Starting sertraline with young children

[shouldisay03]

I posted yesterday about my appointment with a MH nurse for my anxiety. She has prescribed propranolol to take as and when needed, and sertraline to take daily. 25mg for 2 weeks, then up to 50mg for 2 weeks then a review.

I have a 3yo and a 6mo. I'm a bit worried as I've heard the side effects at first can be horrible, stomach issues, mood, and insomnia. I'm worried about it impacting my parenting. Can anyone share their experiences?

I have been on and off them for years. The first week, for me, is awful. Can't sleep, anxiety through the roof, no appetite, felt sick, but loads of energy. Day seven I click and I'm fine, not better in regards to the initial reasons for going on the medication, that takes a few weeks, but side effects gone.
Hope you are feeling OK, and don't have too bad a start. I'd suggest some help with the kids if possible in the first few days, just to see how you take to them.

Unless you are one of the outliers, the side effects will not be severe enough to impact on your parenting. Usually, they are nothing worse than a dry mouth, a bit of constipation, very mild drowsiness and possible changes in sleep patterns.

I've been on and off them a lot of times and never been severely enough impacted for it to have any bearing on parenting.

In rare cases, you might have more troubling effects (in which case contact the surgery for advice) , but if the doc was concerned about this possibility, s/he would not have prescirbed them

Ok now I'm more confused 😅

Im on my 3rd week of Sertraline. The first 2 weeks I was taking 50mg and no major side effects. I felt a bit of a lift in mood by day 7 i think. Im on day 2 of 100mg and so far no effects.

I was on sertraline for years. I started on 50mg abc it was fine x

I’m on it. No side effects even at the start and it has had a very positive effect on my anxiety, which in turn is helping me sleep much better.

I first started Sertraline 17yrs, when my child was a few months old. I stayed on the until a year ago, but I have recently restarted them.

Both times, I have had very minimal (if any) side effects. I may have felt a little more tired than usual this time, but that was all.

For me, the benefits far outweighed any potential negatives, and I always knew that the side effects would be temporary, should I experience any, so it was worth the risk, in my opinion.

All the best, OP.

My OH started on 50mg and went up to 100mg and then 150mg. He hasn’t had any side effects at all and he is a changed man for the better 😁