bad reaction to sertraline 50mg?

[rogue87]

I have a 7 week old baby and was struggling to cope.

I was prescribed sertraline 50mg today to help with depression and anxiety. I took one around 4:30 when I got back from the doctors.

I'm in an awful state, I cant sleep and I'm having racing thoughts, some are horrible and I'm feeling 10 times worse.

I'm aware these take weeks to start making a difference as I have taken them in the past (around 2 years ago, and they really helped).

I just re-read the leaflet and it says to take one tablet in the morning could I be feeling like this as I took it in the afternoon or could I be having a bad reaction to them?

The depression is worse this time around.

Sounds very similar to what happened to me when I first went on sertraline. Also made me feel sick and I was heaving for the first few days even though someone insisted it was too early to have that effect, which I think is rubbish. You can have early reactions. I had constant mini diarrhoea when I was on it (as in I needed to do a poo at least 3 times a day and it changed colour and consistency) and that started within a few hours of taking it!

Don't remember seeing you had to take it in the morning. In fact, when I did it always made me feel more sick so I took it in the evening. Don't think it would make much difference.

Give it a couple of weeks and see how you go. If your depression is worse, you'll probably need more than 50mg though at some point.

I'm sure taking them in pm rather than am would not cause problems, but people can have horrible reactions to ADs at first which calm down. Or it may not be the right one for you. Were you taking sertraline 2years ago or a different one? Sometimes starting at a lower dose and then increasing gradually is a possibility to try to avoid adverse reactions.
To get through the night can you download a calming breathing app? Or an audio book? Or even talk to the samaritans which can be reassuring? Tomorrow you could call for an out of hours appt if you are still feeling worse.

I've been on 25mg for a little over a month now. I've had days of clarity and days where I still feel really low.

The last few days I feel as if I've gone crazy. I've been frantic and in a constant state of panic. Everything seems to cause anxiety and then the pain I'm in becomes worse.

I've been to the doctor today and she's actually put the strength up to 50mg. I'm hoping it's just that the strength wasn't enough for my anxiety rather than the pill being bad. I think the maximum dose per day would be 200mg but my doctor said it's important to increase slowly (that's why I started on such a low dose).

As nighttime is so rubbish when suffering from anxiety, I've been regularly calling the Samaritans when I start panicking. They are fantastic. You can just have a chat or discuss the problem at hand. It helps having someone to talk to even if they can't offer advice as such. Before I know it, an hour has usually passed and I'm a lot calmer and can try and get back to sleep. Maybe they are worth a try for you if you're feeling bad at the moment?

I was taking sertraline 2 years ago but only 25mg.

Maybe Dr felt as im feeling worse this time she would start on a higher dose.

I've tried some breathing exercises since posting and im feeling a little calmer but not enough to sleep yet.

If I start to feel that bad again I think I will wake OH for some reassurance.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, I thought I was losing my mind.

Hello, how are things? I'm in your situation too. I have a 5 week old and was prescribed Sertraline also, I only had 25mg, but like you, I had an adverse reaction; intense anxiety, insomnia, racing thoughts, inability to settle but too exhausted to move. It was unbearable.

Dr told me to stop and I've switched to another. What did yr Dr say? He also gave me some sleeping tablets as I couldn't bear to spend another night like that.

Hi AllChangeNat,

Congratulations on your new baby.

I decided not to take another tablet over the weekend as I couldn't bear another night like that.
I called the doctors surgery this morning and unfortunately my Dr isn't in until tomorrow. So I will call tomorrow and see what she suggests.

What did your Dr suggest instead?
I refused sleeping tablets initially as I was worried I wouldn't wake up for DD.

I'm also waiting for cognitive behavioural therapy but my HV said it could take up to 3 weeks to hear from them. Have you been offered this? I hear it can be a great help.

I really hope you start to feel better soon, its awful feeling this way.