Constantly tired

red_hatorade

So, I have lost a total of 9 lbs over 3 months and my doctor said I should be feeling more energetic. The problem is, I don't. I have a sneaking suspicion it had to do with my Zoloft, but I have been off it for 4 days now and no such change in my energy level. I want to feel like I have energy but I am always so tired. What gives? I am still 255 lbs, so I know I am still morbidly obese, but shouldn't I feel just a little bit better and less tired/more energetic?

NaomiLyn15

It will take about 30 days for the Zoloft to get our of your system. Give it some time, you will start feeling more energetic over the next few weeks. Don't worry.

cessnaholly

Give it some more time. It takes a while for those drugs to get out of your system. It gets better.

MelissaL582

Also, what time do you go to bed and what time do you wake up?

mrpearson253

I think you may be right in the Zoloft theory. It's likely muting a lot of what (extra) energy you should be feeling having lost the weight you have so far...fatigue is one of the major side effects of it listed on their own website. How to fix it? That I don't know but at least knowing the cause could be a step in the right direction? I'm still thinking the more weight you lose the better you'll feel and the energy will hopefully come with it.

Mark

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Well I have no idea about the Zoloft drug because I have never taken it. Maybe your body is adjusting.

auburngirl06

I was feeling the same way when I started my weightloss journey. This was a result of two things: I was not eating enough calories and I had low iron. Has your doctor tested your iron levels? And are you sure you are eating enough calories for your level of activity? I too am on Zoloft, and I know it is different for each person, but it has always made me sleepy ( been on for 5 years) so I take it at night before bed. I would suggest evaluating your calories and then maybe get your iron levels checked.

njbooklover

I can't see your diary. I don't usually look at others' but it may be that you are not eating enough calories a day. Check your basil metabolism rate, under tools. If you aren't netting that many calories, it might be why you are tired. Sometimes I find that I need to eat more the day after I exercise, if I don't get enough protein that night.

You might be coming down with a cold, or be stressed. There are a lot of reasons for being tired. Check your calories, and if that doesn't help, I would make sure your doctor has done tests to see if you are low on anything that might make you tired.

Leola2011

Sounds like you may need to be tested for some other things if you're still noticeably tired. As for the Zoloft, coming off usually produces some dizziness and feeling jittery or on-edge. Some people have trouble sleeping or they feel sick to their stomach. But I've not heard people talk about increased tiredness. I'm wondering if there's not something else going on physiologically. You and I weigh around the same amount and it's been my experience that even minor weight loss produces boosts in energy. So get yourself checked out an rule out any other problems.

jatcat310

I am hoping you did not stop your Zoloft cold turkey. It may be a part of the problem but it could be what your are eating. Do you eat enough protein? The reason I ask is because I am on antidepressants as well and have found that protein is key for me. I am on a low carb lifestyle now and have almost totally eliminated the so called bad carbs....though I did eat a pop tart and had a Coke the other day (stressed, TOM). But I have so much energy now. For a long time I blamed my meds for the way I felt, but now I realize it was the food I was eating. Don't give up......it will come, just do some tweaking.

edorice

Have you ever looked up the side affects of the drug you're taking? I Googled it:

•Nausea -- in up to 30 percent of people
•Insomnia -- up to 28 percent (see Zoloft and Insomnia)
•Ejaculation problems -- up to 19 percent (see Zoloft Sexual Side Effects)
•Diarrhea or loose stools -- up to 24 percent
•Dizziness -- up to 17 percent
•Dry mouth -- up to 16 percent (see Zoloft and Dry Mouth)
•Fatigue -- up to 16 percent
•Drowsiness -- up to 15 percent
•Indigestion -- up to 13 percent
•Shakiness (tremor) -- up to 11 percent
•Loss of appetite -- up to 11 percent
•Decreased sex drive (libido) -- up to 11 percent

You should discuss this problem with your doctor.

