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.

Thank you viking, I think I will. I always seem to be anxious about something. I will overcome one worry and another immediately moves into its place. It's very strange and only really started properly after a traumatic birth with DD (although I'd always been an anxious person before then). Good idea about the 25mg option. When I went to collect the tablets, the pharmacist did actually suggest this.

Haven't RTFT but I've been taking 50mg for two months since second baby was a month old. Cut the tablets in half and take 25 mg morning and night for the first fortnight.

Honestly, it's changed my life. I'm calmer, I sleep better, I have more patience for two children under two and I am genuinely, genuinely well and happy for the first time in 20 years.

The only side effect I've had was a little bit of chattering teeth when I woke up which went away after a month.

It's wonderful stuff.

Hi OP,
I've been on sertraline for about 4 years. I too had bad anxiety and couldn't get a grip on the catastrophic thinking going through my head. I was really scared to take them and had resisted ADs for years because of health anxiety. When I started them the side effects hit me like a bus and I felt truly awful for about 1.5 weeks but then they improved. Then my mood lifted and honestly, it was like coming out of a fog that I had been in for 10 years without realising it! Of the side effects I still get night sweats occasionally but that's about it.
Nowadays I just feel normal. Normal ups and normal downs with slight anxiety that I still have to keep an eye on (Cbt is good for this) but generally I'm well. I wish you well no matter what your choice. Anxiety is so horrible when you're in the thick of it but it will get better!

I'm sorry I know I'm being negative but I just don't think "chattering teeth" and being spaced out amongst many of the other side effects is normal.

I've been on amytriptyline which is a heavy AD and that never bothered me in the way sertraline did, there is something real nasty about that drug.

I'm back on propanalol now and it's honestly so much nicer, although it doesn't get rid of the thought processes that come with anxiety it does get rid of the physical elements.

I am still in two minds about it all. I just seem to lurch from one worry to the next. I have ritualistic behaviour too, cementpointing and I worry constantly about losing things, and then get in a total panic whilst trying to find them. It's constant because I find one thing and then start worrying about another.

My mum is staying with us this week and has noticed that I seem on edge all the time. I'm worried that my behaviour is having an impact on my DD who is a very anxious child. I feel massive guilt about that - is it a genetic character trait or learned behaviour?

My mum has said that I can start taking the meds whilst she's here - although she goes home tomorrow so not sure how helpful that will be really. I am on my own a lot with my kids as DH works long hours so I need to be okay for them.

I just feel a bit bleak about it all at the moment tbh!

Thanks for all the posts - it's so helpful to read everyone's points of view.

Feelings I can totally see where you're coming from. But it's the thought processes I need to tackle. I feel like I'm trapped by them at the moment.

I feel like Sertraline may be the only way to do that. I have regular CBT counselling and it's helped me see why I do/think stuff, but so far it hasn't really altered my behaviour.

I think that generally having the side effects like clenching teeth, dry mouth, headaches etc are very normal in the first two weeks or so as your body gets used to the drug.

The side effects I had for the first two weeks were awful but I don’t feel any lasting side effects now. Most people won’t get awful side effects from sertraline (some people get none) and those that do usually will stop feeling effects after a few weeks. A small minority of people will get side effects which last or which are very serious, unfortunately it’s impossible to tell which category somebody will fall into before they take the drug but this is the case with any drug you haven’t taken before.

You’re no more likely to react badly to serttaline than an alternative drug and no one’s individual response to sertraline can predict your response. But as you said you can’t go on like this so I think it is worth giving sertraline a try, tell the people close to you so you have extra emotional support for the first few weeks and keep in touch with your GP. Expect that things might feel a bit worse for the first few weeks but if sertraline does turn out to be the right drug for you it will be worth it when you feel your anxiety reduce.

Thanks CrazyKittenSmile - I appreciate that. Actually, I took half the tablet this morning after a chat with my mum. I felt a bit spaced out at first and kept yawning later on. But apart from that, nothing really. I'll give it a go for a couple of weeks and then go to see the GP.

Thanks everyone.

I tried meditation and cbt, neither worked.
Had hypnotherapy as a last resort as I didn't really believe in it and it has changed my life!

There are other medication for anxiety, but certainly give it a try and see how you feel.

I have dome really well on it from day 1.
I started first week on half a tablet then full tablet. My anxiety reduced significantly as have any other issues. My biggest plus was that my resting heart rate was over 85 for 3 months. After starting sertraline my heart rate r eddduced to 65. I am calm and very happy and can think clearly again.

No side effects to note. Been on about 6 months -100mg.