12.5 mg Zoloft and psychedelics.

[sean107]

Hey I'm currently prescribed 12.5 mg zoloft daily and I was curious as to whether or not that small of a dose would effect my trip?

 

[Solipsis]

Be prepared to get varied responses, SSRIs are notorious for being unpredictable when combined with psychedelics. Often they reduce the trip and/or affect the quality of the experience, many other times they have little or no interaction, and there are also a significant number of people reporting feeling unpleasant when tripping and it might even make the trip a little stronger.
The chances of these outcomes are most probably not equal, and there is little way of telling because it depends on the type of SSRI, AND the person AND what psychedelic, let alone set & setting.

Lastly, the reason you are taking Zoloft is also a reason why you should not be taking psychedelics. Think about it.

 

[velmwend]

Erowid reports no detriment to LSD with doses of zoloft at 50mg and below, but mirroring what solipsis said: they're so unpredictable. I've read many accounts of people taking 20mg prozac and not tripping at all, while other people have reported no problems...

 

[SixStrongLines]

Lastly, the reason you are taking Zoloft is also a reason why you should not be taking psychedelics. Think about it.

100%

sort your shit out, come of the Zoloft, then have a trip man, personally, i wouldnt touch psychedelics while on SSRI meds

 

[Transform]

Please don't suggest that someone discontinue prescribed medication without consulting their doctor.

Sean107: I presume you are prescribed zoloft for a reason, most likely depression or anxiety. Psychedlic drugs are incredibly powerful and although they can occasionally help such issues they can also make them much worse. Additionally, SSRIs produce severe depressive withdrawals which can really send things south. If you do not truly believe you need the antidepressants then you should discuss this with your doctor ASAP, but until then you should really steer clear of recreational drug use.

 

[Survived Abortion]

Lastly, the reason you are taking Zoloft is also a reason why you should not be taking psychedelics. Think about it.

Sean107: I presume you are prescribed zoloft for a reason, most likely depression or anxiety. Psychedlic drugs are incredibly powerful and although they can occasionally help such issues they can also make them much worse. Additionally, SSRIs produce severe depressive withdrawals which can really send things south. If you do not truly believe you need the antidepressants then you should discuss this with your doctor ASAP, but until then you should really steer clear of recreational drug use.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, times a million. Both of you. (And everyone else who keeps repeating this shite).

Psychedelics helped me get out of a depressive state which lasted ~8 years or more. I spent all of that time on garbage pharmaceuticals prescribed by doctors which did nothing but numb my mind and make me an emotional zombie. Furthermore, those medications, taken daily for many years, wreak havok on your mind and emotions, and I now have very good reason to believe they cause lasting brain damage.

So, don't you go around suggesting that people remain slaves to this trash. I have to shoot this perception down continually in these kinds of threads, because you are all so fucking pre-programmed like zombies with the absurd notion that a drug must be safe if the quack prescribed it, even if you are taking it every day.

The answer to depression and anxiety IS NOT to go to the doctors and get a prescription for whatever drug they are pushing for the pharmaceutical reps which gave them free pens and clocks last month, but IS to discover the emotional roots of those problems so the energy blockages causing these ailments can be removed via awareness. And one very legitimate way of doing this is through the use of psychedelic drugs.

Depression and anxiety (as well as everything else such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, tourettes etc.) are not "mental illnesses", and people who suffer the emotional turmoil which draws the categorization of such are not any different from you or I and do not deserve to be treated like outcasts as if they shouldn't engage in the same activities as us. These so called "mental illnesses" are merely energy blockages resulting from years of emotional repression, with roots in particular incidences in the formative years of early childhood. Everybody alive on the planet has energy blockages, we all have emotions, so if you are going to categorize these people as "ill", you should categorize yourselves as "ill" too.

It's incredibly arrogant to sit there - with your own emotional issues - and tell those who have unfortunately succumbed to the corporate clinical diagnostic process that they are ill and should avoid the so-called "drugs" that you regularly indulge in. It's attitudes from people like you which keeps Big Pharma's (and the medical-industrial complex's) wheels of misery turning. If only I had known this all those moons ago when I foolishly listened to parrots like you telling me to go the doctors (and thus ending up on the pharmacological merry-go-round, or should I say misery-go-round, for years).

If the OP wants to take psychedelics, then let him do so in peace without rattling in his ear about mental instability and other such absurdities.

 

[Lab-Test Monkey]

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, times a million. Both of you. (And everyone else who keeps repeating this shite).

Psychedelics helped me get out of a depressive state which lasted ~8 years or more. I spent all of that time on garbage pharmaceuticals prescribed by doctors which did nothing but numb my mind and make me an emotional zombie. Furthermore, those medications, taken daily for many years, wreak havok on your mind and emotions, and I now have very good reason to believe they cause lasting brain damage.

So, don't you go around suggesting that people remain slaves to this trash. I have to shoot this perception down continually in these kinds of threads, because you are all so fucking pre-programmed like zombies with the absurd notion that a drug must be safe if the quack prescribed it, even if you are taking it every day.

