Sertraline for mild general anxiety? Worth it?

[Bellablot2254]

Hi everyone.

im looking for some advice please. I’ve suffered with anxiety on and off my whole life. I’ve recently gone though some stressful events and I’m not feeling great. But I’m also not feeling desperate.

I have had a few episodes of desperation but always just rode them out. I’ve always been against medication because I’m scared it will change who I am, or I’ll get addicted.

Basically I’m not depressed (slight low mood) and I’m not ‘crippled’ with anxiety, however I am very irritable and have general underlying anxiety and health anxiety (last 2 weeks of my cycle seem to be worst). I can cope day to day. I still go to work etc, but I feel like having low lying anxiety means I’m not getting the most out of life. I’m scared of everything and I just want to be able to live day to day without overthinking every single thing and being harassed all the time. My brain goes 100 mile an hour nonstop.

I keep reading about how good sertraline is at reducing anxiety, and thinking about trying it.

I suppose my question to everyone who’s taking sertraline, is how exactly does it make you feel? and has anyone took it for mild anxiety? In other words, anxiety that isn’t ruining your life, but definitely having an impact and stopping you from living your best life?

any insight greatly appreciated :)

Just thought I'd add my experience! I'm on day 2 of sertraline, swapping from citalopram. I'd been on citalopram for 14 years for depression, but then had a big crisis (mostly anxiety) last October, which hasn't really resolved. My psychiatrist has tried augmenting the citalopram with various things but none of it has really worked. So have finally (reluctantly!,) agreed to get rid of the citalopram and try setraline. Taken 10 days to get my citaloptam down from 40mg to 15mg, and started setraline 25mg yesterday. No side effects so far, except bit of dizziness but that started when I reduced the citalopram. I'm also taking clonazepam for anxiety.

I’m still on 50mg. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks. No side effects anymore, but can’t say I’ve noticed much of an improvement yet.

Day 4 of sertraline for me. No side effects yet, just a bit of dizziness but I think that's from coming off the citalopram. I'm only on 25mg, think the plan is to increase to 50mg after a week on 25mg.

im just over 3 weeks and today I have bad anxiety, randomly out of the blue. Hope it passes

@Bellablot2254 I'm sure it will. Getting better is not linear as I'm sure you know. Do you have any techniques to help when you are anxious? Just focus on getting through the next few hours, I'm sure it will pass.

@SameKeyThough yeah I just try to distract myself really. It’s not so much the sweating and fast heart rate I’m getting this time, but more the impending doom feeling, like there’s no way out. It’s horrible. I thought I’d seen the back of the side effects, as these are something new since taking the medication. I’ve not had a proper panic attack for years.

I was on 100mg of Sertraline for about 7yrs. I weaned off them in May and started taking Amitriptyline ( due to menapause my hormones were all over the place & was suffering with migraines) I had zero libido whilst on Sertraline & i believe it suppressed alot of my emotions.
When I was at my lowest, weaning off sertraline my husband left me. I started taking Amitriptyline straight away & im now on 75mg. My libido has come back & alot of my emotions have come back, but it looks like its too late to save my marriage 😥

@Bellablot2254 how are you feeling this morning? Anxiety abated at all? Hope so.

@SameKeyThough yes it’s eased today thanks for asking. I’m super tired today though, but that could be for a whole range of reasons.

I have my review with my doctor this week coming, will see what she says regarding dosage etc

@SameKeyThough how are you feeling?

@Bellablot2254 I'm glad it's eased. Maybe it was a big surge of chemicals before you see an improvement? I've had a shit day, really really low and despairing. My anxiety isn't too bad as I'm taking clonazepam twice a day on the advice of my psychiatrist, but the depression was there in full effect today. I have my next appt with him tomorrow, the plan is to cut my citalopram down to 5mg and increase sertraline to 50mg, which scares me slightly as I think I've got off fairly lightly so far with side effects (not wishing to tempt fate 😬)

I've been on them around 7 weeks now. The only downside is I don't get excited about stuff. It must numb the good and bad xx

I have been on antidepressants since 16. Tried to come off them 3 times and but went back on them.
Once I got moderate anxiety and twice it was mild to moderate.
My psych recommended each time to go back on them.
After the third time, i personally went to him and told him that i will not wean off of them.
Since then have got married being pregnant and have been stable through and through even during the pandemic.

