Sertraline. Yes or no

[johnlennonsglasses]

Posting for traffic... sorry!
I'm looking for some advice.
I had an ectopic pregnancy just ver 2 years ago. It was pretty awful and not an experience I'd wish on anyone.
After the surgery / recovery, I just got up and got on with life. Didn't really deal with it. I've got 2 DC and DH and I both work FT, so I was easier to just keep going if that makes sense.

For the past 2 years I've been really up and down. Awful anxiety. Snappy, withdrawn, cloudy thought process, making mistakes in work an very very forgetful.
I'm tired of feeling this way so I went to GP on Wednesday and she has told me that I'm suffering from post traumatic stress. She prescribed sertraline and referred me for counselling.

I'm really torn on whether to take it. I'm scared of the side effects and scared that it will de-sensitise my real feelings.

AIBU to ask for your thoughts and experiences? Thanks in advance!

It's a bit of a myth that drugs like sertraline mask your real feelings or make you feel 'numb'. They're modern SSRI anti-depressants, not the old school tricyclics/sedatives that make you feel blank and woozy. When people insist they 'felt numb' on SSRIs it's more likely that the numbness was a symptom of their mental illness, not a side effect of the drug.

I have taken two drugs that are very similar to sertraline and found them extremely helpful - and I couldn't have gone through counselling without them, either; I simply wouldn't have been able to face it without the help of medication. Antidepressants are nothing to be scared of - you're clearly not well, and if you had a physical illness you'd take medication for it.

You really deserve to get well, and I think your doctor has given you excellent advice. I really hope you feel better soon

I haven’t taken Sertraline but I’ve taken other SSRIs and found them helpful. I found they dulled both the bottom end and the top end of my feelings, but it gave me a chance to do some useful work in therapy. I think the evidence shows the that meds and therapy together have the best results. Sorry you’ve had such a hard time. Hope you find some help.

It's the only one I've used that works. Brilliant stuff. Had a slight headache and nausea, but that was good as I lost weight. It feels like I have more energy when I'm on it and I actually want to exercise. Tried a lot of antidepressants over the years including old Tri types, Sertraline is by far the best. Without it I see no future, on it I make plans. Really hope you feel better soon x

I've had sertraline when I struggle and my 12 year old dd is on it. I was twitchy about both of us, especially her but we've both done well on it.
It's been 4 years since I had it last so you can get off it.

It really zapped my anxiety, so I could work on the underlying causes without the hamster wheel going in my head all the time. Wish I 'd tried it earlier.

Would you use an inhaler if you were asthmatic? Would you take insulin if you were diabetic? Sertraline saved my life when I had PND/PnP. Minor side effects (dry mouth mostly) and I never felt numb. A literal lifesaver.

It's a wonder drug as far as I am concerned. My DS2 (22) has autism and OCD and was crippled by his anxiety and OCD until he started Sertraline... it literally gave him his life back!

He's on a hig dose, no side effects , and it allows him to cope with life!

Following as I'm having the same quandry OP, I start therapy next week and my GP prescribed me setraline last week, I avoided taking them last week as I had a stinking cold and my GP told me they would probably make me nauseous at first, and I didn't want that on top of the cold.

Now I think im too scared to take them, for the same reasons as you x

Sending hugs to you - such a horrible place to be in. For what it's worth, sertraline has been an absolute life saver over the last six months for me. I've a history of depression, am very good at 'managing' but so very glad that I went back in to beds after decade or so. The side effects can be a little rough over the first fortnight but the relief of reduced symptoms, I found to be tremendous. Wishing you all the best OP.

I've been on sertraline since I had my son 7 years ago. It's quite liberating knowing when you will need to increase it (stressful time approaching or winter) but at the same time a little sad.
Look, my brain has loose connections and the Sertraline bridges them. I would be lost without them tbh
My husband started taken ut a year ago for anxiety and it has stopped his IBS! My mum had a mental breakdown 3 years ago and her blood pressure has stabilised and she is able to handle stressful situations a lot better (she is my grandmother with dementia's carer fulltime)
The only negative I would say about it, is that it can give you terrible insomnia. I take Mirtazapine to combat this and as it's another type of AD, it kinda helps as a top up so to speak. Knocks me out completely-none of the other typical sleeping pills helped.
I would absolutely recommend it. It will allow your brain to make sense of everything while enabling you to carry on with life.

Best wishes x

Wow thank you for your responses.
Mind is made up now, I'll definitely start taking them today.
You guys are amazing, thank you so much x

I was so hesitant when I was first prescribed them too OP.

I won't lie, the first week I did feel pretty crap, headaches, nausea and some jaw clenching.

