Bad reaction to Sertraline. Anyone else?

Hey, I'm new here. 

A little history about me: I have been suffering from panic attacks & depression. I was prescribed Mirtazapine which was doing an awesome job and helping me sleep which I desperately needed. However, after two years the mirtazapine stopped working? Because I ended up getting worse with my anxiety and pretty much became a hermit inside my house, never leaving to go outside. I lost my job because of poor performance (I was having panic attacks at work when it got really busy & customers started complaining since I wasn't focused). 

I went back to my GP and told asked her if I could just come off the medication completely, but she wanted to try something new and prescribed me with Sertraline, she did tell me that I have to take them for two weeks for them to work, but I really do not want to become dependent on medication. I am on a waiting list for lifelink (therapy) which is taking forever, so I decided just to give the Sertraline a shot. I read about it before taking it and someone suggested halving the 50MG pills so that your body can get used to the side effects. I did this for three days, the first two days I felt nothing and then the third day I had a HUGE panic attack like never before and I was in my house so it freaked me out. 

I have never experienced a panic attack like that before, and embarrassingly I thought I was dying. I tried to contact 111 (NHS to ask about the meds) but my phone said that I dialied the wrong number. I started getting dizzy, shaking, feeling sick and sweating. I ended up calling 999 and the paramedics came out to check me. I felt stupid for calling 999 after talking with the paramedics but they were really nice about it, checked my blood pressure, my pulse, my heart rate. He said my pulse was a little fast but when I started talking to him it went down and everything was "on point" as he said. After talking to them for a bit they told me they could take me to the hospital and get advice from the Doctor about the medication, so I went there and got my blood pressure, heart rate and blood checked again. The woman told me to guess my heart rate and I said it feels like 100 and something, but it was at 88. At that very moment I felt ridiculous and apologized to the paramedics and the nurse for wasting their time, but they were awesome about it. The Doctor advised me to keep taking the medication and how it was just the side effects but it's my body and I certainly do not want to go through this just to be dependent on medication and then experience it all over again when I have to come off it. So, I decided to call my GP in the morning. Had zero sleep that night, was still shaking, dizzy, had diarrhea, my legs were twitching, I couldn't sit still and kept going back and forth to the livingroom and my bedroom upstairs, I was sweating, anxious and had a headache as well. In the morning I ended up vomiting and I called my GP right away. 

My GP advised me to stop taking them immediately because everyone is different and some people have mild side effects whereas others will have severe side effects which is me. She said she would prescribe me another medication (oh joy) but I asked her just to give me something right now for to calm me down so I could sleep and she agreed and when the side effects wear off I will call back and decide what to do next. She prescribed me Buspirone 5mg and I looked up the side effects because I do NOT want to feel worse than I already do, and the side effects were dizziness (which I already had) and blurred vision etc. So I decided not to take them and just see how I feel throughout the day, but told myself to get outside and to NOT go back home no matter how I feel. I did, and I had some horrible moments where I thought I was going to faint, but I stuck it out and focused on my breathing (which was what the paramedics said) and I told myself to relax. If I'm going to faint, it's okay, it won't hurt me and it's just my body taking a rest. I did not faint, though and while I was outside I stopped shaking, thankfully. It's been over 30 hours since I took the medication and I still feel dizzy and anxious but I do not feel nauseous anymore or like I can't sit still. 

I know everyone is different and responds differently to medication but this was the worst medication I've been on and I did not enjoy it whatsoever, definitely not worth the side effects. I'm actually getting excited about the side effects wearing off, seriously was convinced I was dying while on them. 

Has anyone else experienced a bad reaction to them like this? I'm hoping I can get to sleep tonight and the side effects will be completely gone tomorrow. 

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