Unexpected help from Zoloft

By buckbarker

1 min read

Greetings, all. This is my first visit and my first story.

For background, I was DX'd with prostate cancer in early 2018. 44 radiation treatments and all is fine in that regard. Early 2019 I was DX'd with OA and RA. For the RA I have been on methotrexate, prednisone, and oxy for the debilitating pain.

Zoloft is helping my RA pain!

Well, all of these health problems got the best of me and asked my PCP for an antidepressant. He prescribed Zoloft and for the first 2 weeks it had minimal effect. Week 3 brought remarkable results. Not only have my mental issues subsided but the best part is I AM RA PAIN FREE! Perhaps totally unrelated and I have yet to tell my rheumatologist or PCP but the coincidence is remarkable!

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Franki King Moderator & Contributor
Hi <inline-mention user-id="3161159" username="buckbarker"/> , Thanks for sharing your story! How interesting that your antidepressant seems to be relieving the pain. I wonder if someone else has had the same experience. Either way, I'm so happy that you are pain-free! Enjoy it. Wishing you the best, Franki
1. buckbarker Member
 Oops.....onto something.
tahirah-chichester Community Admin
Hi <inline-mention user-id="3161159" username="buckbarker"/> ! Thank you for visiting the site and sharing your story with us. This is the third time in the past few months were I've read about a person living with RA getting relief with the use of an antidepressant. It is my hope that maybe the use of antidepressants for RA pain relief is being studied so it can be determined if this is a coincidence or if it can provide relief for others. Regardless, I am so happy to hear that you have been able to get this type of relief on Zoloft. Congrats on the first story submission and we can't wait to hear more from you! Best, Tahirah
1. buckbarker Member
 Perhaps we only something. Let’s hope.
2. Richard Faust Community Admin
 Hi Buckbarker. Wanted to chime in to let you know that there has been some research finding that some antidepressants can help with RA pain. This article from the Arthritis Foundation discusses this, although Zoloft is not one of the drugs cited for pain: <a href='https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/emotional-well-being/anxiety-depression/antidepressants-with-rheumatoid-arthritis' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/emotional-well-being/anxiety-depression/antidepressants-with-rheumatoid-arthritis</a>. However, this more recent article does cite Zoloft as potential useful for pain: <a href='https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-antidepressants-help-chronic-pain-patients-189312' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-antidepressants-help-chronic-pain-patients-189312</a>. Do make sure to tell your doctor, as it is through doctors reporting these effects to the FDA that gets them recognized (and hopefully spurs additional research). Wishing you the best. Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)
L rick Phillips Moderator & Contributor
I looked at several potential references related to Zoloft and RA. I was unable to find anything specific. However I did find a case reported in the Journal of Medical Cases related to the use of antidepressants and the prospect for helping with remission in an RA patient. This is the article. <a href='https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3072330/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3072330/</a> I wish you the best of good fortune. rick - moderator
hwb0w4 Member
Hello Buckbarker: I'm so grateful that you are feeling better since you are on Zoloft. I was put on different RA meds back in 1990. They worked some but nothing great. Then my Rheumy added Amitriptyline. After a few weeks, I was feeling much better RA wise. The only big problem I noticed was that I was feeling really tired. Moreso, than normal. After, about 5 years, I decided not to take Amitriptyline anymore since I had kids to look after and I needed some energy. Sure enough, the pain came back. I really didn't need to be on an anti-depressant though, so I didn't go back on it again. Hopefully, you keep well.