Sertraline is anyone on it?

[Bellyjellee]

I think I have probably struggled with my mental health for a very long time but our personal circumstances are really difficult at the moment and I'm finding things really hard so I finally went to the gp a few weeks ago. They have been waiting for confirmation from one of my consultants that sertraline is ok for me which they now have and I have an appointment tomorrow to discuss starting it. I'm just curious what other peoples experiences of it are as I've read there can be some nasty side effects to begin with and I'm worried just before Christmas might not be the best time to start taking it. We have 3 children so don't want to be feeling even worse over Christmas but if I might get some benefits at the same time maybe it would be worth it. I'm particularly struggling with anger at the moment. I feel like the smallest thing can set me off and I really want to be able to control it, can sertraline help with this? I've never taken any sort of anti depressant before so am totally clueless. Any advice or experience is appreciated. Thanks

Come join us OP, many of us are fairly new 2/3 weeks in.

@Bellyjellee Not great. Second day of feeling very nauseous and I'm not eating. Despite being an amazing sleeper, I was up half the night, just wide awake. Very strange for me. I'm really hoping these side effects subside soon.

I just started, only taking it 2 weeks out of 4. I’m on my first 2 weeks off now, that one week I was on it was amazing! I’m taking it for anxiety though, not depression. Jaw clenching and dry mouth were my side effects so far.

Hi 👋 I’ve been taking Sertraline for a week due to struggling badly with my pmt and also having some serious probs with my DP.

So far I’ve had a hot flush, sleepiness, puffy eyes in the morning and have ranged from feeling calm to quite anxious and paranoid. Generally I’ve been sleeping ok but did have an anxious non-sleeping spell the other night.

I’m not enjoying it much at all tbh but do seem to be coping with things a bit better.

I hate this drugged feeling though - does it ever go away?

I took one pill 50g for the first time in my life on Thursday night and on Friday I was like a zombie. I felt woozy, hungover, dazed, wanted to be sick, and drowsy. It was horrible so I haven't taken any more.
I hear the side effects can last a least a week and I need to drive a lot and be focused for some really important things and can't afford to be so zoned out :(
I think once this is out of the way and if I feel I need to, I'll go back to the but cut the pills in half to start with on 25g

I had a better nights sleep last night, didn't wake til almost 6 this morning but I did find I was worrying about all those silly little things I've done that probably really don't matter. I've also started CBT recently and yesterday we talked about mindfulness so I tried to concentrate on that and I think it actually helped.

@PolarnOPirate I'm curious, what's the theory behind taking it 2 weeks out of 4?

I am on day 6 on 50 mg Sertraline which I take at night. OMG the tiredness......mixture of not sleeping and tightness caused by medication. I take it at night because I’d rather have and effects happened during the night and not the day although I’m moving to start taking it at 7 pm rather than 8:30 pm.
Also not with it at all which I’m hoping will go away soon.

I was on it after I had my little boy. Very little side effects for me and it helped massively to get me through the day. The only incident I had was when I went through a bad week and forgot to take them for 2-3 days and my heart rate skyrocketed, I felt dizzy and was fainting so was taken into hospital. So don't ever forget them once you start. They are brilliant.

I'm on day 4. First day not feeling really nauseous so that's good. And I managed to have lunch. I've been taking it in the morning, so feeling rough between 11 and 3ish. Hoping to get past the first week and actually feel better? Everyone says it's so good. I just hope that's true.

I'm on day 6 now and struggling with the lack of sleep. I take it in the morning but I'm waking up in the middle of the night and am not able to get back to sleep for hours. On the plus side I am feeling quite a lot calmer already. Had a really difficult situation this morning that I dealt with much better than I normally would have.

Just had a call with my doc this morning and thought I'd post here in case this applies to anyone. I had the side effect of really bad jaw clenching. She said that is a rare side effect and has halved my dose (down to 25mg), and this means I won't be able to have a higher dose than 50mg of any SSRI. So just FYI.
Also if any of you are taking sertraline for PMDD, she said it's normal for the drug to work way quicker in that case than if you are taking it for depression. I saw immediate effects, whereas for depression it takes a number of weeks.

@Bellyjellee

Has anybody else struggled with sleep? Does it pass? I've had 2 very restless nights now and I'm worried the lack of sleep will make me feel worse.

Yes, I'm on 100mg of Sertraline and it caused insomnia, so my GP prescribed 15mg of mirtazapine to take at night and that fixed it. I do have very vivid dreams some of which upset me for the rest of the day, but my daughter is also on 100mg of Sertraline and she says she hasn't had any side-effects.

Please be very careful and read the warnings in the leaflet.
I’m glad for all those people that are finding sertraline helpful, but it does vary a black box warning about causing suicidal thoughts.

I'm on day 8 and still struggling with nausea. Did anyone else have this? Should I take it at night instead? Would that help?

What day did people start to notice an improvement to their mood? Everyone keeps saying it's amazing.. will I ever feel like that?

First 10 days are hell. Then three weeks in things start to pick up. Two months in things are great

I'm on day 5 sertraline feel really dizzy tired and very sick I get clammy feet as well lol

Sertraline is like a hand coming out to you and dragging you to safety. You may need a couple of weeks but stick with it. I started on 50mg but went to 100mg last month. Self care is important too. I hope you feel better soon.

I'm on day 12 now, I definitely feel calmer and am sleeping better than I was in the beginning but I'm getting palpitations now which is a worry for me as I have a heart condition. I've read that this should settle down but I can't help wonder whether I should really carry on taking it.