Sertraline Buddies - Part 2! Support for all on AD's...

[Chuffchuff]

New thread for when the first one gets full - welcome everyone

Am inspired Reg! Day 4 has passed without event. At work. Odd combo of feeling a surge of motivation but also spaced out. Find myself not firing on all cylinders cognitively although this isn't unusual for me. One thing is i am not tearful. Feeling positive and booked a holiday. No energy for gym but hoping that will change soon. ..

Day 13 and first morning I've woken up not feeling wobbly. Underlying anxieties still there, wish they weren't but gradually seeming less overwhelming. Been out to a friend's this morning, batch cooking a spag bol this afternoon and have DS1's school parents introduction meeting tonight ready for him starting in September.

Good work on managing work this week Welsh, I phoned in yesterday and mine were very supportive, think they just want me to get better.

Reg you are inspiring me! Really happy to hear you are on the up. I had a bit of a social anxiety/downer episode today just felt really self conscious and shit and self critical. Anyway i am trying to keep plodding on. I have noticed that i am definitely having the (odd thankfully but nonetheless) difficulty recalling the names of two websites i had been using and my mind just going blank. Googled it and they do say that initially there can be dome of these types of difficulties. Has anyone else experienced this?

I forgot my mobile phone number one day last week, similar kind of thing, I thought of it as my brain rebuilding itself after turning to mush. Well we've had a dreadful night, up for 3 hours as DS2 had a massive nosebleed. But apart from being tired I'm not feeling any worse. The DC are at nursery today so DH and I are planning on spending some rare time together just us. Need to pack for holiday tomorrow as we go on Friday, looking forward to getting away, although it is with the in laws which could be a disaster but I do hate packing!

Well done Reg, that sounds really positive. Keep plodding welsh. I'm always forgetting things but I don't know if that's because of the depression or if having 5 dc has fried my brain cells! Went to see the Health Visitor yesterday and thought I'd forgotten my phone so asked DH to come back in an hour and wait for me (I don't drive). Phone was in the bottom of my bag all along and poor DH had to wait an extra 45 minutes in the car park for me. Appointment was fairly positive though. Managed to tell her a little bit about how I'm feeling and she has found me a place on a "well being" course at a children's centre. DH was quite cynical about it so I said I was going to help get rid of my morning sickness which he understood. I still have mild morning sickness I'm ok as long as I don't skip breakfast and don't eat or smell chicken) a year after my youngest was born and the drs think it's psychological, as if my brain is pretending to still be pregnant so it can pretend that my traumatic birth hasn't happened. Seeing the GP on Friday.

Elleji how did it go with the gp?
Went to see a friend i haven't seen in a long time this weekend. Stayed over and had a few drinks (3 wines and a morgans coke). Woke up at 3am and had to run to the toilet with diahorrea which was when i realised i hadn't quite made it on time and there was a tiny bit on my knickers and bed. So deeply embarassed and down today, this has never EVER happened - i wasn't even drunk - but lesson learnt to avoid booze for now. So embarassed and down today. Wondering if its worth it.

Poor you welsh. I don't drink much anyway but last time could only manage half a glass of pimms before feeling very tipsy not sure if it was the sertraline or something else. I used to be able to knock back 3 Bacardi breezers with no effects in my younger days.

GP visit was ok, although I cried. Got a self referral form for counselling which there is a 3 month waiting list for and I see her again in a month.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone on here. I'm on day 7 with Sertraline and have found so much on here incredibly helpful and supportive.

Hello. For 6 months I have had tingling in my face. Said it was a brain virus and then 2 months ago that It was from clenching. While waiting for my second appt to see the other two consultants on the team I panicked they would change their minds. In that 2 weeks I got buttock pain (not had for 10 years) pelvic pain (not had for fifteen years) this freaked me out. I have tingling hands and now sore ankles. I have health anxiety because of previous misdiagnosis. I am now a mess stressing over the physical symotoms & scared what's coming next. Had a test for hormones today (I'm 49 1/2) I am not coping I think I may need an AD. Doc said cymbal ta cos it's good for pain. I'm ashamed I may have caused these problems and so scared they are not going to go away. Seeing doctor next Thursday. I am so anxious & scared

Hi all, update from me. My holiday was fantastic, did not want to come home, it was amazing to escape from the usual stuff. Back to work tomorrow though after best part of 4 weeks combination of being signed off and holiday, pretty nervous. My aims are to get there, read emails, sort out what leave I'm taking to cover DS1 starting school in Sept (he's PT for 2 weeks), and if I get that far I'll be pleased. Feeling fed up as AF is starting and have been TTC DC3 since mc late March (the cause of the current round of depression).

