Sertraline is horrific

[spacetime]

I've been taking it for a few days now. I have a constant lump in my throat which is very uncomfortable. I feel totally wired. Anxiety is really high. A bit shakey in the mornings. Appetite has disappeared. I feel hungry but he idea of eating makes me feel nauseous. I usually love food. Head is spacey. I wake up super early in the morning, whether I take the tablet in the morning or at night.

Someone please reassure me that this will all wear off and I'll come out of this fog? I feel worse than before I started taking them...

It should settle, however when I started in them the doctor asked me to make an appointment after 2 weeks...I didn't but I now know why. It can be common for your symptoms to feel worse before or around the 2 mark. You can but may not! Feel more of your symptoms, in my case i actually felt worse and wanted to kill myself. Around the 3 week mark i started to feel slightly better but it took around 6 weeks to actually see an improvement

Speak to your doctor. I had such horrific side effects on Sertraline that I could barely walk, let alone drive, and that was after one dose. My GP told me not to take any more and put me on citalopram instead, on which I had no side effects.

I stopped after one day. I Could not look after my kids. I’m going to try high intensity cbt. Meds are not for everyone, I’m going to try different things and if I feel no different I might consider going back to doctor.

I have taken most AD available at one point or another, and the side effects do go away. They can start to ease after a week or so, but can take 6 months to fully go. It is absolutely horrible to go through but it is worth it once your out the other end. Honestly I've been taken off and put on different AD (including sertraline) for years and always end up back on them (long term complex mental health issues including comorbid disorders) so have been through the initial adjustment period with severe side effects probably too many times. I was on sertraline for a good 4 years previously (only stopped when I came off AD for a year, and went back on something else as my other medications has changed), and once the initial side effects had gone (roughly 6 weeks+) I didn't experience any other nasty side effects! In many ways it was preferable to what I take now!

Did your pupils dialate? Immune we’re dialated. It was awful

I've been on Sertraline for a few years. It does settle down after a little while.

Cirtralopram, on the other hand, was awful. It made me feel like my head had been stuffed with cotton wool. You couldn't pay me to take that again.

Stick with it! The few days / weeks can be really rough with any anti-D, but it honestly does settle down. I was prescribed Sertraline due to PND with both of my DCs and the first few weeks were pretty weird. I was told to allow about six weeks for side effects to settle down & to feel some impact on my mood. Anecdotally different anti-Ds just seem to click for different people, in ways that don't have an obvious rational explanation, so consider trying something else if sertraline doesn' work out for you longterm.

I struggled on it. I had a permanent headache and pins and needles in both hands on it. It did nothing for my mood either.

These symptoms should pass.

I'm on day one of sertraline.
Reading with interest!

I was prescribed Sertraline for depression and OCD but didn't get on well with it at all - I was shaky too, but my worst symptom was formication which was unbearable at times. The feeling of ants crawling under my skin used to drive me up the wall! Citalopram didn't really work for me either, but switching to Fluoxetine was the best thing I did. I'd give it a couple of weeks, as the side effects can go, but if not, please ask your GP to change your prescription. Good luck!

Because you are suffering with anxiety you are no doubt thinking it's worse than it is. I've been taking 100mg for 12 years, it's really not that bad. Take it before bed if it's affecting you that much

I really struggled with Sertraline and had to come off it. Citalopram worked much better for me and had much fewer side effects.

Sertraline meant I struggled to sleep - I also had awful heartburn that took about four months (after I stopped them) to disappear. I sweated a LOT and it didn't really do anything for my mood either. But maybe that was because the side effects just made me so miserable!

Good luck - persist for a while but if you're not getting on with it, it's worth asking for an alternative.

@AlrightAlrightAlright

Because you are suffering with anxiety you are no doubt thinking it's worse than it is. I've been taking 100mg for 12 years, it's really not that bad. Take it before bed if it's affecting you that much

It's great it helped you, but not all drugs work for everyone. I had the same issues as OP and the side effects never went away. In fact, I felt worse on the medication than I did off it.

Stick with it, the side effects will pass in a few weeks. If you’re still feeling really bad in two weeks, go back to your GP to review.

Nearly all ADs have a settling in period but the worst thing you can do is give up without giving them a good go.

Sertraline is wonderful but it takes a few weeks to have an effect on your mental state. The initial reaction is your body getting used to a new substance, a day or two and you should be fine. If not speak to your doctor.

Generally sertraline has fewer negative effects than other anti-depressants which is why doctors use it as first choice. But if it causes problems after a few weeks they will switch you to something else.

Yes I had side effects for the first few days but since then it's been great. A few years back I tried citolapram, now that was bad. Made me poop around 7 times a day and I had gastro issues for months after I came off it

BTW 200mg/day for 10 years. I said in a post yesterday that it's not revolutionary but makes a noticeable 10%-20% improvement in my mood. I tried reducing it once and it was really obvious I wasn't ready.

Haven’t RTFT but I felt dreadful for the first week or so on sertraline. By day 10 it had passed, I started to feel better and it gave me the chance to get myself back on track- actually saved me at that point in my life. FWIW I’m glad I stuck it out. I hope things settle for you soon

I agree different people react to differently. Setraline was too speedy for me citalopram had unworkable side effects and I am too wary now to try anything else.

It's great it helped you, but not all drugs work for everyone. I had the same issues as OP and the side effects never went away. In fact, I felt worse on the medication than I did off it.

That may be the case but I think the word horrific is an over exaggeration. Chemo is horrific. Plus if you're suffering from anxiety you will find symptoms that aren't there

I didn’t get on with sertaline at all, it didn’t seem to work either, let your Dr know and hopefully he can prescribe something different, I’m not on Citalopram it’s easier on the tummy and actual works for me.

So sorry to learn you are having such a bad time right now💐.Hope every thing starts to improve very soon xx

I've been on 150mg sertraline for about 5 years. It has helped me immensely, I dread to think what I'd be like without them!
Hold in there, also ask your GP for some diazepam to ease you in.
Good luck x

I've not had sertraline, but most anti depressants and anti anxiety meds can make you feel awful for the first few weeks. If you still feel really bad after 3 weeks (notice no improvement) start trying to get an appointment to try something else. Hopefully things will improve soon but if not there are other medications that may suit you better.