Coming up to 6 weeks on Sertraline

im sitting thinking to myself what are these tablets all about as im trying to perservere but how much can u take of them making u feel worse and feeling like ur not in the real world .

My doctor is amazing she takes me through step by step of each tablet and what to expect while taking meds. She sits and listens and as a fully qualified doctor shes also a qualified psychiatrist. She explained to me she went through anxiety and depression herself at my age mid to late 20s. She tried sertraline and many more. She explained to me that sertraline never started to work untill 7 to 8 weeks and was progressive in nature, more and more better days so dont give up to soon. She has explained to me that some people need a higher dose or lower dose so its working closely with your doctor that needs to be something for you. I will tell you that after being on 50mg for 4 weeks and 4 days myself im really starting to see things for the better. After 8 weeks you still feel rough or its not working then a higher dose or change of meds needs to be discussed. I know how you feel though into a fire and into another. Dont give up

thanks scott,

Yours is whats called a poop or a blip at the 6 to 7 weeks mark she explained to me that with all medication that when things settle into your system that some people feel rough for 1 to 2 weeks and this is nothing to worry about its called realizations when serotonin is messed up for so long it takes time to adjust to normal. Its like stopping smoking for 3 weeks you get your energy back and then it crashes and you start the healing process and all that tar and rubbish starts to come off your chest and you feel rough for a few weeks. 

Hi Scott it's great to find someone who knows a bit ! So when am i gonna feel normal/stop these aide effects do u reckon?At 4 wks I felt great then fom then on ups + downs.It's 7 weeks on tues at 50mg.Do i increase or sit it out + wait?

ok thankyou for the reasurance maybe i will carry them on but go back to just taking 25mg not the 50 as i have a child aswell and being knocked out all the time is not good and where i have social phobia it hightens it even more so im like a hermit !

Any medication i start i get the whole story not just the oh youll be fine in a few weeks ect what some doctors say. What your experiencing sounds to me your dose needs to be adjusted maybe bump it up to 75mg but ask your doctor and if it was me id wait till 8 weeks in that week still no change definitely talk to the doctor. Im going to up my dose myself at 8 weeks but only to 75mgs and that is only if im just feeling ok. We all want to feel amazing. Id also like to ask you do you drink coffee tea whats your diet like do you smoke ect

Yes totally agree, 25mgs is supposed to be a great start for social anxiety so take what your happy with. But if the 25mg is doing nothing to you then a higher dose will be needed for leveling you out 

when u up ur dose do u go back to square one with all the horrible symptons again ? this is my 3rd week of 25mg but no better than when i started them to be honest just worser cos everything is more hightened and sleepy spaced out ....hard to keep taking em !

hi -one cup of tea a day,dont drink,dont smoke,try + eat (difficult) ,drink 3 cans of fanta a day to ward off hunger

Can i just ask what your taking them for and will explain to you

Sugar is more addictive than cocaine, i know this very well as i cant stop drinking coke. When i stop drinking coke i get withdrawal symptoms like everyone else, mood swings,heart flutters,weak stomach,acid reflux the list is endless. You need to wean off fizzy pop but do this slowly. Maybe 2 cans a day then week 2. 1 can a day. These all add to anxious symptoms when your loaded on sugar and when you crash you feel awfull headaches tired mood swings ect. Maybe why you might feel rough as im the excact same my friend

hi scott i have bad social phobia one of the symptons is fear of blushing , i drink coffee is that bad then on tablets ?

You say u wld wait til 8 wks b4 increasing by25mg-why is that?

Why not next week at 7 wk point?Will increase of 25mg at whatever time increase side effects or not really due to me taking sert for 7 wks?

Caffeine will make you very anxious it gives me tremors and shaking fits so makes me anxious around people. Fizzy pop does the same as its loaded sugar. I can already tell you what you need along with sertraline and i can garentee it will stop your physical symtoms. Its a little red pill called propanalol and its what i take. Its probably why i never had side effects from sertraline. It lowers heart rate and is used to treat anxiety symptoms but its main function is to help people with heart attacks or angina ect. Its commonly prescribed to people with anxiety. It doesnt help with depression as it works on your adrenaline not your mind. Ask the doctor for 40mgs of that and after a week i promise youll be doing better

i have ashma though so cant take it ...its beta blocker aint it ?

