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[durango_d]

Hi due to a motorcycle accident and the trauma induced by that event i eventually went to a neuropsychologist because i was not feeling right a few months after the accident (i had been in extreme pain for months while in the recovery process).

After some involved testing i was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, single episode, severe, without psychotic features (296.33) and Pain Disorder associated with both psychological and general medical condition (307.89)

From those results my primary physician put me on Zoloft (sertraline).

I was given the initial dosage of 50mg daily and told since i am a big person (6'3" and 270) that we would do 50 because 25mg was a drop in the ocean. I was told by my pharmacist to take it every morning.

The day i started taking zoloft everything changed and not so much for the better, as i am also taking ibuprofin (which is less expensive that my percocet). About an hour after i take the meds i feel extremely tired and i have to go lay down, i ended up sleeping most of the day.

So at 30 days i talked to my doc about it, and told her that i thought it was helping (not sure but it kinda felt like it thought wize) but that i was sleeping all day. She said i was the type that was very sensitive to meds and that i should prob switch and start taking the zoloft at night, she also put me on 75mg now (1 and 1/2 pills).

So i started taking them at night but now i stay up most of the night and still i sleep all day. I used to be a person that was up with the sunrise and went to bed about 10pm and i never used to dream but maybe 1x a year if that.

And now i sleep all day, up all night, and i cant even close my eyes for 5 min without dreaming every time. I have very little motivation to do anything but eat, sleep, and watch tv. Have lost most of my interest in any hobbies and totally lost any interest in sex.

I dont know if others have had this experience, i dont even know if this is normal or not. All i know is i dont like it.

Thanks for listening.

Edited by durango_d, 07 August 2012 - 10:56 PM.

[Spiritual_Wanderer]

Hi durango_d. I've heard that brain trauma can lead to depression. I'm sorry that happened to you. It's weird how some people get really tired from taking ADs and some people get energized. Sedation and insomnia are both side effects of ADs (weird as that combo sounds.) It's too bad that both taking it at night and in the morning doesn't seem to work. I actually take mine around lunchtime and it works for me. Maybe you need another med? Vivid dreams are also common. I personally like remembering my dreams, but of course not everyone is like that. I was actually on Zoloft years ago and it gave me what some call the "zombie effect." It could be too high a dose for you. It's so hard to say. If you don't feel right on it, though, go back to your doctor and say you want to try something else. The idea of an AD is not to make you lose interest in life.

[durango_d]

Thanks for your reply, i appreciate the information. Yesterday i was a zombie and so i went to bed (after sleeping all day) about 9pm, intending to sleep all night but i woke up at 11pm and by midnight i had to get up. Been up ever since, i do feel better than yesterday, still tired but i am going to try to stay up today and go to bed at a normal time and try to get my clock set back on track.

One thing that happend yesterday is that my bed is pushed against the wall on one side. I was dreaming and in my dream i was kicking a football, i woke up from the dream just in time for my leg to rear back and kick the heck out of the wall full force. It happend so fast i could not stop it. I was in pain for about 5 min or so, i really thought i broke my toe or my foot, but i am ok. I learned from that to be facing the other way when i sleep so if i kick (which is brand new to me) i will kick air and not the wall.

I am starting to think i may have restless leg syndrome as well.

Edited by durango_d, 09 August 2012 - 10:19 AM.

[durango_d]

Well saw the doc today and after telling her about my wall kicking and the other stuff im dealing with she took me off zoloft. She put me on Venlafaxine (Effexor) and i will take my first pill in a few hours, i am going to start taking it in the mornings so i skipped my dosage of zoloft i was gonna take last night and will start the new one today. I guess i had a residual affect from the zoloft cause i woke up this morning again just in time to feel me kicking the wall again, i had a dream i was kicking a robber of my neighbors house and sure enough i kicked the wall next to my bed with the ball of my foot. Really strange stuff.

Quit honestly sometimes i think that this whole medication deal is nothing more than "chasing the ghost in the machine". I have read numerious posts about people that have been on numerious drugs and i dont look forward to that if that happens to me as well. Also i dont have psychotic tendencies so im not a danger and so sometimes i feel that the drug companies as well as the docs are pretty much playing a guessing game as to what will work and what wont. I feel its gonna be a long road to feeling good again. But its not like i have another option, its either i try or i just waist away.

[Girly]

Hi durango_d

It can be a bumpy ride to find the right med but in my experience when you find one that works well for you it makes such a difference.

If you haven't already you may wish to have a look at the Effexor room to see people's experiences. Remember the that everyone will have different effects to different treatments.

Please keep us posted with how you are doing.

Girly

[durango_d]

Hi i like the effexor much better, i feel better. Been just over a month now and only two small side affects (much less than zoloft) sometimes it feels like there is something crawling on me and it freaks me out and once in a while, maybe every couple of weeks i have a day where im totally sad, like major sad to the point of almost being overwhelming but not quite. But then the next day its gone, so i think i can handle that.

[Girly]

Hi durango_d I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. I think as a general rule even people who aren't depressed have days where they are not as happy as others. If you can cope with feeling this way every couple of weeks it is a huge improvement.

Best wishes,

Girly