Taking sertraline for anxiety

[Arrietty5]

Hi, I started taking Sertraline last wednesday and am feeling pretty down and tired. I've read that the first two weeks can be rough and was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I've also had one very dry eye since and had heart palpitations the first night. On the plus side my anxiety is much better so that's something I suppose!

Totally normal to feel rough for maybe 2-3 weeks and that anxiety isn't improving.

If you feel less anxious already then that is great.

I have just started on Thursday and felt really bad yesterday, very nauseous slightly better today. GP said she can give me something for the nausea so will call tomorrow. I’ve had lots going on and felt that I needed something else so going to give it a good go. I’m also suffering terribly from insomnia which I think is a symptom of the anxiety

I had a pretty rough 2 first weeks with sertraline. First, nausea, which improved quickly. Then, complete loss of appetite and insomnia. I just never felt hungry and never felt the need to sleep. I ate when it was time to eat and went to bed at bedtime. It was bizarre but passed quickly.

Hi! I found it kicked in quite quickly to tackle the anxiety and have been on a journey since (3 months). Initially it stopped the excessive rumination within days then came just feeling better in myself. Then as time as gone on it’s given me the space to be more reflective of the crap times I have had without reliving stuff excessively and allowed me to think things through and see ways forward. Or even to forgive myself. Like the other day I recalled an incident earlier in the year and just thought ‘ah, that was a low point’ and I moved on! That feels seismic.

Side effects wise, early on I had slight nausea and my appetite was a bit down but it did not last. I now only feel nausea if I am a bit late taking the tablet. I have had some ongoing random side effects that come and go and they have been, in no particular order: night sweats, really dry mouth, tiny pin prick blood rash on arms and legs (a common stress reaction from me so not entirely surprising), tiredness and difficulty falling asleep. However none of these has felt insurmountable and the benefits are outweighing the negatives. That and I am also doing the NHS Steps to Well-being and they have been lovely.