Just about to start sertaline

[Shooshybobs]

Hi all I’ve just been prescribed sertaline for anxiety and I’m just wondering about the side effects and anyone’s experiences with it?
My anxiety is now affecting the ability for me to do my job properly and I’m on different duties temporarily which work are being great about but I want to get back to my old self.
also wondering if I’m worth trying half a tablet for a week then the full one to get my body used to it first?

Ps sorry I know there are other similar threads but I would like to start my own for reference and I will update it further down the line for anyone coming across it in future (I love an update on a thread!)

I've been on it for four weeks and feel like I'm coming out of the worst. The first week was bad, my anxiety went absolutely through the roof, I was restless and twitchy and couldn't sit still for five minutes. Awful insomnia, my appetite vanished, was manic and frantic at times, I felt sick and exhausted but couldn't sleep or rest.

Got some sedative antihistamines to help me sleep and everything gradually started to settle down. On week four now and I had to do something the other day that previously would have left me an absolute wreck of anxiety all morning up to the event, and I realised that I just felt a little nervous. It's dulled the anxiety and panic so much.

Sleep is much better and insomnia has completely gone, I still get restless legs at night occasionally but I've always suffered with that so I don't think it's a side effect per se, rather it's been exacerbated slightly by the sertraline.

Overall I feel much better but the first week or two were really hard. Hoping I continue to improve over the coming weeks and months. I hope it works for you!

Thanks @MonsteraMama did you start at 25mg or go straight in with 50?
bracing myself for a few hard weeks but to relieve some of my anxiety would be worth it.
can I ask about the physical symptoms of anxiety do they get better too? Mine is pounding heart beat in neck and then I feel like I can’t speak properly because I run out of breath.

I'm on day 6 and have been told to take half a tablet for the first 7 days then move on to a full tablet. I've had no side effects except from clenching my jaw. I already do this anyway but it's been worse this week, I probably wouldn't have known it was a side effect if I hadn't read other people on here saying it. Also had a couple of days of an upset stomach but I don't know whether it's anything to do with the tablets or a coincidence.

Thanks @Dinnerlady12 i also clench jaw when anxious
have you noticed any positive effects yet?

Its hard to tell I don't have anxiety as such. I get stressed very easily and angry. Had a bit of a meltdown last weekend and decided enough was enough so the doctor prescribed these to see if it helps. I don't know if it will work I'm hoping so because I hate myself for how much I shout at my children. I haven't been angry or shouted badly since then, I don't know if it's down to the medication or just because nothing has happened to make me angry.

I'm just about to move up to 100mg having started it just over two weeks ago.

It increased my suicidal thoughts and made me more anxious each time the dose went up.

I have read so many posts on here about how they have changed people's lives who suffer from anxiety so I hope it works for you. I only really get anxious in busy shops etc but I haven't been out much this week to put it to the test, I guess I'll know next time I go shopping!

I started with the 50mg dose, with hindsight maybe the 25 would've been better.

I was incredibly lucky though. They started working for me within a few days and I felt fantastic! Like "me" again. My mind quietened and I was able to concentrate on work and life in general.

I did have the jaw-clenching as a side-effect though. And I found that if I took on an empty stomach then I'd have diarrhoea.

But it was definitely worth it. They saved me.

I started straight on 50 because I had three weeks off work so thought I might as well throw in straight away and get the worst of the side effects out of the way while I could stay home.

Physically I have a pounding heart, shortness of breath, lightheadedness and nausea as my normal symptoms of anxiety, which would sometimes fade leaving me exhausted and sometimes develop into a full blown anxiety attack. They haven't gone completely but they're significantly dulled by it and definitely better than they were - so I can feel my heart rate increase but it's not frantic like it used to be, I feel a bit jittery but not lightheaded and dizzy anymore, shortness of breath has almost completely gone, it all just feels like normal nerves.

I've been on it about eight months. First week or two wasn't much fun - lightheadedness, evening anxiety spikes, no appetite - but it quickly improved and the only thing I still get is jaw stiffness. I feel much better overall (although I've had lifestyle changes alongside that have probably also contributed to that)

I was on Sertraline for 12 months and then I had a break from it. Started again and now been on it for 18 months continuously. I've been surprised how much it helps my anxiety, like obviously I still worry, but my body doesn't react to it in the same way - nausea, heavy breathing, palpitations, panic attacks, just general unsettledness. It's like the worries are now just in my head and not coursing through my body if that makes sense!

When I first started, my main side effect was extreme tiredness. I tried to manage that with taking the pill at night rather than in the morning, which I think helped. I'd say that my mood did probably go a bit lower at first, my friend commented later that I was a bit "spaced out", but tbh I was so low I didn't notice much of a difference! I didn't notice any side effects when I started the second time. Hope it works out for you! When you suffer from anxiety, the biggest hurdle is actually starting to take it as naturally you worry about all the potential problems!

Day 2 here
slept fine last night although woke up in the middle of the night totally disorientated and confused for a few minutes as I didn’t know where I was.
Felt a bit spaced last night but I was also tired
started with 25mg so hoping side effects are mild

@pippabg I’m the same I can cope with feeling a bit nervous but it’s the panic feeling that washes over me, the heart beating out my chest and shortness of breath I want rid of!

I've been on them for about 10 months. I found that I got nauseous so take them in the evening before bed. I started on 50mg they didn't do anything for me (I still felt like just had fire coming out of various body parts and panicked). 100mg did the trick for me. I struggled with sleep at first but it did settle down.

I had a rough couple of initial weeks. Terrible diarrhea, felt sick, couldn't eat. I lost 11kg in 6 weeks. (silver linings) exhausted so switched to taking at night. Nighttime panic attacks and night sweats.

Wanted to give up but suddenly about 15 days in I had a much better day. So I kept going.

Now I think it's great and I feel much more like myself.

Did anyone’s side effects start right away?
I’m still doing ok on day 2 here.
i took it this morning and so far no nausea or anything 🤞🏻

I struggled getting to sleep last night but it wasn’t horrendous just took a bit of time.
hope it’s only a few nights like this as I love my sleep!!

Were the side effects instant?
im taking them first thing in the morning day 3 here and no nausea so far
maybe a small bit of stomach cramping this morning but could be nothing too
I keep reassuring myself that I’ve started with 25mg so hopefully anything I feel will be minor

Pretty much yeah. Remember, your not guaranteed to get any side effects at all. I am on 25mg and I think I'm sensitive to medication. Always had a sensitive gut and was debilitated with anxiety at the time which also gives me a bad stomach so I think I just had a particularly bad experience.

Ok I spoke to soon, not been off the toilet all morning!! 🙈
this was my least worrying side effect though to be honest. I can deal with this

Noooooooooooooo. It will clear up though I'm sure. Mine did.

I had a painful first 4/5 days with diarrhea and then no further issues that way, even when the dose went up.

Update; ive done week one on 25mg
very mild side effects, mild insomnia and mild stomach upset
probably felt a bit more anxious this week than usual
starting 50mg this week so will update again and hopefully see some positive differences now

I took them for 5 years. My dosage was very low at 25mg for most of those years and every other day towards the end. Sadly after 3 months off them, I'm struggling again. Hope they work for you. The overwhelming panic with anxiety is awful. I can cope with the overthinking etc to some extent but when the panic kicks in and the jitters and almost shaking on the inside I know things have spiralled. May I ask what industry you are in roughly and how you raised taking on different duties with your employer as opposed to going off sick. Thanks.