I am thinking of switching my meds for depression I started on Paxil which made me blow up like a balloon in turn making me more depressed, Cymbalta, I slept about 14 hours a day and finally Zoloft. I have been on 75mg of Zoloft for about four years, I absolutely feel better than i did. My side effects are still weight gain not like the paxil, trouble having orgasms and constipation which has become the real battle. I was thinking about switching to effexor, I know a few people on it who say good things although everybodys bodys are so different. My question really, is their anybody who was taking Zoloft liked it but switched to effexor and liked it even better without some of the side effects i listed. Or should i jus stick with Zoloft and not waste my time with Effexor.
Zoloft vs Effexor need some advice?
Question posted by k7576 on 6 Jan 2010
Last updated on 2 April 2018
9 Answers
I've been on Zoloft for about 8 years starting at 75mg for the first 6 years and about 2 years ago had a bad depression, went off it(the doctor thought it was my thyroid out of whack), got my thyroid in the normal range but the depression remained. So after trying a few other things like wellbutrin(increased my anxiety) and another ssri(made me so confused I couldn't funtion) i went back on the Zoloft. I've now been on it for almost a year with gradual dose increases now at 150mg. But still have a low 'grade' functional kind of depression esp. In the morning. I'm now wondering if I should try the effexor as well. I've heard it is helpful for depression worse in the morning. Or maybe I should up the dose of Zoloft to 200mg. Any advise would be helpful. Thanks!!
I started on Zoloft (sertraline) 9 months ago to treat depression and anxiety. After an adjustment period of 2-3 months the drug did help my anxiety and mood BUT worsened my acid reflux and has caused me to gain about 30 pounds; although I eat healthy and exercise daily I was just blowing up like a balloon. This week I am starting on Effexor in hopes that my weight can revert back without my depression and anxiety returning.
I moved out of state with my fiancé for his job. I have always had anxiety but started having panic attacks and became very paranoid. My doctor was out of town so the doctor filling in put me on Effexor. My mood did change. Even my friends could notice from talking to me on the phone that I was happier and more talkative. When my doctor came back I went to see her and I told her that I made it a point to express my concern about gaining weight while taking these meds to the other doctor. So the doctor put me on Effexor and said it doesn't normally cause weight gain. I was on Effexor for 3 weeks and did not gain anything. After talking to my doctor that I regularly see she thought it best with my symptoms to be on Zoloft. I have been on Zoloft for 2 1/2 weeks and I am up 7 pounds. I have really strong carb cravings and hot flashes. If I gain weight talk about I will go into depression.
I have just worked my butt off to lose 46 pounds. And I will not continue to take a medication that will put it back on. I am going to talk to her about getting off of Zoloft and getting back on Effexor. So to answer what is best for me it would definitely be Effexor.
Tabitha - maybe Zoloft should be stopped and Effexor xr should be increased? I stayed on Effexor at 150mg for a year then was struggling with mood and anxiety in particular. The doctor upped my Effexor to 325mg a day and my symptoms eased. I felt much better. Effexor on its own has never increased my weight, whereas others have. I too am sensitive to the weight gain side of it and that's why I prefer the Effexor. The downside is though that it's very difficult for many people to come off of. I also believe that there is some proven cases of nutrition planning that can help ease withdrawals from Effexor so I am looking into that. Fingers crossed for that. Best of luck to you honey. Xxx
i have taken zoloft and it didn't work for me. i take effexor and amantadine slowly i am feeling good
I have been on effexor for one year, just this last week, my doctor doubled my dosage. In just the past seven days, I am already feeling better, more energetic, I recently had a bad patch of depression. Since I am beyond conception stage of life, I like it.
Great that you did well on Effexor ... but did you gain weight?
I have taken Zoloft and had the same side effects as you, weight gain and loss of sex drive. I also have taken Wellbutrin for a while and I really like that. No side effects for me at all, except more energy. Now I am off the Zoloft and need to lose the weight I gained from it. But now I am faced with Zoloft withdrawal, which is horrible no matter how long you taper off it. Sorry if I'm not much help. If you think the Zoloft works, I would stick with it. It didn't work for me, and I couldn't handle the side effects. Good luck.
If you're off Zoloft, are you going to be taking anything else. Sounds like you experiencing dreadful side effects? Such as ... deep depression perhaps (OMG).
Did you take Wellbutrin along with the Zoloft or did just you taper off the Zoloft alone? I DREAD the withdrawal side effects, but my current dosage (as high as possible) of Zoloft (200mg) is not doing such a great job anymore. Abilify was BAD - big gain in appetite and my balance became awful.
I have been on effexor ex for 3 years and now i am 17 wks pregant and my doctor took me off it, about 3 wks ago so now my anxiety is back in full force and destroying me... however I showed up at her office in tears listing my fears and she prescribed me zoloft. I have been reading up on it to see whats in it and if its similar to effexor, \im not a huge pill person and have a fear of taking zoloft and theres something in it that i will have a reaction to and well... keel over... however i liked the effexor it takes time to work but I liked it i didnt want to go off it but then again its all i know... do you know if zoloft is that same as effexor??? INgredien wise?
