Starting Sertraline - what are your experiences with it?

[cantcopewithwork]

I have the box in front of me and need to take my first pill, but I'm nervous about the side effects. I've taken time off work recently due to anxiety so I can't afford any more time off work, and my job requires good concentration.

I've been prescribed 50mg. The GP didn't mention anything about starting gradually on 25 mg or anything. I'm not sure whether to take a pill tonight, or in the morning or wait until tomorrow evening so I have the three days of the weekend to see how I respond to it?

What are your experiences with starting sertraline?

My mum, sister and partner have all been on it. All had the same experience.

Takes around 6 weeks to kick in properly, then it's amazing. The only side effect they have all reported is strangely vivid dreams on occasion, not scary though.

Start it over the weekend and take it at night for a few days so it can start to get into your system and minimise side effects. You can switch over to morning once you feel comfortable. Some people get side effects, some don't, it all depends upon how your body reacts. Sertraline is usually well tolerated and is a popular SSRI.

If, for some reason, you don't get along with it, there are several others you can try so don't be afraid to switch if you find it's not for you. You might feel a bit sick and giddy at first, but the initial side effects do wear off, so don't let it put you off taking it.

Take it now, it takes 6 weeks for it to start working properly, it wont be overnight but in a month or so you will start to feel like yourself again.

I was very nauseous and confused after 3-4 days of 50, and the GP I contacted then said I should have been started on 25. I wouldn't worry too much because people do start on 50 too but don't wait out the side effects if they're bad. Contact your GP re dose if that happens. Good luck.

I've been on it for over a year, it's really helped me. Would strongly recommend starting on 25mg for a week or even two to ease your body into it. My GP who specialises in mental illness said that most GPs with an interest in the area recommend 25mg to begin with, but those without that specialism just go with the 50mg. You might have to experiment a bit with what time is best to have it, I take it at 4pm with a snack, because at bedtime it stops me sleeping and first thing it tends to make me feel nauseous. Good luck, hope it gives you some relief

My experience was crap. But I'm hyper sensitive to drugs anyway.
I actually took citalopram a few years ago and was fine, tried to take it again last year after the sert and it was even worse.

So with the sert I started off really slowly. I had 12.5mg a day and tried to build it up.
Then a friend who's a nurse said the side effects I thought I was having was probably just me over thinking. So I took another 12.5mg. Well I was an absolute mess. Couldn't sleep at all that night. My heart was going like the clappers and I literally felt like I couldn't get out of bed. We (my partner and our 2 young children) were staying in a family friends cottage for the weekend and my 7 year old DD and dad were really excited to go up a mountain which they couldn't do in the end because I couldn't be left alone.
Sorry but it was horrendous for me.
I've had to get myself out of a nervous breakdown without any meds and just a couple of therapy sessions.

Now I take high doses of magnesium, vit D, B12 and B6, iron. I also take 2 probiotic pills as they say a lot of depression actually starts in the gut as it's connected to the brain.
I also take Ashwghanda supplements for anxiety and feverfew for PMS and migraines.

Last year I had a full nervous breakdown where I wouldn't leave the house, and I had insomnia really badly where I was getting about an hours sleep a night. This lasted for about 3 weeks. I was utterly exhausted and desperate as it was causing so many anxiety issues and I also couldn't work.
I took all those vitamins and after a few days noticed a massive difference in my mood and my sleep started to become a lot better. I went from 1hr to around 6hrs overnight and then now I'm at a steady 8 most evenings.

Also a morning routine helped me. I make sure I'm up and in the shower for 7:30am. Then I'll write in a diary my goals for the day and what I'm thankful for. When I first started doing the diary my entries for the goals were just simple things like having a shower or going outside for 5 minutes. Now they're mostly work related/ personal development.

I now at night listen to a bedtime meditation story by the Honest Guys which I can't recommend enough. Listening to Ricks voice for 10 minutes is enough to send me to sleep. The stories are wonderful too.

I know you only asked about the sert but I didn't want to just be like "yeah it's shit" and leave it at that.
I tried a lot of different meds and none of them worked for me.
If sert doesn't agree with you though that's not to say that nothing will work. I'm just a very odd case I think.
I've struggled with meds my entire life. Can't have a paracetamol without hallucinating! 75mg of aspirin was enough to knock a really bad migraine for me on the head. I can't take those now though because it causes me to have gastritis so I've had to find alternative ways to help myself.

I hope you're ok OP and that they do the job. Please don't be scared though.
They do say they can make you feel worse rather than better. 2 weeks is how long your supposed to try them for.
I used to take mine in the morning before breakfast.
Best of luck

Hi @cantcopewithwork
I hope I don't have wade in here, but 50mg daily as a starting point seems alarmingly high to me. 10 - 20mg daily on any AD would be a more appropriate starting dose.

If it were me, I wouldn't any of these and re-contact my Gp tomorrow.

Can I ask how old you are?

50mg is a very standard dose for Sertraline and certainly not 'alarmingly high'.
25mg is a low dose and usually prescribed for anxiety rather than depression, or, as PP have said, as a starting dose before increasing to 50mg.
I have never heard of '10 or 20mg' of Sertraline being prescribed and I'm pretty sure those dosages don't even exist.

MY DS2 is on 150mg a day. Started at 50mg . He felt queasy for the first few days and after that he was fine on it, sleeps ok (at least 6 hours) and for him..severe anxiety and OCD it has been life transforming. Over a period of about a month or two I saw my son 'come back' to us. He's nearly 25 now, been on it since he was 16 and will probably need it forever.

