# Zoloft may cause "visual snow"



## Mushishi (May 31, 2010)

So, I don't know why I never thought about it. But I did some research and found that many people get "visual snow" when taking Zoloft, even for those that are not suffering from DP/DR. And when I think about it, I never noticed any visual snow until I started taking 75mgs of Zoloft. I didn't have it when I was on 25-50mgs. I'm on 100mgs right now and the visual snow has increased to a very disturbing level. At night I feel blind. As for light sensitivity, it's still as bad as ever. I want to see the sun again.


----------



## Mushishi (May 31, 2010)

No feedback, seriously? C'mon... My visual snow has gotten worse even since this post.


----------



## snowcat3030 (Sep 30, 2010)

Mushishi said:


> No feedback, seriously? C'mon... My visual snow has gotten worse even since this post.


Hey Mushishi,

Visual snow is a strange phenomenon, I might be wrong but I don't even think the medical establishment knows about it or it has been studied. I have it pretty bad and I have always had it for as long as I can remember. I have never heard of it coming on from medication use. It seems to be related to people that have anxiety disorders but strangely my brother has it too (he is also minor dyslexic) but he suffers from absolutely NO mental illness at all and I can say never will. Is it possible you might of always had it but never noticed??? Mine is funny like that, when I don't think about it I don't notice it. It is very strong in the dark though but I always just accepted it.


----------



## WakeWalker (Oct 6, 2010)

"Another suggestion is that visual snow is in fact always there, and it is not until adrenaline levels are raised that people begin to notice it. People who suffer from Anxiety disorders such as GAD (generalised anxiety disorder) often mistake "symptoms" such as visual snow and other natural/normal physiological phenomenons (blue field entoptic phenomenon, floaters, halos, light trails) to be life threatening, when in actual fact they have just not noticed them before."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

I think everyone can see static once they know how to look for it. It's like bypassing your built in filters and looking at the raw stream of receptors. I have taken lots of Zoloft and have never noticed an increase. But if I look for it, there it is.


----------



## Guest (Dec 13, 2010)

Anti-Depressants are fucked up. I've been on three different ones. Never again. The first I took had a kinda speedy effect. Like, speed, literally. My scalp tingled, my pupils enlarged, and I physically swung from the kitchen entry. This was Paroxetine. Now, on speed, which I have done, up long enough, you will get 'bugs'. Little transparent buggers flying randomly. I also got this occasionally on Paxil. Then I quit it cold turkey and got flashes of light through my head dozens of times daily. Not sure if I'm on the level with the 'visual snow', so sorry for blabbing. But, it seems doctors know so fucking little about how and why the anti-depressants KIND OF work. Blah. Done. Sorry. Late response.


----------



## Visual (Oct 13, 2010)

Mushishi said:


> No feedback, seriously? C'mon... My visual snow has gotten worse even since this post.


I don't have visual snow but rather a mild white-out effect (smooth visual snow?). Serotonin meds, like Zoloft, make it worse. Dopamine meds, like Wellbutrin and Sinemet, make it 80-100% better.

The physiological mechanism involved here is that some receptors (synapses) use both dopamine and serotonin. However if a serotonin neurotransmitter is already attached to the receptor, then it cannot also 'connect' with a dopamine neurotransmitter. Hence, increasing serotonin slightly reduces the effectiveness of dopamine in your brain. The effect has also be observed as 'causing' Parkinsonism for some people when taking SSRIs - this usually reverses when the medication is discontinued.

Since you noticed it is worse in connection with how much Zoloft you take, perhaps you may wish to discuss the above with your doctor. Are you ok taking just 25-50 mg now?

What are your DP/DR symptoms now?


----------

