Zoloft for ADD????????????? | ADHD Information

Quick question here:

On page 8 of this forum there is a post about someone who doubted the diagnosis of ADD since stims only made the person happy. Someone posted back that Zoloft is the SSRI of choice for ADD. Is this true? I am already taking Zoloft for OCD. I just upped my dose from 75 mg to 100 mg over the weekend. Within a couple of days I was feeling a little more focused, my mind seems a little slower and I feel more energetic but am still sleeping normally. Of course I may be feeling more focused because I am tired of a messy house, car, job, life, etc. I get all worked up that I'm going to change my ways, yada, yada. Of course it doesn't last long. Anyway, I digress. Has anyone else ever heard of Zoloft for ADD? At what dose? Thanks- Hobocat I don't have an answer for you, but I noticed that your post made it to the bottom of the page without a reply. Just bumping it up so that maybe soemone with an answer will catch it!

I'm currently taking Zoloft and Adderall for AD/HD. For some Zoloft is all that is needed, but for others a stimulant is also needed.  In my case, Zoloft relaxes me, reduces anxiety and keeps me from thinking about 20 million things at once.  However, Zoloft by itself did nothing for my motivation, "peppiness" or focus......... thus, Adderall.   As far as Adderall goes, it definately improves my focus, but I have to take a fairly high dose each day for it to work.  At the moment I'm working on the dosages that I take of each (Zoloft - 150mg per day).  I see the Dr. in two weeks and there is a possibility that he'll also put me on Wellbutrin in order to increase the longevity of the Adderall. 

Finding the right med or combo of meds at doses suitable for you can be frustrating.  Just know that for some it can take months before you feel right.

Good luck.

 

Hi  -  I was on Zoloft last year, but not for ADD - for depression/anxiety.  I stopped so that I could try ADD medication by itself.  Zoloft did stop my embarrassing impulsiveness, and my irritability.  And I could deal with anger better (because there was less of it).  But it didn't help me concentrate or organise, and in fact I think it made me slower.... and I forgot to say that it was 100mg dose Zoloft that I think made me slower.  I was on 50mg before that for a while and it didn't seem to make me slower, but it did stop my mad impulsiveness, so I suppose it did deal with some symptoms of ADD.  (I went up to 100mg because 50mg wasn't enough to deal with my increasingly unpleasant anxiety attacks).Thanks for your post x2b. I guess this would help to explain why I'm feeling a little better on the higher dose of Zoloft. Boy this ADD is very frustrating. I think it's more frustrating now that I have a name for what is wrong with me. I keep obsessing about it. Talk about a real depressing way to look at things!

i think i was the one who posted that, was it about the celexa for add?

if so the person who said that i was not ADD if i was feeling happy on it was WRONG!!!

i know i am add and for someone to come along and say that you are not because you feel happy on your meds is not well informed at all.

both my daughters are horribly add and they take their meds and they feel so much better siimply because their life is more clear to them, what they want, where they are going, etc...

i am more happy on my meds, ,they put me in a good mood and not that i am in a bad mood off of them unless i go through some withdrawls when i want some sleep cause they cause me major insomnia and now i am starting some benadryl for that to see if that helps and if it does not help then i may need another alternative yet.

so just be careful what you read and what others tell you or try to tell you and listen to yourself instead of others first.  good luck!

In several clinical studies Zoloft increased cognitive functions, while the other SSRI's like prozac, lexapro, etc.. decreased cognitive functions.  Zoloft is the only SSRI that increases Dopamine, which is thought to be the reason it increases attention and vigilance.  Zoloft is the only SSRI that increases vigilance, which the lack of is a core ADD symptom.  Vigilance is the sustained ability to concentrate over long periods of time without stress.

The problem with SSRI's taken by themselves is that they flatten out the emotions, and reduce drive and passion, all of which are counter-productive for ADD.  People with ADD use their passion for a subject in order to focus.  Also, decreased emotional awareness is a symptom of ADD, and all the SSRI's make this worse.

Taking Zoloft with a stimulant or Wellbutrin might be a good combination.  Stimulants and Wellbutrin increase Norepinephrine and Dopamine, both of which increase attention, drive, passion and emotional awareness.

I took Zoloft several years ago for depression.  I don't know about it being prescribed for ADD symptoms.  One thing I do know is that it caused a weight gain increase of 20 pounds, which I didn't like at all.