I was dx with ADD/inattentive back in november....after knowing and being told by others that I have had it for years. My Pdoc put me on ritalin (generic) low doses for a while. I didn't really notice a difference. She kept upping it and let me experiment a bit.

But then she suddenly decided that my dysthemia (sp?) or mild depression was what was causing my inattention, laziness, lack of motivation, inability to finish tasks, finish classes, write papers on time, pay bills, yadda yadda yadda. So she started me on zoloft.

I didn't notice a difference other than I wasn't depressed....but I think that had a lot to do with timing (new semester, new degree program etc) I am always "happier" at the beginning of something new. Anyway...so she stopped the ritalin which I was only on 15 mg/day and continued with a higher dose of the Z.

Well, I felt like I was a zombie for the last month and a half. I had piles worse than ever before, I didn't pay my bills at all for two months (they are usually late but I always pay them), my room was a mess, I wasn't studying, I was going out too much and I didn't care. I did not care at all. I wanted to care but I didn't. She doesn't believe it was the antidepressant doing this to me. I stopped taking it without consulting her and lo and behold I cleaned up my room, paid my bills (late...but paid). I feel like the Z made me me but 10x worse and I couldn't get sad or upset about it...I just didn't care. I am a very laid back/low stress person without meds and I think the only thing that forces me to do things is the adrenaline that you get when you have to get something done. I think the zoloft took that all away....but she keeps saying no. Am I wrong? She just wants to keep treating the depression when what I really want is help for the ADD which I think causes the depression. arrrrrgh. I was in a counseling program for a while (grad program) so I know a little bit about this stuff but I am obviously not degreed in it but I do live it each day.

I am not going to see her again for a while. I am going to stick with my psychologist and be med free for a little bit. I don't think the Pdoc understands what I am telling her or doesn't want to.....anyone else with this experience?

Whoa....long post. I never can read them when they are this long. So sorry. Skim through....

hi debba.

Well, I felt like I was a zombie for the last month and a half. I had piles worse than ever before, I didn't pay my bills at all for two months (they are usually late but I always pay them), my room was a mess, I wasn't studying, I was going out too much and I didn't care. I did not care at all. I wanted to care but I didn't. She doesn't believe it was the antidepressant doing this to me. I stopped taking it without consulting her and lo and behold I cleaned up my room, paid my bills (late...but paid). I feel like the Z made me me but 10x worse and I couldn't get sad or upset about it...I just didn't care.
your experience on zoloft is quite similar to mine. i was on a low dose of zoloft from november until february. although zoloft seemed to help me a bit with my scattered thinking.. i completely lost my motivation to attempt to stay organized.. and i ended up not studying, my room and car became organizational disasters.. and i had trouble realizing that i was slowly failing out of school. a few days before i met up with my psychiatrist, i told my therapist that i was going to quit the zoloft b/c i was afraid things were falling apart around me, and i wasn't able to muster up the drive to do anything about it. my therapist was a little hesistant about this, but my psychiatrist didn't seem to mind. and i guess after talking to both of them for awhile, they concluded that i'm adhd with anxiety (or possibly ocd) as a result of the adhd.

i've only been on adhd med for about a week.. but i have to say that concerta has helped me a bit in terms of getting things done, keeping perspective (unlike the zoloft), and not being bothered by external stimuli. i'm not sure if it will help me with my procrastination problems.. but i did notice that i can more easily do things without feeling the accompanying anxiety.. it's just a matter of me realizing i need to do it. i guess i'm still working on things. things are looking up though. : )