Scared of side effects, experiences please!

Posted , 5 users are following.

I was prescribed sertraline 25mg over a month ago. I suffer greatly from Emetophobia (vomit phobia), anxiety and depression surrounding my phobia. I just now took my first dose and I'm freaking out it's going to make me sick. when did everyone starts having side effects or did you have any? I'm so scared of anything stomach related but my doctor believes that this could help me. she believes it could calm my body down eventually enough to help my therapy be more productive and to wean off klonopin that doesn't seem to work...

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Posted

    I had side effects for a couple weeks, mainly exhaustion though. I had no nausea or vomiting, just excessive yawning (I felt like i could probably sleep standing up at some points) and i had a lack of appetite.

    • Posted

      are you prone to nausea with other meds? im trying to figure out if I can get through it without nausea. that all this is just in my head and my anxiety is taking over. that's great you had mild effects. how does it seem to be helping you?

    • Posted

      i have never had nausea on anti depressants, i have on other medications though. the setraline has been a life saver for me....have you had any side effects after your first dose?

    • Posted

      I honestly don't know If its side effects or just me psyching myself out. I took it at 10:58 last night. I cant sleep when I'm anxious. so I didn't sleep much. so when I did wake up I felt out of it. my anxiety has been so high all day. shaking and nervous. a little nauseated but I get that way when I'm stressed to so I took a zofran. would I have felt them immediately? its been 13 hrs since I took it. am I psyching myself out or is this shaking gross feeling actually side effects you think?

    • Posted

      just based on myself, any meds i have taken that DID make me nauseous did happen immediatly. its probably a good thing that you havent felt much yet, seems like a good sign.

  • Posted

    I too struggle with emetophobia which has turned into agoraphobia now! when i get anxious i automatically feel like im going to throw up all the time. i can barely eat and now im having severe hormone imbalance that causes constant nausea...i use phenergan when i get to the point of actually vomiting. i did use zoloft before and i started noticing the nasty nausea side effect about a couple of days into it. For the next 6 weeks i had bouts of intense nausea and loss of appetite...i lost so much weight i stopped taking the zoloft, but now here i am struggling so much with the anxiety i know i need the zoloft but im afraid to go through the next 8 weeks of nausea and loss if appetite. oh and 3-4 days into the zoloft i had intense panic attacks worse than i ever had before but after 2 weeks that went away

    • Posted

      oh I'm so sorry to hear that. it scares me so much to go through the nausea. I used to handle it better but my Emetophobia has severely increased. so anything like gas or nausea or hunger throws me into a panic attack. I dont want to take it anymore because just the anxiety of what if is so strong. but I know I can't go on living like this. my weight loss due to my anxiety has also caused an imbalance because I feel more nauseated now more often than ever before. I have zofran so I'm hoping it keeps it at bay. I hope you find relief soon. I wouldn't wish Emetophobia on the devil

    • Posted

      Im the same way! Im so tired of living this way, like you im sick more often than not, i have constant lingering nausea and like you any time i get hungry im too scared to eat cause it never fails i become very nauseous not long after eating and it lasts so damn long. i love food and i miss food, i miss having a healthy appetite and never being afraid. Its a vicious cycle, i know i need zoloft to calm the anxiety but those damn side effects are long and hard...and i have seen so many horror stories that the meds work only for a bit then they stop and you have to switch or just give up.

  • Posted

    Does your anxiety not on medications cause you nausea? If so, I really think that it's just your anxiety causing it if you get nauseated not the med, and that is the reason that you're taking the zoloft so that in the future that fear should minimize or not be there at all. I also can't stand the thought of throwing up, whenever I would get a stomach bug and just start to get the twinge that I might throw up it would throw me into a full blown panic attack. Zoloft never made me feel sick to my stomach at all thank goodness, and it helped with my anxiety and fears so well! Possibly try to eat a little bit before you take it, even if its just crackers, some people just have a sensitive tummy and putting any type of medicine in it empty may cause a little nausea, that may help. It never did me sick to my stomach though.

    Just remember that anxiety can cause nausea, and that is the reason that you're taking it, to help relieve that fear. Stick with it, keep pushing through you will be glad you did! I sure was! 😃

  • Posted

    Did you take your next dose of sertraline last night? I was curious how it made you feel this time

    • Posted

      no. I was to freaked out. but I went back to my doctor this morning to discuss it with her. shes certain based on my day 1 reaction and my genesite results that I wont have any issues I'm worried about. she does think however the anxiety about taking it is way to much and that I need something to calm me down anxiety wise to even take it. she doesn't want me so panicked that I associate fear, anxiety, and sick with the sertraline before it can do me any good. so I start a slow release xanax in a couple of hours then try the sertraline again tonight. I'm still worried of getting and feeling sick but I do feel better with her reassurance

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