BUT I'm really glad I stuck with them. I take them for anxiety and my attacks were so bad I was literally clawing at my skin until it bled. I've not had an attack like that since taking it and the only way I can describe it is I feel so much more logical in my thought processes. Things still make me anxious, things still worry me, but I can stop, think, process it and deal with it logically before it turns into something huge which I could never ever do before.

I know nothing about the drug, but I've had an ectopic pregnancy and think it could easily leave anyone with PTSD. There is a toxic mix of baffling uncertainty followed by total panic and a life-threatening medical situation, emergency surgery and at the end of it the tragic knowledge that you've lost a baby, that your body has betrayed you, that you're luck to be alive and that if you ever get pregnant the chances of it happening again are 1 in 3.

My abiding memories are the early weeks with a tiny alarm bell shrilling in my brain that just got louder and louder while I couldn't get anyone to listen to my concerns, and a moment just before surgery when a young doctor broke out in a sweat because she couldn't get into a vein on the back of my hand, muttering to herself that all the veins could collapse at any moment.

Take all the help that's offered, I say!

Sertraline didn't suit me but I know it does suit many people. If sertraline isn't the right drug for you (the side effects made it intolerable for me) then there are several other drugs which are worth trying. It can be trial and error to find the right one for you but when you are on the right one it will really help.

I found it really helpful. I was worried I wouldn't feel anything but it was the opposite. It gave me the clarity to think properly and I still had a normal range of emotions, it's just that now they're in proportion.

Good luck with it, op. I’ve been taking sertraline for about two years now. I’ve also had an ectopic pregnancy, and understand entirely how this would lead to ptsd (although I started taking it after a shitty couple of years that culminated in my mum dying).

The only side effect I had (and continue to have) is jaw clenching - I’ve destroyed a couple of fillings as a result - but in comparison to soul destroying, crushing inability to function, it’s a small price to pay.

I hope it works out for you. The relief you feel when you start to feel ‘normal’ again is amazing.

Sertraline has been a wonder drug for me.

I recommend starting with a small dose. I started on 50mg and suffered really terrible side effects. Every single one of the ones the leaflet says 1 in 10 people experience. After sticking it out for a week I reduced to 25mg, then went back up to 50mg after another 3 weeks and I was fine. It really helped. After 6 weeks I felt like myself again for the first time in 2 years. I still felt the full range of emotions. Although I didn’t cry in the 6 months I was on them.

Good luck OP. Make sure you have some easy to eat food in the cupboards. I hope you’re feeling better soon

Sertraline is a life saver for me in the same way that my insulin is a life saver. I’ve been on it for six years so far and I find it works really well for me.

I did get really bad headaches for the first few weeks, but thats the only side effect I had.

All I can say is sertraline has worked well for me.
The most noticeable effect has been on my anxiety. DH noticed that even when I was still on a low dose my posture had changed, I was less hunched and less tense.
It's a much better drug than previous depression medication.

I’m debating whether to start my own thread to ask this, but maybe this will be helpful info for the OP too? Tell me to bugger off if you want johnlennonsglasses

For those who have experienced coming off Sertraline, how did you find it? I’ve been off it altogether for almost 4 weeks now, after reducing down really gradually over 5 weeks. The GP warned that I may feel low for a couple of weeks and to come back if if continued for longer. I felt absolutely fine for the first 3 weeks, but the last few days I’ve felt increasingly low, flat, tearful and muddled. I’m not sure whether to try riding it out for another couple of weeks, or going straight back to the GP.

Sorry to hear that you have been through this. My daughter has these for anxiety and they have changed her life around. It won't hurt to try them. Let us know how you get on. Good luck

Sertraline was a real life saver for me, literally. I did feel ‘numb’ in that it kept me very even emotionally, so I didn’t feel the abject sadness and panic but I did kind of miss out on the real happy feelings. But I needed that evenness, it allowed me to recover and go back to work, and eventually therapy (I so wish I had done it sooner). I don’t know what therapy you’ve been referred for, but something trauma informed may be more useful than CBT or talking therapy. I did EMDR and it was hands down the best thing I did for my anxiety & depression, and my therapist worked with victims of trauma (rape/birth trauma etc) and used this technique with great success. I paid privately, but it is available on the NHS in some areas. Look it up, if you’re so inclined, and see if it seems right for you?

Good luck OP

It saved my life.

Yes.

I havent taken sertraline but I'm currently one week into taking another SSRI and honestly the change already is incredible. Apart from feeling a bit dizzy and tired the first couple of days, there havent been any side effects. I'm taking them for severe anxiety (and likely PTSD but this hasn't been diagnosed).