Is sertraline for me?
Posted , 12 users are following.
I switched from citalopram to sertraline nearly 5 and a half weeks ago. 50mg of sertraline.
I cant stop shaking all day and evening. my back and leg muscles really ache. like I have flu.
my negative thoughts are constant
my mood has dropped so low and my anxiety is sky high. very panicky.
I just seem to be getting worse and really dont know what to do.
everyone says keep carrying on but I cant get across how crap I feel right now.
the past few days seem to just be getting harder and harder.
any advise or experience would be greatly appreciated.
don't feel like I can carry on much longer if I don't improve soon x
feeling defeated and scared right now
0 likes, 35 replies
Eliaimee1970 Potatoghost
Posted
hello
perhaps you need to cut the meds in half for a week until your body get used to . my doctor want to gave me 50 mg and I said no i want the lowest dose so he gave me 25 mg and i was having palpitations so i cut it in half and i been taking it for about 2 weeks and i dont have those symptoms. Also let your doctor know what is going on i hope you feel better
Potatoghost Eliaimee1970
Posted
thank you I just spoke to my gp and he said he thinks 50mg is too low and it's my anxiety causing the shakeyness and stuff rather than the tablets.
he wants me to go up to 75mg or 100mg. x
sue74917 Potatoghost
Posted
potato I am right in thinking you were on quite a high dose of citalopram? if that was the case then what you are describing in how you feel, sounds more like withdrawal rather then start up side effects, you were on cit for a long time and taking that away and replacing it with a low dose of another ad is probably not hitting the spot. plus you said the citalopram stopped working for you, that does not mean you will not have any trouble stopping it, the chemical element would still have been in your system, it is time I think my friend to increase, try 75 for 2 weeks and see how you feel at the end of that time, if some improvement then stick on that dose for a while, if you still feel you are getting worse then up it to the 100, you could do a 100 straight off but I think your system would not take it at the moment. You CAN do this, take yourself for a walk and a talk, think about all the people in your life you need to get better for, your wife, your son and most importantly you
Potatoghost sue74917
Posted
sue...... what an amazing and supportive reply. thank you so much!
I was on 20mg for 5 years then 40mg for 14 weeks
you know what withdrawal didn't really cross my mind tbh because I wasn't getting brain zaps or anything x I have a pill cutter and and will definitely go to 75mg first before 100mg
did you find that 50mg wasn't enough for you when you switched.
can withdrawals still be going on this long after stopping?
I'm scared to increase as starting made me feel really panicky. dont know if that was just my anxiety as it is though so not sure x
thank you sue x
sue74917 Potatoghost
Posted
withdrawal comes in different shapes and forms, as does start up side effects, you will not necessarily have brain zaps and yes it is possible to still be in withdrawal because of the amount of time you took the drug, although the actual medication if you were tested, may not be in your system the effect it had on the chemicals and functions in your brain are still searching for it, obviously it is a bit more complex then that but being an intelligent person I am sure you get my drift. then you have the low dose of sertraline which is trying it's best to compensate but maybe is not quite enough for you, add to the mix that you are so anxious about getting better and depressed because it is taking so long and you have the perfect storm. Sertraline comes in 25's so ask you Dr for 50 and 25 to start with, that way you will be getting a constant level
sue74917 Potatoghost
Posted
and in answer to your question, 50 at the moment is good for me but that is because I was only on 20 of citalopram for 6 weeks, 6 months in total on lower doses, and I still had some withdrawal side effects over the first 4 weeks
Potatoghost sue74917
Posted
thanks sue x what was your dose that worked for you on citalopram? just 10mg.
so the achy muscles sound like withdrawal rather than start ups? x
Potatoghost
Posted
sorry sue ignore my last message I didn't see your message above lol.
it does actually make sense and would be completely reasonable to think I am on too low of a dose.
that's really helped knowing this could be the case rather than I'm just simply getting worse on sertraline so I feel a lot more at ease x
my doctor said they don't come in 25mg and I know they do so I bought a pill cutter so I can make sure I'm getting the same amount each time. fingers crossed that the increase helps once the initial increased anxiety goes x
I thought the achy muscles was strange six weeks in tbh x and not at the beginning x
weenett Potatoghost
Posted
imho sert is a far better med than cit but the shakey ness will b withdrawal of the cit an poss start of sert also ur increased anxiety if you were on 20 mg of cit id def try 75 of sert as 50 mg seems to not be helping much and 4-6 weeks is the general rule to see some even tiny improvement. i never really got on with cit and honestly at the correct dose find sert to b far better. ask ur gp for some diazipam for when things r tough they are a god send if used sparingly. hang in their bud
Potatoghost weenett
Posted
thank you so much for your reply x everyone says 12 weeks on 50mg but what you and sue are saying really does make sense tbh. I don't feel any improvement at all really so I think increasing will be a good idea x hope you are well on sertraline yourself x 😊
everyone keeps saying withdrawals should have finished by now but I'm not too sure myself x thank you!
can I ask how you found switching? x
weenett Potatoghost
Posted
no worse than how crap i was feeling anyway tbh. i had crap side effects and anxiety so its quite crap but once ur on the right dose i noticed tiny periods of feeling like myself i mean minutes at a time then gradually i got to the point when i realised i hadnt thought abt feeling crap or anxious all day. i also noticed my irrational thoughts were less and i wasnt scared of the crippling anxiety anymore.
it all depends on how ur anxiety and or depression manifests. id def say if no improvement increase ur just delaying feeling better. took me abt 3-4 weeks on the right med and dose to feel slight improvements
jGloucs Potatoghost
Posted
Hi Potatoghost,
I don't have any experience with Citalopram, but withdrawal sounds like a real possibility. My first thought was to up the sertraline as sue said, but I would definitely only go to 75mg. You can always come back down to 50mg. You give such supportive comments to so many people on here, I really hope things improve for you. You really deserve it and have worked so hard. I know how exausting it is, as do so many people on here.
Potatoghost jGloucs
Posted
thank you! that's really nice of you to say it really does help when seeing messages like this so thank you Jgloucs! that is a good point that actually I can always drop back down if it's too much cant I.
it's so difficult to decide sometimes when everyone is adamant about the 12 weeks x
lois95799 Potatoghost
Posted
potato you also have to take in consideration most of the folks that are adament about 12 weeks are also taking a benzo regularly for those added anxietys .
Potatoghost lois95799
Posted
good point lois. I think its gonna be time soon to whack out the benzo isnt it 😅 x
Grounded Potatoghost
Posted
Nothing at all wrong with taking it while you're still waiting for it to work, thats for sure!