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Original poster

advice to anyone who takes Sertraline. Make sure you take them with water, because...

184 replies

RedOnHerHedd · 28/03/2016 22:54

Because last night I was shattered and went to bed forgetting to fetch my glass of water with me. And just thought, sod it, I'll just swallow them without water.

BIG MISTAKE!

I had heartburn like nothing is ever experienced before, and the burning was making my eyes water.

I tried to make myself vomit and tried antacids to no avail. The pain was excruciating for almost 3 hours.

Woke up this morning and it felt like something very hard and painful was lodged at the bottom of my oesophagus. It got worse throughout the day to the point it was agony to swallow anything.

Rang NHS Direct (Wales) and they advised me to go straight to A&E. While there I had a drip with different types of medication to help try to dislodge anything that was stuck, and told to drink flat Coke.

Anyway, it didn't work.
It's still there but not quite as painful as before. I have to give it another 24-48hrs and of it's still the same I have to have a camera put down, as the sertraline may have damaged my oesophagus.

So, word of warning:
To save 2mins worth of going downstairs to get water, I've ended up with 24hrs of pain.

Make sure you drink plenty of water, and don't ever take it dry, it's actually really dangerous and can cause a hole in your oesophagus.

OP posts:
therearenogoodusernamesleft · 31/07/2021 02:04

I am SUCH a twat.

I did this a few years ago and swore I'd never let it happen again. Tonight I fell asleep on the sofa, so came to bed, sipped some water with the sertraline and straight to bed.

OUCH MOTHERFUCKER BURNING VOMITING AGONISING TORTURE

And we don't have any apples 😫😫😫😫

episcomama · 31/07/2021 02:36

I've done it too, OP. The first time was so excruciating that I couldn't lie flat. Had to try to sleep upright in a rocking chair.

Spidey66 · 31/07/2021 02:51

I don't think it's specific to sertraline. I've had it with other tablets.

marazione · 17/01/2022 01:00

Thank you to this thread for making me feel sane and saving me a trip to A&E, currently though still just spending the night in agony after simply laying funny after taking my setraline, wishing I'd known all this sooner, didn't have apples so ate a pear.. which I then threw up.. only just starting to have the symptoms fade 2 hours in.. what a horrendous pain..

abitfunny · 04/03/2022 21:09

Oh my god it’s happening to me now and it’s torturous! A combination of something stuck at the bottom of my throat, saliva and feeling sick - never ever again will I take my tablet laying down

ChillyAvocado · 30/04/2022 23:22

It’s happening to me right now and it’s awful :( I’m trying to eat an apple and it hurts so bad!!!

also I keep burping and it tastes like tablets?

when does it end!!!!

Toddlerteaplease · 30/04/2022 23:34

I've done it and never had that issue.

Justryingtohelp · 02/05/2022 17:58

I find McIntosh apples to work the best

jayboydog · 05/05/2022 01:08

I also had pain from taking the sertraline with too little water. I had held my palm under the faucet and it hurt. more water did not help, heartburn calcium carbonate did not work. I vomited.

Kems1 · 24/05/2022 18:14

I've experienced this horrible event 3 times in the last two weeks. Absolutely horrid. So much pain. I didn't put two and two together until last night when it started happening for the 3rd time. I read all the comments here and ran downstairs and got my hands on 3 apples. The relief was nearly instant. Thank you so much for this advice! Really saved me. Oesophagus is still a bit sore, so I will give it time to heal. I've been on Sertraline for a year now and not had this problem before as I normally remember to take my pill in the evening. This was the last time I took the pill with not enough water and right before going to bed - never again!

PixellatedPixie · 24/05/2022 18:18

This is true for most tablets not just sertraline. The grapefruit warning is because a chemical in the fruit cause many medications to be far stronger as it prevents the rate at which your body breaks them down. Quite scary!

lazyandsufferingfml · 03/12/2022 16:41

currently eating an apple with my other hand… every time i speak to tell my partner “i think it’s starting to get better” i feel it get worse, so i’ve shut up now…

this is awful. this is the only apple in this house, i hope it helps…… i’m sorry this happens to anyone, but thank god this thread exists!!!

