Sertraline 150 mg for 5 weeks for OCD/ depression

Thanks so much. It's so frustrating, I have cried and had suicidal ideation.. I would never but it scares me.. This really sucks.. Yes let's stay in touch. I hope it helps you soon

I have suicidal ideation as well, it seems anxiety brings on our scariest thoughts. We will come out of this smiling😀

How are you doing today? I was wondering if you have trouble sleeping? I havent had a good nights rest in a while. Hoping this kicks in soon...

I'm having a not so good day. Saturday was great, yesterday was ok and today I feel like crap. My sleep cycle is screwed up also. If I'm lucky on a good night, I get about 5 hours and that's not enough for me to function properly the next day. I really need this to start working good as well, some days I feel so broken😔

Oh I sure hope that it gets better too. For both of us. Do you have OCD?

I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder with intrusive thoughts. I think I will all of a sudden lose my mind and hurt someone. It's the scariest thing I've ever been through but then again, every mental illness is

vanessa i am actually in a intensive outpatient program for ocd and anxiety disorders. I also have intrusive thoughts. It is scarey. But one of the things they teach us.. is ERP. Exposure and response prevention. It is helpful, maybe you could look it up. Its a effective treatment, but I just need my medicaiton to kick in for a extra kick. This is so tough... I know what you mean

I will definitely look it up, anything that can help. I have my first appointment tomorrow with my psychiatrist and I will certainly bring it up to him. Thanks

Sparrow01, I don't know if you realize it but you have helped me through some tough days by posting in my discussions. I appreciate everything you have to say, you are so encouraging. I thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.

Thanks for that encouraging words. I do feel like this is the worst I have felt. I can't wait to feel the relief!! Thanks so much!!

Hi just read your post,I'm having intrusive thoughts at the moment and feeling like its never going to go,I was severely depressed with bad anxiety but these symptoms have reduced thanks to sertralin 100mg but can't get past these thoughts reading your comments have given me some hope

Hi sparrow, maria and vanessa,

Thank you all for posting on here, it certainly helps a lot to know others have been through this. I was on 25mg for around 10 years as 'maintenance dose' foolishly stopped in January, relapsed big time, hav e been taking 50mg again for last 3 months , have had a couple of good days, a few ok days, but felt awful today and yesterday, with all thoughts you have mentioned. Since it has now been 3 months, very worried that still feeling sh*te on a regular basis. Obviously need to go back to dr. soon if this doesn't get any better, but how do I get to see a phsychiatrist - think this may help?!

Thanks

Sarah

hi sarah,

now that you have taken 50mg for 3 months, are you now getting no remaining side effects when taking 50mg?

if you are not experiencing any side effects, i would go up to 100mg to see if that helps you (personally speaking, 100mg is the dose i need in order for sertraline to work for me.  100mg is still classed as a normal/average dose. it's not classed as a high dose).

perhaps then if 100mg does not help you after 4 weeks, you could go to see your doctor again to discuss possible switching to something else?  keep us posted ok

Hi Sparrow,

Thanks for your reply, luckily I have now had afew pretty good days in a row, so hoping that finally starting to work. Am thinking that I will be staying on it for a long time - don't think I could go through that again, hell on earth. Hope you are feeling good, and continue to do so. 

Out of interest, do you think you will stay on ad's long term? Do you think therapy/CBT helps? Can't believe that this is all down to the way a person thinks. Would be interested to hear your view. Thanks for all the help you have given on here. x

hey, great to hear you are having some good days in a row, certainly sounds like your depression and anxiety are starting to get under control

to answer your question:  i'm 100% staying on sertraline long term because it's working really good for me now.  i've made the mistake in the past of stopping taking antidepressants because i feel fine. but the depression and anxiety always creeps back (sometimes it takes several months to come back, but anyway it always shows up again). so i'm not making that mistake again.  i'm more than happy to take sertraline (or any antidepressant which works) for several years. doing that is no big deal in my opinion, lot's of people do it, and it's ok to do.

regarding therapy/CBT, i certainly don't think there is any harm in that. i think it all depends on if someone feels they need it, in which case, go for it.  personally speaking, i had really bad depression, anxiety, negative irrational thinking, suicidal thoughts.. but now the sertraline is working, all of that has completely gone (but, if the antidepressants had only reduced those feelings instead of make them go away completely, i think i would have considered therapy/CBT at that point perhaps).  by the way, one thing i have found on par with therapy/CBT is to have a read around the internet regarding anxiety and depression and how to deal with negative thinking etc.  knowledge is power.

