Nervous about starting Sertraline

[imabeautifulfennelcalledjoan]

I would really like to hear how other people have got along with Sertraline.

I've been prescribed Sertraline 50mg for anxiety which has been on and off for the last 6 years after having DD. It comes in waves. At the moment it's particularly bad and I'm having awful intrusive, obsessive thoughts. I constantly feel on edge and can't relax. Have awful waves of hopelessness and terror which come over me. Am putting on a brave face for my family and carrying on working etc. No one outside my family would ever suspect that I'm not 100 per cent, I think. But I don't want to continue feeling so up and down and know I need to take some positive action.

I'm having CBT therapy which has been helpful but I think perhaps I do need medication now to stabilise my emotions if possible. The box of Sertraline is currently sitting in a cupboard unopened - and has been for the last two months since I was initially prescribed it.

The issue is that I'm terrified of the side effects - that I'll feel worse before I get better. I am also still BFing toddler DS - although the GP said it was fine for me to take this whilst BFing as he's not a newborn.

Has anyone got positive experiences they can share before I take the first step with this?

TIA.

It didn’t make me worse to begin with although I know it can.
Very slight nausea and feeling a bit dopey. Bit jaw clenchy too. Nothing really awful and I’m still on it over a year later. It does seem to work for anxiety- you have to give it a few weeks to settle.

I can deal with nausea and feeling dopey although I am already incredibly forgetful so god knows how much worse I can get! It's good to hear that it worked for you. I feel trapped in a mental prison of my own making at the moment. Just want to 'snap out of it' but am aware that's not really possible.

It made me feel better after it got worse, but I also had restless legs all through so I came off it after 6 months. Coming off it wasn't nice at all but it was mostly over after about 3-4 weeks.

Only thing that keeps me sane! Been on and off a 200mg dosage for last 10 years after having tried 6 other anti depressants that I suffered horrendous side effects with. Give it a decent chance, you will feel rubbish to start with (about a month) as your body gets used to the chemicals, then if kind of ok, review again after 6 months. If it helped then keep with it, if not then look into tapering onto another drug. On no account stop suddenly, that is hellish!

I would go back on it in a second if I needed to. I didn't feel worse first but took a while to kick in. Really helped me feel more even and able to deal with things. When you are ready to come off make sure you do it slowly though when you are completely ready and if you don't feel right when you are reducing your dose speak to your doctor because you might not be ready to or might be doing it too quickly. Hope you start to feel better soon either way.

Anxiety is awful. It taints everything. I am not keen to stay on sertraline but I loathe feeling so crap so staying on it for now.

Thanks. The thing I'm worried about is getting hooked on it, although my counsellor said that isn't really possible. Just worried that this is me for life now and that I'll have this anxiety forever.

Yes, SureIusedtobetaller - you are so right. I have these anxious thoughts which invade every situation. I can be having a really lovely chat with someone or having a cuddle with DC. Then the anxiety is there, nagging away at me. It's awful and I have these hot flushes and then cold sweats, feel really panicky etc. I can't get away from it. I so wanted to get through it without taking medication though.

Hi ima

I've been taking sertraline for about 3b months now, and it's made a massive improvement to my quality of life.
I suffer from extreme anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and depression - within about 2 weeks of starting the intrusive thoughts had subsided and the fog began lifting.
I feel like I'm my old self again now.
Still have some anxiety but it's at a 'normal' level, in that I'm able to take the steps I need to get it under control (like eating properly, getting enough sleep etc). Whereas before, I was in such a state that the thoughts of any self care were so overwhelming and felt impossible to do.

This is my 4th anti depressant in 3 years, so it did take some time to find one that worked for me (couldn't manage the side effects on any others). The only noticeable one I've had while taking these is teeth grinding, and that's manageable for me.

Everyone reacts so differently to each one, so you may have different or worse side effects but give them a few weeks. As I had suffered badly with side effects on previous drugs, my gp started me on 25mg for the first 10 days, and then I went up to 50. Might be an option to ease yourself on to them?

I really feel for you - I was in your situation a few months ago, so scared of taking tablets but honestly I feel so so much better now. I can enjoy my life and have such a stronger connection with my child and my dp now that I'm not drowning in my mind anymore. I wish you the very best of luck x

I was put on fluoxetine a few months ago for moderate depression, I went through 2/3 weeks of side effects, felt really well for around 2 weeks, then the most crippling anxiety kicked in, which I'm turn made my depression worse. Went back to the gps, apparently for some people fluoxetine causes anxiety 🙄

He told me to wean off the fluoxetine , and put me on Sertraline , starting off with half a 50mg tablet a day for 1 week then up to 50mg a day. Been on it around 5 weeks now, side effects have been awful, though apparently that's normal. Settled down now, anxiety has gone, still feeling a little low but better than I was. Hoping that will continue to improve. The only side effects remaining are having extremely vivid and memorable dreams , which I don't actually mind, and I catch myself clenching my teeth, which I do mind.

I know what you mean about wanting to snap out of it, I just want to be rid of it all and get on with my life, just can't do it 😏

I took 25 mg for a few days to start too- might be an idea.

I don't want to scare you but I must reply. My dad was put on sertraline in June as he was on Mitazipine for years but it gave him night terrors.
Sertraline almost broke my dad in a million pieces.
He lost 2 stone in 3 weeks. Became a shell
of his usual self. Ended up in hospital 3 times. Suicidal thoughts. Extreme anxiety to the point he couldn't leave the bedroom as was terrified of EVERYTHING.
I know meds effect people differently but I would never ever recommend it.

Just to add he was put on it for depression not anxiety and sertraline actually made him anxious. Trying to explain this to A and E doctors who thought he was having an anxiety attack was a nightmare.

