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Sertraline stories

92 replies

Smiles12345 · 04/09/2019 21:09

Hi I have just started taking sertraline for low mood and just wondered if there are any success stories out there? I know the first couple of weeks can be rough, but any encouragement that things will go back to normal will help... I am also booked for counselling thanks

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Smiles12345 · 28/09/2019 10:19

Hi rosie219 thanks for the positive post, I’ve just started week 5. Well yesterday was an ok day until I had a full meltdown crying in car in Tesco car park whilst hubby was in the shop, took him 10 minutes to calm me down and reassure me I will get better. This last week has been a struggle managed to work and take son to school but it got harder every day. I had about 1 hour yesterday feeling normal then I ate and went down quite fast.
Appetite is still hit and miss, never eaten so many bananas!
All my family apart from son and husband have gone on holiday so my safety blanket has gone for support so think that was why I panicked yesterday so poor hubby having to give up his lads night out tonight love him.
I went to bereavement councilling this week cried for a full hour, not sure if it helps but will keep going....but it is every 2 weeks so feels a while away.
I still get the sweating and hot hands and feet, and mornings still seem worse than the afternoons, but still trying to remain positive I will feel better soon. This is defiantly a mental rollercoaster 🎢

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Smiles12345 · 28/09/2019 10:24

Hi mineralmist, glad you are managing to get out and about, and it really is not worth you pushing yourself I still get time I just need to sit a switch off to the world.

Everyone is welcome to add their stories any positive ones are more than welcome....

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stuckin70s · 28/09/2019 12:20

Sorry, if this has already been mentioned, as saw post for sertraline, and daughter had tried it. There was a bbc article on 19th September about how Ucl had carried out a study on its effectiveness. It concluded that it was more effective for anxiety and that might lead to helping with mild depression, but not so helpful for worse depression. Sorry not sure how to link to article, but if you google bbc sertraline article it should come up. Just didn’t want people suffering and not going to doctors to ask to try a different anti depressant.

Rosie219 · 28/09/2019 12:59

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49743315

Here it is. When I first went my anxiety was coming up worse than depression. My therapist thought maybe my anxiety was causing me to feel down which made sense. Anyway it’s reassuring to know sertraline was found to be effective.

stuckin70s · 28/09/2019 13:13

Thanks Rosie for adding that bbc link. Now my tech support daughter has gone to uni; I really need to get better at this kind of thing!

CherryBathBomb · 28/09/2019 13:21

Hi!
Im on week three 50mg, for the first week i felt a little spaced out and was sick a couple of times but it wasnt that bad..i feel so much better in the last week. Sertraline is a life changer Smile

Smiles12345 · 29/09/2019 22:33

Day 31
Morning bad again but day got better took son swimming with hubby to the worlds most packed and noisy pool! Anxiety the whole time didn’t really enjoy it but glad I did it! Nice chilled evening still shaky but not anxious.
Woke up in a panic as felt sick hubby calmed me down, god knows he is putting up with me at the minute.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow full day at work ahead.

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PeninsulaPanic · 30/09/2019 09:40

Good morning Smiles, really hope your day at work goes smoothly and you don't feel so anxious. You did so well getting out with your family yesterday! Chances are days like that will get easier and more enjoyable once you feel fuller effects from the Sertraline.

I've had horrid waves of nausea the last couple of days, as well as aches and pains, and a migraine last night. Got the kids to school earlier and then was tempted to run home but the thought of going back to bed depressed me so I walked to my local caff instead and after a cuppa here I'm going to jump on the bus and go round some charity shops to see if I can find any decent picture frames. Would just feel like a defeat to go home for the day, so will face down the nausea and any anxiety, fingers crossed.

Hello to everyone else who has been posting, wishing you all a very manageable week with some bright spots Star

Lightsabre · 30/09/2019 12:56

Smiles12345, I wonder if you need a dose increase?

MonnaLisa · 01/10/2019 13:00

Hi I have been prescribed Sertraline but in two minds about it. Worried about the zombie effect - I need my brain as I am having job interviews. Reading this with interest.