Diamond25 · 04/12/2022 01:43

I have done this so many times & I did it last week. The pain is horrible. It’s usually when I am in a rush.
i will definitely drink more water from now on.

paiop · 04/12/2022 22:10

I'm intrigued that people have been told to take the tablets in the evening- my doc said to take in the morning as they can disturb your sleep as they can cause your mind to be more active, I guess it makes a difference what you take them for. Mine is anxiety so mind goes in overdrive a lot at the mo

le0p · 29/12/2022 10:13

Sertraline! Yes, I sometimes get the very severe burn from this drug. It is truly horrible, and like earlier posters, it always starts to ease very slowly after 2 hours. I always take the tablet with plenty of water, and I never lie down after taking any tablets. I don't think the pain is heartburn. With heartburn (in my experience) it is immediately soothed for a short time, with plain water or an antacid.. But the burn from Sertraline is unrelieved by water, food, antacid, Gaviscon, etc. The only thing that works is to suffer the pain for a time. After 2 hours I can feel the pain easing, and by 3 hours it is down to half its intensity.
With my age I have an added swallowing problem in which some food can get into my trachea. One day recently I took the sertraline and it seemed to have gone down all OK, but I started to get a sore throat. This pain increased to the point that I was considering going to Emergency. I then happened to cough, that ^$ tablet came up, having been lodged in my
larynx! I had awful pain for 3 - 4 days, over which time it gradually eased.
Tonight again, I searched the pharmaceutical sites, and once again there is no mention of such problems. Zoloft has been available for many years and it baffles me that I can't see any reference in the pharmaceutic records.
In my experience, Zoloft, and the generics, all do this., irrespective of the brand.
I can't determine why most times I get no burn but, say maybe every 5 weeks, that intense burn kicks in. When it does it is always a very severe pain, just like most folks in this discussion report.😤

Justryingtohelp · 29/12/2022 16:33

🍎 apples seem to be the cure, mcintosh apples seemed to work the best for me. Also try taking the sertraline with one of your larger meals of your day, in my case it is dinner and take the medication with a tall glass of water.

jayboydog · 29/12/2022 21:25

my 200mg each day are now served in a pale green / white capsule. not a tablet! gel capsule which don't release the inside chemicals on the trip from mouth to stomach. Always take with fluid.

Diamond25 · 30/12/2022 01:42

A tip a pharmacist told me when swallowing tablets is to lean forward when swallowing with water. The tablet floats to to roof of the mouth. It seems to work.
i have taken this in a rush & got it stuck & the pain is horrible. It seems to last until the next day for me.

le0p · 30/12/2022 02:22

Hi to Diamond25, ....thanks for the tip. I'll try that😊

PedsGal · 09/01/2023 17:49

Am so glad I read this thread last night! Stupidly had my Sertraline with a small sip of water and laid down. Next thing I know my throat is on fire and I can hardly swallow. It felt like the tablet was stuck in my m. Frantically went on the hunt for things to help and read bread soaked in water is good but that didn’t help. Shoved some rennies down me. Had no milk or apples. So continued to drink lots of water.

Unfortunately I don’t drive otherwise I would have head to A&E it was so painful. I’ve had acid reflux before and thought that was bad! After 3 hours or so the burning subsided but woke up a couple of hours later and struggled to swallow so called NHS 111. They said to go and see my pharmacy as soon as it opened who gave me esomeprazole. Did help. But 20 hours later I’m still struggling to swallow 😭

CreatingHavoc · 14/01/2023 11:48

Thank you for this thread. I'm due to try sertraline soon and glad I found this info. I struggle taking all tablets so I tend to take them with food then water. Yoghurt works well or any well chewed up food. I just pop them in my mouth in to the middle of whatever I'm eating and them swallow. Or with yoghurt I put the tablet on my tongue first then eat the yoghurt. They definitely go down properly that way. Then chug a load of water. Might sound a bit grim but it works.

Justryingtohelp · 14/01/2023 19:28

I take sertraline with my largest meal of the day, with a tall glass of water. And always have Mcintosh apples in the back of my mind in case I get a bad reaction from the sertraline. Luckily I haven’t had a bad reaction (burn in the esophagus) for a while maybe a year in a half, but the last time I did Mcintosh apples cured the pain almost instantly.

🍎

Toolman907 · 15/01/2023 00:08

Apple? That's something I will try next time.
Had anyone tried the liquid formula

Justryingtohelp · 13/03/2023 00:20

From what I can remember it (Mcintosh 🍎) did work, saved me at least a couple times when having extreme acid reflux from sertraline. Luckily haven’t had any negative reactions from sertraline for over a year have been making sure to be disciplined when taking the medication (large glass of water right after finishing my largest meal of the day). Hope this helps.

kerstina · 13/03/2023 20:57

I took sertraline about 4 years ago and it was ok but anxiety was creeping back and was prescribed it again . I have tried lots of times to start to take them again but have horrible feeling of indigestion. Even if take them with lots to drink . The feeling lasts a couple of days so I have given up trying to take them. I am sure they are using cheaper ingredients or brands of it . Something not right.