Taking sertraline for the first time.

[Usernumber637373639273719]

Struggled for a long time. Doctors have suggested meds before but I’ve put off worried about side effects. My MH has hit an all time low over the last 12-18 months.

having CBT - 4 weeks in and it has not really helped.

doctor has willingly prescribed sertraline. I know it’s different for everyone but good and bad view points please.

what will it feel like at first? Worried as the summer holidays is in 2 weeks but coincidentally dp has 2 weeks off work from tomorrow which may help (I am a parent carer and don’t work currently)!

experiences please?

Gonna be reading this with interest as I'm in the same situation but not on the tablets yet.

Hope you feel better mentally soon.

Take the tablets, they really help. No shame in needed some medical input..they'll start you on a low dose & then increase, I've recently changed to sertraline & the difference is immense. I feel so much better. Talking therapy is also key & am on a waiting list for that, but the boost from the tablets is great, I've had no side effects.good luck.

Thank you, you too 💗

That’s good to hear, thank you!

Definitely no shame!

I was getting to the point I had to admit I was struggling to function as a parent, their basic needs are met, they are clean and fed etc but I’ve been short tempered and isolating myself, not wanting to take them out etc and not really enjoying it! I was worried I was going to be judged but the doctor I spoke to was lovely. It was a phone app and she was going to put prescription through for me!

@Dancingfairydreams which ad have you switched from ? Was it difficult to change (I may switch to sertraline in the future. Currently on a tricyclic)

Honestly I found the first few weeks on them hard as they heightened my already sky high anxiety and made me feel nauseous.

If you do get side effects be aware that they are temporary and the doctor may prescribe some diazepam or similar to get you through the start up. I found relief around 6-8 weeks in but many find they work sooner.

Good luck!

I'm.glad your GP was good, I've had some awful ones in the past but this was a new GP for me & she was fab! Sometimes saying out load "I'm not coping" is enough as it takes such courage to say that. I have no kids but was isolating & not taking care of myself too. Its tough.

I was on Fluoxetine, was on for years, it initially helped but I think it then stagnated. Switching was the best thing I did, I really notice the difference.

My elderly father was recently put on these. For 2 weeks he was very low. Lost interest and became sleepy and lethargic.
Gradually over time, he is no longer fretting over small things, is calmer and not aggressive towards us when we offer help. He seems more like his old self and has begun to make conversation again.

Hi, OP, in my experience the side effects when you start up aren't too troublesome. But Iwould suggest that if you are gradually tapering upwards froma starting dose, it might not be the best thing to increase your dose just before your holiday - just because you will want to b on top form for that.

Main initial side effects are being a bit sleepy, having a dry mouth, being a bit constipated and sometimes finding it hard to start a wee. After two weeks the first two of those should have more or less gone (though everyone is different)

Thanks everyone - haven’t had chance to reply to all individually.

I am worried about side effects. Doctor said upset tummies are common, but also constipation, she didn’t mention much else. I can hope it won’t be too bad. I’ve got kids birthdays, school activities and the school summer holidays coming up.

say if I did get an upset tummy would I be able to Imodium? Google isn’t clear but I have a couple events next week I wouldn’t want an upset tummy for 🫣

I am glad he’s getting back to his old self! That must of been hard for him and the family 💗

@Usernumber637373639273719 hey! I have had anxiety all my life and only started taking Sertaline a year or so ago (I'm now in my mid-thirties) when I had a bit of a mental breakdown and hit a peak with my OCD. I'd done so much work in therapy over the years and wasn't ever planning to take meds, I was just determined to do it by myself. I'm not sure why in hindsight, maybe it was a control thing, maybe I thought it made me weak somehow. I was worried they'd change my personality, which is nonsense as they don't impact that at all but I still worried about it. What if I wouldn't be "me" anymore? What if it was right in some weird way that I had this horrible anxiety because it at least meant I was being authentic? However, I got to a point where I was really struggling (I'd always managed to hold down my job etc but suddenly was struggling to cope with much else, was crying constantly and paranoid with severe OCD) and realised I needed some extra help, and my family told me I needed it too.

All I can say is, Sertraline has changed my life. I cannot believe I spent so many years struggling with anxiety when I could have been taking it and making my life a whole lot easier. I regret so very much the years that I could have been taking them, I wonder what I might have done, what I might have enjoyed or tried if I hadn't been so crippled with anxiety. I do think they have changed me but I think they've made me MORE me, the me I'm meant to be, without the crippling anxiety. Rather than taking something away from who I am, I feel they add something I was missing. Obviously now I'm in a better headspace, it's easier to see this side of things!

I'm not saying it's going to cure every problem you've had but I will say that even the regular day to day things that I always struggled with to some degree (and just thought that's how it was for me) are so much easier. It has made my life so much better, I feel it's given me something that has been missing my whole life.

I'm on a low dose (50mg) and have little to no side effects. I have found I sweat more and that the sweat smelled more than before (I wasn't a sweaty person at all before) but I buy men's deodorant now and my partner assures me I don't smell. I would take that 1000 times over with the benefits the drugs have given me!

The time it takes to take effect is different for each person so, if it were me, I'd just dive in and the adjustment period will soon be over.

I hope that helps add to your pro/con list :)

I didn't notice any side effects, I take 50mg, it really helps me. DD started it and it took a few weeks for it to work with her but she's so much better on it now.
Good luck 🙂

@lisbeth1 thank you, I am glad it has helped you. Sound somewhat similar to me, I am a similar age and suffered with anxiety for a long time but I’ve never known any different. But it was last year the low moods a depressive episodes hit but I still functioned. Although I don’t believe I have OCD I can definitively be obsessive over certain things.

I have not got them yet, phone call APP with doctor and she was putting it through today so I guess they’ll text when prescription is ready!

Thanks for the heads up about sweating. I have read a lot lately about similar to this!

Thanks everyone!

First week - esp days 4-8 - was horrific, I won't lie. SO anxious, literal cold waves running through me whenever one of the kids said they were tired. Day 9 I felt better. Thereafter I was just loads better. They were incredibly helpful.

They saved me completely!

I had severe anxiety and depression. The Sertraline really helped me at first but it dulled my feelings. I didn't care about anything for better or worse, my libido disappeared, I couldn't have orgasms, I didn't feel the caresses of my dp, I just felt some pressure. I didn't feel like chatting with anyone, I lost interest in everything. After a year on Sertraline, every time I wanted to stop (progressively) my anxiety and depression would come back worse than before I started taking the medication. I finally got pregnant, and I was too scared to stay on antidepressants, so I stopped them overnight no matter what. To my surprise, my depression and anxiety are gone forever (for now, since I had my DD only 3 weeks ago) but I have to say that it took me months to feel normal again. Definitely I could recommend to start with it, but try to don't spend so long on tablets.

But don't stay on tablets so long

Thank you @Dancingfairydreams
Best of luck OP

I started on them around 6 weeks ago, it’s been up and down and I had some rubbish side effects to start with and when stepping up the dose. But I think overall they are having a positive effect as I’m much less dramatically up and down, although I’ve been very tired indeed

Thanks everyone 💗