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Awful first few days on sertraline

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paul69945
paul69945

Hi . First time posting but long time anxiety sufferer. I have struggled on and off with this hellish thing since my early 20s, now 39. I have been med free for over a year and a half , then whack!! A week ago I wake up to this again . I went to the docs who have prescribed me sertraline. ( I should mention at this point that I have been on various other ssri meds with various success/failiers) anyway to try and get to the crux of it. ... I feel awful. Anxiety through the roof and can't hold a conversation with anybody without it eating me up. Is sertraline notoriously worse at the start then other ssri's??? I have also been given diazepam which I'm scared to take for obvious reasons. Any help would be gratefully received.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Dave_Scotland
    Dave_Scotland paul69945

    Posted

    Hi Paul 

    I can very much relate to this. I have been an anxiety / desperation sufferer since I was 19( I am 30 now ) I came off sertraline November 2016 and by June 2017  I was back to square one. I had to take Diazapam for 3 days just to calm me down ( I wouldn’t usually take any benzo’s but I was in a very bad place and wanted it all to stop ) as I was having a melt down, anxiety , intrusive thoughts,I am sure you know the madness of it all, I went back on sertraline and by day 10 “boom “

    I felt like a new person, anxiety gone, good moods and sleeping well, I started back on 100mg and recently had a dip with depression ( who I am seeing a psychiatrist about ) and went up to 200mg and I am working through a course of CBT. This medication really does work for me but I like also to help myself and meditate daily , carrying out the CBT and do not drink or take any form of drugs, I have even stopped drinking any caffeinated drinks as that’s a trigger for anxiety for me. Stick with the sertraline mate.

    All the best 

    David x 

    • paul69945
      paul69945 Dave_Scotland

      Posted

      Thanks for taking the time to read and reply David. Another horrid day . Can't help but think the sertraline making me worse but only on day 6. Don't know weather to take another pill every night! Feels like I've gone back in time. Such a shock when I've been ok for so long.

  • Dave_Scotland
    Dave_Scotland paul69945

    Posted

    I know exactly how your feeling mate. Stick in, you can do it and you’l be back to where you were before you know it, let me know how your getting on. When I hit the 10th day it was like a switch, it was unbelievable really because of how I was feeling in the lead up to it. Riding out the storm is terrible but stick with it mate 

    • paul69945
      paul69945 Dave_Scotland

      Posted

      Thanx mate. It's a big help reading other people's experiences. Bloody jaw is clenched so tight it feels like I'm gonna snap my teeth off!!! Feels like I've been on speed for a week. Just wondering if you have been on any other ssri's and how they compared. ?

  • Dave_Scotland
    Dave_Scotland paul69945

    Posted

    yeah gritting teeth and  head going a million miles an hour ? The only other one I ever took was citilopram which made me feel really bad, I was actually drinking and self medicating with Valium a lot at that Time (3 1/2 years ago)  so I stopped taking them. When I got sober and off drugs ( 3 years and 1 month counting ) I then went on sertraline. My friend has been on citalopram for a while now and he has got on top of his anxiety, so yeah sometimes it’s what works best for you. getting a referral from your doctor to go to a psychiatrist is a good thing in my opinion as they give you insight in to your thoughts, feelings which the doctors really lack, I got so frustrated with my doctor cause she was just pushing more and more meds my way at one point in time and not actually listening, we all need support .  Have you got a good support network around you ? see the first time you took sertraline before this relapse in anxiety, did you feel better straight away ? 
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