This has been an interesting thread to read, as I have been offered sertraline by my doctor for anxiety. I’m particularly worried about the side effects though and powering through the first few weeks of feeling worse. I have IBS (my main source of anxiety!) so the diarrhoea side effects worry me. I keep thinking well I could start them that week as I don’t have many plans but don’t want to keep putting it off.
How is everyone getting on?

I've been a week at 50mg now, still feeling pretty low, some anxiety first thing. No gastro side effects, but then I think my other meds may bung me up! Biggest issue is blocked nose/sinus pain, but I don't know if that's from starting the sertraline or stopping the citalopram.

@Bellablot2254 how are you getting on now?

@SameKeyThough @Moneyworrier123 im getting on ok now actually. I think the anxiety has started to ease. I don’t really have side effects. Maybe the odd muscle twitch in bed, but that’s it. My doctor wanted to double to 100mg now so I get the full effect, but I’ve asked to stay in 50 for now to see if there’s anymore improvement before I double. If there’s no more improvement in 3 weeks I’ll go up to 100. I asked to try 75 but they said they only come in 50s :(

I have terrible IBS too (pain and constipation) but I’ve not noticed it getting worse with the meds.

I’m on day 15 now. Was also extremely worried about side effects as I have IBD and am taking Sertraline because of the anxiety around that. I haven’t had any side effects so far apart from slightly worsened anxiety (But did have a stressful event so may have been that). I was also worried about insomnia as have problems with that in the past but also no probs thankfully. I spoke to my GP and gastro consultant because I was worried about links between microscopic colitis and Sertraline but they have said to carry on and that it’s very rare and resolves as soon as you stop taking it. Just hoping it works now and I start feeling better asap!

Good luck @Yorkie177 , let me know how you get on with side effects. I just want to be myself again.

Thank you and to you. Really hoping I see these magical improvements in the next few weeks as have felt like a shadow of myself in recent months! Be great to follow others progress with it.

Saw the psychiatrist today and am upping my dose to 75mg. Citalopram reducing to 5mg then stopping on Saturday. Feeling a bit despondent with not seeing much progress. I know it's only really early days for me but the waiting for improvements is so hard. As @Moneyworrier123 and @Yorkie177 put it, I just want to be me again. I'm not as bad as I have been but I'm still not quite right.

@SameKeyThough How have you found the reduction in citalopram, do you think taking the sertraline at the same time has helped ease any nasty ones?
I've been on citalopram for 20 years and I'd like to try the switch to sertraline, have heard good things about it plus I think I've built up a tolerance to citalopram. Upping from 20 to 30mg made no difference.

I stopped taking citalopram after the first few years and the withdrawal was horrible so went back on them, I think I did it too quickly though and should have tapered down more gradually. Then came off them again for pregnancy but had awful pre and post natal anxiety. I was in a right state and scared for my own sanity that first month, the stress probably didn't help but I struggled to bf my dd and barely produced any milk. She was losing weight so hv and Gp advised bottle feeding, I then went straight back on citalopram and have stayed on it since.
I'm really nervous about side effects, especially panic and palpitations, but do really want to try sertraline. Feeling in a pretty bad mental state at the moment so have a Gp call booked for tomorrow and will ask about sertraline. Can I also ask how you accessed seeing a psych? I've had counselling and cbt on and off for years but feel I need more help, and assessment for things besides the general anxiety and periods of depression, if I asked my Gp for a referral on the nhs I'm assuming it would be a very long wait and I'd have to justify the need for a referral? Any advice appreciated

Hi @Ivyy, I'm lucky in that my husband's work health insurance covers me too, so I see the psychiatrist privately. I have seen a psychiatrist on the NHS but it was after a bit of a crisis and I was under the CMHT. I've found the reduction in citaopram not too bad, but I am also on mirtazapine as a kind of transitional antidepressant while we made the switch. I was very nervous about moving onto sertraline and still am as its not doing much yet! But I have also have heard many good things about sertraline and my psychiatrist felt that citalopram just wasn't working any more. I'm also taking clonazepam which is a tranquilliser so that has helped with any start up/discontinuation anxiety.

is anyone having period changes? Since taking sertraline my last period was a week late. And now I’m bleeding a week early. I’m usually spot on 28 days

I actually had a really long period this time which I wondered if might be related. How are you feeling on it now? I’m over 3 weeks now and still don’t really feel any difference in terms of anxiety 🤷🏼‍♀️