Can you tell when your daily sertraline kicks in?

[Oneearthtwoparts]

I've been on sertraline 50mg for two weeks now (day 15). The worst of the side effects have subsided though still feel bad in the morning with an upset stomach. Not really working yet I don't think as I had a panic attack on Monday and all day yesterday felt the after effects of that and had to take some diazepam. I know it can take up to six weeks to fully work.

Took today's sertraline pill at 8ish and at about 9.30am had quite a nice calm feeling come over me. I wonder if that was it reaching my brain, or however it works.

Can people generally feel their pill working at that level? Or is it more subtle/gradual than that?

I don't think it works like that. The effects are extremely gradual, which it why it takes weeks to become therapeutic. It very gradually restructures the brain by blocking serotonin reuptake, causing more serotonin to be available. It doesn't send in a whoosh of serotonin that is capable of having a sudden effect.

Oh, and also sertraline's 'half-life' is something like 24 hours, which means that you don't go from zero effect to full effect with each dose. It is working at a broadly constant rate between doses.

Ah ok @GoodOldEmmaNess , I thought it might just be wishful thinking! Thanks for your reply and helpful explanation.

Hoping it starts working for me soon.

I should have also said that I'm so glad you had that nice calm feeling. If you have been on the meds for a couple of weeks now, it could well be that the feeling was something to do with the sertraline, even if it wasn't a single pill kicking it.
My experience of anti-Ds is that after a few weeks of taking them you do suddenly start 'noticing' the happier/calmer moments more frequently. The pills don't, in themselves, make you happy but you feel more able to respond with happiness to the ordinary little happiness-triggers that each day brings.

So your moment of calm might have been triggered by something small (even by the positivity you felt about taking that particular pill), but still be the long-building gradual effect of two weeks on the meds.

I really hope that you start to feel happier and calmer soon