Smiles12345 · 03/10/2019 21:37

Day 35 I think....
So managed work ok, yesterday was the best as appetite came back so had sausage bun from couplands, wow I had missed them! This morning anxiety was still quite high, although no where near where it was a few weeks ago..
I am going to stay at 50 for a while longer as I feel I need to give it a good go and now I have seen a few windows of feeling normal, I don't want to jinx it by upping dose.
Peninsula I am super impressed with you going to shops, that is one of my fears going to shops on my own... but I conquered it once I will do it again, hopefully soon.
Early nights also help me... just to add that, otherwise I wake up early hours and struggle to fall back to sleep
Sweating in the night not so bad last night also

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Scaredmumma8 · 04/10/2019 08:57

Hello ladies,

Does anyone have any experience in the dose being increased with Sertraline?
I was on 100mg but I’ve had to drastically increase to 200mg which was a 2 weeks ago. How long can it take for me to notice the benefits?

PeninsulaPanic · 06/10/2019 09:54

Hope everyone is getting on OK and feeling the benefit of some improvement. Unfortunately I'm really struggling. Four and a half weeks on 50mg and I'm very depressed. Everything that could get to me is getting to me, amplified. I feel pretty wretched. Hope I can get beyond this, it's horrible.

Look after yourselves, enjoy your families and friends, or just your own company Flowers

abitfunny · 06/10/2019 10:53

@PeninsulaPanic - I think there must be something with that time because between week 4-5 was my absolute worst. Have you felt any moments of happiness yet? I’m feeling a bit better now and have just come into week six. Hope things improve soon x

Scaredmumma8 · 06/10/2019 12:00

Ladies don’t give up yet! Weeks 4-6 are the worst! Honestly as you hit week 8 it’s like someone flicked a switch in your brain and you will find relief! I have been on Sertraline well over a year now and it’s exactly what happened to me and others I know on it.

I’m week 2 tomorrow on my increase which means I should be better but I’m still struggling :(

PeninsulaPanic · 06/10/2019 18:53

Thank you both for the reassurance. I can't actually 'feel it' but you'll understand why. Not sure what the point of any of this is at the moment. I was coping much better the first couple of weeks, on the whole, but now I feel like I'm in a blacker, deeper tunnel than when I took the first tablet. I can honestly say I haven't had any happy moments that have added up to much, mostly just hanging in for dear life waiting for something to uplift me. It doesn't help that I haven't got much of a life these days, I guess, but feeling like this I'm not going to be able to change that. The plan was to find medication that would give me that boost to start making something of my life again. I know it's unreasonable to expect such miracles so soon (if at all?) but this depression doesn't make me reasonable! I'm so fucking angry and disappointed, mostly in myself, even though I know how far back this goes and that I wasn't to blame for all the crap that started it. My head tells me I should be able to rise above it all, but my horrible feelings tell a different story. I'm beyond fed up.

Sorry, I know this makes grim reading. I can be a very supportive person but I just don't have that in me at present. I'm glad to read that you're feeling a positive difference finally, @abitfunny - what sort of things are you noticing about the effect of the Sertraline in week 6? Seems really hard to imagine at the moment, but in my first two days of starting it I felt great.

@Scaredmumma8 your dosage seems really high, have you effectively doubled it in the last week or two? Do you mind me asking, did you have a big crisis that meant your usual dose stopped helping you?

PeninsulaPanic · 06/10/2019 19:02

By the way, I keep forgetting to re-type my name change - I was originally mineralmist! Wink

Scaredmumma8 · 06/10/2019 20:43

@PeninsulaPanic I was on 100mg, upped to 150mg recently as I found out I am pregnant and took a real turn for the worse with the anxiety. A week later I increased again to 200mg. I’m not seeing any benefit yet and I’m really scared

shiveringtimber · 06/10/2019 21:03

My DD (19) is on 150mg/day and she tolerates it without any problem. She started at 50mg/day and gradually increased.

Scaredmumma8 · 06/10/2019 21:44

@shiveringtimber do you know how long it took between an increase to feel better? I hit 2 weeks tomorrow and not feeling the benefit yet

shiveringtimber · 06/10/2019 22:35

Hi @Scaredmumma8, I think it was quite rapid, as in a few days. Is there any reason why you haven't tried other ADs? There are many SSRIs prescribed now and some are better tolerated or more effective than others, depending on the individual. Then there are the newer SNRIs, such as venlafaxine (Effexor), which I've been on for about 7 years.

