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...

That may be the case but I think the word horrific is an over exaggeration. Chemo is horrific.

I had chemo when I was 11. It was horrific. I also feel pretty horrific now, mentally and physically.

Thanks everyone x

Sertraline saved my life.

@AlrightAlrightAlright

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

What a weird thing to pick on.

People can find all sorts of things horrific. They don't need to have their life experiences compared to cancer treatment in any way whatsoever. It just looks like you're trying to invalidate how she feels completely.

Sertraline can have this effect on some people. It did with me and some others I know.
I went back to the GP sharpish and got it changed.
The side effects you’re describing sound like the start of Seratonin syndrome, which can be horrific, as you say.

Go see your GP. There’s loads of other SSRIs that can help, fluoxetine worked for me, sertaline was horrendous.

I’ve been on and off anti depressants for about 20 years, I take an old one called Seroxat, it isn’t prescribed much these days but it works for me.

The side effects are horrific and much like yours, you will get acid indigestion so take your pill with plenty of water and after eating something bland like toast, the lump in your throat is heightened anxiety due to the side effects, nausea is normal, early waking is normal, vivid dreams are normal. The side effects will slowly taper off and when they do you should sleep like a baby. My GP prescribes me 10 5mg diazepam to get me through the worst start up days. They chill me out so much that the side effects don’t bother me also I know what to expect so I go with it.

You will feel better, if you don’t within 6-8 weeks go back to your GP who will try you with another SSRI.

I was like this for the first five days or so of taking sertraline. I had a terrible urge to wander / move my legs too. It does wear off though, very quickly and then the positive effects kick in. SSRI's can be a total bitch to start and stop!

It will be worth it. I started Sertraline in mid-March and the first week was challenging - fatigue, nausea, anxiety and so jittery I couldn't sit still. It eased after a week and my appetite took another couple of weeks to return, but it's changed my life after that - I fully expect to be on it for life and I'm happy with that.

Stick with it; it will be worth it!

I was taking sertraline a few years back and whilst I didn't have any major side effects, it actually affected me sexually in the sense where I couldn't feel anything down there (that might be a bit TMI LOL). I always found this super odd, did any one else ever experience anything similar? Anyways after a discussion with my GP, he changed time to fluroxetine and this actually helped me massively

Sertraline was indeed horrific for me. I spent 2 days barely able to move yet my muscles were jerking all over the place with constant waves of panic attacks, I tied to ride it out thinking it was normal until I started hallucinating. My doctor took me off it immediately and switched me to citalopram, apparently it’s quite rare to have a strong reaction like that but it happens to some people. I’ve been fine on citalopram for years now, few side effects but as expected

I'm also on 50 mg. I take my pill every morning at breakfast time. I'd heard it can affect your sleep and poor sleep is a trigger for my anxiety, so that timing works for me.

@AlrightAlrightAlright you appear to have a severe lack of empathy.

I started sertraline at 25mg and I advise my patients to do the same for about 4 days. I also tell them that they may feel weird. I changed to citalopram years later and was fine but came off it for 6 months then had to go back on it and I felt absolutely horrific too ..and that's as someone who understands what the drug does so not underestimating the way you feel at all.

@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 does get better after a couple of weeks. I felt terrible for the first week or so. I've been on it almost a year now, still get occasional tremors.

Hi
I could not get away with Sertraline. It made me worse re anxiety. I struggle d with it for 8 weeks then swopped over to another SSRI and had very few side effects. You just have to find the right one for you. Take care.

I've never felt worse. I kept going for 6 weeks but I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep really couldn't function.

Fluxoetine with Mirtazipine worked for me.

I had terrible nausea & a bit of googling later started taking a big glass of water with the tablet & then more water in the couple of hours after which seemed to make a considerable difference.
So I recommend that.

Sertraline made my anxiety worse. I've been on other ADs and that's the first one that actually made me worse! On Venlafaxine now which is much better.

My DM had a breakdown 3 weeks ago, and she was put on 25mg for a week, then increased to 50mg. She's also taking diazapam when needed (she's been very cautious, she's been prescribed up to 3 half tabs per 24 hours, but only takes a half daily, usually if she's woken up in the night with severe panic.) She's improving. Pretty nauseated, but much better anxiety. I was on sertraline for 10 years. Came off for 8, now about to restart. The zombie phase at the beginning is hard, but I felt quite normal after a couple of weeks, but with much reduced anxiety. Good luck

It didn’t suit dh so they changed it. Ring them if you need to.

Can anyone help me pls: I was on 50mg seratline but stopped after one day. I asked pharmacist (as couldn’t get through my doctor surgery) and they said it only comes in 50mg. When I did get a call back from doc he said they do do 25mg. But again chemist told me no they don’t. Dr. Said he will give me a prescription but I’m thinking are they just going to cut tablets in half? I paid £9.50 for my 50mg which will go to waste so shall I just cut in half myself? I stopped after one day. If therapy does t work I’m considering taking 25mg

@AlrightAlrightAlright google serotonin syndrome, you will indeed see that it’s horrific.

@Binny36 it’s fine to break the tablets into halves or even quarters, I take 20mg but always start on 5mg and work my way up weekly until I’m taking the full dose. It massively reduces side effects.