Can't Stand Feeling This Way Any Longer :(

Posted , 7 users are following.

Hi,

I really don't know where to start, but here goes.....

I have been on Sertraline now since Nov 2013 & feel worse than ever & have decided just not to take anymore of these horrid tablets as from tomorrow. I have been on 150mg now for 9 weeks with no improvement & yet all the horrible side effects. So what is the pointsad.

I have been like a human guinea pig for the last 6mths with no relief at all & can't take anymore of feeling this way. I have been off sick from work since then & now actually lost my job due to this & really don't know what to do anymore i'm so lost & alone.

0 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi butterfly

    i am so sorry to hear this.

    i just wanted to say tread carefully with getting off the sertraline. It certainly doesn't happen to everyone and I don't want to worry u but it can give u withdrawal symptoms. Cold turkey isn't a good idea. Better to titrate off slowly. I understand u wanting off this drug, it's an awful drug. I just wouldn't want u to get hit with withdrawals. I've been hit hard with withdrawal and I titrated off..just too fast.

    hope I haven't alarmed u. I just want to protect you.

    • Posted

      Hello Meteor,

      Thank you so much for your message & advice i really do appreciate it. Have you had a bad experience with this drug? 

      I have told my doctor how i feel & he just keeps saying stay on them, but i can honestly say i have not felt any better what so ever since starting this drug. So i guess i couldn't feel much worse cold turkey sad.

    • Posted

      Yes, terrible experience with this and with citalopram. I thought I wouldn't feel worse off them but the withdrawals..I feel awful saying this because I know how awful it is being on a drug that's making things worse. Some people get away with cold turkey but it's very risky. Sertraline has a fairly short half life so it's more likely to cause withdrawal than something like Prozac. I've had to go back on a very low dose to try to desk with withdrawal symptoms. I can't tell you what to do, but I felt I couldn't not warn you. The doctors told me to stay on them too but they were hideous.
    • Posted

      Thank you it's really nice that people on here actually care & understand how you are feeling & want to give support.

      I'm sorry to hear you had a bad time on these & Citalopram ( i have also been on citalopram 3yrs ago) yes cold turkey again & was pretty bad with the side effects, but i feel ill every day anyway so what the hell.

      Thats how i feel these days sad

  • Posted

    hi butterfly .it is not nice what we go through  . and if you let bad thoughts in they will fester and before you know it we are asking the doc for help. they can only precribe you pills and they will.

    what ever you take you will have adverse reactions to any thing as your body does not want it in. 

    if you carry on your body will like it and you willl have o go cold turky to come off. 

    you need to look at your life and make a change do some thing different and when you do good pat your self on the back. life every now and then taps us on our shoulders and trys to tell us to back off or slow down or have fun. we ignor then your body goes into shock and force you to slow down (depression anxiaty)

    i would go to your doc tell tem to put you on a cbt course to make you understand what has been going on. and if you can afford it see a hypotherpist they are experts with the brain and they wiil help .

    it did for me i feel better than any thing now .

    when was the last time you had a really good laugh and tell your self you a great you are positive ? i was taking these pills for 8 weeks and i decided enough was enough and i stopped . i have no reactions at all .i am back on top form i have found my smile .wife is happy i got my sex life back ,lol

    i would try hypnosis its about £60 an hour and about 5 to 8 sessions. he gives you a tape or c/d at the end of it for you to listen and understand. and goes over all your concerns . he put you right back in the room when you play it, i have a file i could send you which he gave me to break up your thought patterns like ocd worrying about shit. its called a click track and it and the asks  you to focus on an event and i felling you had with that and listen to what he asking you to do . yo have to tape you left and right hand to tones on the cd ,listen to his voice and focus on the event or feelinngs .and i gaurantee you ,you will feel better.?

    • Posted

      I can second what gawen has said about hypnotherapy.  It really is fantastic for anxiety and if you get nothing else out of it what it does give you is a fantastic way to relax.  I used it five years ago and found it very helpful and yesterday went for a consultation for further treatment which I am due to start next Tuesday and am very much looking forward to it.

      To give you an idea there are many recordings on YouTube if you just search under hypotherapy + whatever it is that is troubling you it should bring up tons of stuff you can listen to and relax to alone.  If you see a hypnotherapist they will obviously be able to tailor the sessions to you specifically which is a further big help.

      I'd be interested to hear the recording you were given gawen.  I've not heard of the tapping thing before but sounds like an a good idea to help you get fully relaxed as I'm sure it focusses your mind more on the relaxing sounds.