PeninsulaPanic · 11/10/2019 19:28

@Smiles12345 hope you're doing ok, you haven't posted in a while so maybe the tablets are working and 'real life' has improved a lot for you. Would be great to read an update if you get a chance. Have you felt able to do more on your own? Sounded like you were gradually starting to see some real improvement at 50mg.

@Scaredmumma8 how has your dose increase been working out, do you feel any better yet? You were pretty anxious last time you posted and I'm sorry that has been happening during your pregnancy. Fingers crossed you've turned a corner this week and are able to relax and enjoy it more.

I guess I've had a mixed week. Started off really well because it was my niece's birthday and with one thing and another Monday and Tuesday were very festive and I felt such joy at being around her and the family. But by Tuesday night I'd had a chronic pain attack after being (physically) pain-free for a few weeks and by Wednesday I was struggling again, tired and sore and anxious that the pain was well and truly back and I might have to go on amitriptyline for it again. Had a hospital appointment Wednesday morning which wasn't particularly helpful, came home feeling depressed and tired. But late afternoon I got an urge to go for a walk with my iPod in my local wood and it turned into a kind of spiritual experience! I stood there for ages looking at the clouds and the light and the trees and the birds and felt very chilled and 'connected', even enjoyed standing in the rain for a bit and just feeling at one with everything :)

Yesterday and today have been far less remarkable and have been sleeping a lot - I'm waking up most nights at 3 or 4 then unable to sleep again for two or three hours. It's not the end of the world some days because I don't strictly have to get up for anything so I can go back to sleep for a bit when I'm ready, but even then I'm tired by the afternoon and napping for a couple of hours before dinner, or soon after lunch and then waking up around 4pm feeling a bit lost. Anyone else having this problem? I'm not working at present and a big reason for taking the medication is to get me ready to take on some work again, so the constant tiredness and infrequent good days are a big worry. I feel depressed at the thought of not being motivated or confident about being able to work in the near future. On the other hand I try to tell myself that maybe I just need to take all that pressure off myself for the time being and wait for some unbroken weeks of feeling much better once the medication kicks in properly. Maybe I need that experience before I can really expect myself to feel more prepared to start looking for work.

How's everyone else doing? If you're working, do you feel like you're managing/coping well enough to keep going?

Herbalteahippie · 11/10/2019 19:32

Bloody awful for me. Made me anxious and grind my teeth.
take vitamin b and magnesium every day as antidepressants deplete vitamin b levels. No one told me that I found out years later.

Smiles12345 · 11/10/2019 21:10

Hi pernisulapanic... sorry I’ve not posted... strange and very sad week... Monday was a 5/10 day Mondays always are at work... but Tuesday was super good until 5pm when life events took over and then found out that night my brother had died suddenly in his sleep at 41 years old... so been a bit of a mess since then... I do feel the meds have definitely helped me and I am so much calmer now than I would have been... I still have some anxiety regarding some situations like I don’t want to travel far like out of without husband as he is my security blanket. I am ok being on my own again now and can keep occupied...
I’m sorry your struggling pernisula... I really hope it gets better for you... and you just need to give it more time I have just finished week 6 and it really has been the best week regarding side effects and feeling normal which is weird whilst going through this sad
Time....
I have started taking multi vitamins and I eat a lot more normal now..
I’ll be back in the next couple of days and love to read peoples posts... I really believe now in this medicine I really wasn’t sure weeks 4 and 5 but glad I stuck with it

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PeninsulaPanic · 12/10/2019 08:21

Hi @Smiles12345 I'm saddened to read that your brother has died unexpectedly and at such a young age. What a shock you've had this week, my thoughts are with you Flowers

You feel that the medication is helping you to deal with the news, thank goodness for that. And it sounds like you get support and a feeling of security from your husband, which must be a great help and comfort. Take things very easy, I guess the next few weeks will be busy with one thing and another - well, if you need to be involved with organising the funeral or stuff like that? Even if you just have to attend it's bound to be difficult emotionally, so I hope you'll be able to take care of yourself and feel supported. Then again, if your brother lived abroad things might not be so straightforward, feeling like you've said goodbye properly and that.

You take care, and only post when you feel up to it. I'll update again soon Star