Supposed to be starting sertraline tonight but too scared

[Realitea]

I'm just too scared to take it. I'm worried about the effects it'll have on me.
I just finished CBT and the therapist said that I'd done so well and without saying directly, told me I don't really need them.
However I do have anxiety, even though I can cope with it and even though I have panicky feelings in certain situations, I don't let them stop me doing what I want to do.
I had a terrible 4 months-ish of anxiety, the worst I've ever experienced and I thought sertraline would stop it ever happening again. I also have PMDD.
I'm worried taking them might make me hyper, or manic, or sick and ill or even worse..I have googled way too much.
I don't know what to do!

Do speak to your GP. Anti depressants do take a while to work and it's not always simple to find the right one and right dose.

My 10yo is on 25mg, will possibly love uo to 50mg soon.
He's had no obvious side effects.

I think it just doesn't suit me at all. The only thing that's ever worked is St. John's wort but I developed an allergy :(

I really don't think you would be able to tell the effects after one dose, I would think you have made yourself anxious reading up on them I took Citalopram for years and it worked for me you are best of taking it and then distracting yourself so you don't think about it, I would also take the dose the doctor prescribed If 12.5 mg was therapeutic he would have given u that Id take the proper dose or it won't work xx

real I had bad side effects at first but they went away quite quickly then it was great. Speak to your GP, and try to stick it out. My gp told me the side effects are actually a good sign that the medication works well on your brain.

When I say quite quickly I mean within 2 weeks

I'm three months in with Sertraline. The first few weeks were pretty awful, my sleep was completely ruined. In no way are you a failure! It can be difficult to 'keep the faith' with what are apparently quite unpredicatable drugs. But now I feel really happy to have stuck with it, especially since my GP added 7.5g Mirtazapine to help with the insomnia. Oddly, the Sertraline side effects reduced when I went up from 50 to 100 mg.

I ended up having to see the GP this morning as I was still so sick and dizzy this morning! I was told I'm just too sensitive to that particular AD. I was offered citalopram but I really don't want to feel that ill again. I do wish I'd have been able to stick with it but I just couldn't look after the dc's like that. I'm going to try omega 3 fish oil and maybe start St. John's wort again but a different brand to see if that works.

Sorry to see that it hasn't worked for you real , hope you're feeling better soon. How annoying for you to have had such a bad reaction to it, especially when it was such a big thing for you to take it in the first place (because of worrying about the side effects).

I hope you find something that agrees with you anxiety is such a bastard.

I had bad side effects when I first started sertraline, I felt sick & wired & anxiety increased a little, a month down the line I felt they started to work. I'm so glad that I stuck it out. I have suffered with bad anxiety for about a year on & off, I really did not want to go down the medication route but I felt like I had no choice. Luckily for me I stuck it out even with the side effects, people say that the side effects disappear, which they do, but it's difficult to see past that when they make you feel so ill to start with. Im taking 50mg & they have been a lifesaver for me. No more anxiety & I feel completely back to normal. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone in thinking that the tablets didn't work for you, I was close to quitting them 3 days in. I hope you find some medication that works for you but unfortunately I think that they will all come with some side effects at first. Really hope you get sorted : )

Thanks everyone! I still feel dizzy now even though it's out of my system! Must just not be the one for me. I've now been put on the pill to see if that helps as the anxiety is a lot worse or caused by my periods. i suppose it's just a case of trying everything until I find the right thing for me. I envy all you sertraline people!

I've failed twice to get onto Sertraline and once onto Citalopram. Both times I got two tablets in and had to stop. So yes one can absolutely have severe side effects very very quickly.
Years go I did manage to get onto Sertraline but that was in a different country and I needed a lot of Valium/Ativan to get me through the first two weeks of utter hell, which GPs in the UK are not prepared to prescribe.
On the supposed lowest therapeutic dose of Sertraline I went really manic and put on huge amounts of weight, it cured the anxiety but at great cost.
Some people seem to tolerate SSRIs very badly.

So what do you do now ToastDemon? You sound a lot like me!

I try and control it naturally, as unfortunately a stint of CBT did nothing more than upset and irritate me.
So very little alcohol, I watch my caffeine intake (it's my real weakness, I love it but sometimes it doesn't love me back!), take magnesium when I remember, and exercise. I go to a mixture of cardio and weights classes, do pilates, and I run.
Having said that, I'm having quite a bad spike at the moment (having a go at Pure-O OCD thoughts, which is bloody horrible) due to having had huge amounts of life changes in a short space of time, I just have to trust that it will ease off again soon.
It is very frustrating though - so many people seem to get such huge benefit from these medications, and where is there to go if you're someone that doesn't tolerate them well?

You sound exactly like me. I didn't find CBT that great either really but found some helpful websites so combined they helped a bit, especially with the pure o (i can relate!) Stress is a big trigger. It will pass.
I've been prescribed amitriptilyne now, which is supposed to be great for anxiety. It's an AD from the 50's which is good for people who don't do so well with SSRI's. I've had it before actually and found it gave me a nice calm feeling so I'm looking forward to starting. I was all excited when I remembered and phoned the GP straight away who didn't hesitate to prescribe!

Hi there;
I know this was long time ago. But I wonder how did it go for you after that! I’ve been searching online as I’m suppose to start with 50mg but the side effects are scaring me: and I came across this post