Running on Zoloft. (Read 2095 times)

I was on celexa (mostly replaced by lexapro nowadays) which is an SSRI kind of like zoloft. Alas, at the time, I was also on a bunch of other meds so it would be hard for me to specify exactly what the celexa did/didn't do. My dreams got a lot more vivid and my, er, sex life changed. Specific to running, it didn't really make me more tired... hard to say, though... I do know that about six weeks into it, things kind of hit a steady state. But I posted mostly to say the next thing... About two months after starting celexa, my doctor decided that I needed a "brightener" to help with my permanent case of the mondays. So I got placed on Wellbutrin. This did impact my running, because I started hallucinating stuff. Not TV-show level hallucinations. Peripheral vision stuff. Maybe I'd see a rock out of the corner of my eye. My brain would reprocess that as "a snake" or after awhile "a person". Maybe I'd see a leaf blowing on the ground. My brain would turn that into "spider!" Sounds funny, right? Not when you are running on trails. I wound up scaring the begeebuz out of myself and dodging a whole lot of nothing. Also, not when I was driving. I made a whole lot of inadvertent "oh shit" lane changes to dodge the guy I thought was sitting in the lane next to me. This lasted about 3 months (because the doctor wanted to give it some time to see if I'd hit steady state), and then she cut my dosage in half. Problem solved. But man oh man, I will always remember the detail and complexity of my celexa/wellbutrin fueled dreams.

Minderbender is a better resource in this area than I am. And he said as I would have. The key is that all SSRIs (and all meds in general) have side effects. Among SSRIs and among people who take them, the side effects differ. It is a matter of finding the right medication for you, and this can take trial and error. Much luck and make NO changes without consulting with your doc.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

A few years ago after I was having a severe problem with unsuccessful pregnancies, my doc made me try all of them. They all sucked. The worst was Celexa. But Effexer was no picnic either. The only thing I've ever found to work is Trazodone ( desyrel) Does not mess with running at all. It's old school, though. I guess what works for one, may not work for another. Good luck !!!

Greetings all. My first post here. I was searching google for Running on Zoloft and...well...here I am. I realize that this is a little old, but I surely hope that the Zoloft worked out for you and that things are looking brighter. I have been on SSRIs for 10 years...run through most of those years. 6 weeks ago I switched to Zoloft from Celexa. I almost immediately lost 25 pounds and have been have unbelievable runs. Last week was my first 35 mile week in perhaps 15 years. As far as running goes...this stuff may or may not have an affect, but I cannot discount the rapid turn around. Odd thing is I am on the fence as to whether the Zoloft actually does the real job...but we shall see. As to the depression...stick with anything they give you for at least a couple of months to let the stuff actually kick in and have the side effects subside.

If you're on thyroid medication, let your prescriber know about starting the Zoloft. Zoloft can affect the TSH levels.

Oh my gosh, I just tried paxil, and was sooooooo exhausted for the past few weeks. Non-stop yawning. I have PTSD and BPD issues. Fun. I was on Zoloft for several months before that, and although it gave me a more zombie-too-even feeling, I think I'm going to switch back to it, it didn't suck away my energy like Paxil. Anyway, so my opinion is that Zoloft worked fine for me and didn't affect my running at all. Withdrawals are AWFUL though. Seriously awful.