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Mental health

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Original poster

Sertraline - what fresh hell is this?!

45 replies

SagacityNell · 09/07/2010 22:49

I have had one and i have had to abandon my night out because i kept feeling like i was going to pass out. Soooo nauseous. How long can i expect side effects for? tbh i didn't expect any so soon!

OP posts:

Original poster

SagacityNell · 13/07/2010 19:47

So i react quite violently to SSRIs (Citalopram made me nauseous the entire time i was on it, Sertraline was like being a junkie,I was on Fluoxetine many years ago and i can't remember what that was like but know i was taken off it) SNRIs (Mirtazapine at least) made me ill for first few days and then made my harming/suicidal thoughts uncontrollable.

What's next? And given past experiences is it even worth trying?

OP posts:

orangeflutie · 13/07/2010 21:25

Perhaps when you next see your GP it might be worth he/she considering one of the older tricyclic ADs. Mine had to do this after I reacted badly to both citalapram and Mirtazapine. Apparently the older style ADs actually have fewer side effects. I am taking Dosulepin at the mo and don't have any problems. I really hope you can get something that works for you too.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 13/07/2010 21:36

Aren't the side effects supposed to be less with SSRIs though?

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pinksmarties · 13/07/2010 23:12

50g isn't that high. I was on on that dose for 10 years and now have been put on 100g.

My dr said they are now cosidered old fashioned and did I want to try something newer. I don't as they really agree with me. They obviously don't agree with you.

I had to try quite a few different ones before I found "the one".

It's a real pain but keep trying till you find one you can live with happilly.

Good luck

Original poster

SagacityNell · 14/07/2010 11:33

INteresting that people were told to NOT take them at night.
I am too scared to go back on them. It really was hell. Literally 24 hours a day effects so i am not so sure that taking them in the morning would be any better.

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ledodgy · 14/07/2010 12:31

I don't blame you. Changing the times didn't make me any better either. I stuck them out for 2 months and that was enough.

iloveasylumseekers · 14/07/2010 12:35

When I was on 50mg sertraline I was nauseated and headachey for 5 days but fine afterwards.

It may be one of the older SSRIs but a number of recent systematic reviews suggests that sertraline is one of the quickest and most effective.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 14/07/2010 12:42

If it was just nausea and a headache it would be fine but i honestly felt like i was in some kind of torturous rehab programme.

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andrea69 · 14/07/2010 12:53

I take Citalopram 60mg and the first 2 weeks were hellish. I did feel so much better after I'd been on them for 3 weeks. It was like a fog lifting. It was only when I began to feel better that I realised how bad things had gotten for me. I've been on them now for about 18 months and under my GP's supervision, will be weaning myself off them gradually.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 14/07/2010 13:19

I can't have weeks of being in hell though, if i need to get DH to stop working we have no money - he is self employed and there is only HIM in his "company".

I know how bad things are, that's why i went in the first place. Unless this is normal and i am just shit at it?

SOrry, not meaning to rant. Maybe it is best if i just disappear after all.

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orangeflutie · 14/07/2010 14:29

No it's not better if you disappear but the balance has to be right. You and your family are important and you need to be able to function to look after yourself and them.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 14/07/2010 21:56

I'm not so sure that they need me to look after them tbh. BUt that's not what this thread was about. I am not on the Sertraline now and my side effects were not normal.

Thank you for all replies

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RockinSockBunnies · 15/07/2010 11:11

Just come back to this thread. SagacityNell - I've also had bizarre reactions to various SSRIs over the years. Venlofaxine made my face swell up, Citalopram made my throat begin to swell and also stopped me from being able to pee - ended up in A&E on steroids (really useful on top of suicidal depression ). Fluoxetine (Prozac) was great for me for a while, but then began to give me awful, unstoppable itchiness all over my legs and feet, resulting in skin coming off and scarring.

I found Sertraline the best in terms of being able to tolerate it. I think you have to persevere and try all the different SSRIs before finding (hopefully) one that works for you. Have you discussed the possibility of any of the tricyclic antidepressants?

As an aside, I've now been off Sertraline for one week, and the diziness is easing a little, though I spent the first four days without it sobbing all the time, over everything and anything.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 15/07/2010 12:43

I don't want to keep persevering.

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RockinSockBunnies · 15/07/2010 13:14

What about trying something like St John's Wort? I've never known it to have any side effects though I think it may interact with oral contraceptives.

Original poster

SagacityNell · 15/07/2010 13:50

I can't afford it. My prescriptions are free or i wouldn't have gone for ADs either.

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rewardgirl · 16/07/2010 16:32

I tried several ADs before I found one that didn't make me feel like I was on hardcore class A drugs. Sertraline is the only one that I've been able to get on with. I found that it took about a week of feeling really rotten (had to go home sick from work a couple of days as felt so rubbish), not sleeping etc, then it eased off and my life is now transformed, I can't begin to tell you. I take mine first thing in the morning as I'm less likely to forget then.

theanimalswentintwobytwo · 09/04/2011 20:29

coming on 12 months and i still get dizzy, and have such vivid dreams that i don't sleep properly. sorry x good luck xx

Keziahhopes · 09/04/2011 20:37

Why not ask for one of the older types - such as lofepramine, if you struggle with SSRI's?

I found sertraline very helpful, but we are all different.

Davelad111 · 27/12/2014 09:11

I have recently bee prescribed serialine for anxiety and on day 2 up to now (day 9) I have never felt so poorly (nausea) in my life. The good thing is I have lost over 1.5 stone due to not eating because I can't face anything but the bad thing is I cannot cope like this much longer.

I have an appointment today at the doctors and just hoping that they can prescribe something that may stop this feeling.

My father passed away yesterday so this is a really bad time and the anxiety is worsened by how I feel because I get anxious about if there is something more serious wrong with me.

It's very relieving to see that other people have had similar issues with the drug. Thank you because this is one thing that has reduced my anxiety.

Does anyone know if I may be offered some anti sickness drugs and how much longer I may feel like this?

For info I possibly feel worse having the tablets with no food over the last 3 days.

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