I have been on both Effexor being the most recent. Everybody is different if you are worried about weight gain from my experience none with Zoloft with the effexor to be honest I did not realize over the course of years how much weight i did gain until I went off of it and loss about 17 lbs. You said you tried cymbalta that is what I am on now with no side effects except weight loss and the doc just added Wellbutrin xl because I was still having some symptoms after 8 weeks. I just started the wellbutrin 3 days ago and I can honestly say I have alot more energy and less of the anxious low energy sit in the sofa all day stuff. So there are some things you can consider I hope it helps. Good Luck and God Bless Feel better soon and I am sure you will find the right answer.
Barb
It's so hard to come off an anti-depressant without going through hell, so I admire that you've done this. So Cymbalta is good with the addition of Wellbutriin ... wonderful. I tried Wellbutrin alone many years ago and after two weeks of feeling great, CRASH into the depression pit. It's overwhelming me what an ordeal we must go through to get onto the right med and/or combo of meds. Finding a good shrink to work with is another challenge.
What is Wellbutrin xl vs. plain old Wellbutrin?
I personally take Effexor Xr. It works great. I didn't get the full effect I would have like to so I started taking Abilify with the Effexor Xr and it works wonders! I feel normal and more outgoing. I'm able to leave my bed, talk to my family and strangers. Keep doing your research until you think you've found what you're looking for. Remember it's all trial and error. You'll find the right combination soon! Hope this helps and good luck!
If you don't mind my asking as I just recently got switched to Effexor XR and also have taken abilify in the past... did you gain weight with this combo? I gained a little weight with the abilify but it was years ago and I know our bodies change. I am trying desperately to loose weight so I am scared to try Effexor.
Be wary of Abilify. After many years on Zoloft at 200mg, it wasn't as effective, so started on 2.5mg of Abilify. Oh Lord. YES it increased the effectiveness of Zoloft, but soon I noticed I was HUNGRY all the time, gained 10 lbs and had trouble with my balance. Bye Bye Abilify.
I would love to try Effexor, but dread coming off Zoloft. Any tips out there?
Hi deebeee - I have been taking Effexor xr for 10+ years now and can say that for me, there has been no weight gain at all. I was on an older style AD before which made me very groggy and hungry. I gained 2 stone in a month. I cannot remember the name of the old style but it wasn't an SSRI or SNRI. I have also tried escitalopram and citalopram. Personally for me the citalopram was the most effective. I have heard many say that combining the Effexor WITH abilify makes people gain weight. My personal experience is that Effexor alone does not give this issue. In fact I struggle now to keep my weight on to be honest. The drawback of Effexor for just abou everyone I have ever encountered is that if you miss a dose you get severe and nasty sensations of brain zapping. It's very unpleasant. If I am late with a dose I get very foggy headed too. I have been struggling to come off of Effexor for 3 years but I am only trying to come off so that I can have a baby.
I'm 37 & time is running out as they say.
If you are not too bothered about the prospect of coming off of an AD then by all means I would say that Effexor is effective. However as others say, it is really an individual thing as our bodies all react differently. I just wish that when I first got carelessly put onto AD's when I was 19yo that someone had warned me that they're very difficult to ever come off of again. My life has been defined at times by having to be on a drug that I never needed in the first place. I was put on it by a locum GP after having had ONE anxiety attack. I had been raped. To me the first thing should have been counselling and psychology rather than just being shoved onto tablets. I was young and scared and I trusted my doctors. Nowadays I use mindfulness in conjunction with my Effexor xr and meditation / breathing exercises. I also go to psychology when needing a bit of extra support. If you have any of these other tools to hand or can access them then I would really urge you to try these in combination with the drugs.
Stay safe and well my friend. If you have anything you want to ask me then please feel free to do so. :)
Xxx
Stellalouanna-Thank you for your comment. I found it really helpful, as I'm also about to switch from Zoloft to Effexor. But also, your message was so very kind. Thank you - it was heartening.
As for you trying to get off of Effexor in order to get pregnant, I wonder if you've tried the opposite switch --from Effexor to Zoloft? I used Zoloft during 2 of my pregnancies, and Lexapro during my first. I did not have complications with my pregnancies on those (they were deemed safe). Good luck to you. I'll keep you in my thoughts as you pave the way to possibly become a mom!
I would also like to switch from Effexor XR to Zoloft. I'm so tired of being sweaty ALL the time. I am definitely sweating unless it is 70 degrees or below and windy.
I cannot deal with the extreme sweating from my Effexor 225mg per day. I had been on it for years (NO doctor ever told me about the sweating nor could they help me get rid of it!). It became ineffective, so I was tried on Trintellix (made me SO angry) and also Prozac (didn't help with the depression). So I'm back on it after being off 6 months, but only at 150mg. I think I need to go up at least another 75mg, but even at this lower dosage, I am SOAKING WET all the time. And when I did get off of the Effexor, it was the darkest time EVER in my entire life. But I am too old to deal with this sweating all day and even at night. So wish I could find something better :(
I felt very good on Effexor and Abilify together, but blew up like a blimp :(
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