Didnt work for me

hi...i no you wrote this along time ago...but ive been desperately searching through this site to find someone that feels the same way as me about this drug!!! i was taking setroline for 3 weeks..not even for depression..or anxiety...but for my IBS!!! my GP pescribed it as no other remedys have worked!!! felt great in the first 2 weeks...then really anxious and low in the 3rd!!! having never read the side effects in the leaflet i really thought i was 'cracking up'...or having a breakdown!!! in the 3rd week i started experiencing memory loss...feeling really disorientated...and just really low!!! i contacted my doctor immediately...and he told me to stop taking the medication!!! im now on day 5 of not taking them...and still feel very confused!!! im a single parent that works full time...and usually full of energy....going off your experiences...how long do you think it will take before i start feeling 'normal' again!!!! plzzzzzzzzz helpppppppp!!!!

Hiya, sorry to hear you have not found these any help, I have been on them now for about 5 months, its been very up and down but have not had any serious side effects, a few weeks ago I upped mine to 100mg as I went back to feeling how I did before I started them, scared me. Had I built up an intolerance?? Anyways I found these way to strong after a week and lowered them back down again, feeling fine again.

I am not taking them for IBS but a doctor did tell me they give these to people for back pain etc. I dont understand why they would give you something that increases the Seratonin in your brain for IBS.

I hope you find something that works for you and that the anxiety you are feeling now subsides, as I am sure it will.

thanks ever so much for your response!!!! godddddd...what a week ive had!!!! the same evening as i wrote my message...i completely lost it!!! i cant explain how i felt!!!! to say i uncontrolably cried is a bit of an understatement!!! i was hysterical..to the point that my parents had to come round to see me!!!! to cut a very long story short...after speaking to a mental health doctor... i was apparently suffering severe withdrawal syptoms from the sertraline!!!! she told me i would feel like this for a couple of weeks..although the symptoms would get easier!!! like youve stated... why was i given sertraline in the first place when my symptoms had nothing really to do with depression...apart from studies to say IBS can be caused by anxiety!!!! im really cross with my gp...as ive always trusted him!!!! im now on day 8 of not taking it...and although i still dont feel like myself...im feeling much better!!!! completely spoilt my xmas...so im gunna celebrate it again in january..haha!!!! thanks again for yur response huni!!!! and i wish you a very merry xmas and a happy new year xxx

Sorry to hear you had a bad Christmas because of these, stopping these suddenly probably wasnt the best idea, although I can understand why. Sounds like you are suffering with some form of anxiety, the reason I say that is because you are describing how I was feeling before I went on them.

Glad you didnt get put on Prozac, because thats what they put me on to start with and I told them I was depressed, freaked me out and contributed to alot of problems I had after coming off them, like you i was on them for a week they made me feel 10 times worse, hysterical, frightened of my own self, and crying on the phone to Samaritans, almost on the brink of walking into the pychiatric unit.

It does suprise me what these doctors Who we are supposed to trust will put into us.

Keep me updated on how you are doing xx

hi melissa...and thanks again for your contact!!!! well...im now on day 11...and feeling much much better!!!! still a bit jittery...but been sales shopping today...and no way on this godly planet could i of done that a week ago!!!!! boy is mr doctor gunna get it when i see him again in january!!! haha!!!! im still really shocked he pescribed me these... i really dont think he knows that much about sertraline...as im sure he'd never of suggested it!!!! and let it be a lesson to me too...to always read the leaflet that comes with it!!!! i didnt really know what i was taking...just wanted my bloated stomach and cramps to go!!!! ive never been one for taking anything other than paracetamol!!!! dont get me wrong...if this medication agrees with people that need it...and it makes them feel better...im all for it!!!! just deffo wasnt for me!!!! im hoping another week and it will deffo all be out of my system..and i'll be back to my normal self...running round after the kids...and chatting to everyone that will listen to me!!! haha!!! hope your well melissa.... and keep in touch!!!! thanks for your support...when i really thought i was losing it...it really did help!!! xxxx

hi my dr prescribed me them for depression last week. The first night I took them I didnt sleep at all. I feel nausas, dry mouth, loss of appetite. At the weekend I had severe dirreah. Spoke to dr on Monday who said it was probably a gastro bug and the tablets were making it worse! told me to come off them for a few days til my stomach settled then try again and if I got dirreah again they would know it was the tablets!!! I been off the tablets since monday and still dont feel right. I really dont want to go back on them. I been looking up my symptons and I feel mine may be more related to my menstral cycle than actual depression. I have always suffered bad with them and am ok for 2 weeks and really bad for 2 weeks. think Im gonna lay off tablets til I see dr again

Hi Kim,

I am the same as you, not depressed and have noticed the pattern with my period, good for 2-3 weeks, and was extra anxious for the rest. And it peaked when I got my period.

I read up about it and saw that Sertraline helps this, have been taking Sertraline and Vit B6 for 6 months and I have noticed a big improvement. I am only on 50mg and thats the way I would like to keep it. Sertraline is a good drug that has been worked on and side effects are minimal, I take my tablet at night and sleep fine. I hardly notice I am on the medication now and periods come and go with little distress.

I recomend them for this problem.

HI Melissa,

thanks for replying. I had such a bad experience with them they have put me off!! think Im gonna try reflexology. :arrow: :doh: :weird: :weird:

its true what they say, that what works for one person doesnt always work for another.

I feel ok at moment except for upset tummy still.

I am glad they worked for you xxx :D