Any doctors are there ? I am so worried.

[HelloandThankU]

I have a medical question.

I had a lower right tooth extracted on June 18th. Around that time, I was experiencing severe depression from several personal issues and was prescribed sertraline tablets to help me sleep.

Just before going to holiday in Asia on July 1st, I started feeling tingling pain in part of my gum. After the long flight on July 2nd, I was extremely tired and also on my period. I developed very strong pain and tightness throughout my gums, along with tightness on the right side of my neck. I also found it hard to breathe, so I used my inhaler. The symptoms got worse whenever I took a bath. I couldn’t use a pillow because it made the discomfort in my neck much worse.
I went to the dentist to find out why I had gum pain and tightness, but after taking an X-ray they said nothing was wrong. On July 14th, pus started coming from the extraction site. The dentist drained it and prescribed antibiotics and painkillers. Despite this, I continued to have gum pain and neck discomfort, especially on the right side. I also experienced heavy night sweats. My right ear, upper right chest, and front neck/throat area also felt uncomfortable.
During this time, I was taking sertraline on and off when I couldn’t sleep, without realising it was actually an antidepressant. I was also using ibuprofen, pain killers, antibiotics, and my inhaler.I found that sertraline actually makes it even harder for me to sleep, but I thought it was best to take it when I couldn’t sleep

When I returned to England on July 18th, my symptoms hadn’t improved. I saw a dentist on July 21st, but again they said the X-ray showed nothing wrong, just like the dentist during the holiday had said. On July 25th, I went to my GP. They said there was no visible swelling, but they explained that sertraline is not a sleeping tablet but an antidepressant. I had been taking it irregularly up to that point, so I stopped completely that day.

My condition improved slightly, but the gum and neck discomfort remained.
By August 11th, I still didn’t know what to do, so I went to A&E. The doctor there told me my symptoms were probably side effects from starting and stopping sertraline.Does that explanation sound correct? I am still experiencing gum tightness and tingling pain, as well as discomfort in my right chest, ear, and neck. I am not taking any medicines trying to have good sleep from light exercise and meditation now. Please help me with any thoughts.

The Sertraline was prescribed for your depression and personal problems, easing those would have helped you sleep, hence the antidepressants. You weren’t prescribed it for sleeping.
A side effect of sertraline is sweating and it can cause insomnia, so it definitely wasn’t prescribed as a sleeping aid, I think you have misunderstood something during the consultation.

I think your overall anxiety is likely contributing to your neck discomfort as you will be, understandably, tense with all this going on. Anxiety will also make it feel harder to breathe. It’s possible you are, due to the anxiety/stress/pain, grinding your teeth at night which can also cause gum, ear and neck pain and this could radiate down to the chest.

Either revisit the GP to deal with this new anxiety, or discuss the possibility of teeth grinding and a mouth guard with the dentist maybe? I’m sorry you are suffering with so much at the moment, I hope things improve for you soon

@LifeOfAnxiety Thank you for your message. I’ve been using a mouth guard at night, and I’ve been attending weekly counselling sessions since I returned from my trip. The night sweats have stopped, which is a relief—but I’m still experiencing discomfort in my gum, the right side of my neck, my ear, and the area above my chest.

The dentist advised me to contact my GP, but when I saw the GP, they told me to go back to the dentist. I feel stuck and unsure what to do next, as both have said there’s nothing more they can offer. It was my mistake I didn’t read the instructions for sertraline when it was prescribed to me. I was told it would help with sleep, but the GP didn’t mention that it’s actually an antidepressant. I was given four boxes all at once as part of the new prescription. I'm still hoping these pains and discomfort are just side effects from the sertraline and that I'll start to feel better soon