PlanetVelma

It takes a while for the Zoloft to work its way out of your system. Hang in there! If you feel that it's really hampering you overall, give your doctor a call and see if he/she has any suggestions. I know it was really hard for my stepdad to come off of zoloft, it took him several months of coordination between him and his dr to wean himself off.

jemko

I agree with the others, it takes a minimum of 7 days for Zoloft to leave your system once you stop taking it. I will also add, I hope you spoke with your doctor about it before you stopped taking it. I had a friend who independently decided to stop taking it and it wasn't a wise decision. Good luck!

danacate

Are you exercising? You could be exercising too little or too much (I've done both).

When I was on Zoloft a while back, my doctor told me that I would need to start taking 1/2 dosages for a week since it needed to get into my system slowly and then after a week, take the full dosage every day. I tapered off when I stopped taking it as well. I don't know if it made me tired or not; I started taking it when I was 8 months pregnant (so I was tired all the time any way) and then stopped taking it when my baby was two months old (again, tired all the time because of being a new mom). So, there is a chance that the Zoloft is still in your system and that could be contributing to your tiredness.

It is also possible that what is causing your tiredness is completely unrelated to your weight. My sister (who is a US size 6) is tired all the time and not overweight at all (she has various health issues and some lifestyle choices that cause her tiredness). If you are getting the brush off from your doctor and haven't had any tests done, you may want to consider a second opinion (other than extra weight) on what may be causing your tiredness.

LovingMyselfAgain

I am hoping you did not stop your Zoloft cold turkey. It may be a part of the problem but it could be what your are eating. Do you eat enough protein? The reason I ask is because I am on antidepressants as well and have found that protein is key for me. I am on a low carb lifestyle now and have almost totally eliminated the so called bad carbs....though I did eat a pop tart and had a Coke the other day (stressed, TOM). But I have so much energy now. For a long time I blamed my meds for the way I felt, but now I realize it was the food I was eating. Don't give up......it will come, just do some tweaking.

I completely agree on several things... 1. Do not stop taking that Zoloft cold turkey... you have to just lower the dosage of what you were taking, little by little and then get off of it. My sister was on antidepressants, and when she got off her meds cold turkey, the side effects were no joke. 2. What you are consuming has a lot to do with it. Not saying that your not eating healthy right now, but maybe you have to up on certain things... We are at about the same weight level and i know that even when i lose a few pounds i am still super tired and even the smallest task seems very tiring for me. But its all about what you eat to give yourself energy, and when you workout you also get more energy...

jazzy020106

So, I have lost a total of 9 lbs over 3 months and my doctor said I should be feeling more energetic. The problem is, I don't. I have a sneaking suspicion it had to do with my Zoloft, but I have been off it for 4 days now and no such change in my energy level. I want to feel like I have energy but I am always so tired. What gives? I am still 255 lbs, so I know I am still morbidly obese, but shouldn't I feel just a little bit better and less tired/more energetic?

Zoloft is a HARD medication to come off of! My cousin JUST got over her "withdrawals" from coming off of zoloft... and its been about 2 weeks now and she is just now starting to feel normal again. She was always super tired, in a bad mood, hungry and just miserable! She talked to her doctor about it and I dont remember exactly what she said he said but it was something about it being withdrawals. He told her coming off of it is really hard on alot of people. I would give it some time.. It could just be from coming off of it.

sixxx

When you stop taking Zoloft, lots of things can happen, and it can take a while for your body to adapt to you not taking the medication.

Make sure you go to bed and wake up every day at the same time - including weekends!

jules_lives_outloud

Let us first not blame a drug that may be helping you. I don't know you, but I work in a sea of mental health medications. Things to look at, are you eating enough carbs, that is your energy food. Someone else said something about iron levels. What about whatever your diagnosis is for you to be on Zoloft. If your dealing with chronic depressive issues, there you go. Things we lose in the land of mental health problems are our energy/ chronic fatigue, motivation etc. Do you see a therapist to treat the reasons your on zoloft or do you just get your medicine from your primary care dr. From the glumness of your post, I would reevaluate the entire picture. Anti- anxiety medicines do slow you down, but remember risk versus benefit in the whole package that is your life. If you are not seeing a therapist, I strongly recommend you do so you can learn to live with these issues you deal with and don't just bandaid them with medicine. Medicine is a wonderful thing, but is best when combined with therapy and skill development. May not like my answer, but I believe in taking care of ourselves from the inside out.

