I stopped taking Sertraline for anxiety due to side effects. Anything else with less severe effects?

[Petals23]

I suffer with physical effects of anxiety - racing heart, sense of tightness all over, always on edge, can't relax. I've actually nothing to be anxious about but my body's got used to being like this for the last few years. After taking Sertraline for a year I had to stop because for me the side effects were too much. Did anyone else have a similar issue and changed medication?

I am on Sertraline for anxiety, albeit I’ve only been on it for about 4 weeks but I was told that it won’t take the physical effects of anxiety away and beta blockers such as Propranolol are better for the physical symptoms. I’m no expert though but might be something to look into with your GP?

What were your side effects?

I tried one med and it really made me horribly grumpy so I went onto citalopram and I haven't had any side effects at all.

Constant diarrhoea, headaches, upset stomach, afternoon sleepiness were the bad effects me.

I’m on citalopram after trying mirtazapine (weight gain...) and sertraline (long delay for repeat prescription due to lockdown). It’s working really well for me so far, been about 6-7 weeks I think

Mirtazapine would be a good option for anxiety, Duloxetine not a terrible choice either.

Cross post - yes Mirtazapine can be associated with weight gain, but tbh every bloody mental health drug does.

@Petals23 I totally understand you about Sertraline I also had some very bad side effects whilst I was on it. It's not an exaggeration to say it sent me crazy! My doctor immediately took me off it when my mum became so concerned she took me to the GP which actually was a blessing in disguise with hindsight. My GP referred me to the duty Psychiatrist and months later I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Turn's out that Sertraline causes hyper manic episodes along with other SSRI based medication. I did try others SNRI based meds but anti depressants just don't agree with me they cause bad episodes so I'm no longer allowed them. I now take anti psychotic medication and I've never had any major side effects only the common ones which are fairly manageable and my moods started becoming more stable once the meds kicked in.

Everyone will react differently to different drugs - there isn't a one size fits all.

I found Sertraline made me very dizzy and nauseous.
Mirtazapine made me feel angry and irritable whilst also very foggy.
Venlafaxine left me utterly manic.
I'm now on Fluoxetine which helps with anxiety (to a point), but like the others, has totally destroyed my libido.

What about promethazine?

I’m on Impramine, mirtrazipine made me fat and sertraline made me super anxious and gave me constant diarrhoea, Prozac (fluoxetine?) made me manic and I couldn’t sleep

My daughter had sertraline poisoning and if she hadn't gone to the hospital when she did, she would have died. She was swapped to citralopam, which worked for her really well for quite a while. She was recently put on to fluoxetine (Prozac) and is settling in well on that. She also takes propanolol for anxiety.

Ive just been prescribed them and tbh im not going to take them due to the side effects, i have a 6yo and 6mo to look after i cant afford to be hyper anxious, jaw clenching, not sleeping and god knows what else on top of looking after them. My Drs calling next week so i was going to ask for something else too

I was on sertraline, and it upset my stomach terribly, I stuck with it for four months, and it never got better. So then I swopped to Citalopram, which has been fine. But it took about six months for my stomach to settle - I do have IBS though, which might have been a factor.