Pondering Zoloft

"I killed my wife - the zoloft tablets were too strong", says one seventy-six year old man accused of brutally murdering his wife of fifty years.

He's not the only one resorting to extreme violence while taking zoloft.

A similar story surfaced several years earlier, as comedian Phil Hartmann was gunned down by his wife, who shortly thereafter took her own life. She too was taking zoloft.

These two tragedies illustrate the darker side of this very popular antidepressant, approved not only for depression, but also for panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Zoloft has been praised by many who take it, yet the pattern of shocking violence continues. This horrifying side effect of zoloft (and all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRI's) appears to turn otherwise ordinary citizens into homicidal maniacs.

Lest you think only crazy people are simply acting out their own hidden urges, consider the evidence collected from the noted and highly respected psychiatrist and researcher, David Healy.

Healy designed a 'healthy volunteer study' where twenty volunteers with no history of psychiatric problems were given either zoloft or another antidepressant that does not target serotonin levels in the brain.

Almost immediately, two of the ten subjects receiving the zoloft became dangerously agitated and suicidal. Remember, these were healthy volunteers.

One perfectly normal woman became obsessed with the idea of throwing herself in front of a speeding car - and could think of nothing else.

While later reviewing confidential information from zoloft manufacturer Pfizer, Healy discovered another study performed by Pfizer in the 1980's.

This study also involved healthy volunteers - comparing the effects of zoloft with a placebo.

It had to be cancelled after four days, because all the previously-healthy people became extremely agitated.

Zoloft is the brand name of the generic drug called sertraline. Released in December of 1991, it was the first successful clone of prozac.

Along with paxil, celexa, and luvox, zoloft is considered a 'me-to' antidepressant, which basically means it mimics the action of prozac by artificially manipulating serotonin levels in the brain.

Now admittedly, most people have a positive experience with zoloft. The odds are, you're not going to go crazy.

However, one unbiased study comparing zoloft with wellbutrin found a very high rate of side effects for zoloft, much higher than is officially acknowledged.

For example, by the end of the research study,

41% of the patients taking zoloft experienced orgasmic dysfunction,

40% experienced headaches,

31% experienced nausea,

26% had diarrhea,

19% had a dry mouth, and

17% experienced somnolence (sleepiness or drowsiness).

These were not all the side effects - just the major ones.

Zoloft Withdrawal

Zoloft has a half-life of about one day. This means half of the drug would be metabolized in one day. The next day, half of the remaining drug would be gone. Therefore, in two days one-fourth of the original drug amount would still remain in your system.

This is considered a short half-life, and can create severe withdrawal problems.

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In addition to reading about zoloft, it's also important to understand the underlying causes that would lead someone to such a painful place.

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