Antidepressants

[NAdz1984]

Hey guys I’m new here. I’v been on fluoxetine for the past 10 years on and off and they have been so effective, always been on 20mg. Due to the pandemic my anxiety flared up back in June so doc upped me to 30mg this didn’t do anything. Doc then increased me to 40mg in sept again I had good days but mainly bad days. I promised I’d give it till the end of the year before I changed ova. Spoke to doc last week he has now switched me over to sertraline. His told me to taper down to 20mg fluox for a week and then start 50mg sertraline next week. I’m so scared, Iv heard lots of horror stories regarding sertraline. Anyone been on these? What were they like/ side effects? Did they work for u. And advice/ positive stories would be much appreciated.

I've been on fluoxetine, citalopram, sertraline and finally venlafaxine as I kept becoming resistant to my medication. My sis is on sertraline and it works brilliantly for her.

The thing that is currently working very, very well for me is cold water swimming (I've managed to halve my dose rather than increase it, which I thought I would have to do this time last year). Not something to go into without building up gradually though!

Did the sertraline not work for u?

I wouldn’t be too scared to take Sertraline. I was terrified to start taking it but I did, it made me feel a little strange at first (a bit nervous, nausea, terrible wind!) but that died down after a couple of days. It’s been a life changer for me as I was really in a bad place anxiety wise. I know other people who’ve been fine on it too 😊 there are a couple of longer term side effects... for me I do struggle to orgasm and also I rarely cry any more. But for me that was worth it to get myself back on an even keel. I appreciate everyone’s different though.

I’m not an expert but just wanted to share a positive story. I read a lot of horror stories on the internet but I do think that overall that is a small minority of people. Just that you’re more likely to share your experience if it’s a bad one!

And best of luck whatever you do decide to do!

I’m on sertraline and have been, on and off, for 7 years. 50mg is the lowest dose which I as on before. I am currently on 75mg as pandemic and working full time and 2 kids made me very very panicky and bad tempered. Right now I feel good and rarely have any anxiety. Before starting any AD’s I had major agoraphobia and low-grade claustrophobia with panic disorder.
Starting sertraline is tough as the initial side effects are quite difficult to bear. In my case they disappeared within 5-7 days so worth sticking with it.

I'm on citalopram which is very similar. I resisted medication for years thinking it would blunt my mind and cause me harm but finally started on it after I started having hallucinations and became quite ill.
It really has changed my life and there have been very few side effects.
I can see how ill I was now and a couple of my colleagues commented on the difference. I thought I was hiding it well but I wasn't.

Thank u so much for the positive story it gives me some confidence. I just hope it works for me as the fluox stopped.

Geneva maybe what side effects did u have?

Heightened anxiety, insomnia, a dodgy tummy, tight jaw and constant yawning. Only lasted a week tops so you have to really stick with it

I've tried pretty much every AD going in various combinations and sertraline has been by far the best for me. I only really got side effects when I went up to a very high dose (250mg; above the general max dose). Currently back at 200mg and I hope this will be it for life now.

I was on sertraline 50mg for 9 months for sevete anxiety and depression. I had a little nausea and upset stomach for the first couple of days but since I get nauseous when I'm anxious I probably wouldn't have remarked on it if I wasn't watching out. Like @manicpixiedreammollusc I did struggle to orgasm while I was on it, that was the most noticeable side effect! I came off it a couple of months ago because I'm trying to have a baby and I have noticed that I'm 'feeling' more - I have bigger emotional peaks and troughs. However I absolutely think it was the right thing for me to take at the time - I couldn't even get around the supermarket without having a panic attack, I couldn't cope with any loud noises, and I was unable to work. Now after medication plus therapy I am back in work full time. I had depression due to anxiety so I wasn't keen to go onto antidepressants to begin with, but I found that the sertraline helped to generally even out my mood so that I wasn't having constant exhausting adrenaline spikes, and that in turn allowed me to gain enough energy to engage properly at therapy. Only thing I would mention is that it was a bit tough coming off it, I had quite bad dizzy spells for a couple of weeks even though I came off really slowly, but I think I was in the minority there as most people come off without major issues. I'm very glad I went on it and it definitely helped and sped up my recovery. Good luck xxx

I've had several anti=depressants over the years - none 'long term, I'd guess the longest period was maybe two years.
Citalopram, fluoxetine, Seroxat and sertraline are names I recollect taking. Some were less effective than others, hence the variety - but I guess that's very individual.
The only bad side effect I recall was one of them made my face sweat horrendously - sorry I can't recall which one, and I switched off of that one to something else. - but clearly not everyone gets that side effect anyway.

Understandable that you're anxious, but if you've been on fluoxetine for ten years with no side effects, there's no reason to assume that you'll automatically get side effects with another SSRI - and little point continuing to take ever increasing doses of Fluoxetine if it's no longer working for you.
Stay in touch with your GP, discuss any side effects with them, and also be aware that after ten years and most recently a larger dose, you may be managing side effects of withdrawal as much as side effects of the new drug.
Good luck

I'm on 50mg dose and it's the best thing I've ever done. Slightly increased anxiety in first week (but totally manageable), and after that not a single side effect. Aside from the fact I no longer cry every day and am enjoying my life (despite being in the middle of a pandemic etc!!!).

I started 50mg sertraline in about Sept for anxiety. It's the lowest dose. It's helped even out my moods, so v useful, but am doing CBT as well.

Only side effects I had was feeling slightly sick first couple days. Several people said to me it upped their anxiety initially so look out for that and stick with it. My GP also told me to take just half a tablet the first 4 days to help minimise symptoms.

Hope it works for you but either way nothing to worry re trying it

Looking at GenevaMaybe's post, I had stomach problems with a few of them on starting/switching, but very short term, no more than a few days.
Possibly insomnia too, but that's very common for me, so I wouldn't necessarily have assumed it was a side effect of medication. Amitriptyline was ace for that - I slept for 48 hours solid the first time I took it.

Not gonna lie, I find the first week on sertraline torturous: anxiety increases, can’t sleep, constant teeth grinding and nausea. But it’s worth persevering with

I started taking sertraline in 2017, first on 50mg then upped to 100mg about 7 weeks later as I didn’t notice a massive difference.

The main side effects I found short term were loss of appetite and struggling to sleep- these only lasted 2/3 weeks I’d say. I did find that a put a fair bit of weight on whilst taking them (from looking online - obviously not scientific, some say they can increase your appetite - so if your aware of this you can just manage that.)

I stopped taking them January 2020 as I didn’t want to be on them forever.

Also forgot to mention, one side effect that I struggled with is getting tightness in my throat/chest like I had eaten something that got stuck- hard to explain. It came quite quickly after coming in though

Also - YES to taking 25mg daily for 4 days, then alternating 25 and 50 for another 4 days then 50mg daily.

On sertraline since September, 50mg. Nauseous for a week or so but it has saved my life and my relationship with my family. Life is too short to suffer.

I am in the exact same boat at the moment. Can I ask - did the sertraline work for you?

@NAdz1984 just wondered if the sertraline worked for you? After the fluoxetine stopped. Xx

@Sophfj123 hi yes I am still on the sertraline and yes it did eventually work for me.