Day 21 and still horrible side effects....
Posted , 10 users are following.
Hi there,
I started Sertraline 21 days ago (50 mg) and have had alot of side effects....nausea, reflux, daily diarrhea, lost almost 7 lbs, poor appetite, increase intrusive thoughts, increased anxiety and panic and major jitters.
This morning I had to take a lorazepam for the jitters. It almost felt like low blood sugar (I am not diabetic). I take my dose at night and sleep for about 6 hours then up the rest of the night. Can anyone give me some insight on when their side effects slowed down and when they started to feel better? The Dr. wanted me to increase to 100mg at 2 weeks ("if tolerated") but I can't even begin to think about an increase with all these side effects.
Thanks
0 likes, 11 replies
dana84408 ali25649
Posted
Ali everything you're going throu it's normal, it gets worse before it gets better, you will start feeling a little better between 6-8 weeks but everyone is different, you should do 75mg before jumping to 100mg, you need a lot of patience, but keep going and in no time you will be better 😊
Guest ali25649
Posted
The side effects for me on 50mg Sert lasted between 4 and 5 weeks. They kind of slowly faded away.
I was v v nauseous, dizzy, loss of appetite, felt tired etc etc
Do stick with your current dose if you can, but i would not suggest you increase until your side effects fade significantly
I sipped Ginger tea, and took Ginger capsules for the nausea, which did help
Could you ask a pharmacist about taking Immodium (short term) until your diarrhoea eases off? I did not have that. Do check with a pharmacist first, he will know if it is compatible with Sert .
Hoping for you x
brenda53218 ali25649
Posted
It can take up to eight weeks and sometimes longer. Each person is different. It took me around 8 weeks or so. I was on 50 for 4 months then iincreased to 100. I still have occasional bad days where I have to take an ativan. I was told that this is normal. it's a long road to travel, but I never regretted it. I hope you start feeling better soon.
ali25649
Posted
Thank you for your replies!
I do like the idea of trying 75mg instead and will mention to the Dr in 2 weeks.It helps SO much hearing that this is normal and that it too will pass.
julie7525 ali25649
Posted
bless you, i remember it well...the 1st few weeks were horrendous. in fact i dropped to 25 for a couple of weeks then upped by 25 each time till months later i was on 150 and feeling good. was a long haul.after a year in total i dropped to 100. by rights id think you should start feeling better around now then increase by 25 till you feel ok again then up to 100. it does get better and when you reach your right dose you'll know...you'll realise you feel well all of the time. just give each dose at least 3 weeks to see which dose works for you. youve done the hardest bit! by 3 mths youll be feeling so much better, by 6 mths pretty good. by a year brilliant! the only reason i changed to prozac is i put on so much weight on with sert. but i wouldnt rule out going back on it once i sort my weight out. hang in there, you'll soon be on the mend 😃
lattifa7777 ali25649
Posted
3 weeks is still early days, hopefully in another 3 weeks you will start having patches through the day where you feel better, then things start to change very subtly .
Please please do not up the dose until you feel your body has settled with what you are on now, you know better than your dr. Just waitanother 3 weeks at least then you may need to go up.
But for now you are doing really well, just have rife the rollercoaster of meds, you will be fine really soon god willing.
Any advice i can help with please feel.free to ask i can only tell you from my experience.
You will make it 100%
dodo81786 lattifa7777
Posted
hi lattifa , i used to take 100mg for 3 yrs and i stopped gradually for 2 months as i was feeling 100% normal with no fears or obsseive thoughts that triggers me and makes me panic .
it hits me again and im on 50mg now , do you think it will do the same great job as the past 3 yrs ?
i wake up everyday with obssessive thinking about my case and will i feel better again which panics me more .
also dont have happy moments or enjoying what im doing .
HopeNFaith ali25649
Posted
Hi, all the symptoms you're going through will start to calm from around 10-12 weeks sometimes sooner. I didn't up my dose until after 4 months, GP wanted the 50mg to settle before upping my dose to 100mg. I found that going for walks help and also writing a diary everyday helped as it meant I wasn't keeping everything inside my head.
Sometimes you need to push yourself to get through the front door and outside but once you start it will get easier.
with regards to your sleeping pattern, it may be better to take the tablets in the morning, this may help you sleep better at night. After the Sertraline starts to take full affect, your sleep will start to improve and so will your appetite.
You will still get the odd few down days but nothing like what you're going through now. I find that my down days are just before my period.
You will get there, just have faith in yourself.
God bless
antony46257 ali25649
Posted
I had all those as well, lost 12 kilograms of weight also had night sweats and constant leg pains and a few others. My doctor just changed me to effexor 75mg. Not sure about it as am now going through similar side effects but not as full on.
I will say sertraline made me emotionally mute and i kind of miss that
Giggity ali25649
Posted
50mg was the worst period for me. It gets better with every increase. I'm on 200mg now and feel great. The jitters and stuff do go away. Do not fear increasing your dose.
ali25649
Posted
Did you find that your side effects changed daily?
I am thinking of changing my time of dose to morning as I really need to start getting more sleep!
I started Kefir and probiotics for the diarrhea as I can't keep taking Imodium everyday. Also eating bananas, applesauce and some oatmeal to see if that helps.