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Double the dose, double the side effects??

Posted , 7 users are following.

gabrielle34731
gabrielle34731

Hi all! I'm supposed to increase my sertraline tomorrow from 50mg to 100mg but am really scared!! I'm so anxious at the minute...all other initial side effects I.e. Drowsiness and nausea have subsided, and I'm so afraid that I'll be even more anxious for another 2 weeks. The thoughts of having to cope with that is overwhelming! I have pharmacists and GP's telling me to go ahead with the 100mg tomorrow...I wonder have any of them actually taken this drug before! Any advice would be much appreciated.

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Hoopz
    Hoopz gabrielle34731

    Posted

    I was supposed to increase mine from 50 to 100 four days ago but I've gone to 75 cos i was scared like you. My side effects are back but not as brutal as before. Still horrible though. At least I knew what to expect. I have a really nasty stinky cold as well so that doesn't help.

    Good luck ..whatever you decide to do

    🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄

  • monica78865
    monica78865 gabrielle34731

    Posted

    How long have you been on 50mg?  I’ve been on 50 for a little over 5 weeks and I’m starting to feel much better finally but I saw my psychiatrist today and he said that we need to wait at least another 6 weeks to get full effect and see if the 50 will work before increasing. I think you should give it 8-10 weeks before increasing it and then go up to 75 instead of the big jump to 50. I would be super scared to increase too. Those side effects are so nasty. Good luck!
    • gabrielle34731
      gabrielle34731 monica78865

      Posted

      Hi Monica and thank you for your reply/ I've been on 50mg for 2 weeks now. My family are adamant that it is my own anxiety and not any heightened anxiety from the medication that I'm experiencing. I know ho I felt before I started and I've also read lots of posts that seem to confirm  my thinking that the medication magnifies your own symptoms fo a while. It's very frustrating when I professionals telling me to do one thing and family telling me to do another! Hope you're feeling better soon xx

    • Hoopz
      Hoopz gabrielle34731

      Posted

      I would listen to my doctor rather than my family to be honest ..unless your family are health professionals of

      🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄

  • john15630
    john15630 gabrielle34731

    Posted

    I agree with Monica stay on 50mg for longer as it took me 10 weeks on 50mg and it's working for me x

    • gabrielle34731
      gabrielle34731 john15630

      Posted

      Thank you John. It's so difficult when, at 16 days I'm not seeing any improvement and neither is my family and I'm being pressured to up the dose. They're saying it's not the side effect of the drug, it's my own anxiety that I'm experiencing and that if I up the dose it will work. Even the psychiatrist said I might experience some nausea with an increase in dose but nothing else. So many people on this forum who are actually taking this medication have completely different opinions to the psychiatrist. I'm tending towards trusting actual experience of it instead of experience through reading about it as the psychiatrist will have done. So hard at the mo. Hugs, Gabrielle x

  • WaffleDog
    WaffleDog gabrielle34731

    Posted

    Hi,

    I’ve been on Sertraline 50mg for a week now and my doctor has just called me to say he wants me to up my dose to 100mg as of tonight. 

    How were the side effects for you when you increased your dose? I’m worried about how I’m going to feel as the past 7 days have been awful!!! 

    Thanks

    • gabrielle34731
      gabrielle34731 WaffleDog

      Posted

      Hi waffledog. To answer your question: every time I increased the dose I experienced an increase in side effects. I went from 50mg to 100mg, then to 125mg and am now on 150mg. I'd say I've only felt real improvement after around 4 weeks on 150mg. I got through the side effects of dose increases by using 2mg diazepam 2 or 3 times a day for a few days. Don't be afraid to ask for something to help you cope while the seetrline is settling into your system. Hope you feel better soon xx

  • WaffleDog
    WaffleDog gabrielle34731

    Posted

    Thank you for your reply.

    I’ve just taken my first 100mg dose so fingers crossed.......

  • MadwomaninAttik
    MadwomaninAttik gabrielle34731

    Posted

    Well, you are certainly correct. You might feel more anxious, or you might not. When I had my dose increased from 100 mg to 150 mg I honestly felt all sorts of things. The first week was panic attacks and anxiety non stop. The 2nd week was this euphoric and manic high like I could accomplish anything. The third week I was rather depressed and crying every morning and evening. Weeks 4, 5 , and 6 I saw a light at the end of the tunnel and started to feel somewhat like myself. Week 7, 8, and part of 9 I was depressed again and crying a lot. I'm on week 10 right now and not depressed, nor am I on a euphoric manic high, I almost feel like a neutral me, on the other hand I had a panic attack this morning which by the way, my panic attacks I used to get on a daily basis, I now get maybe a really bad one once or twice a month and smaller ones maybe once a week. Anyways, I managed to convince myself to try a xanax that my doctor had prescribed three months ago. I freaked out for about 10 minutes and then it kicked in and I felt normal again.

    The thing is, the medication has to stabilize in your body before you can see any results. It takes a while. During week 9 I seriously considered trying a different medication but i want to try this for at least 12 weeks before moving on.

    I hope you feel better smile

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