Need some hope
Posted , 9 users are following.
Hi All
background story; I have had GAD as long as i can remember. I have been on / off antidepressants since early 20s I am now 34. I had a baby 16 months ago and since then i cant get my anxiety stable again. I was lexapro 20mg from March' 19 to Jan' 20. I met with a psychiatrist which added in mirtazapine the end of Nov '19. I continued to cycle in & out of anxiety / depression epsiodes so my psych wanted me to switch over to sertraline. I made the switch the end of Jan '20. I felt okay tapering off lexapro and for the first two weeks of sertraline. First week was at 50mg, second week i increased to 100mg. After two weeks I was hit with side effects; nausea, headaches, heightened anxiety, no appetite for about 10 days. I am now on sertraline 33 days (1 week at 50 & almost 4 weeks on increased dose). I am terrified this medication will not work for me. Every day I wake up and panic that I dont feel better. My main symptoms at the moment are anxiety and the low mood that is accompanying it. I felt good for one day last saturday. I have been out of work the past two weeks because of this. Can anyone give me some positive stories / hope? i still take mirtazapine at night to. Thanks for taking the time to read
0 likes, 19 replies
lee48631 Croga
Edited
Ive also been on 100 for 7 weeks now after 13 weeks on 50 also mirtazapine at night.Much same as you feel like its never going to work.But ive had minor improvement from how i was,a very bad place indeed,im still a million miles from where id like to be but carrying on hoping for minor improvements again even.Keep going for up to 12 weeks im hearing on each dose.Im a man of 40 and never thought id get like this.Keep going with it it will get better for you.
Croga
Edited
Thanks for taking the time to reply to me Lee. Unfortunately its an illness that doesnt discriminate and anyone is vulnerable to it. I am sorry you are going through the same. Its not easy. I spoke with my psychiatrist this morning and she said to keep going with this dosage for another few weeks to give it a proper trial. But as it is with mental health - theres no black & white its all gray. I wish she could tell me its going to be sh*t for x amount of weeks then you will get better.
lee48631 Croga
Posted
Not as simple as that is it wish it was hope you can get where you need to be mentally do what your doctor says you will get better.
c53732 Croga
Posted
Croga l feel just the same but no one can give direct answers. This forum does help, to read about people with similar problems gives encouragement and makes it easier to keep taking the tablets. We have to believe the tablets will work and it is not going to be easy, if it were simple l guess most of the population would be taking them.
sue74917 Croga
Edited
HI Croga As you probably know by now 33 days is still early. It is a shame that you increased so quickly but it is what it is now. Yes you will feel like rubbish and yes you will quite often think I can't go on taking these anymore , however the fact that you felt good even for one day is a. sign that something is happening.
If your baby was trying to build a tower with building blocks then he\she would not be successful on their first attempt and it may take many attempts to get there, these drugs are trying to do the same with the chemicals in your brain, build them to work at a normal level, it unfortunately is not going to happen over night but with time and patience, which I know is oh so hard to muster, you will get stronger and you will get through this
Croga sue74917
Edited
Thank you for taking the time out to reply to me Sue. I just followed my doctors prescription increasing to 100mg. As i said in the heading I was looking for some hope. I expected side effects and to feel crap for a while but i did think i would be feeling better by now. I think my big problem is expecting to wake up one morning and be better. Do you think there is still chance for improvement
sue74917 Croga
Posted
Yes of course there is hope for improvement, it will not happen over night, you will not just suddenly wake up one morning and be back to normal but you will find lots of small improvements as time goes on and the medication settles, at first it will just be an evening or a whole day, like you had on Saturday, it has helped some people to keep a diary so that when you think you are going backwards or not seeing any improvement you can look back and see just how far you have really come.
You are stronger then you think and with the added motivation of wanting to enjoy yourself with your baby you will get there
c53732 Croga
Posted
We have a discussion going on. l am pleased to be in touch. My doctor hasn't prescribed mirtazapine to help with sleep, I will ask.
l have some friends who are encouraging me to stick with it, they have experience and say it does work, not easy but worth it in the end.
Guest c53732
Posted
I wouldn't recommend adding Mirtazapine just to help with sleep. It is a powerful antidepressant and comes with its own side effects.
See if you can get your GP to prescribe some Melatonin, it is the natural sleep hormone that your body produces to induce sleep and is therefore not addictive and you don't feel groggy in the morning. You can also import it online from the USA where it is available as a dietary supplement.
c53732 Guest
Posted
Thanks. l do have some melatonin 2 mg tablets. Do you take them at night? I am on day 12 of 25 mg of sertraline, some improvement at times but nausea a major problem and the anxiety of not sleeping doesn't help. l do so want to give these tablets a try.
sue74917 c53732
Posted
C you can take travel sickness tablets to help ease the nausea. with regards to the not sleeping make sure you do some physical movement, you may feel mentally worn out but you also need to be physically tired as well. I used to go for a walk every day. only a mile to my local shop and back, some days it was hard and felt like I was going to die! obviously I didn't but it did help and I did feel like I had achieved something, baby steps my friend and you will get there
c53732 sue74917
Posted
Thanks Sue. Do have some travel sickness pills that l can try. Having said that the side effects today seem to have changed and the nausea has eased off and l have felt totally heady and spaced out all day. l will try and get out tomorrow and get some fresh air.Your help is gratefully received.
Guest c53732
Posted
Yes you take them at night which is when your body naturally produces melatonin but maybe not enough to get you to sleep. Thanks, Ned
Guest c53732
Posted
Travel sickness pills are just mild sleeping tablets. If you are struggling with nausea you should ask your doctor for some anti-nausea medications.
BulldozerMcr Croga
Posted
Hi Croga! I was on 50 for 12 weeks, didnt help so upped to 100mg 3 and a half weeks ago. I am terrified too it will not work for me! Most people say the 3rd and the 4th weeks are the worst, lets hope we will get some relief soon! I have already had one goodish day like you, most people say its a good sign, hope its true! I have 1 or 2 anxiety attacks per day when its really bad lasts about 1-2 hours and my mood is really low with lots of intrusive thoughts, so my symptoms are similar. I wish you the best!