Zoloft for an ADHDer/suspected Aspie...yay/nay?

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Zoloft is the only SSRI I haven't tried. I've had bad experiences with Paxil and Effexor, and Prozac seemed to do nothing for me. My main issues are social anxiety, general anxiety(but it's more like me being anxious about stepping outside oy myself or my "bubble") some depression but not severe, and attention regular problems that could be a result of the aforementioned symptoms. I have ADHD but IMO it isn't like most cases and most psychiatrists that I've seen in recent years have had the same opinion.

So do many Aspies/ADHDers do well with this drug? It's taken me a while to decide to go back on medication, this is all I'm willing to try for now, no more stimulants fr the forseeable future.

Hehe.

I thought zoloft was just another depression med. i do not take medication, last time i was medicated was when i was 13 and on zyprexa: an anti-psychotic. It made me gain 30 pounds and made me sleep all day. when people ask me how i get by w/o meds i just tell them that i "wing it".

I don't know about your particular case, but there are a ton of aspies that have been misdiagnosed with social anxiety disorder. Aspies don't feel comfortable in social situations, but they don't freak out either. For example, if a bunch of NT friends dragged an aspie to a wild party with no way to leave until its over, the aspie would find a spot somewhere and just sit until he can go. Do that with someone who has SAD and they will freak out something fierce.

So basically, aspies have a social aversion, but not social anxiety.

And because of that misdiagnosis, doctors frequently prescribe addictive benzos (Valium, ativan, etc) which in turn cause social anxiety as a symptom of the addiction.

But as far as the main question, for ADHD you need stimulants to counteract that - not SSRI's. Even something like strong black coffee will help a lot of people with ADHD.

NO!
its just as bad as those other poisons, I have been on all 4 with the same results, a few months of for skull crushing headaches and night terrors, then back into a deep depression, which included cutting myself up or suicide attempts, I have been relying on my cognitive therapy
group and so far have been doing way better then I have been on ssri's, I also suffer from SAD and hae been taking 2000icu's of vitamin D in the summer months ad uping it too 3000icu's during the winter.

No good can ever come of long-term altering of your brain chemistry with pharmaceutical concoctions that do not exist anywhere in nature.

Even if they seem to relieve some problems in the short term, the risk of dependency is too great - if they bring you up, you only have further to crash when you come off them. The laundry list of side effects on all that stuff ought to be enough to let any rational person know they're bad news.


You know those OTC drugs, like Prilosec and Prevacid that are supposed to cure acid reflux? They work like a charm, shutting off many of the body's production sources for stomach acids. In response, the remaining sources begin producing more acids to make up for the deficit - once you've been taking the stuff for a few months, guess what happens when you stop? Yup - now your body is producing twice as much acid as before, so the only solution - keep taking the meds for the rest of your life. Drug company cash flow problem solved. Thanks for the 'cure', Big Pharma. Gee, I wonder if taking this stuff for years increases the risk for cancer? Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

Better living through chemistry!

I have been on Zoloft for some time for depression but I don´t remember too much about that time. I remember that I did exercises at that time and they helped me with the anxiety. When the depression worsened I from Zoloft to Pristic, which is a good anti-depressant. I was healed successfully from the depression with Pristic and group therapy. But now I´m depressed again for other reasons! .

These drugs work differently from person to person. So if someone was fine taking them it does not mean that a different person will be fine taking them. Have you considered visiting a psychologist besides the medical treatment?

Did a quick search on Medline; there doesn't seem to be any firm consensus. There are of course about a million different papers (only exaggerating slightly here) about treating the symptoms of autism with sertraline (Zoloft); but naturally they come to lots of different conclusions.

I couldn't find much for using SSRIs to treat depression among autistic people. Keywords "SSRI depression autism" brought up three articles, one of which was in French and the other two of which were irrelevant. Maybe I just suck at searching or something; I hope so.

Some studies found that there was an effect on repetitive behavior or anxiety; others found no effect. Some found that autistics had more severe side effects; others said there was no difference. All I can say about this one is "needs further study". (And why treat for stimming unless it's harmful?)

Your response to Zoloft can't be predicted just based on the fact that you're autistic. I've heard a lot about increased sensitivity to medication among Spectrum folks; that pops up a lot in the journals but it's not been categorically proven for Zoloft. In any case, it won't hurt you to play it safe and avoid potential unpleasantness by starting at a very low dose rather than the usual adult dose; talk to your doctor about trying it that way in case there is sensitivity.

I am on Zoloft for migraine headaches, recently increased dose for depression. I never found that it did anything for social anxiety because I don't really think it's the same kind of "social anxiety" NTs have. I haven't had any adverse effects, either.

~Kate