Sertraline buddy required!!!

[Vml12345]

I’m in day 2 of taking sertraline and could really do with some support as feel horrible 😕

hairydog I’m glad things are improving for you. What day are you on now?

Day 10 for me. Up at 5am again and thoughts racing but that seems to be subsiding a little just now. My best part of the day is still the evenings, a couple of hours after taking the tablet. When I think of my worries then, I seem much more able to cope with them. I’m not sure if that’s because the medicine is working or because I’m just so exhausted by that part of the day. I like to think it’s the sertraline though. I guess most of us will be nearing the end or at the end of week 2 which is apparently when the side effects should have eased off by. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back for getting this far ☺️

I hope everyone is feeling okay today.

@Hairydogmummy Glad you had a good day.
Day 8 Not great last couple of days. Went back to GP gave me Diazepam to fight the morning panic episodes. Keep telling myself this is the 'worse' before I can get better.

Ha anyone else been getting muscle twitching? I’ve been getting lots in arms and legs xx

jelly I hope the diazepam works for you!

VML I haven’t had muscle twitching, just shaking but it’s been all over.

I don’t want to speak too soon but I think I’ve noticed an improvement today. I think I’m feeling less anxious/down.

@jellybeanpeach how you getting on with the diazepam? Apparently quite a few people have to go on that while the ADs are settling down. A few years ago I was given citalopram and the GP gave me the diazepam with them cos she thought I'd need them. It freaked me out and I didn't take either!
@TrySleepingWithABrokenHeart I'm on day 9 now...I feel okay. Sometimes fine ish even. Still having intrusive thoughts but feel like that's me testing to see if they've gone and remembering what they were to an extent? Definitely better than I was but then that was pretty awful verge of a breakdown stuff so anything else is better than that! My son is 16 tomorrow so I need to be bright and breezy for that! Sounds like you're doing better too? Definitely a pat on the back needed! Don't want to tempt fate tho!
@Vml12345 I've had twitching and internal shaking but that was before the Sertraline to be fair so was anxiety itself. The drug dies increase your anxiety to start with so i imagine you're getting more physical symptoms of anxiety at the moment? I've a book called 'help me I'm a hypochondriac' and it's got a fab list of anxiety symptoms in the back so I always look up my symptoms and sure enough they're ALWAYS there. I'll see if I can photograph the pages and post them xx

Symptoms! More to follow!

More!

Would let me upload 7th pic
It was vibration in limbs, vomiting, waking up in panic and yawning.

Hi guys I'm on day 3,have a feeling of foginess/forgetfulness?have lost my appetite too,has anyone else?felt good day 1,really down day 2,ok today.bad sleeps.

Started a year ago. The first 2 weeks were awful. I felt desperately tired and anxious. Then it got better and then I felt completely normal again.

Hi everyone, thought I'd put my experience on here. I was on sertaline but it wasn't for me. Had horrible physical side effects which I'd never had before. Awful headaches too. Still felt so low. However I've now switched to citalopram I've been on them 4 weeks now and i already feel much better. No physical effects, no headaches. Less anxious, less depressed. Think I need my dose upped but overall they are doing a good job so far. So if sertraline isn't agreeing with you maybe try citalopram

I had side effects for the first week...jaw clenching was really bad, dizziness, feeling completely zoned out etc but soon lifted and now I feel fine on them. I take mine just before going to bed at night

@Hairydogmummy thank you for the pics! That looks a good book and I’ve probably experienced everything on those lists 😬. My side effects have almost gone... still anxious but it’s not even been 2 weeks yet so still hopeful xx

hairydog What a great list that is, thank you for sharing I was also on the verge of a breakdown when starting these. I’m so glad you feel that things are a little better now.

I didn’t sleep well last night. Had loads to catch up on round the house which resulted in me going to bed late and waking up again at the crack of dawn. I felt awful when I woke up. Was having suicidal thoughts (I should add that I’m 100% sure that this is something I’ll never follow through with). Anyway, I was feeling that way for a couple of hours but things are feeling better now thankfully.

How is everyone else doing?

