Experiences with sertraline

[NeatAnt]

hi On day 16 of sertraline 25mg for anxiety

still feeling really anxious
feeling lost as i thought i would be feeling a lot better by now
think i need to increase my dose
what's your experiences with sertraline , when did you feel better , what mg were you on , how long did the side affects last , did it work for you
thanks

I'm not an expert, but I thought that 50mg was the lowest effective dose. I would have expected you to do a fortnight on 25mg and then up it 50mg (which is what I did).

I've been on 50mg for over a year now and just feel normal again, no anxiety or twitchiness, which is great.

Speak to your provider and ask if you can double the dose. Mine kicked in very quickly once it was at 50mg, but I know lots of people who are on higher than this.

That's an exceptionally low dose, my 8 year old (non verbal, severe autism, high anxiety) is on 20mg as a starting dose). I hope you feel better soon x

thanks

yes i need to go doctors this week to increase my dose

Hope you’re feeling better. I’m on day 5 now, and honestly, forums like this really help me keep going. I’m taking it one day at a time and reminding myself that the side effects won’t last forever. Hopefully each day will bring a little more improvement, and I’m looking forward to getting through this difficult part and feeling like myself again. Reading other people’s experiences gives me hope that things really can get better.

Hey, I started taking 50mg about four months ago and feel so much better it’s unreal. I was so low, crying all the time for no reason and I don’t think I’ve cried in months now. My GP did offer to increase to 100mg after a month or two but I didn’t feel it was necessary and would like to come off them eventually.
I did have some side effects for the first month or so, I had an increased appetite and struggled sleeping but that all calmed down after a while.
Yours does seem like a low dose, hopefully you’ll feel better once your dose is increased.

As others have said that is a really low dose. It sounds like it’s ineffective at the moment, probably because of this. Most people start on 50. I did and am currently on 100. It’s changed my life, I really hope it helps you.

how are you feeling what side affects did you have i had increased anxiety
jitters , and insomnia

hi how long was it until you started to feel better

hi every time you increased your dose did the side affects come back

No. I’m very glad to say. Initial side effects were brutal, not going to lie, but when they subsided I’ve never looked back. Been on 50 then 100 then 50, currently on 100 again, no side effects.

50mg is the minimum dose, 200mg the maximum. You would have just been started on 25mg to minimise side effects.

if you don't mind me asking why did you go up from 50 to 100
then 100 to 50

Hey, it was probably six or eight weeks before I knew I was a lot better although I still had occasional bad days but they’ve just got less and less often. Mine was low mood rather than anxiety so may be different.

Challenges with my MH meant 50 wasn’t really helping the same so I went up a dose for a bit then down. Currently up again as menopause is severely impacting my life! I’ll go back down a dose when I can but I’ll likely stay on it, it really helps me stay sane!

what percentage out of a 100 has it helped please

what percentage out of a 100 has it helped please

I'm on 50mg for anxiety. It's helped a lot, probably a 7.5 out of 10. I no longer wake at 3 in the morning and lie there sweating bullets.

Day 6. My nausia is definately decreasing better everyday. My mood is all over the place thoguh. Especially in the peak 4-8 hours after taking my dose. Feeling very anxious.
How are your side effects?

My side affects have almost gone
i just still feel a bit anxious still ruminating , not as much but only have to have a bad day and my anxiety goes up
but i feel like am starting to feel better but i Definity need to increase my dose
to 50mg
what dose are you on

I’m on 50mg.
Today (Day 6) has been really hard. The physical side effects have mostly gone now, but the mental side effects seem to be getting harder to deal with.

How were your side effects during the first and second weeks?

I keep having to remind myself that I need to push through this and that, the outcome will be better than where I was before.

Hi first week was brutal second week anxiety was high
i can cope with most things but what i find really hard is waking at 3-4 in the morning and the anxiety creeping back in then not being able to get back asleep
then its a vicious circle not much sleep i find my anxiety is bad the next day
but nearly 4 weeks in on 25mg its improving i see doctor on Thursday for a dose increase so am praying i dont go through al the same side affects again

That’s great to hear your anxiety wasn’t as high during the second week. I’m on Day 7 today and feeling a lot less anxious, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ve made it through the worst of it!

I was previously on citalopram, and my sleep was hell for the first couple of weeks. You’re right, it really is a vicious cycle between sleep and anxiety.

In between, I tried mirtazapine and I’ve stayed on a low dose at night as it does help with my sleep. Although, unfortunately, I still wake up at 4am! 😂

You can always ask to stay on the same dose if you feel it’s helping. Do you think the increase has helped you? A lot of the posts I’ve read seem to suggest that increasing the dose doesn’t necessarily mean the side effects will come back as hard, which is reassuring.

Great to hear! How long have you been taking them? Do you feel like you’ve got over the hump of the first couple of weeks?

Taking them since May. Tbh I was lucky in that I didn't have worsening MH symptoms when I started them (although I did get the gastric symptoms quite badly 🤢). I'd say it took my stomach about four weeks to adjust. But it was so worth it.

hi i haven't increased my dose yet i see doctor tomorrw

but i think i need to as 50mg is the standard dose as 25mg is what they start you on to minimize the side affects hopefully i don't go throug all the same side affects as when i started but i will let you know