Sertraline buddies - support for anybody taking Sertraline

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I eventually went to docs yesterday, been really suffering with depression. Is it possible the medication can result in side effects straight away? I'm feeling sick and no appetite today, however feeling better, clearer... I'm on 50 mg the lowest dose.. Anyone else share their experience please?

kazza will you be claiming for damage to your car as well as your neighbours? If the claim is just for the neighbours car you may not be liable to pay an excess - depends on the small print of your policy though.

And if you've not had a claim before, although your insurance may go up a bit, it shouldn't go up much - a long history of no claims goes a long way. Even if your premium does go up when it's time to renew, if you do a quote on a comparison site you'll be able to get the price down again.

And you definitely won't get in trouble - you're a customer and the insurance you bought from them is exactly for instances like this!

(Used to work in insurance )

Thanks Chuffchuff that's very reassuring

No I'm not claiming for my car, it only has a tiny scratch just above the bumper.

I went over and spoke to the neighbour, gave him the insurance details. He's going to see what they say at work. I grovelled and told him dh has been out of work for so long and how skint we are so we need to sort matters the cheapest way.

My certificate only lists a voluntary excess of £100. would that be my only payment if he does claim?

It should be if there's no mention of a compulsory excess.

But also if you're not claiming for damage to your car there may well be no excess to pay - with lots of policies (if you're fully comp) the excess is for claims to damage on your own vehicle - kind of to discourage you from claiming on your own insurance for minor scrapes!

hi, can i join the thread? saw it linked from the other sertraline thread about symptoms.,

i was wondering if anyone else was suffering from sex-related issues due to it?

i was on it years ago and stopped taking it because of this. started again recently and having the same symptoms :(
i'm loathe to stop taking it because it's the only AD I've tried so far that actually works for me....

I have a list of apps. Can't link though due to silly phone.

Look at SAM. Great for managing anxiety when it's building.

Thought journal pro. Cbt app to help evaluate your thoughts and sort them out.

Gratitude journal. Listing things you are grateful for at the end of the day helps remind you things aren't all bad and can lessen anxiety

Cbt experiments. For facing things that scare you and learning to do them.

Lift. Join in other people setting small goals. Good for learning new habits and alleviating depression.

Louise hays affirmation app. Doing affirmations for thirty days at a time is proven to help change your thought patterns.

Google nothing works anxiety and read the first link. A letter to myself. Very good for accepting what anxiety is and how to tackle it.

Anxiety and depression can be cured. It's a process and one that means learning a new way of life to lessen anxiety.

I did start a website especially for living a more positive life at doityourself.forumotion.co.uk but it hasn't had any interest sadly. I learned a lot of techniques during my breakdown.

Hi everyone,

I hope it's ok to jump in. I had posted about Sertraline and then Dwerf kindly gave me the link to this post.

I am at the end of my 1st week at only 25mg and upping to 50mg tonight. Can't wait for these to start working. I was off last week and 1st day back at work today. I was so tempted to ring in sick, but knew it would be to hard to go back if I did that. Anxiety was really bad. I thought I was starting to feel better, but going back to work started it all again. Did anyone else start feeling better at end of 2nd week?

Hi spotty, twiglet and celestria, also Chuffchuff, sole and everyone

At work so can't reply in detail, but thanks for the info.

Quick question- has anyone noticed sertraline affecting their sex drive/libido? I'm struggling with my dh, I have so little patience with him and no libido I am taking the mini pill as well, so it could be that. I'm sure something is affecting the way I feel. Problem is I don't want to stop taking either of them!

Hi everyone

Kazza and spotty yes I've noticed a big change in that department since taking these tablets. About two or three weeks in I found I really struggled to 'finish the job' . If TMI please don't read on - but... I still get the urge and all the feelings are there up to the point of the big O - then it's like I'm teetering on the edge of one for ages .

The only times I've managed one properly is if we've DTD in the morning - probably because it's then almost 24 hours since I've taken a tablet. I can kind of have one at other times but it doesn't feel like a 'proper' one if that makes sense, like it's a bit of an anti-climax (no pun intended!) - and it takes ages to make it happen (like an hour or more - whereas I used to be an expert in the fine art of quickies ).

I've googled this subject and it's a common side effect apparently. Some people say it goes away after a few weeks/months, some say they have the problem until they stop taking the tablets. There are also suggestions of other supplements you can try, but they all sound a bit dodgy.

