Zoloft for Panic Disorder User Reviews (Page 2)

• Hap...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 1, 2017

"Zoloft changed my life completely and I feel 'normal' pretty much all of the time. I was too phobic to try it and for 15 years I suffered. I wish it didn't have to happen that way. I started literally on 6.25 mg so afraid I'd get ill. Went up to 12.5 then 25 and so on. I'm now on 150mg and have had zero side effects. If you're like me and phobic of meds, start on a baby dose. Even when the doctor looks at you weird, just do it your way for you. You want the lowest effective dose anyway, right? Start small and tell yourself this will help and not hurt you before you take it. Each day it gets easier. Best wishes for a better life."

• Win...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 25, 2015

"I have suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks for almost 13 years. Literally every day, I was anxious from the time I woke up until I went to bed. Racing thoughts, constant anxiety, and at one point, I would hardly go out in public fearing a panic attack. Zoloft has changed my life COMPLETELY! No more racing thoughts or anxiety! Feeling like a normal person again and actually enjoying life and even laughing! Took two months to start feeling full results. Main side effect was sleeping all the time and loss of appetite. Highly recommend!"

• Wil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2015

"I've been on sertraline for just over 7 weeks. I started out on 25mg, then 50mg, and then worked my way up to 100mg. I had every side effect going, but I did not give up. I suffered from severe anxiety, could not leave the house, and my husband had to take time off work to look after me. But now, I am nearly back to my old self, going out. If you are just starting out on sertraline, please please give it time to work and hold on in there. It will get better."

• com...
• August 26, 2018

"There were a thousand times in the first two weeks that I thought about throwing this away. I'm SO thankful I stuck it out. The side effects in the beginning are pretty bad. Makes you MUCH worse before you get better, but then suddenly it's like the clouds part and the sun comes shining through, and you're better than you even knew you could get. I never knew I could live a life this free of anxiety and depression. I actually didn't know the depth of how horrific I was feeling until Zoloft fixed me. I feel AMAZING now! I'm just confident and calm. I have ZERO panic attacks, and I'm just excited about living. If you've just started taking them, just gather all the inner strength that you have and soldier through those first two weeks. If you feel like you cannot make it through the side effects stage, ask your doc for meds that will help you get through. Best of luck to all of you!"

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 29, 2013

"Zoloft saved my life and my marriage. I am so grateful to the doctor who put me on this 9 weeks ago. A few side effects at start-up, but that went away in a matter of days and it has been smooth sailing since. Tons of energy, up early, great sleep, and I'm not binge eating. I've even lost 8.5 lbs. I was skeptical at first and hated the fact that I needed medication for anxiety and depression, but I'm really glad I gave it a shot. For now, I will continue on this medication."

• Zie...
• September 14, 2018

"If you're reading the reviews and thinking how scary Zoloft sounds, or thinking maybe you shouldn’t take it, then you are like I was 6 weeks ago. THIS MEDICINE HAS CHANGED MY LIFE ALREADY. I’m on 50mg and may increase to 75 due to some nervous thoughts and occasional sensations of panic, but it is nothing like it used to be. Before Zoloft, I wasn’t able to leave my house. I was having severe panic attacks multiple times a day. This medicine started working for me at 25mg 2 weeks after starting it. The doctor increased it to 50mg and this week I’ve noticed a huge difference. The only side effect I had was nausea and upset stomach at first, and then again when I increased to 50mg 2 weeks ago. Other than that, I just feel better. Please give this medicine a try if you want a shot at a somewhat normal life. You owe it to yourself to put the fear aside and try to get better. Do this for you. I did, and I was terrified to try it, but I’m so, so happy I did."

• Kee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 14, 2023

"Let me start off by saying loud and clear: it can make things worse before they get better for some people. I knew that going into it, and although this was my first experience with Zoloft, I had previously experienced this with a different SSRI. I started at 25 mg for 1 week and then increased to 50 mg. By the 2-week mark, I woke up and realized that I felt okay for the first time in a while... I didn't have the racing heart, racing thoughts, anxiety, dry heaving, and general feeling of impending doom. Each day after that got better, and I'm only 3 weeks in. This medication can take up to 6 weeks to work. Please be patient and stick with it, and know you're not alone. Anxiety can be so isolating and terrifying, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Zoloft pulled me from the panic I was feeling daily related to health and general anxiety. The first 2 weeks, my anxiety got worse, and I had zero appetite and lost a lot of weight, but things are regulating now."

• Dai...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 13, 2024

"GIVE THIS MEDICATION A CHANCE. How do I know Zoloft is working? Because I keep forgetting to write a review here! Feeling good again now feels pretty much normal, it's quite incredible. But back when I was starting out on it, reading through the positive reviews on here *every single day* to give me some shred of hope, I swore I'd come back to write a review if it worked. I spent ten years or so going up and down with anxiety, depression, fear of depression, intrusive thoughts, etc., but for some reason, I was adamant about not using medication, even when a few intensely stressful events set me off into unbearable cycles of rumination. After the death of my dad, I thought I was coping okay, but began to feel more anxiety and difficulty genuinely enjoying much. I needed help. Zoloft took time. I started on 50 mg, then went up to 75 mg where I currently am, and it feels like a good fit. I definitely felt worse before I felt better. Please allow yourself time and patience for it to work."

