New to site, several questions.
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi all. New to site. I started my dosage of Sertraline 1/1. I've been resisting taking meds for my anxiety/fretfulness for a long time. I'm just tired of it controlling my life. I wake up and every day is "Ground Hog Day". Same worries start all over again.
I am to take 50 mg first 4 days and then go to 100. I'm a big guy, very healthy and active. I was at a point the anxiousness turned to light panic and I felt my breathing diminished.
Had my first 2 50mg doses about 12 hours apart. Then all the next day I felt wired, hyper. Even anxious. I ended up taking a Loprezam at night to calm myself a bit. I don't like taking that "whenever" I'm wired. Hopefully the Sertraline will settle that down after the 2 -3 weeks it takes to be effective??
Many questions yet, but I want a better quality of life!
0 likes, 7 replies
alba84420 joe71985
Posted
Hey, that seems like a pretty fast upping of the dose. I took 25mg for a week, then 50mg until now (5th week). I have barely started to see a decrease in side-effects, but the benefits are definitely there!
So 2-3 weeks might be enough for you, but for me the 3rd and 4th week were the roughest. Good luck!
joe71985 alba84420
Posted
So do you think the 50 mg. doses so soon may be causing me to feel a bit agitated? I had a 6 month exam with a different physician (different physical condition) yesterday and my tests / blood work was super. But, all day I felt anxious and jittery. Then (I've had a very bad sinus congestion for several weeks ) I felt a bit winded and that got me anxious. Today, day 3 of sertraline, I am again feeling a bit anxious. I took my med 1 3/4 hour ago (50 mg).
I have a follow up visit with dr. tomorrow afternoon. I'll ask him about all this. He did prescribe some lozepram for me as well. Maybe this is for the interim anxiousness I may feel? All this make me nervous. I'm a bit intimidated and reluctant to take the anti depressant med. But, I need to try something. Thanks for you reply!
joe71985 alba84420
Posted
What side effects have you been experiencing? I've always been very healthy and side effects tend to get me anxious anyway. I am not sure what to expect here. The anxious feeling is bad enough.
I certainly don't want to rely daily on the Lozepram to calm me down.
alba84420 joe71985
Posted
It is so early for you that you might feel all over the place but I think it's normal! There's no harm in staying at 50mg until you settle instead of jumping to 100mg.
My side effects involved night sweats and fatigue mostly. I felt so tired all the time and it just started to go away a couple of days ago, thankfully to be able to come to work. I almost gave up a couple of times.
A couple of tips from me would be to take it at the same time each day (I took it at night initially but woke up during the night, so now I take it at 1pm). Take it after you ea a bit and with a lot of water. Other than that I don't think there's much.
Maybe your anxiety will go away. Before starting them I had been with high anxiety for 2 whole months, every day. Now I feel normal and actually happy and capable to do stuff even if I am tired. Let me know if you have other questions.
joe71985 alba84420
Posted
yea, I ran on tread mill three weeks ago, and walked 1 1/2 miles on hilly terrain Christmas weekend. But, with the sinus congestion, I'm feeling winded just talking at length. That's adding to my anxiety. Of course, when you can only breathe 50 percent through your nose, it's difficult to operate.
I'll keep pushing here and discuss with my doctor tomorrow afternoon. Only side effect I'm feeling now is anxious and a bit jittery. I am not gasping for air, so I think it's all in my head. 2 doctor visits in last 3 days both showed high O2 levels and great blood counts. It kind of goes with anxiety symtoms.
Thanks! Nice to visit about this.
sandi77808 joe71985
Posted
Keep in mind that this drug is notoriously s l o o o w acting. Like, it took my daughter almost 3 months to get relief from her depression but now she is doing amazing. Many people go off it too early, thinking that it isn't working - but if you stay on it and it works for you, it can be a miracle. It was for my daughter. If you go up in dosage, the side effects can start again (although usually not as bad in the beginning) and also the benefits take a while to be seen after each dosage increase. But they shouldn't up your dose until you've been on the current dose for a few weeks. Also I think there should be 24 hours between each dose? You said 12 hours. That may have been too soon to take another dose?
gigi_53018 joe71985
Posted
hi joe and welcome! please keep in mind the fact that this drug is super slow reacting but beyond amazing . you will feel relief soon! i can relate to your story - i felt the same. i swore i would never get on meds but im so happy i did.