Sertraline experiences please? I’m terrified.

[Potterson13]

So I've been prescribed Sertraline but if I'm honest I've had them for nearly a week and I've only took one.

I'm terrified of side effects, I'm worried that once I take them I'll never be able to stop taking them. I'm worried that I'm going to hurt my 8 week old breastfed baby as my Dr made a huge point of trying to get me to bottle feed before she prescribed them even though she was recommending I take an antidepressant. I'm worried that they'll change me as a person and make me numb.

I know it might be silly as I've already took one. I took it around 10pm at night and slept fine. I woke up to do the 5am feed and I had a huge headache which went away with an ibuprofen and then when I woke up again around 8 I felt nauseous to the point of wretching a few times but in all honesty it wasn't anything unmanageable so I don't know why I'm being such an idiot about it all.

I just need a peoples experiences if possible please? Thank you!

What dosage are you on? I take 50mg daily. I felt exactly the same as you before I started taking them.

I don’t feel numb at all. Any side effects I had passed within a week or so.

I still feel all my emotions, happy, sad. I feel so much better being on the meds.

Quite a few people I know have taken this, including myself and to begin with there were minimal side effects, maybe for the first week or two but they quite quickly disappeared. From a personal opinion, it’s worth sticking it out to get past the headaches/nausea until they begin to work. Hopefully you will see an improvement quite soon. They worked pretty quickly for me.

I started taking mine yesterday. Had the packet sitting on the side in the kitchen like a bomb.

im still terrified of the side effects. I took my first this morning, and it’s been ok today. So I’ll take another tomorrow morning. And if tomorrow goes ok, I’ll take the next the day after. And so on. I’ve promised myself to at least try and just take each day as it comes. I can always quit if it gets too much. But sometimes I think the dread of something makes it feel worse than it is in reality.

I have taken lots of SSRIs in my time and sertraline was the most effective with the least side effects for me.

I took it while pregnant and breastfeeding both children.

Mild side effects that usually go away very quickly. They are not addictive and relatively easy to stop taking when you are ready to try. One year after my oldest son was born I decided to taper off them and have now been medication free for about 8 months and very well.

These types of medications are all trial and error for each individual. You might feel so much better on them. The risks of trying them are small for most people but the benefit could be massive.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone. I've been prescribed 50mg. I've heard of people halving the tablets and staring with 25mg but part of me thinks I should just get it out the way.

I am finding myself starting to talk myself out of it by convincing myself I'm ok and I don't need them which I don't think is strictly true. I'm not in a great place and while I think I will benefit from some talking therapy but the wait list is 8 months in my area.

This medication saved my life !
The first two weeks were a little rough. I began on 50mg and built up to 100mg which I’ve been on now for around 18 months.
Im not sure I’ll ever be able to not be on antidepressants tbh. I’m ok with that.
Im not numb but I am a lot calmer. I handle life so so much better, I have patience and can see life clearer. I function much better, my family have all pointed out the massive difference in me and well I haven’t killed myself (sorry to be blunt)

Please don’t be scared or worried. It really is trial and error and if this doesn’t work for you there are others you can try. Hopefully therapy will help too so stay in the wait list even if you feel better when it’s offered. It’s brave to seek help, accept help and “try” to get better.

My daughter takes them and I have not heard her complain of any side effects.

I was the same as you - extremely nervous about it. Later when I looked back, I realised that all the anxiety I had was part of the problem and part of the reason they had been prescribed. They are very, very safe and highly effective medications and have honestly changed my life for the better. You will be not only fine but hopefully better than ever!

I've been on 100mg for years now and they're fine, I've never really noticed any side effects. I do worry about coming off them, but to be honest I don't want to, the one time I tried I turned into a gibbering sobbing wreck and my GP told me not to be so silly. I'm happy to stay on them so long as they keep me sane, which they do.

Thank you. Can I ask regarding the numbness, do you feel the emotions you felt before just a little less intensely or is it more like you feel them but are just able manage them better? I have a tendency to overreact and I'm horrendously irritable and angry when I'm feeling anxious to the point I'm a cold hard bitch. I want to stop this, obviously, but I'm worried that I'm expecting too much from the pills and trying to remind myself they're not a "happy pill" in that respect.

Sorry that was a badly worded sentence. I suppose I'm asking what it actually feels like once they've kicked in. How different do they make you feel and in what way?

I was on 150mg with awful side effects dry mouth feeling apathetic doctors have reduced to 50mg it takes the edge of my anxiety immensely but none of the dry mouth side effects and apathetic feelings have gone. It's the best SSRI for me and I've tried most of them the side effects aren't the best at the beginning nausea but it soon wears off.

I feel like I blow up when I get anxious it's over silly things as well. I'm much more laid back on them on a higher dose I start to not give a shit about anything like I couldn't cry but I wouldn't get really elated either that side effect started at 150mg - 200mg . I can feel more on a lower dose but takes the edge off.

I think looking into talking therapies is a great idea but the two aren't doing the exact same thing. Therapy could not do for me what SSRIs did. I clearly remember my doctor saying that he didn't particularly recommend I try therapy until I had some of my symptoms managed by medication. Just one opinion.

My main side effects were nauseous, feeling exhausted and run down. Took a few weeks to settle and occassionally I get them now. I’m currently on 150mg. They really help me but the main issue I have is they have made me reduce my social barriers so I often overshare or at times speak unprofessionally at work. It’s like my social boundaries have gone at times. I have to keep myself in check.

I started taking 50mg three years ago - absolute game changer.

No side effects, no dramatic changes, no nothing. Just a slightly dialled down urge to worry about bloody everything.

A couple of years in I increased my dose to 100mg which just reduced my urge to worry even more.

I would say start on 25mg. I’m on this (and weigh 14+ stone) and it’s enough for me. Friend who is 8 stone was put on 50mg and had awful side effects.
Also ask for Lustral brand of Sertraline if you can, but it depends which one agrees with you.

Just wanted to come back to this incase it’s coming up on a Google search for anyone new.

I am now on 100mg, and my god they’ve completely changed my outlook at life. I don’t intend to be on them forever, but even if I am I don’t mind because they’ve quite literally saved me, my relationship and my relationship with my children. Not a miracle drug by any means, therapy has also helped but I have no regrets now.

So glad you are doing so much better OP and they have had such a positive affect.