1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Sertraline

Please help I'm trying everything. Been prescribed sertraline?

Posted , 7 users are following.

rowenasurio1
rowenasurio1

I have struggled with depression and anxiety for years. I also have ibs which doesn't help as it makes it worse.

i have been on fluoxetine, however started to be ineffective so they put me on citalopram which did work for my depression and anxiety and is apparently the best for ibs however it did nothing for my ibs.

after seeing specialists, holistic therapists, and soooooo many doctors for my ibs, my recent doctor has said basically "sertraline is something you haven't tried for ibs; that could work for your ibs as well as helping the d and a." I was like yeh do it, let's try everything. 

I was on 40mg citalopram and he told me to reduce it by 10mg a week for a month. Done, however after 3rd day of no citalopram at all, I had all the side effects Iv read on this forum; dizziness, head zaps, electric shocks, anger, extremely emotional etc.

I am a full time worker with quite a full on PA type offic manager job. I'm so scared about starting sertraline after all the side effects Iv read. The side effects Iv had from withdrawal of citalopram have made me pretty dysfunctional this week.

should I take sertraline? Has it helped any ibs suffereres? Or anxietysufferers? How long did you experience these "high" type symptoms for?

anything you can say I would be so grateful for. Thank you for reading xx

1 like, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Yorkshire
    Yorkshire rowenasurio1

    Posted

    Hiya, I've been on sertraline for 6+ months now. I don't have diagnosed ibs but have suffered for years with painful bloating - usually associated with certain foods. 

    Since taking sertraline, I very rarely bloat. It's made me more constipated then anything else, but not in a bad way. 

    It took 2 weeks for the initial side effects, the first 4 days were really crap. I then went up and down for 6 weeks but totally manageable and work could be a good distraction! 

    Sertraline really helped me with terrible anxiety and low mood. I've since finished counselling and looking at weaning off them soon. 

    • rowenasurio1
      rowenasurio1 Yorkshire

      Posted

      Bloating for me is the worst part. It makes me soselfconcious and my confidence has just dropped even further. So the fact it helped someone is music to my ears. I will try anything if it has helped someone as I'm running out of options. Thank u so much for sharing xx
    • Yorkshire
      Yorkshire rowenasurio1

      Posted

      No problem! I think anxiety had a lot to do with my ibs symtoms. If I felt anxious I would need to use the loo immediately as food would go straight through me. 

      Good luck with it. I started my sertraline on a weekend to get the first couple of days over with whilst in my own time. I have a great family who were an amazing distraction, so anytime I felt down and had heightened anxiety in the first week, I distracted myself by just going and sitting with them. It took time but I feel great now. My brain sees things more reasonably and I can deal with life so much better.

      I have a child and just about managed the symptoms so he didn't realise :-)

      Hope all goes well xx

  • kim86725
    kim86725 rowenasurio1

    Posted

    Can't comment on the Ibs, it did help with depression, I took it for 14 yrs., took myself off 10 wks. ago. It is a very good drug, just thought it was time to get off. Good luck to you. This site is very good for info. and encouragement.
  • livvyosc1
    livvyosc1 rowenasurio1

    Posted

    It does take a while to switch over from one type of medication to another. You will experience some symptoms. I am afraid that IBS can be part and parcel of stress in general. I have had symptoms for years. You mustn't let doctors fob you off though. If you feel that you may need further investigation into stomach pain, you should insist that it is checked out. I have heard a few cases where doctors have put pain down to having ibs, but have failed to investigate further. It is difficult for me to say how long I experienced these high symptoms for, because I have bipolar type 1 disorder, but it took a few months to kick in. Hope this helps. All the best.
    • rowenasurio1
      rowenasurio1 livvyosc1

      Posted

      I feel like the doctors are useless and don't care. Thank you for your advice. Xx
  • kim86725
    kim86725 rowenasurio1

    Posted

    The Doctors are clueless, but sometimes you have to keep after them if you want relief. Just remember if you are hopeless there are people on here that care. Good luck to you.
  • tanya91091
    tanya91091 rowenasurio1

    Posted

    Sertraline gave me microscopic colitis which took a long time to diagnose as it can only be diagnosed by looking at a biopsy (or many) under a microscope. By the time it was diagnosed i had been on long term sick for months becuse it went from loose bowels to graduating onto crapping myself. This colitis is common in 60 - 80 year olds and i was 37 at the time (this was the crap excuse my consultant told me after fighting for tests as he was sure it was IBS and that was that. Within days of changing from Sertaline to Amytriptyline the bowel movements started to improve but took 3 months of high dose steroids to calm inflammation completely.

    Since then ive found out Sertsline causes bowel issues quite a lot. Why not ask about old fashioned ampytriptline? gps dont want to use it theses days becuse they say it had lots of side effects yet its been prescibed for years and years and we know more about it than newer meds like Sertaline. The only downside to Amytripline is you take it at night but approx 8 hours before needing to get up so your not drowsy the next day. I get a great sleep and am much calmer and positive now.

    • kim86725
      kim86725 tanya91091

      Posted

      Hi Tanya, can't believe we have to get on a site like this to find answers that our Doctors go to school for yrs. to learn about and are still clueless! It may seem like I have an attitude about Doctors, rightfully so!
    • tanya91091
      tanya91091 kim86725

      Posted

      I think everyone is more of an expert on there own body than some of the medical profession. My main GP was really supportive with me issue but trying to get an appointment with a consultant at the bloody hospital took months and then he plainly stated it was 'typical IBS' gave me another medication that countless gp's had tried over months and countless faddy diets to 'heal' my insides and gluten free etc etc. When my gp insisted the consultant see me again in four weeks and i saw him he took some blood then told me again it was IBS and probably caused by my own anxiety because i told him that i thought he wasn't understanding how bad it was and was visibly annoyed at him!!!!!Honestly you couldnt make up the lengthy process some Gp's have to go through to get there patients better health care. Rant over. See what you started Kim, ha ha

       

    • kim86725
      kim86725 tanya91091

      Posted

      I haven't even got started about my PC doctor. Sorry  for the rant, good luck to you and we all need to support each other... There's always help on this site so you know there's always someone listening! Couldn't of got this far without everyone on here!

       err

    • rebecca68054
      rebecca68054 tanya91091

      Posted

      Sertraline also gave me microscopic colitis. I am now on 3 steroids a day and haven't worked for months. I would suggest if you already have bowel issues to not mess with this drug! It has turned my whole life upside down.
  • ghirl
    ghirl rowenasurio1

    Posted

    I was put on them for PTSD

    Like you went through prozac and cito, came off them without to much problems. But this drug ...did nothing positive for me whilst on it. Gained two stone. Etc. But coming off it cold turkey after 4:years atb 100mg is an living, trippy nightmare. Never again. 

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.