  • Posted

    Oh Butterfly,

    Everyone reading this post can relate to 'what's the point?"! The unfortunate truth, when it comes to all of these phsyce meds, is that we are ALL guinea pigs. There is no decisive map when it comes to our minds. They give you a med much like a map to a foreign city. Then, six months later, they ask it you've made it to your destination. When you describe your surroundings to them they admit you are not in the right city. They give you another med hoping THAT med will get you to your destination.

    And so the circle goes...

    Each time you describe your surroundings given the 'map' they have prescribed.  Some people find the right place the first time. Most have to take the long drive taking many different routes [or meds]. There probably aren't many people who find the right one with the first attempt. It sounds like that's where you are now.

    I, too, think you should titrate off this med with the help of your doctor. Going off these kinds of meds cold turkey can cause a temporary state of psychosis. This further  increases your frustration and depressive thinking, 'what's the point?'.  

    We are all gueina pigs in psychology. It's nearly a crap-shoot. You are certainly not alone. Step off this med slowly and patiently. The withdrawal side effects may trick you into thinking you still need the med. Talk therapy might help you organize things in your mind. It should help you stabilize at each step. 

    Good luck. We will all be hoping and praying for your health!

    • Posted

      Thank you to everyone that has replied.

      I have tried the CBT & it didn't help, however i am waiting on the more intense version as they call it ( whatever that is).

      I have been on antidepressents in the past & suffered for so long now that it has giot out of control & now caused other health issues due to it.

      Also how can i laugh when i have just lost my job due to this & tried so many tablets with no results. It's just awful & can't take much moresad

    • Posted

      Hi Butterfly - I agree with Resigned2B, please don't try to go cold turkey, if you're feeling rubbish anyway, by coming off it slowly, at least you will feel more positive about coming off it and also taking less risks with your health. You say you have other health issues, often depression can cause physical problems, it did me.  I've been depressed for so long (about 20 years) - I've tried Citalopram and Prozac and others - but non of them helped, I'm lucky that Sertraline has helped, I've been on it 4 weeks and I feel better than I have done for ages, there must be something out there to help you, 'cos I never thought I'd find anything to help me. And maybe your previous job wasn't helping your problem .. maybe this could be a time to try something different? I really wish you well, and hope that by talking to everyone here helps you too, we all need someone to talk to, and it's so nice to be able to talk to people that understand. Take care and good luck.
  • Posted

    Hi Butterfly,

    I just wanted to say I decided to go cold turkey after stopping Sertraline for 6 weeks, as I have been on them for quite a while.  It was not a good idea and last Friday I crashed.  With good advice from this forum I have gone back on them and have decided to give it a month and come off them slowly with help from my GP, I'm sure this is the best way to go.  5 days on and my mood is getting better.  Hope this is helpful.

     

  • Posted

    Whatever you do, do NOT just stop taking these without seeing a doctor first.

    I'm so sorry to hear how bad you're feeling, and that you have lost your job. That is terribly sad news, and there will be a solution out there for you somewhere - but if you go cold turkey on sertraline you will wish you felt like you did now, which may sound incomprehendible.

    I wish you all the very best of luck, it's a horrid place to be in (& I speak from experience), but go and talk to your doctor for alternatives before doing anything drastic.

    All the best

    Bella

     

  • Posted

    Hey there butterfly 1. I know exactly where you're coming from. Been on 200mg of sertraline for 14 years now, but it took a while to kick in! When it finally started working though, the horrible depression started to slowly lift, and I am now able to function properly as a human being! There is light at the end of the tunnel. If I were you, I'd weigh up what is more important to you, feeling happy again, or struggling through just this short time. If it doesn't work, there are plenty of other options. Promise that although seems hopeless, it's not, there is always hope. X
    • Posted

      14 years is very longterm for psyche meds. No matter how long it has been working for you are extremely likely to start experiencing longterm side effects.  Fecal incontinence to name just one. These meds were NEVER meant to be taken this long. How does your research on this med justify you feeling good about taking this for so long?

      Please! Research this!

  • Posted

    Hear hear mate if you can get off this shit before it takes to much of a hold then hats off to you. I have now been off about 4 weeks and feel better than I did when I was on them. The doctors don't know every thing .I know a pharmacist very well .she said its not for everyone. But there I'd a peril for every pill you take. The drug company's will not let you go. So I take herbal and I feel battery than before. I admit I am not out of it. Tiny steps .we will get there
    • Posted

      Hello Gawen,

      Thanks for you're message. I just wanted to ask how you are getting on without the meds?

      I am coming up for week 3 of cold turkey & can honestly say i don't feel any worse, however i was in a real state to have gone on these tabs in the first place. I am still extremely depressed & everything is just black, but at least i have more energy & don't feel so sick & sweat all the time etc.

      Keep in touch i'd like to hear how you are getting on.

      Butterfly x

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