Sertraline

[ARGHtoAHHH]

Hi there

My other half has been prescribed Sertraline today for depression and anxiety. He is to take them for 2 weeks and then review. I think they are a relatively low dosage.

I've absolutely no experience with these types of drugs and wondered if anyone could help by telling me of their experiences, good or bad? I'm too scared to Google. And just worried and anxious myself about him taking them.

Thanks

Shit posted twice. Ignore this one!

Hello, I took Sertraline for a while for post natal depression and anxiety. The first few days to a week I felt nauseous and dizzy but this passes. I found them very effective and had no side effects on 50mg but when I increased to 100mg I had quite vivid dreams. Not scary ones just very vivid. Coming off them was very easy and I am left with no after effects at all. Overall I found Sertraline a brilliant drug, easy, very effective and no negatives for me. If he doesn’t feel better on them then there are other similar drugs to try, so it’s not a worry if they aren’t compatible with him. Is he also having counselling?

oh sorry x posted!

No its fine we'll keep to this thread, no one has replied to the other

Thank you for replying. It's really reassuring to hear your experience. It just worries me that once you begin to take it, it's difficult to come off it. He isn't having counselling, not sure he'd be up for it...

I didn’t have any problem coming off it, there can be side effects if you come off too quickly but he will be told to taper it gently. One thing I discovered when coming off them (I googled a LOT as I was nervous about it) is that the GP may say take one pill every other day, then one every 3 days, then one every 5 days and so on BUT this can cause problems as it only has a short life in your body. So the better way to taper is to keep halving the dose once per week or fornight but take it daily. So 50mg daily for a week, 25mg daily for a week, 12.5mg daily for a week etc. I hope that makes sense!

I had counselling which I think helps massively in not needing them anymore as it sort of teaches you to cope with your feelings and the world in general, of course it’s not for everyone but there are different types of counselling and it is worth thinking about. There can be quite a waiting list in some areas so maybe persuade him to get his name on a list even if he decides not to persue it.

www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/consumers.cfm

If he chooses not to take counselling I’d reccomend at least reading about CBT strategies as it is amazing for anxiety. My CBT councellor pointed me to that website above, it has some helpful "workbooks" particulary the one about panic stations.

I've been taking 50mg for the past six weeks. It helped within about a week or so. I did get some nausea for a few days, but nothing terrible. It does give me terrible acid reflux so I am on a proton pump inhibitor for that.
I have had my dose upped to 100mg today as the positive effects were waning. Should be no problems coming off them if done carefully and slowly, not addictive as I understand it. It's more about adjusting I think.
I really wouldn't worry, my GP says they are one of the most satisfying drugs to prescribe as they are so effective and really help.

thank you all so much for replying, it means a lot. And its eased my worry about it too. Very useful.

He is on 50mg for 2 weeks, and the doc said he should just stop taking it? He didn't say to come back unless he wanted to carry on taking it? Does this sound normal?

I am going to suggest he write down how he is feeling each day over the next two weeks, just to keep track of things. Hopefully he will do it.

I can see he is making a real real effort to 'get back to normal' but I know he is struggling. I am waiting to see if the medication will help lift the cloud so he can begin to think clearly again.

Thanks again xx

That sounds unusual to me but Im not a doctor. I was told it takes 4-6 weeks to build up in your system and really take effect and my experience was quicker than that but still a couple of weeks. So Im not sure how effective only taking it for two weeks would be

My DH too, ARGH, has been on for a month now and having trouble sleeping.
This seems to be the worst side effect, touch wood.

My DP has problems sleeping anyway. He is on and off sleeping pills. I think he had one last night - but he said the doc said it would be fine to take the two together? Does this sound right?

Also, does it matter what time of day he has it?

I can't see any reason why he can't take the two together.

It doesn't matter what time of day you take it. Depends what effect it has on you really - I took mine in the evening as they made me sleepy, others take theirs in the morning because they find it easier to remember then or for other reasons. It's just whatever suits that person.