Switching from Sertraline to another SSRI

[capelmustard]

Dd was prescribed Sertraline for anorexia 3 years ago. Initially it worked well for her, but recently she talked to the GP about switching to another SSRI as she feels it's not working as well as before. This September will be the start of her final year at University and she feels Sertraline is making her feel flat and demotivated.

Our GP was receptive to the idea, but cautioned that it will take months to gradually reduce the sertraline and then begin another and work up to the most effective dosage. As a last resort she increased the sertraline to 200mg which initially seemed to make a difference but dd says she's feeling more anxious now and thinks it might be best to switch to another medication.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of this? DD is understandably nervous about the effects of winding down sertraline, but we want her to be over the worst by the time she's back at uni.

I switched from 200mg sertraline to venlafaxine. It took about 8 weeks.

This may be useful for your daughter @capelmustard

There are switching strategies for AD medication that don't necessarily need to take an extended length of time, e.g. she could cross-taper if appropriate.

Obviously her GP needs to monitor but given their previous suggestion to her, I do wonder if they are up to date with current practice.

; for clarification

That's really interesting, thanks @Selkie33I'll read through that

@PurpleLovecatsdid you feel it was worth changing? I hope you're doing well now

Nah it made no difference.