Setroline - any advice?

[EwwwwDavid]

I've struggled with my mental health for a very long time. Years in fact. I finally built up the courage to speak to my GP and I've been prescribed setroline.
Any advice regarding this? I'm so anxious about it but understand that I need the help so willing to take them.
My fears are:
Do you feel worse?
Are you on them forever?
Do you just somehow feel happy again?

I hate to be negative about it (although it's a given I suppose when you're depressed 😩).

For context I have experienced the worst bereavement you can imagine and although it was 14 years ago I still struggle. I wish I'd spoken to my GP years ago but I never had the strength.

Making the first step to go to the GP and actually seek help is so hard, youve taken the first step and thats amazing.
I took setraline when i had PND and i do think it helped but i think the changes i tried to make and counselling were invaluable too...

If you are concerned about side effects keep a diary/use a mood tracker and if you have any untoward side effects then call your gp back immediately as there are lots of different drugs that can help.

I really hope that it goes well for you and that it helps the fog lift.

Virtual hugs

Hi, I started sertraline in 2019. It made a huge difference for me.

They do warn you that in the first two weeks of taking it you might feel worse, I never did though. I think knowing you’ve taken a big step towards helping yourself feel better can be really powerful.

I know its really scary to start taking something without knowing exactly how they will make you feel.
For me it wasn’t anything dramatic or scary, I just felt better, more on an even keel. I still have all the normal moods, they don’t numb me, but when I feel low or anxious, I’m able to pull myself out more quickly.

I find it helpful to think about it like if I was diabetic and was low on insulin, I’d take insulin for the rest of my life. My brain is low on chemicals it needs for me to be well, so I take sertraline. That’s not to say I’ll never come off them, but I’m in no hurry to.

(I did recently come off them temporarily because I was pregnant. I felt worse so I’ve gone back on them on the advice of the midwives)

I’m on Sertraline and the only side effect I found was nausea that lasted for the first few weeks. It’s really weird to explain but within a month I started feeling more like myself. Before that, I was overreacting to EVERYTHING. I was crying multiple times a day and snapping at everyone. I’m now much more reasonable and although I don’t necessarily feel happy I do occasionally sing to myself and have found enjoyment in simple things that I didn’t before. Good luck with it OP, I hope it’s as helpful to you as it is to me.

Thank you both for your replies. The GP did say it would take about 2 weeks to feel a difference. She also said I'd likely feel sick but just to go with it and it will pass.
I do feel a wee bit better for having plucked up the courage to admit I need help.

Yep, had it to help with catastrophically bad PND. It worked really well. Was on it about a year, by which time, counselling then CBT had undone the worst of it.

have had a disastrous year, with illness, bereavements and insane stress. And started back on it last week. (Going ok so far, just vivid dreams)

Sertroline is an SSRI drug.
It can take up to 6 weeks to start to work and initially you may feel worse ( panic attacks ,insomnia , fatigue etc)
Give it several weeks .
Link in with your GP if you don’t feel it’s working as not every antidepressant suits an individual .
Drugs useful when used in conjunction with therapy and other self care
Hope you will start to feel better soon

It made me feel better straight away.
I went from suicidal and crying multiple times a day to literally unable to cry even if I wanted to.
changed my life, for the better - good luck, really hope it helps you too xx

Sertraline, along with a separate mood stabiliser, has been the only antidepressant to touch wood keep my bipolar disorder under control for the last few years. I'm on the highest dose ànd will remain on them god wiĺling for ever. The first two weeks were tough, but you will come out the other side. I would urge you to seek any counselling you think you might need at the same sort of time, as it will really help. Xxx

Treat it as a short term thing and get good advice about coming off. Withdrawal can be appalling for some people & tapering very slowly is smart.
Look at the list of side effects and take them seriously.
Remember that they muffle everything, good and bad. The world will be very medium for a while.
In the long term, people who came off antidepressants are doing better than people who stayed on them.

Therapy is a good bet. Find someone you like. Good luck op x

It took me about 4 weeks to notice a difference in how I felt. I realised I wasn’t thinking the worst outcomes for any scenarios anymore. I wasn’t worrying all the time, or feeling the constant tight band or stress around my rib age either.
I felt sick for a couple of weeks too.