Hi I started on 50mg and now take 100. I take it in the morning first thing. The first few weeks I found I was a little nauseous and tired, sometimes I had insomnia but that improved when I switched to morning. They have really helped me and massively reduced my anxiety. This, coupled with CBT a few times. I totally agree with the previous poster about writing a list and having some structure and routines, this is done in CBT too. Such as brush teeth, shower

Don't take it at night, it's meant to be enlivening so will make you more alert/awake.

I restarted it last week, successfully used it for many years previously. Standard starting dose is 50mg in adults. Nausea and yawning are my worst side effects but they should go soon. I already feel better than I did on the Mirtazapine for the last 5 months.

I would definitely wait to take over the weekend.

I took my first dose in the morning and went straight to work. Had the most horrendous stomach problems, pain, cramps, overwhelming nauseous then the worse (and smelly) diarrhoea I have ever experienced. It was so embarrassing. I believe stomach problems are sort of common with this drug but they subside. Mine were so bad I couldn’t manage them so I had to stop taking it.
But I wouldn’t definitely wait until the weekend in case it affects you.

Honestly, awful. But it's the best thing I ever did!

I really struggled but I was in a really bad place when I started. 4 months on and my life is my own again!

I started on 50mg so I agree it's not 'alarming high' at all. I did have a lot of side effects which had I foreseen I'd have started on 25mg, but others I know had none!

I played with night and day times as it makes me sleepy but also caused night waking for a while. I'd take it now as you won't feel it tomorrow but might by sat.

For transparency I also had a lot of jaw clenching, fist clenching, and increased panic attacks, but they're all long gone now.

I started on 50. Honestly for a couple of days I felt sick and more anxious. Then that quickly went and I felt hugely better and have remained so. Didn’t take anywhere near 6 weeks to feel effects. The benefits far outweighs the negatives

Personally I had quite a few side effects for the first few weeks such as increased anxiety, really vivid dreams and a dodgy tummy .... but it was definitely worth riding it out.

As others have said, 50mg is the standard starting dose and equivalent to 20mg of other ADs.

I started on 50 and worked up to my current dose of 150 which is just right for me.

Everyone is different and you may only get mild effects anyway but even if you have a stronger reaction like I did, it's worth persevering if you can.

Also as others have said, I would recommend taking it in the morning.

Good luck and I hope it works for you x

I take for chronic anxiety. I started on 50mg but tapered up to it over about a week from 25mg. I found it affected my sleep at the start so I take it in the morning.
It made me lose my appetite for quite a while, but that has gradually worn off. The side effects were manageable.

I have now ended up on a dose of 150mg which works really well for me and has been totally life changing. On this dose I did get jaw clenching for a while but that has worn off now. I don't have any ongoing side effects.

My experience has been great. I was prescribed it during covid due to anxiety. The only prob now is that I feel like I want to come off it but if I don't take it for a couple of days I get light headed. So now I take it every 3rd day & my anxiety seems fine as does the withdrawal side effects so I'm just continuing with that for now. I am aware that taking it also makes me feel well enough to come off so maybe a low level dose is what I need to keep my anxiety at a manageable level.

Right with you op. Picked up my box today. Although this is my third time of ‘starting’. (Not had it for 6 years).

The previous 2 times I had side effects for the first few days. Bad tummy. Really spaced out. (And I mean REALLY spaced!).

I plan to take first dose tomorrow morning. I am working tomorrow but the side effects, assuming I get the same, won’t come for a few hours. Then due to bank holiday and an extra annual leave day Tuesday, I’m not back to work until Wednesday; where I hope the initial effects have faded.

It worked for me really well the first 2 times. (Both for pnd). This time, I have a major life event I need to deal with, along with peri menopause; so I just need the help.

Dont expect to wake up one day thinking ‘oh wow I finally feel happy’. But in a couple of months you will suddenly realise you are dealing with things better, things arnt getting on top of you so much, you have less sad / anxious / crying times etc …

I wish I never came off it tbh…Brilliant stuff! For me, life was just that bit better when I was on it. (Hope it works again this time!).

Good luck op. Hope it helps :-)

I started on 50mg I had some pretty interesting side effects of feeling dizzy and slurring my speech. My exH always used to joke I was drunk. The side effects lasted for around 2 weeks.

Thank you all. I've decided to take the first dose early this evening, so I have thr weekend to get used to it. I'm going to start on 25 mg for a week, and then go up to my prescribed dose of 50 mg

Just checking in @cantcopewithwork . How has your first couple of days been? Have you had any side effects?

I’ve had a bad tummy when I eat (as I did before). And am really struggling with sleep which is a new one. I went straight in with the 50.

Hope you feel OK. I started on 50mg and that wasn't enough so after a month I went up to 100mg and I feel bloody great.
I take mine first thing in the morning.
Good luck

Starting dose for sertraline is 50mg , max is 200 !
Not alarmingly high at all, all drugs work differently and should not be compared .

My dd has just started 200 after working her way up . There is a definite improvement in every increment so I'm hopefully it will make the difference again otherwise we will go back down .

She has been very unwell mentally and this has helped .

Fluoxetine didn't do anything

We will try different ssri's if necc .

I have been on it for 6 weeks or so now and I wish I had started it months ago. I am feeling like myself again and I just can’t quite believe it yet because it has been such a huge shift. I took 25mg for a week before bed and then up to 50mg and fine on that dose. Only side effect I had was a very dry mouth but that has settled now.

So far it's been ok. No issues with sleep, and I feel less depressed but I feel like that might just be placebo effect

I feel a little nauseous today, but very mildly so