Peter, hope you are feeling a little better and that your GP will be helpful. I found reading back through this thread and part 1 really helpful.

Hope everyone else is doing ok.

Good luck back at work today. I.m at work but not coping. I dont know if all my physical things are because of anxiety. I think I am slipping into depression because of all the physical things. I have a recurrance of pelvic pain which nearly broke me last time. Its like every awful thing i have ever had has come back in the last 3 months. Im 49 1/2 is it age. I have to get a grip but I'm slipping.

I was also back to work today after 4 weeks off, I got myself into such a state that I made myself ill. I still went back tho and happy that I did as after the initial few minutes it was fine. Just had to push myself. I've been taking 50mg for 3 weeks now and altho I had bad side effects I now don't know if they have had any affect? Especially after this morning. Will I just all of a sudden find it easier to cope? Hope everyone is ok today and Reg I hope today was ok for you

Well I was awake for a lot of Sunday night worrying about going back to work and really doubting whether I would be able to do it. But once I got up and got to work it was good and I felt really pleased to be there, although I was knackered. Actually felt interested in my work too and like there was some point to being there so I guess I was ready to go back. My boss is incredibly understanding although he annoys me in a fair few ways! I'm in the office again today and working from home tomorrow and then I have Thursdays and Fridays off with the DC. Well done Slipper5 for also going back, and Peter for being at work. I think Slipper5 that the effects of the ADs can be quite gradual so that you may not notice any effect at first but when you look back over a longer period of time you should see an improvement. Going back to work is such a big thing that I think it's natural to feel overwhelmed by it, it doesn't necessarily mean that the ADs aren't working.

Well done slipper, peter and reg for going back to work. Glad you are finding the thread helpful purple.

I've had a mixture of days this week. Wednesday I was supposed to go to my group therapy session but our landlord turned up just as we were leaving and said that there was someone coming to do a quote to repair the kitchen ceiling. I've told the landlord so many times that I need notice and a choice of dates for these things but they just assume that because I'm a SAHM then I don't have anything important to do. Can't go next week as DS3 has his first settling in session at school. So that's all 6 sessions gone and I couldn't go to any of them. I'm supposed to be filling in a form to sort out some 1-1 counselling sessions but I keep thinking that there is no point as something else will get in the way. Friday, DS4 was in hospital most of the day having the fluid in his brain drained off which was as horrible as you'd expect and I had DS5 with me as well. Yesterday was refreshingly good. DH took the older boys out and MIL helped me take the younger ones out for lunch and to the park.

Hello all. Work was good last week and I had a really positive appointment with my very lovely GP on Wednesday evening. He was really pleased with my progress since I restarted sertraline, reiterated that I would be better off staying on it even if I do get pregnant, and was generally reassuring about my TTC stresses.

I am starting a 4 week mindfulness and relaxation course on Wednesday evening. Has anyone else done anything like this? I'm hoping it will be good as one of my problems is an inability to enjoy the present moment to the full when I'm worried and anxious.

Unfortunately DS1 was a bit poorly over the weekend, temperature and off his food and now I seem to have caught it. My temperature has gone and I did have a cracking headache but thankfully that seems to be easing off a bit now. Staying at home to work today as I didn't fancy driving when my head hurt too much to see properly.

Glad you had a positive day on Saturday ellie, hope everyone else is doing ok.

Hello, everyone! I haven't been on in ages because I've been feeling so so much better and have been busy offline. Came here to post today as I'm finding the side effects are a real problem so will want to start coming off soon.

