Zoloft before Surgery??????

Just wondering if anyone else has been prescribed Zoloft for anxiety before surgery? I ask my dr. for something for my nerves and this is what he suggested. Said it would be a good idea to continue taking it after surgery, also. Said some women get a little depressed because of the inactivity. Help!! Anyone else experience this?? I've never taken anything like this before. I'm having TAH on March 11th...hoping to keep at least one ovary. I totally trust my dr...but I just don't know.

:confuse:

well i don't know about you but i wish my Dr had prescribed me some. i think it would help so much with the nerves and all the pre op things...think i will go call him now and see if i can't get something ...best of luck to you

Well, I kinda thought he would prescribe Xanax...that's what I've heard other LIW talk about. I thought anti-depressents took longer to kick in.

I'm sure your dr will give you something if you just ask it. From what I've heard, most will.

Good luck!

Take the medicine!

Sorry, I just had to say that because I ended up giving myself severe anxiety attacks before and after my surgery because I was so keyed up for so long before my surgery. I had no idea what I was doing to myself! It was so bad that I actually started having heart palpatations and had to be sent home from the hospital with a holte monator for my heart. Of course, the monator showed that my palps were benign, stress related and totally harmless, but it was scary none the less. It became a vicious cycle with me..... I would have a heart palpatation and that would cause an anxiety attack and then I would worry about having another anxiety attack and cause myself to have more heart palpatations and so on..... Pretty stupid, hu? I ended up taking Xanax after my surgery for a couple of weeks until I was feeling better and my anxiety attacks lessened, but my heart palps continued for months and months until they finally stopped. The reason they don't give you Xanax for long periods of time is because it only works in the short term. Your body quickly builds up an immunity to its calming effects and it stops working. Zoloft does take a while to kick in, usually a month, but most people will feel immediate relief from their anxiety symptoms. It is also supposed to help with menopause symptoms. A lot of women experience some type of symptoms after this surgery whether they keep their ovaries or not. I know I did. I had terrible hot flashes and night sweats for a couple of months after my surgery. Good luck to you. I hope it all works out for you!

Val

I went to my internist for something for the anxiety and stress prior to my surgery. I got started on Lexapro and it made such a difference! We discussed many different drugs and settled on that one because it works for depression and anxiety, is less sedating than others and starts working more quickly than some. Maybe I had some placebo effect but I could feel a difference in six days. I'm still on it and I plan to stay on it until after I'm back to work for awhile and see if things can settle down. I used to take Effexor and weaned myself off of that several months prior to starting the Lexapro. I hope you get good results from the Zoloft.

Lisa: Did he just prescribe it? Zoloft is just now starting to make a difference for me and I've been on it since Dec 31. I was nervous about taking it too - but my blood pressure Dr prescribed it for me to try and get my blood pressure down. I didn't even know at the time that I would be having surgery (Mar 9). My pharmacist told me that it may take from weeks to kick in.

Lee

Thanks Ladies, for all the helpful info.!!

I am so glad I found this site to help me with my questions! I did a search last night on Zoloft and found that so many other women have taken it for this kind of thing, also...so that made me feel much better. I already had a lot of anxiety before I found out I was going to have the surgery...probably due to dreadful cycles! So, I think I will just 'shut up' and give it a try!

Lee - Yes! My doc did just prescribe it...so hopefully I will be one of the lucky ones and it will kick in fast!

hello i am 5 weeks post was put on zoloft prior to surgery although i did not notice a difference my familt did i am still on it dr says for another couple of months due to the lack of hormones it will help keep you from going crazy