Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Mental health

Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention.

Flip

Original poster

Tell me about Sertraline. How was taking it at first? Did it work for you for anxiety? How hard was it to stop?

25 replies

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 11:28

I have a generalised anxiety disorder which I’ve managed successfully with CBT and other things in the past.

Lately some stressful life stuff has meant I’m just not coping at the moment. I’m so stressed I can’t think straight. My anxiety is on overdrive.

The doctor prescribed me Sertraline, but I am afraid to take it. I only need it to get me through this stressful period, which hopefully will end soon, so I’m scared of some kind of big low when I stop?

Or even how I’ll feel when I start taking them?

Also - how long does it take to work?

I’ve been prescribed half (5mg) a tablet daily for a week or two weeks, then a whole tablet.

OP posts:

Original poster

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 11:41

I think my biggest fear about taking Sertraline is that I know two people who started taking ADs but couldn’t stop when they wanted to because their body was addicted. (Not that I know the details or which ones they took!)

OP posts:

Vampirethriller · 15/04/2022 11:44

I take sertraline, it's honestly saved my life. If I'd started years ago then life would have been very different for me, I wasted years and years by not being medicated.
I take it in the morning or I can't sleep. Other than that no side effects.
I'm on 125mg daily and no intention of stopping, because it's the first thing to make me feel like a human being since I was 12, and I'm 40 now. I've been on it for 4 years.

Vampirethriller · 15/04/2022 11:46

I have no anxiety on it, the hard/bad things are still there but they don't affect me and I can deal with it.
I felt better within a couple of days.

Original poster

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 11:47

I sometimes wonder that about me, Vampirethriller - I’ve been living with anxiety for so long. It’s sometimes crippling. Was it anxiety you suffered with before it as well?

How long did the Sertraline take to work?

That’s a good tip about the morning.

OP posts:

Original poster

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 11:48

@Vampirethriller

I have no anxiety on it, the hard/bad things are still there but they don't affect me and I can deal with it. I felt better within a couple of days.

Sorry crossed post! That’s really helpful, thank you. I’m so glad it works for you!

OP posts:

Toddlerteaplease · 15/04/2022 11:50

I've been in it for years. Not for anxiety though. Am on my second go at stopping it. The withdrawal takes ages.

Original poster

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 11:55

@Toddlerteaplease

I've been in it for years. Not for anxiety though. Am on my second go at stopping it. The withdrawal takes ages.

What does the withdrawal feel like? Are you stopping because you don’t feel like you need it anymore?

OP posts:

Calafsidentity · 15/04/2022 11:59

@Vampirethriller I've been worried about taking an AD when I probably need one because I don't want to feel more tired than I already do! (I'm menopausal and feel horribly tired all of the time, no physical resin found) So does the fact that sertraline keeps you awake if you take it at night mean that it also has an energising effect? I hope you don't mind me asking! I thought that ADs 'numbed' things and was reluctant to take it for that reason?

Calafsidentity · 15/04/2022 11:59

reason not resin!

BirdFriday · 15/04/2022 12:00

I'm on my 7th day of setraline in slightly similar circumstances. I've had OCD/anxiety on and off for years but recently got on top of me.

I've read a lot of stories here and there seem to be many people who come off it with no side effects at all, while some find it tough. I've decided it's worth a try and so far feeling a little better with not many side effects, though have had quite a low mood for a couple of days.

If you do start taking them let us know how it goes. I think there are lots of supportive people here.

milcal · 15/04/2022 12:11

I took it for a few months. I think it helped with the anxiety but I didn't like the side effects...clenched jaw, tinnitus, sensitivity to bright lights and not feeling normal?!?

Coming off was easy. I reduced the dose gradually over a month and didn't notice a difference when I eventually stopped.

Vampirethriller · 15/04/2022 12:17

@Calafsidentity not exactly energising, but rather it stops me switching off if I have it at night. It doesn't make me tired or numb at all.

