Sertraline - gradually feel better ?

[Trainwardrobe]

Hello I’ve been on 50mg of sertraline for two weeks and feeling fair bit lower than before started taking it. Trying to hang in there. Do you gradually start feeling better or can it be quite quick? Need some hope please ! Thank you

Following because I'm on my 3rd week and feel the same.

Hi Op! 👋 I personally felt a lot worse before I felt better ! It needs to build up in your system. Be very, very kind and patient with yourself and just know that it's working, albeit slowly, behind the scenes.
Looking back, the waiting and the side effects were horrific but my god it's changed my life, I honestly feel like a better version of myself now (cliche alert I'm aware 😬) xx I hope you feel as good as you can be and well done for sticking at it 👑🏆🙂⭐️

Stick with it, I sometimes feel like it saved my life. The first stage is bloody awful, but you should feel better really soon.

Hi OP, I started taking it the week before Christmas and I do feel better but not sure I feel a lot better than before I started iyswim.

Any pps able to say how long it was before you saw real positive effects?

Also the past few weeks I've been really hungry. I'm thinking it must be the Sertraline because I can't put it down to anything else. Just get waves of intense hunger, reminds me of when I was breastfeeding!

Thank you so so much Gennonic and Haverhill for taking time to reply and your advice really appreciate it. Upthewolves and tomatosoup lets hang in there !!!!-wow would love to be better version of myself 😀😀 bug will be patient as you say with the current self for now 😀

Tonic not nonic!

@Trainwardrobe Awwww I just saw this reply!!!!! OP you WILL get there and it DOES work !
Please hold on no matter how horrific, side effects are a BITCH but NOTHING is forever and it WILL Mukden then pass. I found I was parched most of the time and def anxiety heightened but after the settling in phase, I just found myself laughing at something on the telly and when I woke up, that "sense of pure dread" was gone, I could just FACE stuff and COPE. Really took the edge off. Really proud of you for sticking at it and come back and chat soon xX

Milden not Mukden oops

Thank you so so much JenNTonic for your words of hope and taking the time to write. Goodness I can’t wait to laugh again 😀. Just starting week 4 and still feeling very low but going to fight through this. Hope you have a good week all xxx

Hi 👋 @Trainwardrobe hope you're feeling as ok as you can be today! I just wanted to add that after 4 weeks was when my GP increased to 100mg so may be worth going back IF you're feeling upto it, but I think in about 2 weeks time (so after 6 weeks) you should DEF feel some benefit. How's your sleeping and eating ? 🙂 xx

Ive just started today
Shall we all check in ? I Ready to both feel
Worse and feel shit for the next two weeks

I have never had them in 46 years , always did therapy . But after a nasty split and now a single parent of two feral (upset) children I need to get strong again

Good luck to us all

I am also going through this - am on day 5 and have been in a constant state of heightened anxiety for that entire time. And given that I started on it for intense panic and anxiety attacks, is pretty awful. I’m desperate and so need them to start working.

I'm on 50mg sertraline and have been for 6 months, it took until about 4 months in for me to notice I was feeling a whole lot better. It felt stupidly slow at the time but looking back, the wait and the side effects were worth it. I started to get 'glimmers' where it felt well for a few days and then I'd go back to feeling low etc and then another glimmer and so on until I felt continuously more 'normal'. It was a very gradual process and there were so many time when I wondered if the dose was high enough but I stuck with it. Now I mostly feel so much better apart from about 10 days before my period and I start to crash a bit but it goes once my period arrives. Hang in there, drink plenty of water, nap when you are able, eat as well as you can and try and get outside everyday. Also try and resist the urge to eat sugary food, this medication has made me crave all kinds of junk and carbs which has resulted in some weight gain. I wish I had avoided the crap a bit more but it was hard to be disciplined!!

Day 3
Very woozy and spaced out
I did have a few drinks last night (mistake)
Thanks to all the threads here and GP I
Am ready to feel shit !

Can I join please?

It's actually DH that has been put on 50mg Sertraline after amyltriptaline stopped working, but so far he's actually feeling far worse.

In the 10 days he's been taking it,
symptoms have included insomnia, heart racing, foggy head and (for him the worst effect) inability to orgasm.

He is tempted to stop taking it but from what I'm reading it sounds like it does take some time to kick in?

Feel so bad for him as he is utterly exhausted from the med induced insomnia, which in turn makes him feel even lower

DD had about 6 weeks of feeling awful on Sertraline and then the side effects disappeared and its been a game changer for her. Shes feeling better than she has for ages. So it might be worth sticking with it if you can

For a lot of people, the ability to orgasm does return after a while, perhaps not with the same momentum as before but certainly better than when you first start taking it. From everything I have read and my own experience, 50mg is quite a low dose and takes a while to level out. Patience and self care is key I think!

I think 50mg is a low dose. Can you increase to 75/100mg if you feel no better after another four weeks?

I started them in October, 50mg. I had horrendous side effects for the first week (sick, tired, couldn't eat, dizzy ect) but apart from the tiredness these went in a week. The tiredness lasted quite a while and it took a few weeks, maybe a month for me to feel less anxious. I was in a real state when I started on them though. I'm so glad I stuck with them as I feel so much better and more rational now. I'm 42 and have always managed my anxiety with diet, exercise and mindfulness but after an abusive relationship and a nasty custody case I reached my limit. I was really against it and battled on for a year which I regret now as I wish I'd started taking them sooner. One of my fears was that I wouldn't be the real me and I'd loose my empathy and emotions. This really isn't the case, I'm now as I was before all the difficulties. I'm in court again on Wednesday and I am anxious and scared but I'm not constantly crying and feeling like I'm going crazy! I advise anyone who's struggling to try them. Also to stick with it. 💐

Not great side effects but reassuring to hear that what DH is going through is quite common.
If he can at least start getting some sleep soon am sure he will be able to cope better with the other symptoms.

Just remembered, another horrible side effect is a really painful clicking jaw

I'm 3 and a bit weeks in to an increase and the side effects have been so hard. I had a few good days last week and then the weekend came and I've felt awful again. Just want to feel myself again for my husband and son.

I've been on it before and it's always kicked in after 2 to 3 weeks of horrific side effects. Mainly increased anxiety.

Alicenwonderland

Me too ! Split in Dec (horrible horrible ) and decided fuck this shit . I literally can’t even find a therapist (despite having so called private healthcare ) and also .....I know what the issue is , it’s being highly stressed for a very long time and dealing with two fuxked up kids . And losing my shit at them and hating myself for it . I don’t have time for counselling I need to calm down now

By the way had NO side effects but have decided to not drink , or have an occasional joint . So looks like I am on a Clean living kick which can only be a good thing

And good luck with the custody hearing

How is everyone doing now? Currently 4 1/2 weeks on it - 1 week at 50mg and three & 1/3 on 100mg. Anxiety is still there. I’m off work on sick leave and feel terrible for being off as physically I’m capable.