Sertraline advice - please help!

[cc03]

I was diagnosed with GAD around 3 and a half weeks ago and was prescribed 50mg of sertraline, for the first 2 and a half weeks I was sleeping better and not waking up with the anxiety, nausea and managing to get through the day.
Over the last week I have been waking up in the middle of night feeling anxious and sick unable to get back to sleep, and if I do it’s only a light sleep and I’m up from 4.30am feeling extremely anxious, shaky and sick. Does this mean the tablets are no longer working and I should contact my doctor?
Thank you in advance!

Read the leaflet, jittery anxiety is a rare side effect. Contact your Dr. They may alter dosage or put you on fluoxetine, which is generally better for reducing symptoms. Unfortunately with a recent diagnosis you could be looking at trying several medications before something works well for you. Even with a high tolerance, it takes a while for meds to stop working effectively.

I’m not a doctor but I’ve been on sertraline on and off for about 15 years. I came off it when I was pregnant and breastfeeding so have experience of that too. I also take it for anxiety. It is definitely the most widely used SSRI globally as it has the least side-effects and highest success rate - but everyone is different.

50mg is a teeny dose and I would imagine that for anxiety your doctor will increase you to around 100mg. You definitely need to speak to your doctor about this. In a small number of individuals it can cause heightened anxiety for a short time at the beginning of taking it.

I have found it to be an absolutely life-saving medication as it completely removes my anxiety. I think it’s worth persisting with depending on what the doctor says. There are other SSRIs that you can try if this doesn’t work.

Hi,
I was put on 50mg sertraline 5 1/2 weeks ago and have felt awful. The 1st 2 weeks were the worst. Then at week 4 I felt there was little improvement so the Dr upped my dose to 100mg. I still have panic attacks about going anywhere but I'd say I'm more calm as long as I don't have to leave the house apart from the school run and dog walks. I'm really hoping the higher dose kicks in soon, the side affects aren't too bad for me but I did have swearing of a night and waking up feeling anxious in the night for the 1st 2 weeks. I've read so many posts about this medication and people say it takes at least 6-8 weeks to kick in. Maybe upping your dose will help if you really don't feel like it's working but be aware that you will feel bad again while you adjust to the higher dose. Sometimes I think is it worth all this but I'm trying to persevere and hope it starts working fully soon! Wishing you all the best.

*sweating not swearing lol

Thank you for this. I think I’ll give it a couple more weeks and see if it starts to improve. I am hopeful it will be worth it in the long run and I’m sure it will be for you too. I hope they start working for you soon and wishing you all the best!

Thank you! How are you feeling today?