggest seeking out a Board Certified Psychiatrist to re-diagnose your depression and prescribe medication. Since most depression is clinical depression the cause is of a hormonal or lack of two hormones needed to control mood. Since these hormones are secreted into the brain a psychiatrist is best trained to diagnose and prescribe for clinical depression.
Seeing a psychiatrist for clinical depression does not mean your crazy, far from it. Clinical depression has two main causes. The first is as I just wrote, hormonal. The second is stress. Combine the two and you have clinical depression. The psychiatrist prescribes and monitors your medication. A psychologist works with you to find the root cause of the your stress. Once the stressor or stressors are found the psychologist will work with you to find a better way to deal with them.
Once you have properly dealt with the stress you probably will not need to supplement the hormones with medication any longer. It is a two sided assault on the problem. Medication alone will not cure the problem it will only mask the symptoms.
My advice is to first find a Board Certified Psychiatrist to treat and prescribe new medication. Then if you are not already working with a psychologist. You need to find one so that the root cause of the stress, the second part of the depression cause can be found.
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