I checked my diary (thankfully I noted these things!) and I started on 9 March, which is four months ago. Up until that point my cycle was reasonably regular (for my age - I turned 45 yesterday). But since then - NOTHING! I'm going to see my GP on Friday to talk about this as I'm quite concerned. Also the BLOATING is horrible. My rings often get tight in hot weather but now my watch is tight as well, which is ridiculous, and I've developed cellulite on the front of my legs and knees! I didn't even know that was possible . I'm also getting a dizzy/swimmy head.

It's a real pity as I love feeling cheery again and positive about the future and not bogged down by the dread and fear and anxiety. I hope if I come off slowly the side effects will improve without my anxiety coming back too badly...

Hi All, just thought I'd bump up the thread and see how everyone else was. I'm doing really well apart from the underlying concerns about TTC (I'd say these were fairly under control and rational though). In the two week wait at the moment, so won't know anything for another week.

Been doing plenty, went out for lovely wedding anniversary meal with DH week before last, DS1 has been doing lots of settling in sessions for reception in September and just had a lovely weekend without DC visiting a friend. I thought I lived in a beautiful town but where she is might even win.

Work is going ok (should get back to it now actually). Week 3 of my mindfulness course tonight. I'm finding the exercises and the concepts useful although as I'm feeling pretty good it's hard to tell how they'd stand up against one of my rubbish phases.

So things would be good if I could stop thinking about babies...

Verso I had something similar but not as severe about 3 years ago. GP said it was stress. DH thought it was an ectopic pregnancy and wanted to go to A&E. It was stress, brought on by DS2, who has SN, starting school. Once I calmed down a bit I came on and my cycles went back to normal.

Hi Reg my ds3 is starting school this September too. Good luck with the last bit of the two week wait. I've got my routine appointment with the GP tomorrow and I'm trying to get the courage to fill in the self referral form for counselling.

Thanks ellie. AF just arrived so no baby again this month. So frustrating, this is the longest it's ever taken me to conceive, and I'm finding post mc I'm absolutely desperate. But able to be a little more patient and continue and enjoy daily life to a much greater extent since restarting the sertraline.

Hello :)

I tried Setraline for about six weeks but I felt so uncomfortably numb. My only friendship has come to an end. I am anxious about the inevitable sheer isolation.

As a sociable person I need a chat with someone who is likeminded and without it I feel like a freak, boring, outcast.

I just don't want to feel numb if I restart Setraline.

Anyone still here? Turns out my bloating/water retention/cycle issues etc are perimenopause-related, and nothing to do with the sertraline. Yay (ish). Have finally had (am having) AF, after five months... ouch.

Otherwise though, the sertraline is BRILLIANT. I just feel so so so much better, even though the company I work for has turned upside down in the last six weeks. I can cope. I feel ok. It's uncomfortable and difficult, but not impossible. I don't feel dread or fear anymore, which is a huge relief.

I hope everyone else is doing ok.

Regllama I know how it feels to be TTC post MC. I had two MCs before I had DD2 and it was very very hard to cope with.

solebizzz if sertraline numbs you too much, it might be worth asking to try a different medication? There are so many out there it's possible you could find something that suits you better.

Recently prescribed sertraline for depression and anxiety.

First week on 50mg before being upped to 100mg for the last twelve days.

The side effects are currently kicking my behind, tired, dizzy, anxiety and nausea. The mornings are the worst.

Great thread by the way, has given me hope the meds will eventually work.

Hi all..
I'm on day 3 of sertraline 50mg.. I'm feeling rather strange to be honest but spent most of last night reading through all your thread and you've honestly made me feel that bit better knowing I'm not the only one in this position.
So Thankyou....x

Hello, I've been taking sertraline for 2 months now, 50 mg for first month then up to 100mg as I didn't feel any different. I have to say I am feeling so much better, I was very sceptical especially as I didn't start to feel better after the first 3 weeks like I thought I would. Please stick with it, I feel so much happier, so much like my normal self. The feelings of dread have gone which is so nice! I did have a lot of side effects in the first 2-3 weeks and did feel quite odd but it does pass and once the doctor gets the dose right for you I am sure you will feel much better too. It's nice to know you are not alone, seems like lots of people need this help.