8 weeks is the time frame to know wether it will or not work at that dose. And i only say add 25mgs as another 50mgs might be too much. Ive seen alot of people need an increase but have shot upto 100mg and skipped the 75mgs and they feel awfull even worse than the start up dose. So they go back to 50mgs and are stook into a rut. So carefully increasing and waiting 2 to 3 weeks per increase. Its the safest way in side effects terms. Always 25mgs at a time and leaving 2 to 3 weeks to see if you see any improvement 

Ahhhh yeah its not good with asthmatics, why dont you change your coffee for camomile tea. I drink this and its a calming drink without caffine and it also cleans out your colon. Always a good thing as 95% of serotonin is inside your gut. Always look after your body and your brain will look after you 

jesus i need to drink that all day then to calm me he he , ok i find get headaches when come off the coffee but will try only drink 3 cups a day at mo tho and i eat healthy dont snack eat junk 

what about side effects for 25mg increase? ie same/less

You maybe will get some sort of side effects but atleast you will know after 2 weeks wether it is working. Same goes for you if your not asthmatic ask your doctor for a beta blocker to reduce side effects as they work fantastic and are not drowsy people take them before a meeting or driving test ect to stop feeling so anxious so if you have any side effects they will only be headaches or the runs maybe feeling slightly sick and thats if anything at all. And will not last aslong. If it wasnt for propanalol at 40mgs a day i think i would of sufferd side effects aswell but they stopped it. 

Yeah its because its a drug, you will feel better if you reduce the caffine and its in chcolate and fizzy drinks aswell and certain foods so look out for that 

thanks so much

ok , ive been on 25mg 3 weeks now but side effects crap u think will get better after 6 to 8 weeks ? tried taking 50 mg but was to zombie liking so going back to 25mg and taking them at night so dont space me out to much in day 

Yeah 3 weeks is still very early, you will start seeing better days in a week or 2 

is ok to take at night ?

scott ur better than my doctors 

I started taking it at night it seems to work for me like that but whatever is easier for yourself 

Hahaha i just have a great doctor and goes into detail about everything. Ive had health anxiety for 5 years and i read about everything to do with illnesses, medicine, the body and mind ect. You could ask me anything about anything to do with those and i could tell you hahaha. Ive just studied and studied it all. I had a useless few doctors in the past and i actually diagnosed myself to them as they didnt know what it was and an edoscopy confirmed i had gastritis and thr doctor said well i didnt know what it was lol 

jesus there is some bad doctors out there but im thinking of changing mine definatly ..well ur doing well as ur very helpful !

This is gods honest truth i was once prescribed antibiotics for an infection in my arm but later found out my wrist was broken. If doctors havnt ever had the illness they pick the common ones that they think they can diagnose.

Do your own research when it comes to things and never listen to scare mongers. Some people say sertraline is the worst ever and some say its brilliant. The reason it doesnt work for some people is because they have been misdiagnosed. Lets say if they go to the doctors with something and thr doctor thinks its anxiety then they need to find out what anxiety they have wether it's social anxiety, health anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, compulsive dissorder wether its thoughts or actions ect. And saying all that there are alot of different meds for different disorders. Sertraline is mostly for depression and compulsive dissorders and social anxiety but can also help other anxietys. Along with that it works very well with seeing a psychiatrist for one on one sessions. 

Hi sugar loaf. Thanks for reply.  I was on 50 for two weeks 75 for two 87.5 for one and now gone up to 100. My doc wanted me to go from 50 to 100 because my anxiety was so bad- I was throwing up, not eating or sleeping well at all . I tried to go up but was too much so have increased gradually.  I am just praying that it works for me.  I was reluctant to go down this route but had little option.  In the last two weeks my appetite and sleep improved and physical anxiety symptoms lessened somewhat but today they have returned with vomiting, poor sleep, little appetite and anxiety .  I find I am worrying so much, in my head a lot.  I'm supposed to go back to work Monday after six weeks off!!!! Yikes! Hope you feel better soon

yer im waiting for thereapy but had lots in past just didnt help for me , i dont like the idea im indoors alot and cant socialise because of the phobia for blushing so im safer indoors !

