female on 50mg sertraline, weight loss/ weight gain?

Hi there,been on sertraline for just over a week now ,prescribed by dr for depression and panic attack.Since starting i have had no appitite at all and in fact have lost a few pounds,this is different for everyone but on the positive side my mood has started to improve and these tabs can take a while to work so u need to stick with them.Hope this is of some help.

Hiya- been on sertraline now for a couple of months; can't say i've noticed any change at all in appetite!

Hi, have been on Sertraline 10 weeks, my weight has stayed exactly the same - I weigh 8st 7lb - size 10. Lost a bit to start as appetite went with tablets, but am eating normally now and I don't think I'm going to gain. The only thing I have gained is a smile on my face again!

By the way, am in my fifties, and more likely to put weight on than younger woman, so don't worry![/b]

Annie?

I'm also in my 50's..and not quite so slim as you, although not huge. However I do put weight on easily.

I've got some sertraline but just daren't take them as i had a very bad experience with Seroxat, where i put on nearly 4 stone over the years.

Do you find Sertraline good? I tried them for a few days a while ago, but they made me so tired and I used to wake up clenching my jaw. I suffer from bad depression and OCD.

Were you prescribed them for depression?

Hope you don't mind all the questions...I'm just interested.

Thanks.

Hi, don't be scared of them, they have helped me lots.

I had bad anxiety & depression, it is nearly 3 months and I really am beginning to feel good and enjoy life again.

I have to say that everyone reacts differently to meds. I had agitation and increased anxiety for a couple of weeks, then some people get upset stomach, I just wasn't hungry, but made sure I did eat as that does help.

I have a very good consultant, who didn't lie to me and said I would have a rough time for a couple of weeks, but I am sensitive to medication, he is also a strong believer in CBT, which I have been doing for 6 weeks, and it really does help. I am lucky, I have a great therapist. who has given me the confidence to face my fears and experience them, and accept them, and it works!

All I can say is that it is not an overnight thing - nor is the way depression anxiety come upon us, so you must have patience (really hard I know when you feel so horrible ) But you will gradually become the person you want to be if you have faith in the course you have decided to take -

My very best wishes, do take the tablets, your doc may give you a few valium to help you through the 1st couple of weeks, if you find you are more anxious. You have taken the step to go & get the meds, so take the next step and start taking them, and believe that you are now in control!

Annie

Thank you for getting back to me Annie. I am going to wait until I see a therapist this coming Tuesday..i have waited nearly three years for this to come about!! I'm hoping that the option for me will be CBT either with, or without medication. We'll see.

Again, my thanks.

How soon did the tablets \"kick in\"... so that you felt some respite from the depression?

Hi Magda

I personally felt better after 2 weeks, but it is an ongoing process, you may not notice - but others will notice a difference, suddenly you find that it is really not so bad, and you aren't constantly checking how you feel, I have found that it has taken a good few weeks to feel good, but that is the nature of Sertraline I think.

I would like to say that I took the medication, and THEN started CBT, my consultant felt I would take in the concept better, and although it seems hard to start with, CBT alters your way of thinking, and you need to be able to concentrate and work with the therapist. I found my consultant was absolutely correct, and the more the Sertraline worked, the more I could apply the CBT to my everyday life. It is not magic, I would not like to deceive you, but you CAN do it and just keep thinking these things I am doing will make my life better....you owe it to yourself.

Please keep posting and let me know how you are doing! I am living proof that it does work, and you will find many positives on this site.

All the very best

Annie

Thanks Annie

I was on anti depressants for such a long time (17 yrs) and have now been off them for just over 30 months, so you can probably see why I feel it's a shame to re-start... however, things have been very bad again of late, along with the lovely old menopause to boot!

Will see what tomorrow brings, and shall take it from there. I have to say though that it is my obsession re the weight gain that scares me. I just weep when i see the pictures of myself when on Seroxat.

Magda, I was on Cipralex for several years, and I was a size 16! It wasn't till I stopped I realised it wasn't me but the drug! Never be worried about going back on AD's, a well meaning doctor put me on Lorazepam (tranquilizer) and after 2 months I was addicted and so dopey all day....I am now (with help) tapering off. AD's help you feel 'normal' again, and you (like me) probably need to be on them. I don't think the Sertraline is having the same effect weight wise at all, I am by no means denying myself treats - but am just being careful but not dieting.

The jolly old menopause nearly drove me round the bend, it was when my depression & anxiety got bad, but thanks to AD's I came through with flying colours (& hot flushes)!!!!!

Good luck tomorrow - I will think of you.

Annie