jazzy020106

Let us first not blame a drug that may be helping you. I don't know you, but I work in a sea of mental health medications. Things to look at, are you eating enough carbs, that is your energy food. Someone else said something about iron levels. What about whatever your diagnosis is for you to be on Zoloft. If your dealing with chronic depressive issues, there you go. Things we lose in the land of mental health problems are our energy/ chronic fatigue, motivation etc. Do you see a therapist to treat the reasons your on zoloft or do you just get your medicine from your primary care dr. From the glumness of your post, I would reevaluate the entire picture. Anti- anxiety medicines do slow you down, but remember risk versus benefit in the whole package that is your life. If you are not seeing a therapist, I strongly recommend you do so you can learn to live with these issues you deal with and don't just bandaid them with medicine. Medicine is a wonderful thing, but is best when combined with therapy and skill development. May not like my answer, but I believe in taking care of ourselves from the inside out.

I like your answer! I am not the OP but I can totally agree with this! Definitely a different way to think about it..

jjs22

+1 on giving the Zoloft time to work itself out. Those kinds of drugs work at the very core of the "how you feel" part of your brain, so any kinds of changes are definitely going be noticeable.

Another thing to look into is the *quality* of the food you are eating. I have never, ever been a "health food nut", but just recently started trying to eat better. For me, I cut out refined sugar and wheat products as much as possible, and I no longer chug milk from the jug as an automatic reflex every time I walk past the fridge.

I never expected these changes to matter much, other than improving my health in some abstract way. But - and I kind of hate to admit this after all these years - getting the garbage out of my diet has made me feel much better, and a number of minor little health issues have just gone away.

Also, are you doing any exercise ? If not, don't feel like you have to do a ton of "no pain, no gain" drudgery. Just try fitting a short walk into your day, short enough that its no big deal. Even if it doesn't make a dent in your calorie bookkeeping, you will definitely feel something good starting to happen. I kind of feel like I discovered a "skinny person" deep down in there. I always joked (about myself) that one of the awesome things about being so out of shape was how little exercise it took to notice an improvement.

Another thing that surprised me at the beginning of my diet (lower calories overall, mostly through reducing bad carbs) that a week or so in I started feeling a lot of dizziness and fatigue. Turns out this is a normal, predictable response when people begin "low carb" diets. Our bodies have to "learn" new ways (biochemical pathways) to extract, store and process energy from my our food intake. I still eat a fair amount of carbs (I'm lovin' those beans !) But I had the classic low-carb diet response for a few days.

You said you've been at this for several months (congratulations, BTW) so the fatigue probably isn't one of those "start up" effects. But one possibility to look at is if your diet is steady, or if there is some amount of on-again, off-again. If, for example, you are jumping between high-carbs and low carbs I can see how that alone would drive your system crazy and make you feel pretty wiped out.

Finally, and please don't take this in a bad way, but be sure to "work on" developing and preserving positive feelings as literally and as deliberately as you would work on strength or cardio or anything else you really care about. Being depressed and fatigued sucks. What is there to feel good about ? Nothing, really. But wait, SQUASH that thought right there ! Try spending 5 minutes thinking about things that are good in the world. Think about other people who have something good in their life and just feel happy for them, celebrate their good fortune. Think about people who are not so well off, and just deliberately "wish" some happiness their way, imagine that it really is helping them. Be creative, but just try and focus on things that involve increasing happiness and well-being. I've found this kind of thing really helpful. You don't need to walk around all day like a phony Polyanna or pretend that you don't feel like crap. Just think of it as strengthening a particular set of muscles, or practising for when the good feelings come about on their own.

Anyway, I hope something in here sparks some ideas. You are working on something worthwhile, and yes, you do deserve to feel good as a result of your efforts. If you don't find what works for you, keep looking ! It could be a "dieters tip", it could be a medical issue that only a doctor can discover (eventually, after enough pestering), or it could be something that just "clicks" for you one day. But keep up the good work, and be happy.