That takes training along with the sertraline, that switch needs to be turned on in your brain. You sound the same as me i feel horrible around people but its slowly getting better it will be worse to start with but i promise you will get better 

yep i feel my house im safe but its very lonely not being able to socialise ...had this for 14 years now and always and still am very outgoing but its the social phobia that holds me back and got so much worse ..all boils down i think to no confidence dont think much of myself and think everyone is judging me looking at me as i have paranorer aswell which i never used to have and its the worse thing ever when i go out i hear people laugh and think there all laughing at me !

Yeah the sertraline will stop you thinking about that. Dont panic if your not better in a week or 2 it will take time love. 

Hi Lucy sorry to hear you are struggling too. It is really early days for you and I am sure the medication will start to work for you. You just have to keep going with it.  I am encouraged by all the positive messages I have read on many forums. Comments such as it takes six to eight weeks to work and the improvements are so slight and gradual you will not notice them.  When I look back to five weeks ago I couldn't even watch a tv program never mind laugh out loud like I used to which I did tonight so something is working ever so slightly.  I believe the medication will work for me. I believe it will work for you too :-). I started on 100 mg today.  How about you? What's your dosage?

thankyou chris i am taking 25mg for 3 weeks but im having so bad side effects im not same person and i have a child to cope with so i havent took a tablet for 2 days now im thinking to be honest am i ever going to be free of fear of facial blushing /social phobia as i was on the tablets for 2 and half years and came off last year as wasnt doing nothing for me still ad the fear of facial blushing but reason started taking again was because i got also paranoid so much and didnt want leave the house !

Hi Lucy,looking after a kid must be a real struggle ! I am 2 days off 7 weeks + i cannot function at all,been indoors since last monday-if it wasnt for my wife I really dont know what i wld do-she is also running our business aswell !A wk ago i was great but now anx is back daily + am feeling v.dissillussioned.I wld say DO NOT STOP -3 wks is too soon + start those pills again.D-Day for me is 8 wks i think but i hav a tel appt with doc on tues.Can u get some help with little one? what is ur support network like? ASK FOR HELP + take those pills pls.

i was worse on the tablets i cant cope with not feeling any emotions my partner cant work as with my social phobia i dont like going out so the money situation is crap no help there as i cant work because of it but i cant take tablets that are not letting me be on this planet and not wanting to get out the bed , i was on them for 2 and half years before and come off them as wasnt working i was still suffering with my phobia so i think im going to see how i go without them as only been back on them 3 weeks but been a nightmare and im not strong enough to carry them on with all the bad effects as getting me down and i have no support apart from partner !

where are you located that I may find this doctor that you speak of?

Are u still on the zoloft?

Hi Scott,

I've been on sertraline now for 10 weeks started on 25mg for 3 weeks then up to 50 mg for 3 weeks and then 100mg for past 4 weeks. I'm taking it for depression and anxiety.

When I started 50 mg I started to have the odd positive day but then since increasing to 100 mg I seem to feel worse again.

I've spoke to my doctor who wants to change me to Trazadone as she says this will help me sleep as well, I wake up quite a lot throughout the night so tend to sleep in till about 11am. Thing is I've read up on trazadone and don't think it's for me do you think it's worth speaking to dr again and staying with the sertraline a bit longer?

Any advice would be welcomed.

Hi Michelle , just wondered how you are now ?

I know this is an old post. But I'm on week 5 1/2 and i had a

rough 2/3 weeks to start with then had 2 good. But this

weekend iv felt bad. Dizzy nauseous weak, but anxiety level

are OK. I'm on 25mg, and I don't really want to up my dose at

The moment with feeling like I do.

My question is, did you get over feeling crappy after 6+ weeks.

and are you still on the tablets.

Hi Julie, did you eventually even out on your dose. I am at 5 1/2 weeks and same as you except anxiety is off and on and is intense at times. I am on 50mg. No one seems to be replying after this time period so I'm hoping things turned for the better.

Hi Rob, 

The message you wrote 2 months ago Iv only just seen.

i don't always get them until someone replies??? 

