Posted , 5 users are following.
I Have been on 50 mg for 4.5 weeks, and had an awful start up with increased intrusive thoughts & anxiety, it then calmed down & i felt a bit better, but today & yesterday i have again woke up with adrenaline so severe & feel generally scared im stuck like this forever, shaky, jelly legs & nauseous. please someone tell me it will get better. im so down x
0 likes, 16 replies
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SerotoninSurfer chrissy69015
Posted
Hello, you will feel better. You just need to get through this period through distraction, be that exercise, music, social activities. Anything to re-focus your mind and break the self doubt and negative cycle of thinking. If it gets too much, ask your GP for Lorazepam, Diazepam etc as these are a magic bullet for 8 hours. They will really help you get through this period if you cannot stand it. Before long you will hopefully be your old happy self and look back on this period. Don't suffer alone. Talk to your friends, family and especially this forum. I totally empathise with how you're feeling. It is really difficult to explain in words what it feels like as there are usually a myriad of symptoms. Don't be down, get out and live your life in spite of this. Just know that this is just a small period in your life that you need to get through. We all get better eventually......best of luck!
chrissy69015 SerotoninSurfer
Posted
i am going to doctors in an hour , really struggling today, would you increase this early or wait it out?
SerotoninSurfer chrissy69015
Posted
50mg is starting dose and often takes a more. The key is to not to go up the doseages too soon. From my own experiences with Sertaline i fully recovered for 16 years before recent relapse. However, looking back, i went up the doses too quickly and ended up on 200mg for 16 years. With every dose change it takes at least 2 weeks to settle and you often feel worse for a period before getting better. If you do increase to 100mg, i would recommend staying on your new dose for at least another 6 weeks to give it time. Speak to your GP about emergency medication to get you through in the meanwhile, Lorazepam, Propanol etc... The key thing is not let it dictate your life. Ride out the bad times. It's difficult but try to embrace the anxiety rather than resisting it. It is just a "fight or flight" response that is out of control. The more you resist it the more your body feels that something is wrong and the more symptoms you get. It's a vicious cycle that you need to break but sometimes only medication can help. You will get better, i promise you and you will be all the stronger for it.
samantha41589 SerotoninSurfer
Posted
Hi Jon
sorry to jump in but I am having a really bad time atm. I suffer from anxiety, and get really bad physical symptoms that then cause psychological ones, including periods of derealisation. I started on 50mg for 2 weeks,then 100 for 2, then went to 125 for 2 and am now in 2nd week of 150.
I was great for 5 days last week when I basically felt back to normal but now I am feeling really detached from life, have stomach pains with diarrhoea and a degree of anxiety. I cant stop crying as the feeling of being disconnected from life is horrible.
My question is, is this normal with Sertraline and is it just a case of waiting for the increased dose to settle or is it not working for me? The other thought I had is should I go back down to 125 but I've been on 150 now for 11 days.
I'm pretty desperate atm and I dont know whether Sertraline is not for me or if I just need to stick with it. I had 15 great years on Paroxetine and then Escitalopram which basically got rid of my symptoms and I was able to lead a normal life but they stopped working 8 months ago and my life since has been hell.
Any benefit of your experience that you could give me would be really appreciated.
Thank you
Sam
SerotoninSurfer samantha41589
Posted
Hi Samantha,
It is very common to feel bad again and get better with dose changes. It often takes 2 weeks to settle so it's likely that you will improve shortly. The key is to look at your recovery as a trajectory with ups and downs along the way. As long as the general trend is upwards over time then the medication is showing positive signs of improvement. The best advice i've seen here is from Nigel who said "don't look forward for recovery but backward". It's much easier to see improvements when looking backwards.
Having said that, you shouldn't suffer in silence. Ask your GP for help ; lorazepam, diazepam to get you through the days. These can be a life saver. Sometimes it makes you feel better just knowing you have something in your back pocket to fall back on.
I recommend you talk to a psych as GP's mostly prescribe through trial and error and don't have the background of a psych with research background on these meds. You will get better i promise you. Inbox me whenever you want to talk and need support. Always here for you no matter what. Take care. Jon x
andrew83432 chrissy69015
Posted
It WILL get better your still in early stages of the meds , just finished 6 weeks myself , i still have bad days, have you tried propanalol when i was really struggling they helped calm me down, keep going dont let it stop you living your life
chrissy69015 andrew83432
Posted
i will ask doctor for some
chrissy69015 andrew83432
Posted
the doctor gave me propanolo , are they good?
andrew83432 chrissy69015
Posted
i found them really good , what mg did he give you, i still have them now if i get really bad
chrissy69015 andrew83432
Posted
10 mg 3x daily or double if required.
what has your experience of setraline been like, are you feeling better ?
andrew83432 chrissy69015
Posted
iv had a good week this week the first since i started , still had spells of anxiety but manageable, i always feel great come night time, mornings r terrible for me but been getting easier
chrissy69015 andrew83432
Posted
yeah , what is it with mornings, apparently when you wake in morning better, thats the key . best wishes x
MibuKyo chrissy69015
Posted
I am on week 10 for treatment of OCD currently at 100mg. I started slow at 25mg with horrible initial side effects, specifically heightened anxiety, nightmares. At first it was all bad with few days of feeling better. But then I had a week of feeling better, Then going back to square one, then several weeks of feeling better, then back again and so on. Lately I've been feeling quite good with very little obsessions, that didn't really bother me, but then again this week I had an issue with vertigo due to crystals in my ear and this triggered a setback once again but I am sure that soon I will feel better again. As said above, work with the anxiety instead of against it, accept and don't let it rule your life.
chrissy69015 MibuKyo
Posted
thanks when did you start to feel better? x
MibuKyo chrissy69015
Posted
at around week 6 and 8. Its a rollercoaster and since you started on a higher dose I guess that is why the side effects were stronger for you but give it time and the body will adjust. Keep a diary of your progress since the improvements are gradual you will be surprised later on how much you actually improve over time. We tend to only focus on the negative so try to actively count the positive things as they will soon outweigh the negative. Other people will also notice your mood improve over time. Also other things that helped me overcome the worst of my anxiety was KBT and ACT + Exposure and response prevention. These are god send tools and when the medicine kicks in it can help us gather the strength to actually work on ourselves, get control and eventually overcome our illness. Don't resist. Trust in yourself. Don't doubt and don't isolate yourself. Accept your condition wholeheartedly but don't let the anxiety be the only focus of your attention. You are strong. Focus on your true long term values. Hope you will recover soon!
SerotoninSurfer MibuKyo
Posted
great advice 😃. Much better to look backwards for improvement rather than longing for recovery. Best wishes, Jon