Sue... don't mean to bug you, i think this must be a painful subject but something you said (see emphasis) in this last post made me wonder... ... if i get it right, when the depression cleared, he started being strange? that sounds like the Zoloft might have triggered a manic episode. That can happen if a person has "bipolar in their jeans (genes)" ... they may be normal, or have only depressive episodes before treatment with an AD. If he was triggered into mania and cycling, he can be treated. Otherwise he will likely continue to cycle. Unmedicated mania can lead ppl right into a waaaay different "lifestyle" - taking off with no apparent reason or planning is actually quite common! I wonder if anyone in your family can be in touch with him to see how he is.

Of course i don't know in what way he was "acting strange" other than his leaving the family. Do ANY of these sx sound familiar?
hyperactivity (eg psychomotor agitation, rapid and or pressured speech), over-impulsivity (eg spending, gambling, other indiscretions), rage outbursts, mood lability, lack of focus, flight of ideas (jumping from one topic to another another so much that the listener may not even be able to make sense of the conversation), increased expansivity, decreased need for sleep or total sleeplessness for days, taking on multiple projects at once and finishing none, or being completely obsessed with a project to the exclusion of other normal activities; euphoria or dysphoria, grandiose ideas or delusions (eg believing one is a prophet or a famous person, planning ventures well out of proportion with one's abilities or means); potentially also psychotic features incl visual and auditory hallucinations, thought disturbances such as magical thinking, thought broadcasting or thought insertion).

i'm just tossing this out to you... i'm not trying to say that IS what happened... but it is a possibility, especially if there is any family history - even just of depression.

gosh i hope he is ok. i am so sorry that Zoloft took him away from you... whatever the explanation.

((( Sue )))

~ waves ~ wondering... hope i am not offending you or speaking out of place...

Hi Waves,
I will agree with you that my father blew money like crazy buying 3 different RV's, 4 boats, gambling, and much more. I think that what really messed him up is how he had 7 affairs over the yrs while he was married to my mom who forgave him time after time. Now today my father has nothing left to his name he blew all his money over the yrs. and never started a retirement account.
I ask myself the question if maybe my dad isn't messed up because he sees how my brother and I are doing well with our finances and that we both have our homes almost paid off in full. Also when it came down to the divorce I had legal evidence up against my father that I told my mom's lawyer. So now all my dad has left to his name is his new girlfriend, who controls him like you wouldn't believe, where my mom has a house and all of the family. I think there's a lot of jealousy and I know that my dad's girlfriend is stopping him from seeing his grandchildren. It was after my dad left that he started the zoloft and I feel between the affairs he had and the guilty conscience that maybe the reason why he's acting so strange. Here's wishing you well and May God Bless You!

Sue

Well, from what you have said, your dad could indeed be bipolar. The spending and the affairs are both red flags. The guilt following the affairs could have been cycles into depression. The Zoloft could have kicked him into a really bad mania where yes, a person can think and behave like a total stranger. However your reasoning about the affairs/guilt is perfectly reasonable for someone who is not bipolar, and so with the divorce crises you mentioned. It would be more telling, had you witnessed, in the tumultuos marriage, some of the other sx i listed, specifically during the times of the affairs... and whether the spending coincided for instance.

Annnnnyway, the more important would be if he is still messed up, to get him into treatment, for whatever the "mess" is. If someone is in touch with him - to persuade him to see a pdoc, who could evaluate him in person... but getting him there could be a huge undertaking, regardless what his "mess" might be, even psychological. that is all the advice i could offer, but i fully understand that it might not be realistic. And here I close off my prying questions and ad hoc suggestions. (thank goodness eh? waves crashing threads and going on about bipolar... sheesh!!! )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Up a whole different alley, now. I have noticed your mood consistently says "lonely" and i have felt so lonely myself so many times, i really feel for you. loneliness can be so deep and powerful. So i want to give you a huge hug. there is a nice HUUUUGE smiley hug i reserve for such occasions but it is animated. It does not flash, but it does move. so i don't want to risk posting that here. howevvvvvver...

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Sue ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

that should be seizure-safe!!!

wishing you relief from your loneliness, be it finding moments of peace in solitude, or finding others to share and laugh with.

Sweet blessings to you, Sue, and an angel to watch over you.

~ waves ~ wishes you a wonderful, seizure-free day!