Sertraline made me feel ill ,would you continue ?

[luluxxx]

I started sertraline today because of anxiety eating out,worry about choking .
No panic attacks or anything and if I distract myself I’m okay.
Anyway doctor prescribed sertraline 25mg today and I started today and feel ill.
Took it at 9 am and within 2 hours I had a dizzy head then a heavy stomach and I feel sick to my stomach.
I honestly don’t know whether to continue this or refer myself for CBT instead (talking therapy )
I feel so tired and sick

You have to give it around 6 weeks for the side effects to wear off and for it to see if its working for you.

It will take a couple of weeks to settle down but then it should really help. When I started taking it I felt nauseas, lightheaded and spacey, but once it passed it was amazing how much less anxious I felt. If you can, try and stick with it as how you are feeling now won't last.

The weird spaced out nauseous feeling lasted about a week for me. I started on 50mg and am now on 100mg. I’ve been on it about six months. You do need to persevere to give it a chance unfortunately.

I go on holiday in a month and I’m worried I’m going to feel ill,hopefully the side effects ease off soon then
i I have never felt this sick in a long time

You have to ride out the side effects and give it longer.
Having said that my DS found it brutal, very vivid nightmares, d&v. But stuck with it for six weeks. Because of the throwing up, GP said he probably wasn’t absorbing enough for benefits. Switched to Citalopram, much more gentle. Worked wonders.

Take it at bed time. But also. The sickness, talk to your doc, it can be harsh on the stomach and you can get a tablet to take alongside to make it easier on the stomach, can't remember what it's called but it's a normal thing.

Probably doesn’t help today being first day of my period,I’m gonna try and ride it out and hope the benefits outweigh this

You have to eat and drink with it. And drink a lot. Like, a whole glass of water. The sick feeling subsides in a few days usually and after a few weeks, you won't know you're even taking it.

Remember, it's trying to majorly alter your brain chemistry. It will cause a few side effects to start with, at least you know its having an effect.

Yeah I had toast and a banana and yoghurt before I took it and had a panini for lunch and jacket potato tonight …so I’m eating
Weirdly after I eat I don’t feel sick then it creeps back in

Sertaline was my saviour! I am on 150 mg. The first two weeks on it are absolutely awful in my opinion, but you need to stick with it. The sicky, dizzy headache type feeling will go. I had much more success by taking it at night, and as other people have said, take it with lots of water and never try and swallow it without any water at all.

In a month's time, you probably won't have any side effects at all. It changed my life. You should stick with it. Good luck x

Also, you've started on a very hot day, which can exacerbate side effects. Keep well hydrated and keep cool if you can. Hopefully it will settle soon x.

It took me a week to get over side effects. I took it before bed to minimise symptoms and still do actually a few months in. In that first week I felt AWFUL, was so ineffective at work and had to cancel a meal out with friends as I felt so bad. Happy to say it was short lived though. My advice is to keep going. Good luck and take care.

Really common to have some gastric issues for a few days - stick with it

Give it a week. It should be feeling a little bit better by then. If not, it will be plenty of time to get it out of your system before the holiday and make an appointment for when you get back to discuss whether it's worth trying again for longer or trying something else.

I don’t know, I took fluoxetine for anxiety and was really sick with it, I only took it twice and was being sick daily for a month!

Have you tried other ways to manage your anxiety? CBT or similar?

I did not sleep a wink last night
i I was tired but couldn’t sleep
wasnt anxious but literally just lay there
I took the tablet in the morning too
i feel exhausted this morning

I have had cbt in the past which was great
i think cbt might be better for me than this tbh

I also read a self help book called Panicking about panic by Josh someone which was really helpful in changing how I thought about anxiety.

This, OP
Best ADs I have ever had. It does take time. 👍🏻

No, and I am really surprised you were prescribed it in that circumstance. I’d really try and manage your anxiety a different way. IMO, that’s quite a heavy handed approach to something you say you can manage without
edited to add: “manage without, according to your OP”

@GirliefriendlikespuppiesThankyou for that recommendation,I’ve just ordered this book