i have to mention something which i've done for the last month (and will keep doing) has done me real wonders (probably not far off what therapy/CBT might have done).  i've completely STOPPED reading, watching, or looking at via the internet:  THE NEWS!

i used to look at the bbc news webpage everyday.  it took me a while to realise it but let's face it, the news is absolutely awful and depressing, and totally fuels negative thinking.  there's never a feel good story.  instead it's all: death, misery around the world, greed, criminals, war, religion gone wrong, terrorism, people (who aren't you) winning millions on the lottery, sports millionaires, bills and fuel prices going up, housing problems, immigration problems, drugs, politicians who havn't got a clue, parents who are bad to their kids (..the list could go on and on but i feel depressed just typing that stuff!) 

ruby wax said (in her book called 'sane new world', which is a book about depression) ... she said:  "we're only supposed to know what the news is from the next village.  but instead we get the news of the entire world beamed into our heads.  humans can't deal with that, it's too much!"   i totally agree with her, and i completely avoid the news now.  if anything really big/important happens, you will hear it by word of mouth anyway.. so the rest of the news.. my advice, dont bother. we've all heard the saying "no news is good news".  i've finally realised the truth in that! there's loads of bad stuff in the world going on, but it's not my fault and i can't control or change any of it, so i'm done caring, and don't want to know.  i feel MUCH better for finally accepting this, and feel much stronger, and am no longer full of fear and apprehension.

Sarah, you can be on antidepressants long term - for me they have been a lifesaver. I've recently switched to sertraline, and am struggling with that as it's taking longer to kick in than anything else I've ever been on, and has unpleasant side effects (some of which didn't start for me until about 4 weeks in!). But I'm sticking with it for now. I would think you need to be on 100mg to start getting benefits. Therapy - whichever form works for you - is very helpful too. Ask your GP for a referral to a psychiatrist - they will be part of a community mental health team that can give you lots of support. 

Hi Sparrow,

Thanks so much for your reply. I have been trawling internet for info on negative thinking /intrusive thoughts etc and agree that knowledge is power. As you say, once the ad's kick in, all of this disappears, so makes me think it isn't the person's fault they are thinking like this, it is definately the illness of depression that causes these weird thoughts and not the other way round...... 

Since it is such an awful illness affecting so many people now, I do hope that more resourses are put into research, (although it is Obviously more difficult to research the brain than the rest of the body}. We are lucky that ad's work for us. I am hoping that they continue to work long term, thanks for your reassurance that this works for lots of people.

Your info re the news (as you say, always bad) is very interesting. I also watch the news on the telly too much and usually read a newspaper as well. I am going to stop doing this, and see if it helps. I'm sure it will, as whenever I see poor children hurt/animal cruelty etc etc it always makes me sad and unhappy. As you say, there is nothing you can do about it if its happening on the other side of the world, so why constantly feel bad about things you can't possibly influence? I will, from now on, try to avoid the news, and see if it helps me.

Thanks again sparrow for all your posts on here, you have helped a lot of people,  I hope you continue to feel good for the rest of your life. x  

Hi Ronne,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.. I am glad anti depressants work for you, it is reassuring that I am not the only person out there that thinks taking them long term is the best thing to do. I am now having more good days than bad, but have been taking them for around 3 months now, so they have taken longer to kick in this time. I hope they start working well for you soon and that side effects disappear. Can I ask why you switched to sertraline..did the others you were on stop working? If sertraline stops working for me, I will definately ask for referral to psychiatrist to suggest what different meds might help. Thanks ronne, good luck for the future.

Hi Sarah - Thank you! yes, I switched because after 3 years on Citalopram, it stopped working. Before that I was on imipramine, then Venlafaxine, both of which worked really well for depression but had very nasty side effects. Because of my age (late 60s), the doctor wouldn't increase my dose of Citalopram, so she switched me to sertraline. It has been a roller coaster nightmare so far, but I've been told to stick with it for at least another few weeks. I've got an appointment with an NHS psychiatrist in a month's time, so I'll try and hold out till then. Good luck to you too. We all need to hang in there - and we'll all get there in the end! 

I stopped watching the news as well ! It was just to much for me .