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50mg Sertraline...should I increase?

Posted , 3 users are following.

kikidee76
kikidee76

Hi everyone...I'm a newbie smile

This is my first time on an ad. I started by just taking half a tablet (25mg) for the first week - had a touch of diarrhoea, few v bad headaches and a couple of spots on my eyelid but persevered. Then I went and had my first real panic attack in week one of 50mg so my gp gave me 10mg propranolol to take alongside the Sertraline.

So tmrw will be the start of week 5 and as I've had a bad day yest, I'm wondering whether to go up to 100mg, my gp just goes along with whatever I suggest really so it's my call. My CBT counsellor implied 50mg was v low.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...feeling very down about it all.

Xxx

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • gingemac1977
    gingemac1977 kikidee76

    Posted

    hi there and welcome to the forum!!

    yes, 50mg is the starting dose, but if you've been on them for 5 weeks and haven't felt any benefit then you should maybe think about increasing, i also started on 50mg 10months ago and i'm now on 150mg and i'm doing good on that dosage.  i was where you were to start with panick attacks, general anxiety and terrible depression, i have none of those any more, the only time i'm a bit off is when i'm due on my time of the month and i don't think i'll ever get a cure for that!! :-)

    Sertraline has been amazing for me and really changed my life, my relationship and my thoughts, before i used to get racing thoughts and my mind used to go up the wall. i was up and down all the time, had terrible mood swings and was just never happy with my life, sertraline has changed all that. usually takes 6-8 weeks for sertraline to settle down into your system, but it affects everyone differently with various side effects and for others non at all. i've had the dicky tummy only a few times, but suffererd from the headaches/migranes alot, but that's all settled now, loss of appetite and weight loss too, but that has also settled down. keep posting with updates, would be nice to hear how your getting along, take care :-)

     

    • kikidee76
      kikidee76 gingemac1977

      Posted

      Hi, thanks for your reply smile

      It's so hard to say whether or not they're helping me. Altho I've lived with anxiety for yrs, I never truly had a panic attack until my first week on 50mg Sertraline sad But there has been really good days too. The propranolol helps with the physical side of things (tho not completely) but i am only taking 10mg at a time. But it can still get so scary even when it's all in the head. 

      I suppose i'm torn between sticking with the 50mg for a bit longer as i'm in the middle of the 4-6 weeks phase so maybe it hasn't fully kicked in yet or to go with 100mg now to just get going on that whole period of readjustment.

      After yrs and yrs of putting up with this and resisting medication, I soooo wanted (and thought) this may be my saviour. (I did try Prozac once yrs ago and lasted about 10 days on it cos i hated the feeling it gave me - numb/detached).

      Having a young child makes it so much harder too (even tho I adore her) but getting her to and from school has now become an issue for me. I've also been going thru premature menopause since i was 36 (2 yrs ago) and got made redundant last yr.

      Sorry to go on.....I just want this to work soooo much. 

      xxx

    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977 kikidee76

      Posted

      you poor thing, that's life and unfortunately the things that happen to us in our lives are the things that make us this way. i have also been plagued my whole adult life, with depression and paranoia, trust issues and rediculous thought processes, absolute craziness but sertraline has been the saviour for me. you are still early days at the moment 4-6 weeks is about the same time i increased to 100mg,  i still had ups and downs even on that and another 6 weeks later i was upped to 150mg. it's all about finding the right dosage for you. if you're not feeling anything off 50mg trust your first instincts and get yourself to the doctor.  that's what i did, i was the one that wanted to increase as i didn't feel it was doing much and my moods were still up and down. but now, since 3-4 weeks into the 150mg dosage, i haven't looked back, i don't have hardly any bad days, and my mood is alot more levelled out. that doesn't mean i'm not going to ever have any more bad days though, you just don't know, but at the moment, my decision to increase was the right one and sertraline has been my saviour :-) and now i am planning my first child with my partner, i wasn't in any fit state to think about that a few months ago !! :-)

       

    • kikidee76
      kikidee76 gingemac1977

      Posted

      oh i know life is certainly trying at times and compared to some, i am truly blessed!! And i in no way expect to be happy all the time but i'm also in total awe of this thing called life and how much of a gift it is (sorry to get schmaltzy) but this is why i'm in such a rush to start feeling better ...i've already let anxiety rob me of so much precious time sad

      think i may alternate between 50 and 100 over the next week with a view to upping to 100.

      im so happy it's working for you and you had the tenacity to keep reviewing it with your gp. aw a baby will be so good for you - apart from how wonderful they are in their own right and the happiness they bring, they demand we take our minds away from ourselves ;D

      xxx

    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977 kikidee76

      Posted

      yes i totally agree, some people breeze through life without a glitch but others seem to suffer so much worse!! it's awful. but yes, i wasted an awful lot of time, umming and ahhing over wether to go to the doctors, and i felt silly not being able to control my own mind and emotions and thoughts, all that good stuff!! but i'm so glad i did and finally have my life back at last!! i can't wait to have a baby now, i was in no state to even think of it earlier in the year.  just a word of warning about alternating your meds, you want a constant dosage of the same amount each time, so it levels out properly in your body and your getting the right amount of the meds into your brain, don't forget, it does something to the chemicals, so i would speak with your doctor before alternating, i don't think you will get the best results with it if you go down that road :-)

       

    • kikidee76
      kikidee76 gingemac1977

      Posted

      I suggested trying 75mg for a bit before 100mg to the dr and it was he who suggested alternating days of 50 and 100 because they only come in multiples of 50...whereas I meant take one and a half tablets!

      Does make sense tho what u say re: alternating, I did think it was a bit sporadic myself. Hmm, will try the 75 I think, just for a week or so then bite the bullet and go to 100. Was thinking of also trying it before bed now too. I've been taking it first thing and I kind of feel a peak around 6 hrs later, which is a bit uncomfortable so would rather it peaked whilst I'm asleep...unless of course it wakes me! All trial and error I suppose and worth the faffing!!

      Thanks for your advice and good luck with the baby making smile

      Xxx

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