The answer to depression and anxiety IS NOT to go to the doctors and get a prescription for whatever drug they are pushing for the pharmaceutical reps which gave them free pens and clocks last month, but IS to discover the emotional roots of those problems so the energy blockages causing these ailments can be removed via awareness. And one very legitimate way of doing this is through the use of psychedelic drugs.

Depression and anxiety (as well as everything else such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, tourettes etc.) are not "mental illnesses", and people who suffer the emotional turmoil which draws the categorization of such are not any different from you or I and do not deserve to be treated like outcasts as if they shouldn't engage in the same activities as us. These so called "mental illnesses" are merely energy blockages resulting from years of emotional repression, with roots in particular incidences in the formative years of early childhood. Everybody alive on the planet has energy blockages, we all have emotions, so if you are going to categorize these people as "ill", you should categorize yourselves as "ill" too.

It's incredibly arrogant to sit there - with your own emotional issues - and tell those who have unfortunately succumbed to the corporate clinical diagnostic process that they are ill and should avoid the so-called "drugs" that you regularly indulge in. It's attitudes from people like you which keeps Big Pharma's (and the medical-industrial complex's) wheels of misery turning. If only I had known this all those moons ago when I foolishly listened to parrots like you telling me to go the doctors (and thus ending up on the pharmacological merry-go-round, or should I say misery-go-round, for years).

If the OP wants to take psychedelics, then let him do so in peace without rattling in his ear about mental instability and other such absurdities.

I don't think you should give blanket advice like yours when everyone's body/mind is different, you haven't even tried to ascertain a few more details about this individuals history/situation/response to medication. (** If you look at his previous posts he refers to having both ADHD and BIPOLAR and is a poly drug user who has been treated with stimulant abuse).

I understand in your and some other peoples situation (mine own coincidentally) that psychedelics helped lift depression without(or despite negative effects of) anti-depressant medication but the reason that OP was asking is they are concerned with their own safety.

Although effects of different psychedelics vary from user to user, is there some anecdotal evidence in trip reports that indicate that some substances are less reactive to SSRI's in the average person?

I suppose if OP does decide to go ahead a lower dose (of whatever substance) might be safer?

 

[Transform]

Everyone is different. I did say that psychedelics can make thing better but they can also make things worse and we can't predict which way it will go.

I understand your frustration and I think SSRIs are very overprescribed but I don't think we should be suggesting that people just ditch them or get their hopes up that psychedelics will cure them

 

[Jesusgreen]

Everyone is different. I did say that psychedelics can make thing better but they can also make things worse and we can't predict which way it will go.

I understand your frustration and I think SSRIs are very overprescribed but I don't think we should be suggesting that people just ditch them or get their hopes up that psychedelics will cure them

^ I'm in agreement.

I'm not a fan of SSRIs personally and I don't think they're the way to go. I've also personally witnessed them cause major problems in the lives of several people close to me, BUT.. if someone is undergoing SSRI treatment they should not just jump off just like that.

SSRIs do have their use, when combined with therapy and pro-active methods to treat the root cause of your problems they can be a great way of overcoming your shortcomings temporarily in order to make some progress - this can speed up your recovery from depression/anxiety. 12.5mg of Zoloft (Sertraline) is not a particularly high dose so it's unlikely he's been on it all his life, and he could still use it beneficially to help his problems.

The real trick in my opinion is to use the boost that the SSRI gives to act as a kick starter and get things done, rather than letting things stagnate and simply relying on the drug to make you feel better.

While I wouldn't go ahead and advise someone to get on an SSRI in the first place since I think there are better treatments available (psychedelics being one of them) - we are not doctors and we should not be giving people advice about medication they've been prescribed by a medical professional, particularly without knowing why the patient is taking these drugs or how they've affected them.

Of course we can point out some of the long term problems and dangers associated with SSRIs and why staying on them might not be a good idea, but telling someone to get off the drugs, especially without knowing their situation and whether or not the drugs are helping is rather rash.

Back to the point, I'm in agreement with Solipsis, if you have an issue that is requiring the treatment of SSRIs that might be good reason to avoid tripping, as psychedelics can often bring out your innermost worries and fears. In a therapeutic setting with someone experienced who can guide you through these emotions and help deal with them, they can be helpful and healing (I successfully beat my social anxiety using this method) but when used incorrectly they can really traumatise you and make the problems worse (I also experienced this myself, prior to using them in a more productive way) - even if you assume you can use them wisely, you should ask yourself if this is a risk worth taking.

If you have plenty of experience with psychedelics already and have recently been prescribed SSRIs then I'd be more lax and say you're unlikely to be affected in a severely negative way if any problems that caused your need for SSRIs were there when you were tripping previously, and you managed okay.

If you decide to go ahead with the combination, most reports I've read of combining this particular SSRI with psychedelics have noticed no real loss in effects, though the drugs might feel a little different. Sometimes SSRIs can reduce the effects of a psychedelic though or even in some cases eliminate the trip, and these combinations definitely vary a lot in their results between individuals.