First day of sertraline - can anyone offer advice?

[bleedingheart123]

Hi -
Just looking for a bit of anecdotal support really, I have pretty bad anxiety and it’s been taking over my life. I’ve tried to take anti depressants before but completely span out reading the side effects leaflet (I have HA). I made the decision to take them again and am trying today. Just about to try and actually do it! Can anyone offer advice on how it was for them? Thank you!

I’ve been waking up restless in the night - I feel very sort of charged up too but very sleepy around an hour after I take them.

I have had a break through! I slept unaided last night! woke for a while at 1.30 but went back off no problem. I'm so happy!

I was on sertraline this time last year and came off in the summer. My advice is stick with it, it'll get worse before it gets better for me 2 weeks is the golden period when the symptoms fade and I feel better.
for you you've done the hardest part starting them

Can I join? I’ve just restarted today, took this morning as when I was on before they stopped me sleeping if I took them at night. But they’re making me sick already. Only about an hour after. And everything is spinning. I’ve started again because my therapist is off sick and I know I won’t cope with meds AND therapy, I need at least one. But I’m regretting it now.

Hi OP, fellow sertraline users,
I started sert about 4 years ago and I would never look back it has made such a profound difference to my life.
I had horrific side effects for the first 3 weeks and felt truly awful with bowel upset, headaches, night sweats... the lot. But one day they just disappeared and for the first time in 10 years I felt normal. Since starting sert I've changed jobs and started an OU degree. I still have down days and mild anxiety but it all feels manageable now.
I had mild HA for years and it is so much better now. Keep going with it, give it a good month to settle in before you evaluate whether it is the one for you if you can.
I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks, that's really encouraging. I am back to being really sleepy again today but am going to stick with it. I do feel a tad less anxious which is the main thing.

I’m on day 3 now and feel quite anxious this evening and analysing all my HA symptoms. Not really had any side effects today either.
I’ve been having serious trouble eating so going to attempt to eat some chips from the chippy tonight.

I'm on my 5th day, diarrhoea has abated, still feeling sick though.
I'm having terrible mood swings but I'm due on my period so that probably isn't helping.

Glad your diarrhoea is better, louderthan1. But does your stomach feel bad? I've got awful wind and aches in mine, really dulls any positive effects unfortunately. I've been struggling with this for months (see my previous post) and having started up again on Tuesday I was hopeful until this afternoon, but no. My tummy really seems to hate sertraline! I want to give it longer, to see if it'll go away, but this must be the third or even fourth 'generic' they've tried me on and I'm suffering.

Hope others aren't having awful stomach trouble with it, but if you are please let me know. It's the only thing that's getting in the way of me actually feeling good in and about myself for the first time in years

Yesterday my stomach wasn't so bad and I even cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom! I mean, I generally keep it tidy but when I'm depressed I don't do proper thorough cleaning, floor and fridge freezer and cupboards etc. It has made me feel more positive, was great to get up to it this morning! I'm going out for a walk soon coz the light is beautiful and I'll take my iPod because, omg, anyone else find that sertraline enhances listening to music?! Love it.

How are you all getting on? OP did you manage to keep taking your tablet each day so far? Stick it out, things do get much better for most people. Since my stomach hasn't been so poorly I'm feeling good

Hello! I’m on my full tablets now. Hopefully feeling ok - I’m generally fine, very tired and a tad more panicky than usual but doing ok! I actually feel weirdly loads less depressed - everything seems brighter. Might be a placebo but

That is so good to hear bleedingheart123. Has the panicky feelings got any better?

I’m taking 100mg of sertraline atm, the doctor said it won’t hurt the baby (I’m 18 weeks) is anyone else taking it whilst pregnant? i just can’t deal with the anxiety at the moment!

Update: I am on day 15 and am sleeping OK, no longer zombiefied by the tablets during the day, and am generally way less anxious.
Fingers crossed...

I'm on day three. I took 50mg on day one, as prescribed, and it completely floored me with hideous nausea and tiredness. I took 25mg yesterday and today and the nausea is still there but not as bad, still very tired though. I'm back in work next week and I dreading going up to 50mg and having to deal with the nausea in work. Any advice please? I'm not sure if Sertraline the right thing for me, the nausea on Monday was worse than the anxiety. Please tell me this won't last long.