Day 3 of Sertraline - reassurance needed!

[CaitrionaAnne]

Hi, after a period of low moods and constant crying, i have started on sertraline. It had already made me feel that I can cope a little better but the side effects are rough. And after alot of googling (stupid idea!) im so anxious about it. I have this internal tremor and can see my hands shaking. I also feel like i have so much nervous energy in my body and my arms are strange and restless. Is this normal after 3 days? Im on 50mg. I know that anxiety increases for a bit after starting on the AD so maybe its all that but i have myself worried even more now! TIA!

Totally normal. Most of the side effects should subside within a couple of weeks.

Hi OP, yes this is normal. I did however choose to come off them and make other healthier changes instead like no caffeine/sugar and started going the gym. Definitely don't make any changes without consulting your doctor first however but maybe you need a lower dose like 25mg. Everyone reacts a bit different to sertraline. My DP takes 50mg and hasn't had any wierd side effects at all.

Totally normal. Try and stick with it. I had horrendous side effects at first, but it really did change my life once it settled down

Thank you! Im a bit nervous to take the full tablet tomorrow but not sure when ill get to speak to my GP. I dont like the feeling of being wired but trying to remind myself that side effects will reduce a little after a week or so. It's actually quite scary how ADs impact everything. Its no joke.

Slight difference AD fluoxetine , started in April.

Had side effects which included loss of appetite , loss of sleep,heightened anxiety (that is why I was on them) and feeling so nauseous.

But I persevered and so glad I did as between them and my prescription HRT my anxiety has been a lot more manageable and the side effects have all stopped.

Yes it's rough but stay with them
, the positive far out weigh the side effects.

The other thing is, when you read accounts online from people who've had difficult side effects, remember that there are millions of people taking them — according to this news article, 8.3 million adults in England (I think there's about 42 million adults in England in total?) have had antidepressants in the last 12 months www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62094744.amp — it only takes a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of people to have an unusually bad reaction for there to be loads of reports, while you're less likely to hear from the people for whom they're okay. Millions of people take them in this country every day (I know the numbers above are just England, but I would guess the rest of the UK's numbers won't be that different), and people wouldn't take them (or doctors prescribe them) if they didn't feel that the benefits were likely to outweigh the side effects.

The people who get a couple of weeks of feeling as shitty as you do now who then find that the side effects mostly go away and the drugs start helping tend not to post as much about it as the people who get intolerable side effects; people who get bad side effects are more likely to need to reach out for help, and we tend to report bad experiences more readily than good ones.

This isn't at all intended to belittle what you're experiencing, just an attempt to reassure you.

If you're still having intolerable side effects after a few weeks, then you can try a different antidepressant — that's also a fairly normal thing to do, because different people find different drugs suit them better and sometimes the first one tried was the wrong guess.

I speak as someone for whom almost all antidepressants have side effects that mean I can't take them — I know I'm in a minority and that lots of people find them helpful. But you do sometimes have to wait a few weeks to find out if you'll be able to push through the initiation effects and come out the other side, or whether you'll need to try something else, whether that something else is a different drug or a different approach altogether.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie That is a fair point! The side effects are scary and its so hard to know what is normal and what isnt. I guess i will need to get used to the fact that ita gonna be uncomfortable for a couple weeks.

Yeah, it's really hard because there are so many body systems and mental functions that are affected by the neurotransmitters that antidepressants tweak, and all of them take a little while to adjust to the changes. And it's really hard to find the right words for some of the sensations without sounding like a right weirdo

Sorry about the wall of text earlier…

I know!! Its such a strange experience and I really hope its worth it. The jaw pain is unreal too. Didnt think all the side effects would happen so fast. Its really getting me down to be honest

Sounds like you're clenching your jaw? If so, it's probably in your sleep, too. I don't want to jinx you, but jaw-clenching is one of the side effects of sertraline that for me, didn't completely go away. It's not insurmountable, though; there are things you can do to help with that. It's just something to be aware of and maybe ask the dentist about if you notice you're still doing it.