• Emm...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 21, 2024

"I’m 38, 20 years of having severe social anxiety & panic disorder. I rang my GP to say I need help. I didn’t know I had any disorders, I just thought “this is who I am & I have to live like this”. I am a nurse, I love my job, but I had severe overthinking of any small comment anyone at work made - I felt like if something went wrong, it was all my fault & not the team’s fault. This made me dread and stress to the max each night about going into work each day. Outside work in my daily life, my social anxiety was so bad that I could hardly go into a shop to buy milk without scanning the place for people. I thought would laugh at comments I made in general chit chat or always feeling like I was inferior to them. I focused on in-laws who would be at upcoming family parties & imagined scenes at the party where I would feel so inferior to them. I kept having visions of my parents collapsing dead. I kept visualizing cars crashing into me when driving! This drug saved me, thoughts are all calm now!"

• Mar...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 19, 2025

"If you can get through the first two weeks of symptoms, you will be okay. I have been on Zoloft for 7 months, and it has changed my life. It helped my panic disorder, depression, and social anxiety. Best medicine I've tried, and I've been through a lot. Stick with it through the first couple of weeks as your body adjusts. I had palpitations, lots of sweating, fatigue, and low heart rate when first starting, after 1 month, it all went away."

• Alc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 3, 2020

"For me personally, it takes some time to start working, but on the other hand, it is a life-saving medicine. I am the best version of myself on Zoloft. Although I hope that one day I will be able to be that on my own:)"

• Win...
• March 5, 2016

"It's been over a year now that I've been on Zoloft. I take 200 mg a day, and I still cannot believe how much my life has changed/improved!! I am 36 years old and had been suffering from severe panic attacks, anxiety, and agoraphobia for almost 15 years... it was a complete challenge to get to work and even imagine a day without the feeling of anxiety from literally the time I woke up until I went to bed. I wasn't enjoying life at all, I was just existing. I had absolutely no control of my own conscious!! I finally decided that I had to try a prescription or else I would let this take over what little life I had completely! I started Zoloft on 25mg and worked up to the max of 200mg over about three months. It was the best decision ever!"

• rya...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 24, 2024

"I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for years, but held off taking Zoloft (Sertraline) for fear of side effects. After reading about many of the horrible side effects, I found solace in reading the positive reviews that suggested that things get much better and side effects subside in a week or two. I decided it was time to give it a try, in no small part because of the comments here. I started off quite slowly, 25 mg for four weeks and increased by 25 mg every four weeks, finding the sweet spot, for me, at 75 mg. Thankfully, the only real side effects I experienced were crazy fatigue and a noticeable increase in being anxious while getting used to each dosage. The end result is regret that I didn't start taking this years ago, it's a game changer that has given me my life back. I'm no longer having panic attacks, and the anxiety has disappeared for the most part, only rearing its head ever so slightly every now and again. Take the plunge and get back your life!"

• Bre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 16, 2023

"Well, y’all, I’m here to tell you it gets better! Stop looking up reviews and negative side effects, and asking everybody about the medication and just take it. Now, I will say the first 2-3 weeks for me were horrible. I didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, and was pacing back and forth all day praying that one day this horrible state I was in would one day go away. But in the 3rd week, it was slowly getting better, and I was slowly making my way back out into public and loving my life again. I know it is hard right now, and you feel like there is nothing to make it better, but take it one day at a time. This will be the hardest 2 weeks, but it will be worth it in the end. Stay strong."

• JOa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 11, 2019

"I started having severe panic attacks and anxiety attacks, and I was diagnosed with depression as well. They started me off at 25mg of Zoloft for my first month. The first week was... interesting. My anxiety initially got worse and my appetite was gone. I also felt so tired and exhausted, it sucked. But after the first week, I’ve felt AMAZING. I went from having so much anxiety and constantly panicking to not having any panic attacks at all. And my anxiety is very minimal. There are some days I’m not even anxious at all. I’m just super calm and mellow, it’s great. They upped my dosage to 50mg to see how I would handle it, so I’ll update this after a month of 50mg. But so far, Zoloft has positively changed my life, even though the first week taking it sucked."

• Ann...
• August 20, 2014

"I really hope to help someone out there suffering with this nightmare called 'Panic Disorder'. I suffered for the last 2 years with debilitating panic. My dad died of cancer two years ago, and one week later my son got very ill. Needless to say, I had a nervous breakdown, and ever since then panic ruled my life, which led to depression and agoraphobia setting in. I was scared to death of SSRI's and suffered needlessly for 2 years. Two weeks ago, I went to a Psychiatrist, he prescribed me Zoloft 25mg to start for 2 weeks then up it to 50mg. I am also taking 0.5mg Xanax twice a day. I have to say I feel great! Not a single panic attack since the 3rd day of taking med. I also am way more social and sleep a thousand times better! Thank you Zoloft!!"

