Should I take Sertraline or not?

[Sertraline50mg]

I suffer with severe pmt and slight OCD.
The doctor has prescribed sertraline and I have taken 1 tablet, the side effects were diahorrea, nausea, insomnia (im usually a very deep sleeper yet last night I struggled to get to sleep then woke every 5-10mins from 2- 5am) and I feel hungry but don't want to eat because of feeling sick.........

Is it worth me carrying on with them? I know the side effects will probably wear off after a couple of weeks but that means feeling rotten over christmas (and I've really been looking forward to enjoying time off with family) but if I don't take them they won't have time to kick in before my next bout of PMT plus I think my OCD/ anxiety will probably not get better on its own.......

DH says it's my decision, my mum said take them that's what the doctor gave you them for.

In the past I have suffered extreme PND so I know how it feels to need AD's I don't feel I need them I guess but I do feel its time I sorted out the last of my issues left over from my past if that makes sense.

I have just started taking sertraline for PND and the side effects, dizziness and difficulty swallowing, wore off in a few days. You may not have to wait weeks. Also sertraline has a short (24hour) half life so if you decide to stop it will be out of your system fast.

Maybe stick it out for a fortnight by which time you should start to see an effect.

If you need to sort out issues from your past, a therapist and some reading/journalling would surely be better than pills?

You say you know what it is like to need them, but that was for PND so perhaps you felt very depressed. They also work for anxiety and OCD and you obviously are bothered by that or you would not have sought help. So I would take them.

If they keep you awake take them in the morning.

I took the tablet yesterday morning, I'm still unsure if I should take the next one today, I thought maybe I would be better off taking them early evening because I need to function for work, yesterday I was lucky I wasn't working until late afternoon and the worst of it had worn off by lunchtime, although I still feel sick now from that one tablet so today I thought I'd wait until later so I didn't have to try and work whilst feeling worse.

The side effects won't last long and you might make yourself feel worse by stopping and starting. I'm on 200mg sertraline.

Yes. I had awful side effects when I started taking them and only really kept taking them as the anxiety was so horrific i needed to do something. They took about 2 weeks to start working and for the side effects to subside but then omg I felt great. I've been on them a year now and they have knocked my anxiety on the head pretty much.

I have had counselling before, 1 yr on my own and about 6mths as a couple with DH and that helped a lot but it's now been about 7yrs since then, I have booked an appointment for the new year but at £25 a session it's not something we can afford on a long term basis.

Since getting over my PND, coming off prozac and having counselling I have had another baby, got married, moved house, started a successful business and completed some qualifications. I am very capable 99.9% of the time imo it's only my PMT that makes me feel so bad and then how I behave towards (snapping and shouting) the people I love the most when I have pmt that makes me want to do something about it, I do have OCD but it doesn't adversely affect anyone else that much imo, I brush my teeth a lot, wash my hands alot, am fussy about stickiness and grease - I used to work in a pub and would have to wash my hands between pouring each pint for example.

DH says I have been like this since he met me 10yrs ago but there were so many other issues going on at the time (I had a baby at 17, PND and I was in an abusive relationship which caused me a lot of confidence, self esteem type problems) that I concentrated on those and I thought I was ok it was only when my family organised a suprise for my birthday this week that I actually realised how anxious I was and that I couldn't bring myself to fully trust them to suprise me without me getting very upset and stressed, this is what has made me reassess my issues.

Update- I am on day 3 of taking the tablets and I feel fine, I was dreading taking my tablet last night, I waited until I stopped feeling sick and then I took it about 7pm and have had no problems, I woke up today feeling better than I have all week I'm going to keep taking them and see what happens.

Keep going, most of the side effects wore off for me after 3 weeks- you're doing great .