Anyway im still on 25mg and some days a bit of anxiety creeps though but it's manageable. I did at one point think I was going to have to switch to another A/D I was having side effect from a different manufacturer but my GP managed to get me 4 months supply of the one that I get on with.

hope you are doing well and able to enjoy life 

best wishes 

No worries Julie, 

I still get anxiety sometimes too but It's so mild and way easier to ignore once I levelled out on Zoloft. I've been told that 25mgs is a start up dose since the serotonin receptors only get 50% blockage for people that are the most sensitive to it, 50mgs is the therapeutic dose since it will block all receptors of people really sensitive to the drug. This time on the drug, I've been to a new psychiatrist who says she would have put me in Paxil since it has more of a calming effect where zoloft is a stimulating A/D. Maybe next time since I was put on Zoloft by my gp 6 weeks before seeing my psych. Then again zoloft works for me and the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

We all have anxiety but if your A/D is working properly, you should be enjoying life and shouldn't avoid anything because of it.

Cheers

Glad you are doing well Rob.

I seem to have settled on the sertraline. I plan on staying on it for a least a year, and see how it goes.

I don't want to go back to how I was feeling 6 months ago, 

alls well at the moment,

thank you for the reply

keep us posted 

take care

Love hearing positive posts. I’m on week four at 25 mg of sertraline. Rough ride with increased anxiety, nausea, loss of appetite and fatigue.  Take clonazepam as well. Isn’t my first rodeo. So I keep telling myself to hold on. It will get better. Taking it for irregular contractions of esophagus which causes anxiety and chest pain.  So thank you for shared experiences and encouragement!!

Scott,

I need your advice. My doctor feels I have severe anxiety/health anxiety/panic disorder.

I believe something is physically wrong with me and that the doctors have missed it.

I shake/tremble, get a clammy sweat, have nausea, foggy/dizzy head, bowel issues, low mood/short temper, heart palpitations, etc . every day!

Doctor put me on Setraline 25 mg 10 days ago and I ago really struggling. Horrible spells of shaking, nausea, dizziness, muscle aches.

Have had several medical tests performed: exercise stress test (2 years ago), recent mri of brain last month (results were normal), abdominal ultrasound (normal, but a slight fatty liver), upper gi endoscopy (Barrets Esophagus ), colonoscopy (normal), in depth blood work including in depth thyroid panel (all normal).

I am so discouraged because I feel horrible every day and can't get answers as to why.

Are the symptoms I noted ones that go with severe anxiety or do you think something is wrong physically? Also....are the side effects that I described normal when being on sertraline for only 10 days? I won't have and cess to my computER for and cess few days as I will be out of town, so PLEASE text me at 3304128416.

Hi, Thought I'd jump in and give you some reassurance - I had the same thing as you thought they're was something physically wrong, had all the same symptoms plus some more. They came totally out of the blue so suspected something was physically wrong and like yourself have had every test known all coming back clear.

Ended up accepting it must be anxiety once I read that people on this forum experienced a lot of the same issues. Been on Sertraline 50mg for 24days (first 5 days 35mg) and went I started I had the same side effects and then they went away so straight away I knew it was anxiety. Know I still get the odd heart paulpataion now and again but if I feel it all I need to do is deep breaths hold for 1-2 secs then slowly breath out. If you try this it will going away within 1 or 2 mins.

The shakeness/tremors is one of the side effects that did worry me but I've seen the neurologist again and he said nothing to worry about, its just muscle spasms. Mine come and go but worse in the morning when I wake up, its almost like my body has been shaking all night.

Hopefully this helps you.

hi all

I have been on sertraline for 5 weeks now and still have the shakes they are awful can anyone tell me if they are ever going to stop

thanks

yes side effects will reduce overtime.

I'm back to work next week hoping keeping myself busy will reduce the side effects.

are you working, ‽

depression is absolute nightmare,

medication takes for ages for them to lift my mood how you feeling.

I'm up from 100 to 150,mg I hope it works week7

hi david

I have just finished work retired 2weeks but yes I'm looking for hobbies to keep my self busy I hope this drug works I don't know what to expect my friend is taking them but does not seem to want to discuss them I think that's what people need to talk about