Newbie but very concerned

Hello, from my experience it hindered my sleep for only the first 3 nights, I would wake up feeling nauseous and get up and feel crap then only be able to doze on and off. 

My doctor advised that my anxiety and low mood would heighten for the first couple of weeks whilst my body got use to it - is that what you were told? 

Not sure about pregnancy or headaches. 

Can you go and see another doctor to get some more reliable advise? Pharmacists can also be helpful with any questions and often know more then doctors. In a lot of chemists they have private rooms. I spoke to pharmacists a few times at the beginning and then when I was stopping and always found the advice to be reliable & correct :-)

Firstly welcome, 

Secondly its unfortunate to say that your doctor must be useless or is palming you off with something he thinks is a miracle pill.

Sertraline takes most people 6 to 8 weeks to feel any benifit. Sleepless nights is also a very common side effect but you may or may not get any side effects, so are headaches they are common too. The sertraline is good but not to start with as your body adjusts, i wish and pray for you that it is an instant thing but im on the fence with what your doctor says. 

Good luck

It doesnt work straight away, at least not in my experience. I also found 50mg to be very low and ineffective so am on 100mg which is better, but it does take weeks to work. I didnt get many side effects and slept ok, but it does take time to actually work. 

I have been on 50 mgs for 18 mths now, it seems ok for me. Side effects were nausea, for first week can't remember anything else. Pharmacist said take in the morning as it can distrupt sleep. For me I reckon it took a few weeks to have full affective ness. Then again not everybody gets side effects it's worth persevering. Good luck x 

I agree with all comments so far'

 - I took mine in the morning.

- I was only ever on 50mg and that was fine for me. Everyone's different tho   

- side effects lessen after a few weeks

- takes a few weeks to start working and feel a difference. 

Hi Rosa,

I have been taking Zoloft 50 mg for a few months and as soon as the medication started to kick in I stopped sleeping. I gained over 30 pounds and just recently I started to feel horrible pain in my knees. I sometimes feel loopy, like a bit off. Oh and I'm always exhausted. I am actually on day 2 of weaning myself off. I was taking them for minor depression and headaches. 

For the past week I have been reading into the side effects because of the strange pain in my knees. When I read further, I freaked out and immediately looked for ways ty o get this medication out of my system. 

I spoke to a nutritionist yesterday and she explained any imbalance can be treated naturally and that is what I am going for.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here who have a lot of experience with these meds and well based on how I feel right this very second, I want nothing to do with it.

Hope you find your way

Cecy

i started taking 50mg in the mornings, side effects started the same nite, sweating, cant sleep, lack of concentration, general feeling unwell, they didnt really calm down, but i felt better in myself, but i hated the side effects and went back to the doctor, had a good chat and decided to change my tablets, citalapram had worked great for me in the past, but it took me ages to have a pee, but last time i tried them, i felt worse, have tried not taking any medication for the last 4 days, but today i feel terrible, very low mood, feeling quite moody, head and eyes very blured, have had a row with my wife, [my fault] now sitting here on my day off work feeling sorry for myself, going to start new tablets today, good look with the serts

Hi Rosa,

Seems strange info from GP. Been on Sertraline 3mths. 50mg then up to 75mg. Now,side effects slight headache,thirst,suppressed appetite. Nothing too bad I sleep well on them, vivid dreams as of late. They do take time to work but definitely take the 'edge' of my depression. Don't look for side effects I know it's hard. I do feel they are helping.Still early days.

  Regards Claire.

Hi,

I think you need to see another GP or a pharmacist as no SSRI works straightaway.

I took Sertraline for 3 years, had a 1 year break and have just gone back on it in the last 10 days. I can honestly say that for me the first 2 weeks are pretty rotten, but after that you'd never know you were taking anything. I get very sleepy and suffer with nausea - I also get quite snappy when I'm due to take a pill. I know it will calm down in a few days though so I'm not worried, especially as I know that my anxiety will be brought back under control.

The important thing to remember is that everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to different drugs. Over the last 18 years I've been on Seroxat, Dothiepin, Prozac, Citalopram and Sertraline - for me, Sertraline is the best. I had terrible issues with the other drugs.

You have to weigh up a few nasty side effects (at the start) against trying to cope with your mental health issues. For me, it's a no brainer....

hi dont worry there is away round this. im on 50mg sertraline side effects i got was not eating and sweating i am now on 50mg sert and 15mg mirtz at night, the mirtz counter acts the site effects of sertraline plus the mirtz helps you sleep. hope this is of some help. julie

Hi Rosa,

I was very reluctant to take any type of chemical. Sertraline 50mg amazed me within a few days. I was extremely tearful which was greatly improved. After some months I went to 100mg. This did not agree with me and returned to 50. Now a year on I am planning to come off them completely. I cannot recall any side effects. Good luck.