• Bar...
• January 20, 2015

"My entire life, I have had problems with severe anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and portion control. (In other words, I ate to make myself feel better.) I was not overweight. I also would have obsessive-compulsive disorder thoughts for days, weeks, or years about events that did not even matter. After taking Zoloft for two months, all of my conditions as listed above have ceased to exist. I do not feel the need to eat all the time, I do not have OCD thoughts anymore, and depression, anxiety, etc., have disappeared. It honestly brings me to tears thinking about suffering like I have for the past 22 years. Thank you, Zoloft."

• Mor...
• July 9, 2021

"My friend recently lost her child, and as a mom, it hit me very hard. I constantly worried and had irrational thoughts that something would happen to my daughter. I couldn’t drink caffeine or work out. I felt anxious, shaky, dizzy, and I had palpitations all the time for nearly three weeks prior to starting Zoloft. I could not do anything that I normally did without anxiety, my heart racing, and panic attacks nearly every day. I felt hopeless and heavy, as though I would never get out of my funk. I started taking Zoloft around two and a half weeks ago. Initially, I had terrible nausea, belly pain, shakiness, light-headedness, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. That has slowly subsided over around one and a half weeks. My appetite is still not back 100%, but I am so much happier, no panic attacks in over a week. Slowly, I am feeling more like myself and as though the wall between myself and the world has lifted. This medication takes time and patience, but it is so worth it. God bless!"

• Mic...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 12, 2023

"Have been on Zoloft for 20 years. I had panic attacks for 35 years before taking this medicine. Have had maybe one or two panic attacks since taking this. It has changed my whole life for the better. I have experienced no side effects."

• Lau...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 4, 2018

"I am 21. I have taken this medicine for 6 months. Here’s my story. 7 months ago I was having severe anxiety, with panic attacks and some mild depression because of it. I just wanted to feel better. I read review after review because I was scared to take an antidepressant, since I wasn’t depressed, and because I’m a natural person I question everything. All I can say is try it. There will always be negative comments on any medication. This one saved me. I started on 25 mg, it wasn’t enough. It took 6 weeks to feel 100% and week 1 my anxiety was worse (didn’t know that was possible). I hope this helps you all because I was that person searching for what ifs."

• Kim...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2019

"I started taking Zoloft on July 19th, 25 mg. No real side effects, felt a little better within 24 hours. On the 4th day, a little diarrhea. Today is July 30th. Feel pretty calm and happy, no overthinking things, good so far."

• Gim...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 2, 2014

"Suffered from anxiety most of my life, then around 23 suffered a panic attack which caused me problems until my late 40s when my doctor put me on Zoloft. Huge turnaround. Zero anxiety. While I don't think I'll ever forget the fear of panic attacks, I haven't had one since, and can do most things I used to be afraid of, Long Bridges, Elevators, etc."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2025

"I have panic disorder, generalized anxiety, and OCD. This has been something that has helped me change my life. I tried every single thing that I could before starting any sort of medication, but then I realized that I needed more help due to a chemical imbalance, and that is okay. The anxiety I had before taking the first pill is crazy. But this medication, alongside lifestyle changes, as well as somatic stretching and therapy, has been life-changing. I started on 25 mg but then bumped up to the therapeutic dose of 50 mg, and I think that has been a sweet spot for me. It does take a while to start working, but hang on. The anxiety and panic are much more manageable and tolerable. If you are anything like me and are married to looking at the reviews for hours on end every day, just know you are not alone and you should take the leap and try this. The worst thing that happens is it doesn't vibe with your body, and you can try another game plan. The best thing is you get your life back :)"

• Ang...
• January 5, 2016

"I promised myself I would share my experience after I gave it at least 5 months and especially if Zoloft worked. I was so afraid to take it for reasons I read such as bad side effects. Well, I suggest to start low. I started out at 12.5mg, half of the 25mg, and I did have side effects for 5 days: nausea, no appetite, and night sweats. After 5 days, that part was over. I noticed around 3 months that my panic attacks and anxiety were almost gone. I have 2 young kids and I spent so much time worrying, scared of passing out behind the wheel or in grocery stores. I am feeling a lot better now, just living my life and enjoying my kids. I'm grateful for Zoloft, it really does help."

• Anonymous
• October 21, 2013

"Just like you, I was reading these reviews a few months ago when I finally made the decision to give medication a try. I hope this review helps and gives you comfort. I've been on 50 mg for seven weeks now. Started at 25 mg for the first seven days. The first two weeks saw a spike in anxiety, just like I figured. But I stayed with it, and I'm so glad I did. I had a pretty intense panic attack the first week, but I noticed something: I didn't stress out about having another one like I usually do. By the third week, the panic attacks and panicky feelings were pretty much gone. I've also noticed that my mood has lifted, and I can fall asleep much better at night. This is my first SSRI, and I really regret not seeking help sooner."