My mum has been taking Sertraline for around nine weeks now, for extreme anxiety. She's moved from 50mg to 100, 150 and now 200 for the last week. But aside from initially getting worse we are yet to see any improvement in her condition. Is it possible that it can take this long or longer for it to work?
Her symptoms are akin to a constant panic attack, catastrophising everything, pacing around the house wringing her hands and unable to stop fretting about every little tiny thing. She's had one afternoon in the last three weeks where she suddenly felt much better, was able to go out and enjoy a cup of tea at a garden centre, could hold a normal conversation and actually talk about the prospect of recovery. But then she noticed a tiny spot on her nose and decided it must be skin cancer, so it was back to the fretting and hand wringing, and that's how it's stayed ever since. We're astonished that there's been no change in all this time. My dad is beginning to despair and I would like to give him some hope that all is not yet lost, and that there's still time for the medication to kick in.