I'm thinking of mentioning to my GP at my next appointment but I don't know if I dare to - I almost feel like if I go in moaning about my sex life suffering he'll be thinking 'I thought you were supposed to be suffering from anxiety/depression and all along you've been happyily shagging!'

I'm probably going to regret being so candid - am blushing to myself already....

BTW - I've been thinking we should maybe have this thread re-named - something to show more clearly that it's a Sertraline support thread (since that's what it's become). What does everybody think? Just thinking it's a shame if anybody doesn't find us when they need a thread just like this one

Chuff, here also. Probably a good job I'm single then.

Twiglet, yup, I started feeling better a few days in, whilst i was feeling stoned i felt very zen. Now that stoned feeling has passed but I still feel a lot less 'clenched'

Chuffchuff yes that's exactly it!!
It's very frustrating isn't it?

I've been googling this morning too and there are various solutions touted, the most popular being taking wellbutrin alongside the sertraline but apparently it's difficult to get prescribed.

Also heard that gingko biloba can help but I'm currently breastfeeding so would rather not take it.

Anyway, I did see wow a few people saying that with a good build-up and plenty of foreplay one they did climax it was awesome... So maybe that's the best solution??

I really don't want to talk to my gp about it or change meds again but we'll see

I hadn't thought about the timing of it. I do normally take mine in the evening, perhaps I should have it in the morning instead

Thanks Chuffchuff. I've read that too, but I just have no libido at all

I would mention it to the gp

I think it's a great idea to rename the thread. Can you report it to mn and request a rename?

Kazza it might be worth speaking to your gp. I found I couldn't tolerate being on the pill and ads at the same time...

Yes spotty I've read that Wellbutrin can work but apparently it's not usually prescribed in the uk because of other health risks. And the gingko biloba sounded promising but then I read it can cause serotonin syndrome so that scared me off. Doesn't help that I'm paranoid about taking anything anyway.

Basically I need to swallow my embarrassment and ask the doc next time I see him . At my last appt, I mentioned that I still feel sick sometimes and the GP basically said you have to weigh up if the positives of taking the meds outweigh the negatives. And for me they do, when I think back to how utterly shit I was feeling a couple of months ago. So I wonder if the same would apply to this...

What you read about it being awesome if you - um - 'put the time in' is true IME - a couple of times when we've had no DC in the house and have had a bit of a session,I've had ridiculously big ones - which obviously I'm not complaining about, but I generally don't have enough spare time (or energy ha ha) to have a marathon session!

But yes, like you, I find it hugely frustrating (literally!).

kazza i've reported myself to ask for the thread to be renamed . Re the libido thing - are you going to speak to your GP about it? If you dare, I might too

Good idea about having the thread re-named.
Its too early days for me with the libido to say properly, but have not had much of a sex drive for a while now so it would not be great for me. Managed to on Saturday with dh and the aid of a toy.
Also feel incredibly tired lay down on the bed for a bit and crashed out. It feels like the kind of tiredness you get when you're pregnant. Does anyone else feel that tired?

kazza ps also meant to say do you think it might be the mini pill causing the libido problems anyway? I don't take it but have heard it can cause those kind of problems in itself.

Twiglet I felt tired for the first week or two and then it got better

I felt really tired for the first two or three weeks twiglet. After that I still had some ups and downs but overall started to feel better and better. I still do feel a bit spaced out but in a good way .

Appetite gone, totally. yayy

I felt tired for the first few weeks too, that horrible tiredness like in early pregnancy

Thanks for requesting a name change Chuffchuff

It could be the mini pill, I have read that it can affect libido too. I'm seeing my specialist in 2 weeks so I'll discuss it with her I'm taking it to help with painful periods and it has helped, but now *tmi! ) I bleed on and off all month basically which isn't ideal As I saw her in the first place about mid cycle bleeding and it hasn't sorted that out, she won't want me to keep taking it anyway. She has been trying to talk me into having a mirena coil, but I really don't want one. Before that she wants to do a hysteroscopy, which I have tried to avoid, but I guess I'm going to have to go ahead with it and I am terrified

Oh I feel for you kazza, I hate having any kind of procedures too. Although it always ends up being not half as bad as I build it up to be in my head.

I felt sick and dizzy almost immediately after taking my first dose. I then started taking it at night and had no problems.

Btw, stopped taking it fairly quickly cos hated the way it affected my labido. It seems to be a common side affect.