One person's journey with sertraline

Day 22 on 100 MG: I still have the personality trait of waking up in a mental grog (I'm not a morning person), but the dark heavy mental fog is gone. I don't have to push through this dark heavy opaque cloud anymore just to function. Instead, I slowly greet the day with stretching and prayers. No depression, but a peaceful (albeit slow) awakening seems to have become my new norm. Minimum to no headaches. No social anxiety. I have a greater ability to roll with the punches

ps. i forgot to mention the social anxiety.. i would say in the space of 3 weeks or so, i have gone from 'dont like people, and dont want to work (for the single reason of not wanting to mix with people)' ---- to:  i'm starting a new job at the end of this month and cant wait to meet and have some fun with the new people i meet and make new friends.

(thank you sertraline!)

Day 22 on 100 mg (Day 41 on sertraline):  This is amazing.  I went to a concert last night with my husband, and the music was 3D!  We've been married 39 years, and my musical husband has often commented how live music was so much richer than CDs or radio.  I never could tell much difference, and just attributed it to him being musical.  But last night, I could HEAR the swirling sounds in 3D; it sounds so much richer than the gorgeous 2D music I had enjoyed for years.  It was a chamber concert, and each instrument had its own voice, which then floated around in the air, mixing into a 3D sound.  Also, when I went to the restroom at intermission, I realized it was the first time I had ever used the bathroom there without crying in the stall.  Every other time, I'd hide in that stall in our small town theatre and cry, to let some tension/ depression express itself so I could return and act normal.  I have enjoyed every time we've gone to a concert/program there, I just always needed an outlet to hide and cry to get through.  (And being 60, we do frequent bathrooms more than at 20 ??).  

Since I'm on these types of topics, again, I have experienced no sexual dysfunction symptoms.  If anything, not hiding and crying for a minute or so regularly in the bathroom gives us more time together ??.  

Also, I have only a few times in my life experienced hunger, I instead get a low blood sugar "whoosh" warning that signals I need to eat NOW.  I am used to eating every 3 hours anyway.  I did not experience the "no appetite" symptoms others have reported.  I did have to force myself to eat the first few weeks, but I attributed that to needing to push through the headaches.

I was aware when I started that I will be most likely on meds for life.  I am hoping this sertraline will remain effective for the rest of my life.  I have had to accept the fact that my body will be on asthma meds for life, and have learned to be grateful for them. It helps me to imagine that the chemicals I put in my body will do their job, and if I work hard to eat well, my body will properly dispose of the chemical residue, as long as I don't overwhelm it with junk food, alcohol, etc.  

Day 24 on 100 mg: Oh my, no alcohol for me! One third of a chocolate liquor mousse dessert, and it felt like I've had 3-4 drinks! I'm glad I didn't eat the whole thing.

Day 26 on 100mg : Here's a repeat summary of my journey; Before sertraline, I woke up in depression every morning, often with suicidal thoughts. Things would usually be brighter by noon. I'd be quite functional by afternoons, only needing to take 1-3 breaks to cry in the bathroom to relieve depression. My stonach hurt nightly. I'd battle dizziness and ADD hyperactivity and distraction at various times. I have worked very hard over the years to cultivate a peaceful and authentic life.

Fasr forward to 26 days on 100 mg:

No depression, no suicidal feeling. Social anxiety is no longer an issue. Being very introverted is still there. The stomach pain at night has disappeared (I hope it stays gone!) I may be having less headaches than before sertraline, not sure yet. I still am ADD at times, still have the amount of dizziness I had before. I no longer look for bathrooms to cry in.

Day 28 on 100 MG: Went for a check up with my doctor, he's concerned I still have headaches. He said other meds in the same family would have different side effects. We decided to go another month to see if headaches diminish. I am very happy with the results, and feel that 2-4 exedrine migraine pills a day is nothing compared to the benefits of sertraline. We both feel the headaches are diminishing. I'm thrilled to have my mornings back, very grateful for no depression. I now need to change my decades old life pattern of always looking for social escape routes and bathrooms to cry in.

We're off for a week of camping, hiking and a raft trip. I am so grateful for this med.

What an amazing journey Kathy and ty for sharing. I'm on 50mg so not hard core like you lol. I have always been really scared abut taking ads but I got so fed up trying to cure myself and just exsist that I went for help. I'm 47 and since the age of 19 I have had panic attacks and anxiety.

Anyway I took the bull by the horns and took sertaline 25 for about two weeks and now I'm on 50 for another two weeks.

Like you said it's a very rocky road to start with but I can honestly say I'm starting to feel so much better. Sometimes I worry a little as everything looks so much brighter and I'm having happy thoughts and not worrying as much. I feel lost sometimes as I am so used to having this black dog on my shoulder.. I sometimes go looking for it as it's been part of me for so long.

I would say anyone who hesitates about taking sertaline shouldn't and just do it.. the end result is worth it.

Don't get me wrong I'm still having bad moments but they now are few and far between

Good luck all on this journey

Day 34 on 100 mg: in my teens and early 20's. I remember waking up groggy with a morning fog. Then the depression came, and overpowered / overshadowed the groggyness. Now the depression is gone, and I'm back to my early 20's morning fog... i wonder if my face will look 20 again :-P. rather than 60... Today I had the energy to hike 10+ miles in the mountains. We foraged wild blueberries, raspberries rose hips and squawberries. No depression at all. Just a few negative thoughts to swat away. I thank God for sertraline.

Day 53, but Day 35 on 100 mg:  I woke up with jokes running through my head!  Then I started obsessing over the fact that I'm thin, and my doctor had noted that I was losing weight, just 2 pounds, but he said that was 2% of my body weight.  Too bad, I'm not going to worry about it.  I shall just eat more pie and put weights in my pockets when I go to be weighed next (just joking).  Then I realized that I sincerely feel I've lost 2 pounds of depression from inside my brain, and I feel happily light with no heaviness in my skull.  I am cheerful, not weighted down with that heavy weight of the two pounds of depression that Sertraline has slowly removed.  The sertraline is like one man with a pickax and wheelbarrow hired to remove a wall.  As soon as things start to look better, he smashes more of the wall with his pickax, and it's a mess again ... But you see there's hope for that wall to be removed.  You just have to hang on until the job's done.