Sertraline - how long did it take to work?

[Dancer12345]

I was recently put on Sertraline, mainly for anxiety but also suffered from low mood a little. I’ve been taking it for nearly three weeks now, and whilst my mood has improved, I don’t feel like my anxiety has. I’m on 50mg a day.

How long did it take before you felt the benefits?

Hi, I been taking Sertraline for 2 weeks and 2 days now. Worked for me after 2 weeks. A couple of days ago I woke up feeling almost normal again after years of feeling like was living under a black cloud. However I don’t have the anxiety part mainly just low mood. With most ADs you should give them about 8 weeks to work fully.

Ps, I am on 50 as well. Maybe you need slightly higher dose?

I ended up going back to the GP after four weeks as my anxiety hadn't really abated. He upped the dosage and that worked wonders.

I'm on my 8th tablet, started Friday last week. Took me till Wednesday night to be able to sleep so I've had a really low and rubbish start.

Now I'm sleeping but no benefit of the drug felt yet

Give it a bit longer but I would discuss with GP as you may need a higher dose

It kicked in for me after about 10 days - 50mg is the low end of the dose and your GP may be able to increase it slightly - the advantage with that being that the side effects should be lessened. I’d suggest making and appointment with your doctor - and if possible asking them to refer you to counselling, which for me was a longer term solution that has massively improved things for me. Good luck.

I started taking Sertraline for chronic depression and anxiety after having to come off my previous long term meds. My GP started me on 50mg per day and like you my low mood improved (within about six weeks) but it didn't touch my anxiety. It was only after my dose was increased, first to 100mg then to 150 that i

Oops
.... That I felt any improvement. I am diagnosed with severe generalised anxiety disorder and have had it all my adult life, so you might only need a smaller increase for it to work for you. All the best.

Sertraline can take up to 10 weeks to feel the full benefits. You should start to feel better by 2 weeks and then it continues from there. You need to stick with it longer.

Thanks everyone. I’m happy to ride it out longer. I’ve spoken to my doctor and they said to give it until around 6-8 weeks and then if no major improvement they’ll increase me to 100mg.
I’ve heard really positive stories about it and am desperate for it to work. Really hoped I’d feel more improvement by now, but I guess 3 weeks isn’t that long really.