Zoloft for Hot Flashes?

TifJ

Hello ladies! I saw my gyno yesterday and he suggested Zoloft for my awful hot flashes and night sweats. He did say it generally only works for 1 in 3 women. Has anyone had any experience with Zoloft. Does it work? Is it worth any side effects? Thanks for your input!

TonLee

My thyroid stopped working while I lived in Alaska.  My Dr didn't do any tests when I went in with my list of symptoms, just gave me Zoloft (said I was probably just depressed from the dark).

Personally, I didn't like it.  I took it for about 2 months and then flushed it down the toilet.  (No one told me not to stop it suddenly...and WHOA!  The withdrawal just about did me in...I was so sick, nausea, all my internal organs hurt, my brain had "zingers", and my eyes didn't work right for a couple weeks..for about a month I was just "not right.")  So if you do take it....and want to stop...WEAN WEAN WEAN!  lol

I would say it caused me to gain weight, but my thyroid wasn't working so I'm not sure.  All I know is, I gained about 8 pounds in 2 months...and that was the hardest 8 pounds I ever had to lose!  (After thyroid treatment began.)

The effects I can attribute to it (for me) was:  I didn't really care about anything...beyond mellow, I couldn't remember things (just like chemo brain).  And it made me stupid.  Seriously, I couldn't seem to focus or think more than 2-3 moves ahead in games....

I didn't think it was worth the side effects.  I am high energy, and need my wits about me at all times...lol. 

TifJ

TonLee- Thank you for your response! I have decided not to take it. I am tired of side effects! My Dr. did mention that if I went off it to wean myself. I really don't want to gain weight-could lose about 15 pounds as it is! Also, I have 2 kids, 9 and 5, and need my wits about me too! Again, thank you! Hope you are doing well!

AnneW

I found Effexor to work better for my hot flashes. But Zoloft has been great for my mild anxiety and occasional moodiness (which is directly a result of the lack of sleep due to some recent hot flashes!) I'm able to keep my wits about me better with the Zoloft, though!

My experience won't necessarily be yours.

edot

I've been on zoloft for several years for generalized anxiety. Initially, I had to increase my dose very slowly, but eventually I found the right dose. The problem is that there can be side effects such as a strange tiredness and some stomach upset, but those are manageable if you increase your dose slowly - I increased mine in increments of 12.5 mg (broke a 25 mg tab in half). 

I was on zoloft before I was menopausal, and now I am post menopausal. I'm still in the middle of chemo and I understand I'll probably take armidex after rads. But I have to say that so far, if I've ever had a hot flash, it's been imperceptible. Now it might be that despite being post menopausal, there could be enough estrogen. Or maybe the zoloft helped.  Still everyone's experience is different. Good luck!