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Original poster

Sertraline - how did you feel when it started to work?

50 replies

SameKeyThough · 06/01/2023 17:17

I know this is better placed in the Mental Health section but I already have some threads going there! Posting here for a wider audience. I'm currently on week 7 of sertraline, 1 week at 150mg which my psychiatrist thinks is the right dose for me. The first 6 weeks have been hell, but I am now starting to have times where my anxiety is less. So I wanted to know how people felt when it properly kicked in? Was it like a switch being flipped or a gradual thing? And did you feel completely different from when you were anxious/depressed? Thank you

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Original poster

SameKeyThough · 06/01/2023 17:48

Bump

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whatisforteamum · 06/01/2023 17:51

How have they been he'll out of interest

JD90 · 06/01/2023 17:52

Grounded is the best way I can describe it. However I was diagnosed with cyclothymia by my psych so that's probably the best outcome I could have had after trying everything else in the more simple meds kind of range. It was also a long time ago and I have been well managed without anything for a few years now so I don't remember how quick it happened. I do distinctly remember losing my ability to cry/have strong upset emotions though which was odd.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health

popandchoc · 06/01/2023 18:10

It was gradual but best way to describe it is i felt normal and not constantly on edge.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 06/01/2023 18:10

@whatisforteamum my anxiety increased - or at least it stayed the same which was pretty bad. I also had to taper of citalopram which had stopped working for me.

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DewinDwl · 06/01/2023 18:17

I take it for anxiety. For me sertraline weakens the link between thoughts and feelings. For example...

Kids fight and are rude - I don't get angry or stressed or go on a spiral of self-pity
Work is too busy - I can think and concentrate instead of running around like a headless chicken
I open my eyes in the morning and I feel fine instead of feeling sick at the thought of all the things I have to do.
Public transport is late - I don't get angry at world or stressed at being 5 mins late.

It was very gradual. It's not great but I think this is the best I can get at the moment

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 06/01/2023 19:30

@DewinDwl that's what I need. At the moment my thoughts and feelings are so intertwined I can't function. I'm just a ball of anxiety. Not even about anything. It's just there all the time.

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Vitriolinsanity · 06/01/2023 19:44

Measured. Able. Calm.

Imagine a period of unbroken sleep followed by not feeling utterly unhinged.

Like that.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 06/01/2023 20:09

@Vitriolinsanity was it a gradual thing? That sounds so wonderful. I'm in tears currently dreading going to bed and knowing that the chances are I'll be waking up with a churning stomach and overwhelming feeling of despair.

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twinklebutt · 06/01/2023 20:22

For me it was a gradual realisation that my thoughts were irrational and although I still had and still have those thoughts, I am able to tell myself they are irrational and believe myself (if that makes sense!)

Vitriolinsanity · 06/01/2023 20:23

About a month OP. Suddenly you realise you can look the world in the eye.

SleekMamma · 06/01/2023 20:27

It was hell!
Then everything is slightly less awful and overwhelming
Just take it week by week.

WitchintheDitch · 06/01/2023 23:40

It made me feel kind of numb in a way, no highs, no lows. I stayed on it for 12 mths then gradually weaned myself off and I feel so much better now than before I took it, so it was good for me.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 10:23

Woken up feeling just as anxious as usual. When is this going to start working? I can't take much more of it.

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Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 10:54

Can I ask what dose it took to have an effect? I'm on 150mg.

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YourBonesAreWet · 07/01/2023 11:49

It slowly got better for me but each time you change the dose you have to go through another period of adjustment.

I think that week 9 I was feeling better and week 12 I was feeling better than I had in years.

It has been life changing for me, I really hope it starts working for you soon.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 12:58

@YourBonesAreWet that feels like a very long time. But at least it helps to know that it's still a possibility for it to work. I'm so scared it just won't work. I've been on so many meds this past year trying to get on top of it and nothing has really worked for very long. So I'm pinning a lot of hopes on this.

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danni0509 · 07/01/2023 13:11

Hi. My dh takes 100mg a day, to be honest it’s not been what we’d hoped. (He’s been on it 5 months now) it’s made some things easier, ie his mood swings, he is more chilled now, not so much of a stress head, but his ocd is much worse.

Out of curiosity how did you get to see a psychiatrist? Private or referal?

My dh HAS to have 20 sessions of depression counselling before his gp will refer him to a psychiatrist. (We think other things are going on, so be useful to see a psychiatrist for more in depth treatment) he’s already had 4 months of cbt that didn’t work and he’s on the 6 month waiting list for 20 sessions counselling but they are fortnightly sessions, so going to be another year at least before he can get the psychiatrist referal in.

Im thinking of us paying private to speed it up.

Hope you feel better soon x

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 13:18

@danni0509 I saw a psychiatrist when I was admitted to an NHS hospital after presenting at a&,e as suicidal, and from there the crisis team. They weren't very good. Fortunately after that my husband's work included private health insurance which I joined and my treatment has been private. I'm incredibly grateful for that.

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danni0509 · 07/01/2023 13:29

Thanks for your reply.

Mental health is bloody shit isn’t it. I see dh who I’ve been with for 20 years and how much he’s deteriorated this last couple of years and we’ve not found anything that’s helped yet, it’s really sad to see.

Keep trying. I’m sure something will help you soon.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 14:10

@danni0509 that sounds rubbish, I'm sorry you have to jump through so many hoops for specialist care. I'm really lucky that this time we have medical insurance, but in the past (I've had 2 previous crises) we have self funded for psychiatric in patient care. Cost thousands, we used all our savings and had to borrow but I would do it again. The frustration of trying to get help on the NHS when I was so desperate still haunts me.

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Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 16:11

Today I have gone from feeling suicidal this morning and absolutely desperate, to much calmer and almost happy earlier this afternoon and now dipping and feeling a bit anxious again. Does that sound like a familiar pattern when it is starting to work? It's exhausting. Was lovely to feel 'normal' and happier but it's so frustrating when it goes again.

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danni0509 · 07/01/2023 18:22

I can’t answer if that’s it starting to work, I haven’t had sertraline myself for years, but have you felt like how you described earlier before today, low then happier then low again?

Hows your mood usually?

If it’s different to how you usually feel then that could be good news that maybe it is starting to work.

Also posted again to bump for you incase anyone else can add anything.

Original poster

SameKeyThough · 07/01/2023 19:18

@danni0509 my mood is usually very low and anxious. I've had days when I've felt more myself and the anxiety is less there but they have been sporadic. This last week there have been more ups and downs in the course of the day. I think the lows are getting worse because with each day I lose a bit more hope.

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Original poster

SameKeyThough · 08/01/2023 16:42

Another very up and down day. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Also, if you had an kind of obsessive thinking did it help with that? For example I find myself getting really really hung up on small things that shouldn't really bother me. I really want to get past that.

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