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Original poster

Sertraline, what is your experience of it if you take it?

28 replies

Tacosforteaplease · 04/01/2021 21:03

My doctor has prescribed this mainly for anxiety but also low mood from being under enormous stress. I'm a bit uneasy and hesitant. But keen to help myself. Would be very interested to hear how other people found it?

Did it make your anxiety worse at the start, or did you put on weight?

Thanks in advance for any response!

OP posts:
MozzchopsThirty · 04/01/2021 21:08

No weight gain
I've been on it for 10 years now in varying doses
It's helped me massively and I choose not to stop taking it as who cares!
If it keeps me sane I'll take it til I die.

Good luck!!!
I had a few odd side effects to begin with but only lasted 7-10 days

Babyroobs · 04/01/2021 21:09

I had terrible anxiety for the first two weeks, also weird thoughts but once it started to work it really helped.

HPLikecraft · 04/01/2021 21:12

My DD takes it for depression. Lifesaver. She got over slight side effects quickly and didn't gain weight.
As far as I know it's a very safe drug.

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General health
goose1964 · 04/01/2021 21:15

No problems at all. It stops the negative train of thoughts in their tracks.

partyatthepalace · 04/01/2021 21:16

I started on 50mg quite recently for anxiety and some low mood.

GP advised to snap tablets in half for first 4 or 6 days to ease in. I felt slightly sick for a couple days but that's it - others do say it can make anxiety worse for a couple weeks though, so be prepared for that.

What's it's done for me c 3 months in is even out my mood - I don't get so down anymore, and this is helping me move forward. Also doing CBT and I think something like that is a good idea to do alongside.

Good luck w it.

jellybe · 04/01/2021 21:17

No weight gain for me.
I felt spacy for the first few days up to a week of taking it but now I'm fine.

I've been on it just over a year and the difference it has made to my life is amazing. My anxiety is so much better as is my mood/ depression.

Good luck!

JanetBalloonist · 04/01/2021 21:19

It’s brilliant. Has changed my life. It’s taken the edge off my anxiety and made my OCD so much more manageable.

The first week or so of side effects were a bit bleh but I coped fine. It is so worth it to just get the edge off the anxiety/depression so that other techniques like CBT etc can begin to work.

LadyWaterford · 04/01/2021 21:19

Saved my life! No weight gain. A little bit of jaw clenching but totally worth it IMO.

happy97 · 04/01/2021 21:21

No weight gain. Changed my life, and my children's.

happy97 · 04/01/2021 21:22

And yes to the jaw clenching!

HeelHeel · 04/01/2021 21:28

I've been taking it for 2 years and I can honestly say it's been a lifesaver. I'm not 100% there but I'm close and feel like I can function again.

No side effects at all, I would honestly recommend it.

My GO gave me diazepam as well to take because I have trouble sleeping but the sertraline has helped I hardly ever need to take that now.

fpurplea · 04/01/2021 21:52

8 years on 100mg Sertraine, best antidepressant I've been on. First couple of weeks had side effects (nausea, heart racing, jittery legs, panicky) but after 2 weeks that settled down, and now I'm feeling better than I have for a long time, and about to talk to the doc about trying going down to 50mg. No real weight gain for me either.

GlowingOrb · 04/01/2021 21:57

Within 24 hours I was literally singing an ode to my little green pill. I eventually worked up to a higher dose and it’s hurt my libido a bit, but it’s a balancing act because anxiety is hard on the libido too.

11yo Dd is also on sertraline and it’s worked very well for her anxiety. It helped her engage with CBt and combat her panic attacks. She has no side effects.

peanutbutter00 · 04/01/2021 22:00

It helped me so much. However doctors never advised it's difficult to come off. Horrific insomnia for about 6 weeks at the start, and vertigo when coming off. Both going on and coming off was eased slowly but still had these side effects. But I would do it again if I needed to, I was in a low and dark place before feeling like I couldn't function in daily life and these helped me get back on track

humptyrumpty · 04/01/2021 22:01

I lost so much weight on, totally killed my appetite

UnholyStramash · 04/01/2021 22:04

Sertraline was one of several ADs that didn’t suit me. Biggest side effect from this was extreme nausea - I couldn’t be on the bus without terrible retching though I don’t think I was ever physically sick. Thankfully I got one that suited me eventually.

