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

[RedOnHerHedd]

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.

How long did peoples' acid reflux take to subside? I got a different pill (calcium plus other vitamins) lodged in my throat Tuesday night and 4 days later have terrible acid reflux. Just read about the apple thing so have started to eat them today in the hope it will help along with lots of gaviscon but may be too late.

Thank you for the posts, currently in loads of pain after doing the same. No apples in the house either 😭😭

Hey guys. I have dealt with this problems if and on for a while now but I think I found a solution.
I haven't had any acid reflux for months after taking my pills.
What I have been doing is eating something right after taking my pills.

I didnt realise people try to swallow tablets with no water.

No you take it with water but to make sure it gets to you gut take some food also.

Love how for years this post still comes in useful for people

I did this last night and it felt like the tablet got stuck in my throat - just for a moment. I swallowed it down but then the burning kicked in it was horrible!! It finally worn off a few hours later with ibuprofen for the pain, however, does anyone know how long the discomfort will last? It’s a horrible feeling, like something is stuck in my throat!

@eemaw gaviscon and apples are the best combo for this pain. I genuinely had so many apples when it happened - was a god send!

@RedOnHerHedd 8 years later and this is still helpful

Dear God

This is the second ever time this has happened to me, and I've been taking Sertraline for a long long time.

Luckily this time wasnt anywhere near as bad for me as the first time.

But THANK YOU for posting about apples.

At first I thought this was just going to be some myth, but then thought 'what have I got to loose'?.

Luckily I had some on hand and yes, the pain has subsided to very mild discomfort now

Richie123456 on 28/04/20 was the first person as I read back in the comments to mention apples. He deserves a noble peace prize for that finding. And guess what apples work for all types of acid reflux even outside of being on sertraline. I have done my best to spread the word about the remedy, even posted on Quora with the hopes of helping even one person dealing with this pain. All the credit however goes to this thread and Richie123456 (unless someone posted about the remedy before him) - I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an angel in disguise sent down from heaven to help us all with this side effect. Because the acid reflux associated with sertraline is enough in my opinion to burn a hole in your esophagus or even lead to cancer. My only suggestion on future comments or threads started to pass on this remedy just make sure to use the 🍎🍏 emoji so it’s easy to find for someone who’s searching for a remedy that very moment.