Sertraline 14 days positive stories please

Sorry I forgot to say I was having wild nightmares too. All of it stopped around week 3.

I have been on and off sertraline twice. No regrets, in fact I’m considering it again as I’m suffering chronic stress.
on both occasions I went straight to 50mg. During the first 2 weeks I felt like it set me back. I mean the anxiety was worse, really low mood. It all calmed down about week 3. By week 6 it was like someone turned the anxiety and stress dial down by 100 notches. The voice in my head that revisited every conversation and every anxiety just went away . I think it’s a wonderful drug.
you will feel better soon x

OP do you like warm baths? I find an Epsom salt bath in the evening very therapeutic. It's full of magnesium which relaxes the muscles. Also. Have you ever tried a weighted blanket? They are scientifically proven to calm the nervous system.

from the dose increase - so give it 3/4 weeks in the 50mg and see how you’re feeling

give it at least 3/4 weeks

Keep going. I’ve switched to sertraline from Escitalopram. I’m on week 8 and 150mg (was on max dose of esc).

it’s been hellish to get the dosing right, I’ve been on 150 for two weeks now and I’m starting to see a difference. I always feel worst when I wake up and gradually get better during the day - it’s the first sign of recovery for me when that time gets earlier each day. 50mg is seen as a low dose so you may need to up it a bit, but that’s fine. You can decrease too if required when you feel better.

happy to answer any questions if you’d like. You’ll get there.

I know it's hard OP but try not to monitor your mood too often. You felt a bit better yesterday and you have hit a low spot this morning. I'd say that's normal. Summer doesn't arrive overnight, it appears gradually. The vitamin d deficiency will not have helped so going outside for a minimum of 20 minutes would be good for you if you feel able to x

@Francis24 that's a great update, I hope you had a nice night with your Mum. It's hard to get motivated when you feel as low I know. Even sitting in the garden for 10 mins can make a difference. The Vit D will help xxx

I've been on 50mg for 3 months now, I've been taking it for anxiety I'd say it took a good 2 months to fully work for me.

One thing that really helped me was going for daily walks. I genuinely didn't think it would, but I was feeling much better once I started.

Since I've been back at work I can't go walking as much and I'm really missing it x

I started on 25mg and it was honestly awful for the first 2 weeks. My side effects were horrible. I then went up to 37.5 for about 4 days before going up to 50mg. Almost as soon as I started taking 50mg, I started feeling better.

However, I am glad I didn't start on 50mg. I think my side effects would have been even worse and I'd likely have stopped taking them.

It took around 2 months for things to level off, but I was feeling much better after about 3 weeks.

It's been 4 months and I will say I've started feeling anxious again (minor), so will be speaking to someone about upping my dose next week.

I genuinely am grateful for Sertraline though. I don't know how I'd be without it.

I also think i need HRT, but that's another story!

I hope you're feeling better OP x

Please let us know how you are later and tomorrow if you feel like it. What have you planned later? Do you like audio books? Something light hearted to have on in the background?
Each day will get brighter. Make sure you are getting sunlight and start a Vit D supplement. If you haven't had recent bloods done mention this to the GP next week to see if you need a boost of anything. Most important is to look after yourself and let others help too. Xx

OP, DD started on 25mg, gradually increased over 2-3 months to 100mg. She would say that 25mg did nothing, she maybe started to feel a little difference at 50mg, but at 100mg she feels so much better. Other family have noticed the difference too. I hope you see a similar improvement, but do keep talking to your GP about the dose if after a few weeks you think it's not working for you.

Hi OP. I didn't have low mood, I had health anxiety with OCD behaviours. And yes, I did feel anxious before I felt better.

Keep going if you possibly can. I'm so glad I did xx

@Francis24 it was a bit different for me because I was tapered off Duloxetine and then Sertraline was added in but I was so bad on Duloxetine I wanted to walk into the sea and die, I was down a black hole. It was like I woke up again once the sertraline increased. I was on 100 and hit a low patch again and was increased and ive stuck at 150 now. The quetiapine was added in later and I'm now on 75mg after an increase last October. I hope it kicks in for you, it's day 2 of 50 today so give yourself another few days and if you feel worse call the GP mid week but I bet by this time next week you will feel lighter and less bleak. I really hate reading how you are because it's an awful place to be. Tight hugs lovely xx

Hi,
stick with it. I probably started to feel brighter after about 4 weeks. Other people really noticed it!
Before that in the initial stages of 50mg I had quite debilitating fatigue and the anxiety got a bit worse. I also had a couple of intrusive thoughts which were not great. Not self harm, but rather brief flashes of imagined dangers.
Hope it all goes ok for you, it's a good drug for a lot of people, but that settling-in period isn't so pleasant.