StrangeAddiction · 04/01/2021 22:25

Been on it a couple of years now and I'm glad I finally went to the dr for it.

I've been totally fine apart from the first few days of taking it, having a couple of minor side effects.

My tips for side effects are:

Nausea - take it before going to bed to sleep through the feeling.

Can't sleep - take it on a morning when you're more active during the day.

Makes you sleepy - take it at night.

Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon.

ScarlettDarling · 04/01/2021 22:32

I’ve been on 50 mg for about six years and it really helped me. I had weird side effects for a couple of weeks (fuzzy legs, shivers, felt spaced out) but they settled fairly quickly. I do still have really vivid dreams on it though.

I’m really struggling at the minute though. COVID and hormone changes have seen my anxiety ramped back up to where I was when I first went on it and I’m wondering if it’s time to try a higher dose.

Good luck op, give it a try.

AudTheDeepAndCrispAndEven · 04/01/2021 22:32

I was on it for two periods of time, both related to episodes of PND. Made me 'spacey' for a few weeks, but like jetlag but helped enormously. Both times when I stopped I did it without medical supervision (probably not a clever thing to do but that's the way it happened'. Felt a bit like when I started taking it with lightheadedness and nausea but came off really easily both times. If I ever felt that bad again with depression I would not hesitate to ask to go back on it. No chnages to appetite.

Somuddled · 04/01/2021 22:36

Some good advice on here. My only advice is never take it with just a sip of water then go straight to bed. It sat in my throat and started to disintegrate there causing awful burning sensation that lasted hours. Drink lots of water to make sure it is fully down!

NigelWithTheBrie79 · 05/01/2021 00:01

@GlowingOrb I am desperately trying to get my 11 year old on to Sertraline as I know it will help them but we are currently being assessed for ADD, ASD and OCD and I keep getting a stern no. They aren't even willing to let them try a small prescription. Did you have similar issues? We are currently in our 3rd year of slowly being diagnosed and some days it seems like a black cloud follows them around. I am the only person not yet physically attacked but I know its coming. Personally I had to switch to mirtazpine (that may change due to pregnancy) but Sertraline was like a miracle. I know in my heart it's what they need. Why is no one listening?

GlowingOrb · 05/01/2021 00:45

@NigelWithTheBrie79

We are in the US so our diagnosis system is through the school, not the medical system. They move at a glacial pace so we paid for a private evaluation. Once we had that with a diagnosis of ASD and anxiety, we could get onto the wait lists for the right medical specialists. Getting meds prescribed to a minor is really tough even though all the literature says the gold standard is low dose anti-anxiety meds combined with cbt. Thankfully we were finally able to make it all happen. It took about 18 months even with jumping the queue by paying for a private evaluation.

Original poster
Tacosforteaplease · 05/01/2021 16:25

Thank you all so much, this sounds so encouraging.

Sitting here nearly in tears because I feel so rough and anxious today, definitely worse before my period. I just need to bite the bullet and start taking them!

OP posts:
teawamutu · 05/01/2021 16:30

Incredible stuff - been taking a low dose for two years and for the first time in my life, I'm sleeping and not freaking out in the middle of the night.

unmarkedbythat · 05/01/2021 16:43

I don't any more but when I did, the first 7-10 days were hard (nausea, tiredness, yawning, staring, anxiety, insomnia, felt like there was a thick pane of glass between me and the world). Those side effects mostly dropped away, my GP told me to take the meds at bedtime with phenergan so I could sleep and that was helpful. And after about a month I realised I had gone a whole day without planning my death, and a few weeks later I realised I had energy and the awful fog that gets me with depression had lifted and I could think. Sexual side effects were a problem for me, but on balance it was a good medication.