Goodbyetowinter · 15/04/2022 13:44

It worked brilliantly for me when I needed it but I had huge weight gain. To come off, I bought a pill splitter and cut them so that I had a couple of weeks on 3/4 then on 1/2. Then every other day until I finally didn't take them. I knew she they were out of my system when I was able to cry for the first time in two years. I have days when I feel irritable, so life isn't 100% off the Sertraline and the three stones I gained is still with me. I may have to go back on them, but I'm giving it a few months.

frostedfruits · 15/04/2022 13:57

I started taking it last Sept. The first week I felt dreamland relaxed, then for weeks 2/3 the anxiety was a little worse. I took it in the morning and felt exhausted and needed a nap by 2pm so switched to taking at 2 and had a nap after work instead. They kicked in properly after 10 weeks and I felt good again. The tiredness, jaw thing, low libido seemed to last months but now, 8 months later, all that has gone, libido back to normal and I feel great. I'm going to staying them as long as I can!

Calafsidentity · 15/04/2022 14:59

[quote Vampirethriller]@Calafsidentity not exactly energising, but rather it stops me switching off if I have it at night. It doesn't make me tired or numb at all.[/quote]
Thank you very much for that info @Vampire thriller!

Original poster

Ehatshouldido · 15/04/2022 21:21

Thank you all - I am going to try a first half dose tomorrow… I think!!

OP posts:

BirdFriday · 15/04/2022 21:32

@Ehatshouldido Let us know how it goes

Cakeandcoffee93 · 15/04/2022 21:35

I have never looked back on taking setraline. It is the best anti depressant out there . I literally noticed a change in a few days. I’ve been on 50mg for 10 months then had a bad anxiety flare up and got it doubled and now I finally feel myself again! It’s just a hormonal imbalance in your brain that you need sorting. Like if you had kidney problems and needed tablets everyday you would take them. Honestly start today and in a week you will see x

LadyCatStark · 15/04/2022 22:38

I’ve been taking it for 6 months now and I feel like a new person. Not my “old self” like some people say as I think I’ve been depressed since I was a child. I started to feel better after a few days. Sometimes I’ve started to feel very down again recently but I think it’s the cost of living crisis rather than anything inside of me so I don’t know if I should as for my prescription to go up or ride it out. It only made me not sleep for the first night and I’ve not had any trouble with sleeping at all since then. Even colours look brighter since being on it, I think it just makes everything… more.

lilmishap · 15/04/2022 22:46

For anxiety I found it to be the best, it didn't treat my depression as effectively but there was a difference.
I did put on a few pounds but I'm still not sure if that is the medication itself or an effect of not having anxiety and being able to eat sleep and relax!

lilmishap · 15/04/2022 22:47

Like others have said in week 3 I suffered a few days of the WORST anxiety I've ever had. I was in tears, hated myself and had some really dark thoughts about how hopeless everything was but it lasted about 72 hours and then the sunshine emerged.

PermanentTemporary · 15/04/2022 22:52

I've been taking it for just over 2 weeks. I literally felt less anxious the day I took the first pill, which I thought must be placebo but a GP friend said it can work incredibly fast on anxiety. The side effects are noticeable but expected and are definitely settling down already. I have ended up taking a few days off work but thats more because of the depression and anxiety themselves and how I've been behavingvas a result than the side effects.

I took it before, for about 6 months 20 years ago. Coming off was incredibly straightforward.

frostedfruits · 16/04/2022 10:27

Go for it @Ehatshouldido! Happy to stick with you while you ride out the first few weeks. I was given 50mg but I halved them and took 25mgfor first4/5 weeks. Is that what you were advised too?

StooOrangeyForCrows · 16/04/2022 10:38

It saved my life. I am in no doubt about that. It worked really fast for the anxiety. It's hard on my stomach. I had to take it with food. It evened out my moods and I was able to be more sanguine about things that would have sent me into severe anxiety.
The jaw clenching has never gone away since I came off them and it was months before the brain zaps went (sounds like metal and glass rattling in your head).

I am about to start taking it again I think. I can feel myself spiralling down currently. The 'morning phenomenon' (super raised cortisol and blood sugar first thing in the morning) is killing me currently. I am going to try fasting and no carb diet for three weeks from Tuesday and if that doesn't help I will have to go back on them.
I have had so many bad things happen to me over the last five years and now I need a series of surgeries.

When I feel I can't cope and feel that I will only get worse, I take it. If I start taking it in three weeks it will be my third prescription of S.
I have 100mg tabs but only take 50mg. I would probably benefit from the higher dose but have never done so.

StooOrangeyForCrows · 16/04/2022 10:40

Coming off is easy if you do a slow taper.

Flip