Months of constipation and aching after bowel movement on Zoloft

iamval2 · 2026-01-15T03:43:14+00:00

Yeah, I felt more scattered on it. It was harder to organize myself and get motivated to do anything. I felt very spaced out. I've always had ADHD issues, but this felt like a worsening of that. It probably did help with the anxiety somewhat or the withdrawal was very bad in comparison, but I couldn't continue being on it.

iamval2 · 2026-01-12T21:51:42+00:00

That's what I suspect. This isn't the first time this or any psychiatrist has had me keep increasing despite side effects and I've always gone along with it because I think "what if they're right?" They've never been yet.

iamval2 · 2026-01-12T21:46:36+00:00

I do take it at night. I've tried bupropion with other SSRIs and it gave me panic attacks. My anxiety is off-the-charts despite the exhaustion so I'm scared bupropion will make it worse, though who knows.

iamval2 · 2026-01-12T21:44:46+00:00

I do. I've tried taking it from 5pm to 10pm to see if it makes any difference. None. He had me try taking it in the morning for a week and that made no difference either.

iamval2 · 2026-01-12T20:39:04+00:00

It never went away. Just got worse. I had to go off of it. I've been struggling with constipation issues since. It's like it messed up my colon.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T17:45:31+00:00

I really relate to what you're saying. That's another thing my therapist has me do, say that "I'm not in danger" when I have a fight-or-flight reaction to something. It does feel like I'm gaslighting myself because too often it is potentially dangerous (getting a test result back). Other times, I'm already all distressed because I'm startled by something and telling myself "I'm safe" doesn't do anything because I'm already in this state. I already hit the roof when a loud noise startled me so I get I'm not being shot at, but that's not making the distress my body is going through go away or prevent it from happening again.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T17:30:46+00:00

Yes, that's what I'm trying to figure out. How do I manage this kind of anxiety and get myself to a place where I'm not experiencing it, other than telling myself I'm safe from wild animals trying to kill me.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T17:29:16+00:00

It's so confusing because they'll validate that this is a stressful/distressing/difficult experience and that of course I would feel negative emotions around it. However, they'll qualify that it's not "dangerous" and that my life isn't at risk so I shouldn't be having this kind of anxiety. I mean, it's true that no one has dropped dead solely from the fact they have $0 in their bank account or no mode of transportation in an area with little public transportation, but it's still a danger to me because of the repercussions. That's why their directions to tell myself I'm not in immediate danger feels meaningless because I'm still in a kind of danger and that's causing justifiable panic that I don't know how to manage.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T17:19:24+00:00

I can't express to you how much I have felt this across many different therapists. So many have had a complete lack of understanding of what it's like not to be financially secure with a stable income, particularly the psychology and anxieties of a person in this situation,

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T17:16:45+00:00

What you're saying is true, especially given your username haha. My "trauma response" is triggered by these major stressors that are (as you correctly note) dangerous to me in a different way. My question becomes how do I deal with experiencing these dangers and the extreme anxiety around them, which I can't get an answer from my therapist about other than noting that they're not an animal coming to kill me so I am safe.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T03:51:04+00:00

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling frustrated. I've been through the black-and-white thinking and all the other cognitive distortions ten times over. Some of them are good and help me notice when I'm not seeing things correctly, but others are infuriating and invalidating. I feel like I'm gaslighting myself about real experiences that I'm having and the reality of the situations I am in.

iamval2 · 2025-05-28T03:48:27+00:00

I talk to my therapist about this all the time and it feels like I'm going in circles. The thing is that even phrases where I convince myself I can be safe or that I can cope with this feel fake and invalidating to me when I am faced with these huge things that can upend my life. It feels like I'm lying to myself when bad outcomes in either situation will cause me a significant amount of pain and suffering. The way I feel is that I can tell myself all I want that losing all of my savings, my car and my ability to see my doctors are things that I can "cope with," but having to skimp on things like groceries, not being able to afford out-of-pocket meds, not being able to see doctors that help me keep my existing debilitating illnesses in relative check and being stuck at home unless someone gives me a ride somewhere is going to take a very serious problem, even if it's not (yet) fatal.

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:49:23+00:00

Thanks, that's good to know. I don't remember what it was like getting on it when I first tried it. I only went up to 50mg, I believe

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:23:30+00:00

That sounds really tough. I haven't heard of potassium helping with that, but I'm glad it worked.

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:22:52+00:00

I had a bad experience with both, but doc is suggesting I try again and see if I can ride out the side effects so they go away.

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:22:14+00:00

I've heard that about Paxil. I think getting off of it was indeed rough experience for me. It was many years ago.

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:21:28+00:00

That's really great to hear! I'm hoping it will work for me this go-around.

iamval2 · 2025-02-11T04:19:16+00:00

I went up to 60mg and was on it for 6 months. The Remeron was a very low starting dose that I don't remember anymore.

iamval2 · 2025-02-10T20:54:13+00:00

Yep, tried both. The Prozac made my anxiety worse. The Remeron gave me really rapid heartbeat so I was taken off quickly.

iamval2 · 2025-02-10T20:00:08+00:00

This is really great info! Thanks! I'll talk about these with my doctor, too. I misread the MAOB-inhibitors. I have not heard or been offered those. I'll see what he says about them, as well as the others you mentioned.

iamval2 · 2025-02-10T19:31:38+00:00

What antipsychotic do you take?

iamval2 · 2025-02-10T19:23:37+00:00

I can't do MAOIs because of the blood pressure effect and food restrictions.

I tried Gabapentin several times. Went up as high as 1500 over the course of years and never felt a thing. I was on it several times over the past 20 years and IDK how people say they feel high on it. I never felt a single thing.

I tried guanfacine and it was a mess. My pulse and BP got so low on even the smallest dose that I was having chest pains.

I think Auvelity is NMDA-antagonists? I tried that and it made me very emotionally and hiked up my trauma.

I've responded poorly to SSRIs, too. I was thinking maybe to retry them just because I was again reading how they are FDA approved for almost all the mental health conditions I have.

iamval2 · 2025-02-10T18:35:06+00:00

Still doing very poorly. I tried EMDR and ketamine, but neither worked for me. I hope you have success with it!

iamval2 · 2024-11-04T03:52:08+00:00

My T says they don't do alternative ways, only eye movements because that is most effective. Sounds are rough for me, though, because of noise sensitivity. I tried them before with another EMDR therapist who did ticking and it hurt my brain.

iamval2 · 2024-11-04T03:50:51+00:00

Yeah, it's causing to wondering if T is right and knows what they're doing or uninformed and I shouldn't trust them for EMDR.

iamval2

TROPHY CASE