It worked brilliantly for me. I had quite a low dose and I felt the difference straight away - though I also got signed off work which probably helped massively. I came off in a bit of a chaotic unplanned way - not recommended but it wasnt that bad. Touchwood, the benefits have lasted for me. I hope it helps you, but if it doesn't you can always try another antidepressant.

Just to say, I've tried counselling 3 separate times and I felt it made me worse.

That was years ago though so I'm not going to rule it out.

It can feel worse before it feels better. Or it can be the wrong therapist! Hard to say in the very short term.
Maybe a different kind? Equine assisted.... Ecotherapy .... Art therapy ... yoga herapt ... something more embodied?

Do you feel worse?

Initially, yes. I had a rough few weeks both times I started on them. But if you stick with it, it gets a lot better. I feel a lot better now.

Are you on them forever?

No, sometimes you just need them to pull you out of a bad time or unhelpful thought patterns. I've been able to come off them successfully twice.

That said, some people take them forever because they feel they benefit from them. You wouldn't question whether it was bad for a diabetic to take insulin forever, I feel the same way about MH. If you need them, if they benefit you- take them.

Do you just somehow feel happy again?

Different for everyone. But I feel like a weight has been lifted. I am able to be happy again without it pulling me down.

You need to try and find out yourself. Chances are it will make a difference for the better.

Thanks @Crackof I'm not totally against counselling. I'm just exhausted from feeling so crap and worthless. I'm aware it's probably not true hence why I finally called the GP XXX

Best thing I ever did taking sertraline. I didn't want to go on them due to previous bad experience with antidepressants but honestly it has been truly lifechanging for me. I'm on a pretty low dose and have been for 7 months. Felt odd and had a fair few side effects for the first few weeks but glad I persevered.

Can I ask what are the typical side affects you all felt?

I'm on day 11 of sertraline. My side effects so far have been a few stomach aches, and sweating at night. That's been it really. Both of these symptoms have started to improve now.

As for feeling better, it's still early days for me. I haven't had a panic attack or cried in the past week though, so that's a plus.

I had teeth grinding resulting in some jaw pain, a bit of nausea, difficulty sleeping and breast pain. The breast pain was the worst but only lasted about 4 days.

I have to say I had to stop setraline after 2 doses (of the lowest dose) because I felt more ill than I'd ever been in my life. I assumed I had covid it was so bad. I felt really dizzy, sick, couldn't eat or sleep, was shaking constantly and my temperature went down to what is apparently hypothermia levels!

Please don't let that put you off though as most people don't have such strong effects, and even with me they stopped very quickly as soon as I stopped taking them.

So my advice would be:
Take it in in the evening so if you do have side effects you can sleep through the worst of them

If you can take time off work for the first few days do so

If you really really don't get on with sertraline it's fine to try different antidepressants until you fund the one that works for you - I tried mirtazopine, had the same side effects but not as badly, but was absolutely starving. Tried citalopram and barely any side effects at all and found it amazing. Still felt like me but with the edge taken off if that makes sense.

I was wired on it for the first 2 weeks - I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking it before going to bed as it makes most people more alert

just something to consider, OP.

btw, I’m finding it really helpful

I'm pretty sure the advice is to take it in the morning because it can keep you awake at night

I took Sertraline for 3 years and it helped me get through some pretty horrible times. Side effects for me were heart flutters and insomnia for the first 2 weeks or so, then it all got better.

I never felt it numbed the highs, but it did pretty well at staving off the worst of the lows, and ultimately it gave me the thinking space I needed to sort out everything that had made me feel like crap in my life.

What I hadn't noticed at the time was just how much of my natural energy it drained. Now I've been off Sertraline for a few months, I'm energetic as hell again - the lack of lethargy is really starting to show. I have also put on 4 stone over the 3 years of taking the stuff, which is now coming off again at pretty much the same rate as it went on without any noticeable differences in my diet.

My advice is to definitely take them and see how they make you feel after a few weeks, then use the break they'll hopefully give you mentally to sort out what is dragging you down.