I got a gum shield from my dentist for jaw clenching and it’s definitely helped. I’m on my 2nd week with sertraline and know exactly how you feel. The side effects are horrible, for me the palpitations and rapid heart rate are what are bothering me the most.

@Myzone Im on day 7 today and finding the same thing with palpitations. My anxiety is through the roof and Im only sleeping 2-3 hours a night so the exhaustion is making things hard to cope with. Im really hoping that its all worth it!

@CaitrionaAnne it’s horrible ain’t it but we will get there. I’m day 8 so we have started the same time. You can pm me anytime. I have previously been on citalopram and it was horrible the first 2-3 weeks but I felt amazing after a couple of months unfortunately I decided to come off them after 7 years last year and things went downhill after a couple of months.

Try and stick with it. I’m my experience Sertraline (was on it years ago too) has taken a while to kick in and I definitely felt worse before I felt better. It took me about 10 weeks for it to really kick in and settle down. Try to take it at the same time each day. Consider talking therapies/speaking with friends and family about your thoughts and feelings. It really does help to talk if you can. Try to eat healthily and get up/go out every day. Distract yourself with Netflix.
Remember nothing stays the same for ever. You’ll be in a different position in three months and Sertraline will help to get you there. It has been a life changer for me. Good luck!

@Myzone That is great! We can be sertraline buddies :) Its a hard slog. Im really hoping that my sleep improves soon as the fatigue is so hard to function with.
@alseb Thanks for your advice! How long did you feel worse for? If you have had the insomnia, please let me know how you got through each day!

@CaitrionaAnne my sleep has been bad too. Feels like my mind is wide awake whilst my eyes are super tired. My brother has been on sertraline for years for ocd and he said he felt awful the first 3 weeks (was going to stop multiple times) but said fighting through it was the best thing he has done. I struggle with anxiety and health anxiety so hoping the palpitations stop soon because it’s causing my anxiety to go through the roof atm

@CaitrionaAnne also I fully get what you mean with the fatigue too, when my anxiety spikes I just get a wave of extreme fatigue

I switched from Mirtazapine to Sertraline so I had about a month taking both where I felt dreadful. So was about 10 weeks before I felt better. I used to Google anything I could find about positive Sertraline experiences. If you have insomnia try taking your tablets early morning? I wish you luck. It’s a scary time but in my experience it’s worth it.

@CaitrionaAnne how are you feeling today?

@Myzone Not much change for me. Have had better appetite today. Still not sleeping much yet so exhaustion is still an issue. Anxiety still high but feel i can manage a tiny bit better. How are you doing today?

@CaitrionaAnne very similar to you, no real change at all. Struggling with heartburn the last 2 days. Anxiety is high for me too especially first thing in the morning. I start cbt next week so looking forward to that.

Hi, it gets so much better and then it will feel like the best choice you ever made. I started mine and thought I was going mad they made me feel so strange. But after about a week I was feeling soooo much better.

@Myzone How are you feeling today? My mood is little low and flat but could be because monthly has arrived, not sure. Today is day 10 for me. Still not sleeping but trying to get through the day.

@jellybe Thank you for the positive message. Im hoping my turning point will come soon. Insomnia is my main side effect now, along with no appetite so hoping it will right itself at some point. Having a low mood at the moment but hoping thats just because of monthly arriving. The whole emotional blunting thing scares me and hoping that doesn't happen. I still want to feel emotions!

@CaitrionaAnne last night I felt really good up until around 10pm, then I got a sudden wave off anxiety which knocked me for 10. Don’t feel great this morning but just hoping I start to feel a bit better soon. It’s the side effects that are getting to me the most. Hopefully you start feeling better soon.

Hi there,

I took sertraline for 4 months (100mg) and I had to give it up. The side effects were brutal. It gave me a terrible hand tremor, night sweats, brain fog, exhaustion and sugar cravings. I also had some issues with hormones. My mood was improved, but I couldn't cope with the side effects. I had taken AD before (escilatopram) and I am pretty sure it wasn't that bad.
I read a lot of positive reviews so perhaps it's just me and some other people that had issues.
I hope you will get used to it soon and the positive effects start kicking in!