Double the dose, double the side effects??
Posted , 7 users are following.
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
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 gabrielle34731
Posted
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 gabrielle34731
Posted
I would listen to my doctor rather than my family to be honest ..unless your family are health professionals of
🦄🦄🦄🦄🦄
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 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 gabrielle34731
Posted
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 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 gabrielle34731
Posted
I’ve just taken my first 100mg dose so fingers crossed.......
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