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ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS: Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, Remeron, Serzone, Symbyax, Wellbutrin, Zoloft

Zoloft

Studies have shown that children and teenagers who take antidepressants ('mood elevators') such as Zoloft (sertraline) are more likely to think about harming or killing themselves or to plan or try to do so than children who do not take antidepressants. If your child’s doctor has prescribed sertraline for your child, you should watch his or her behavior very carefully, especially at the beginning of treatment and any time his or her dose is increased or decreased. Your child may develop serious symptoms very suddenly, so it is important to pay attention to his or her behavior every day.

What is Zoloft?

Is there any Side  Effects to Zoloft?

Most disturbing is that many of these types of patients had no prior history of illegal activity or agitation prior to taking Zoloft. The FDA has received many letters from Zoloft patients concerning agitation and other severe adverse effects from taking Zoloft. While the FDA did research the patients' complaints in 1991, no correlation between agitated illegal behavior and Zoloft were found by the FDA.

However, further research and better doctor monitoring of patients taking antidepressant was recommended. Ten years later, the problem still persists, and the FDA has not released any further reports. Many Zoloft patients remain adamant that Zoloft does cause this type of behavior.

What is Zoloft used for?

Zoloft is used for the treatment of depression, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Zoloft is also used to treat OCD in children (ages 6-12)and adolescents (ages 12-17).

How does Zoloft work?

Zoloft is a SSRI antidepressant which works by inhibiting the re-uptake of serotonin between neural connections. This action leaves more serotonin available to transfer neural electrical messages more smoothly and efficiently.

What is the usual dose of Zoloft?

Initial dose is 50mg/day. Normal dose range is 50-200mg/day. Daily dose is taken once daily with food usually in the evening, but it can be taken in the morning as well.

How long does it take before the medication starts working?

Most people begin to feel some relief of symptoms within 2 to 4 weeks. However, in some people, it may take as long as 6 to 8 weeks.

Are there any medications that are dangerous to take with Zoloft?

Yes, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or MAOIs, should not be taken with Zoloft. If you have been taking an MAOI, you must stop the MAO I at least 14 days before you start taking Zoloft. In addition, you must wait at least 14 days after stopping Zoloft before you can safely start taking an MAOI medicine. A very serious reaction or even death could occur if Zoloft is taken at the same time as an MAOI medicine.

Also, if combined with migraine medicines or other serotonin containing medications, the risk of suffering the potentially deadly effect, serotonin syndrome, becomes much greater.

Be sure to share with your doctor a list of any medications that you are taking. Also, make sure to give him a complete medical history.

Symptoms to look out for in children taking Zoloft.

• New or worsening depression
• Thinking about harming or killing him- or herself or planning or trying to do so
• Extreme worry
• Agitation
• Panic attacks
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Irritability
• Aggressive behavior
• Acting without thinking
• Severe restlessness
• Frenzied, abnormal excitement
• Any sudden or unusual changes in behavior
  

What are the most common side effects of Zoloft?

• Headache, nervousness, drowsiness, anxiety, tremor, dizziness, insomnia, vision changes, fatigue, and agitation
• Nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, decreased appetite
• Sexual dysfunction (delayed ejaculation/orgasm)
• Sweating

What other less common adverse reactions have patients experienced?

• Zoloft has been associated with cases of clinically significant hyponatremia (low sodium blood level) in elderly patients.
• Zoloft is associated with a mean decrease in serum uric acid of approximately 7%.The clinical significance of this weak uricosuric effect is unknown.
• During clinical testing in depressed patients, hypomania or mania occurred in approximately 0.6% of Zoloft-treated patients.
• Increased agitation leading to violent behavior

Zoloft Lawsuits

An Australian man, John Hawkins, strangled his wife after taking 250 mg of Zoloft (5 times his prescribed amount). Zoloft is the most commonly prescribed antidepressant in Australia, and it is prescribed 3 times more frequently than Prozac.

1998- Brynn Hartman shot and killed her husband, comedian Phil Hartman while her two children were asleep in their rooms. She took her own life four hours later as she lied on the bed by her dead husband. Toxicology reports did show that at the time of her death she had alcohol and cocaine in her system. However, Mrs Hartman had also been taking Zoloft, which had been prescribed to her by her son's physician without an exam or diagnosis.

1997- Thirteen-year-old Matthew Miller of Overland Park, Kan., killed himself in his closet one week after he began taking Zoloft. Doctors had no diagnosis for Matthew, who had seemed withdrawn for nine months after moving to a new neighborhood. However, he was given a three week supply of Zoloft. Matthew had told doctors that he had never considered suicide, but seven days after starting Zoloft, his family noticed that he seemed agitated. That very night, he took his life.

1996- Daryl Dempsay, 35, stabbed his wife and two children at their home in Burlington, Kan., then shot and kills himself with a .22-caliber rifle. His wife and children survived and filed a suit against the manufacturer of Zoloft claiming that Daryl became violent because of an adverse reaction to the Zoloft.

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