Upping sertraline dose with history of side effects.

[bettycat81]

I have been on 50mg of sertraline for 8 weeks and feel like I should ask to up the dose. However I really don't want to suffer the same side effects over Christmas that I did when I first started. Is it likely I will? If so I will put it off for a couple of weeks.

Tia

You could try breaking a tablet in half and taking 75mg. One of my relatives takes this amount prescribed by the doctor, dispensed in 50mg tablets. I remember her telling me about the initial side effects from taking 50mg, but didn’t seem to have a problem with taking another 25mg on top as her body was used to it by then. Everyone’s different though, hopefully you’ll be ok with it too.

I took 25mg for the first week on GP’s recommendation, then went to 50mg. After another 7 weeks, 8 in total I also felt I would benefit from an increased dose. I went straight to 100mg and the side effects were milder and went away quicker than either when I first started or when I increased to 50.

PS the higher dose feels like it’s perfect for me - 50mg took me 2/3 of the way there and 100mg has taken me the rest of the way.