@TrySleepingWithABrokenHeart. I’m glad your feeling a little better now. The ups and downs are hard to deal with but fingers crossed you get more ups soon. I’m ok today. Still as anxious as before I started the medication but at least no worse. I’m wondering whether my dose needs upping x

VML I wonder when they decide if you need to up the dosage? A lot of websites seem to say that sertraline can take 4-6 weeks for you to get the full effect so I wonder if they would make us stick with 50mg until we reach that point? I have a GP appointment scheduled for next Wednesday for a review but by that point I’ll only be on day 17.

I'm in week 11. First 8 weeks at 50mg, weeks 5&6 were the hardest and then levelled out more than bearably but felt no real wow factor. Upped to 75mg two weeks ago and got a horrid virus around the same time so felt pretty low again for a couple of weeks. As of today I'm feeling an upswing and improvement - got up this morning and cracked straight on with chores rather than going back to bed. Unheard of for a while! Had lunch and just taking a break then will finish with a few more chores and feel v positive about then rewarding myself with TV and reading and resting for the remainder of the day

Today is a good day

That’s great peninsula. I think we’ve got to expect that this is going to possibly take a bit of time and some trial and error to get the right dosage (or possibly the right medication if sertraline doesn’t have the desired effect). It’s great to hear that you are finally seeing the benefits of it ☺️

Hi I'm new here.. I created a thread about Pnd but I don't think it's showing up here for some reason.
I will skip the full story now but long story short I started sertraline 9 days ago for postnatal ANXIETY.. It made it significantly worse I gelt like someone gave me an electroshock and afterwards I felt like I am in a neverending panick attack for 2 days straight. The 3rd day I was calmer (physically) but I got severely depressed (I didn't have depression before) to a point that I wished it would end (suicidal thoughts) ! I kept going though for 7 days but it got worse every day! I was so low and so anxious I pictured in my head that I will go insane and get some serious untreatable menatl health issue and end up in psychiatry!
This is so not me.. I have 2 kids under 2.. A nice house a good life normally very happy and positive!
Fast forward 7 days in I called 111 and the doc said i should stop and try a different med. I stopped and now 2 days after i feel worse than ever..
Anxious depressed blurred vision intrusive thoughts sick fatigued and the list goes on
..do u think it was a mistake to stop?! I feel so hopeless and am scared to take meds again but I know I can't go on like this

mimimi oh I wish you had found us sooner! I’m sorry you are going through so much and with 2 very small kids that must be so tough!

If you have a read through this thread, you will see our posts about the side effects we have suffered from having taken the tablets. This thread has been invaluable to me and has motivated me to stick with the tablets. Many people say it gets worse on these before it gets better. I prepared myself for at least 2 weeks of hell and I’ve felt very down at certain points in the last 11 days since I started on these.

None of us can tell you for sure if you made a mistake stopping them, but they do say the side effects normally wear off in the first 1-2 weeks so it could be that you weren’t that far from reaching that point. I have also heard that stopping taking them can also cause side effects so that would explain why you’ve been feeling so badly the last couple of days.

I know you said you called 111, did the GP you spoke to suggest something else you can try?

Also, some people on this thread have been prescribed medication to help ease the side effects for the first couple of weeks. That could also be an option?

I hope things get better for you soon

I am basically living on this and other threads since this whole thing started to get some hope. It is rrally helpfull.. but after starting the sertraline I went from anxious but functioning to panicky depressed and suicidal and that with 2 babies. Thank god my family supports me.
Now I didn't take them for 2 days (I'm a bit calmer right niw but it's always worse in the morning it gets out of control) I don't know if I should get back on them and push through or try something else.. they suggested citalopram but I am very hesitant now

Thank you so much it really gives me hope

Will see the GP tomorrow

I’m glad you’re going to see your GP. A few of us are also struggling in the mornings. I can relate to the suicidal thoughts as I was there myself only this morning. It’s rubbish but we’ll all get through this. I hope your GP appointment goes well. Definitely worth asking if there is something you can take alongside the AD’s to ease these awful side effects. Let us know how you get on ☺️

@waytheleaveswork
A very personal question but did u have suicidal thoughts even before taking it?
I didn't I took it for anxiety only.. 3 days in and I got so depressed and felt so extremely detached from the world and the people around me nothing made sense anymore I just wanted to give up. My family pulled me back out every day.. now 6 days later and 2 days without sertraline and I don't really feel better still much worse than before the meds. When did these horrible thoughts stop when u took it?