Oh no, jq28 how awful for your dad. Is he okay now?

I would like to echo what jp28 I was put on 50mg sertraline for anxiety. After a few days I started to feel myself slipping into a deep depression, I was having anxiety attacks, panic attacks, I developed a burning in my mouth, was clenching my jaw which made my TMJ that I already had worse.
I became suicidal and was regularly threatening to hang myself. I also lost 7lbs in one week. I didn't eat for 3 days.
I had shortness of breath, couldn't stand up for more than a minute before feeling like I couldn't breathe, I had hot flushes.

Basically that medication completely changed who I was, I was panicking over everything and even though I had anxiety it was never at the level of what that medication had caused.

I came off it and within 2/3 weeks I started to feel like myself again. I would never go back on it.

I was prescribed it in November for depression, anxiety and intrusive thoughts around self-harm. Like you I was terrified of side effects and I kept it sat in my bathroom cupboard for a few weeks before I decided the side effects couldn’t be any worse than living my life sat at rock bottom.

My first couple of weeks on it were absolutely awful with physical side effects (dizziness, nausea, nightmares, dry mouth, feeling really spaced out, head rushes whenever I stood up, complete lack of appetite) but I persevered with it. The side effects disappeared after two weeks or so but I didn’t notice any improvement with my mood. In February my dose was increased from 50mg to 100mg (luckily I had no side effects with the increase) and I started receiving CAT in April. I only felt my mood really stabilise in May so it really took a while to work.

Since then I have been feeling great, no more anxiety, my mood feels positive, I feel able to deal with stresses as they come up and I haven’t self-harmed in 4 months. I’ve now reduced my dose to 25mg a day with no noticeable negative effects.

I had been really nervous about starting it and had resisted anti-depressants sndnefucation for years but now I’m so glad I finally bit the bullet and took them as my mood and outlook on life really has improved so much. It was definitely worth the two weeks of awful side effects at the beginning to get to this point.

@Feelings glad you're feeling better. Would not wish that medication on anyone!
It's taken time and he's only recently gone back to work but he's definitely getting there.

It takes so long for the side effects to go jq28 I'm not surprised he's only recently felt well enough to go back.
it's such a horrible medication to be on, I know it works for some but it really is Russian roulette as to whether you're the one it badly effects.
The doctors never said to me "it might make you feel suicidal" or any of the other side effects, I just got told that I might feel sick and might get some headaches. I got neither of those things, and got every other side effect that's listed for sertraline.
I felt like I was mislead.

I've tried most SSRIs, and I've found Sertraline to be the best. Like a PP, fluoxetine somehow made me more anxious.
On the very first day I took Sertraline, I felt a bit dizzy. I also had to keep reminding myself not to clench my jaw for about a month.
Apart from that, I had no real side effects.
It's worth a go, OP. Anxiety is horrible.

Terrible anxiety, upset stomach, cramps, insomnia, sweating. These were some of the side effects for me. GP said it was ok to use valium to counteract the side effects occasionally but I stopped them. Im now AD free for the first time in over 10years and my anxiety is through the roof but I wanted to know who I was again.

It was the best thing ever for me. I had anxiety plus depression. I felt rubbish for about the first few weeks of taking it jaw clenching, nausea, just generally feeling a bit weird.
Then I started to gradually feel better.
I was on it for just over a year and felt like a better version of me.
Then I tried to come off too quickly and felt awful right back to square one. I went back on them for about four months and when I had been feeling better for a few months I started to come off very very slowly I've been off them now for about three months and I'm fine.
So really brilliant but just make sure when you do come off them you do it really really slowly

Op, I felt the same as you about taking sertraline while breastfeeding. My DS was probably around 6-8 months when I could no longer cope with pnd. I breastfed him until 3yrs on the lowest sertraline dose and it literally saved me. I have tried several ADs over the years and always felt sertraline was the safest. It didn't affect me like others if I missed a dose. It is prescribed so often because it is thought to be gentler - with side effects- than others. But at the end of the day everyone reacts differently. I would go for it as long as you build it up slowly to Dr's instructions.

Thanks so much for all the posts - I appreciate people taking their time to share their experiences.

I still feel quite confused to be honest. Not sure if it will be the right thing for me or not. I might go back to the GP and have a chat with her.

The thing I can't do is nothing. If I carry on like this, I'm never going to get better or happier. I just don't know if I can cope with side effects that are worse than how I'm feeling now.

Have a chat with your gp if you think that may help. Perhaps ask her opinion to start with 25mg instead of 50mg. 25mg is the lowest dose. If she knows the level of worry you have about possible side effects, she may decide to tweak your prescription. I wouldn't want to tell you what to do, but there are so many people that use this AD. Some don't have any side effects at all. But if you do, you know it will pass and before long you will pass that hurdle and feel better . Remember that it is only temporary .

hello OP, i started 50mg on thursday after trying every other possible therapy for my GAD and OCD/ritualistic behaviour (hygiene/germs/obsessed with antibac -ing certain objects).

I'm was terrified and wouldn't entertain the idea for a year and then, having hit rock bottom (but still going to work/ damaging marriage and friendships/horrible to my children/isolating myself), i decided i had no other option.

So 3 days in and i've felt spacey, had sudden bowel movements which i can deal with at home, had lower appetite but this evening its picked up and have slept worse than ever before.

Im actually terrified about how im going to get up in the morning and out by 8am (agency worker so no sick pay until day 3 off work) if i have a third night of horrible sleep.

also worried about having diahhrea (sp?) and can't take imodium now i'm on sertraline.

im going to try it for a while unless diahhrea gets worse.

if you've tried everything apart from drugs and they didn't work, try them but make sure you've got support, possibly get a few days signed off work?

good luck.