Sertraline and night sweats

Ive has varying side effects including hot flushes, feeling sleepy, sickness and some anxiety. But I was anxious anyway and that has lessoned. I also feel happier and I don’t have so much internal dialogue, less self critisism and have started see light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve also realised how anxiety has impacted on life for years.  Started 50mg and upped to 1oomg last week. Chin up and stay safe ?🏻

This is hard work. Crippling anxiety. Is it the sertraline which is supposed to fix the problem?

Yep! Its even harder this time of year, what with having to see family and friends during Christmas. I am skiving this year as i have pulled a Sicky lol... I was in the same dark place as you are in now, 5 years ago John, the sertraline worked well for me. It will get better in time as long as you want it to get better, if you know what i mean... If it gets too much do let your medical advisor know... Saying Merry Christmas is hard to take in your position but what the Heck, Merry Christmas John! : )

Hello John,

I've been suffering with several anxiety and depression since October 2017, following a heart attack and cardiac arrest in September 2017 whilst in a short traumatic situation. I'm 46 and had a really anxious 2 years. My GP Put me on 20mg Citalopram last August, which were the first I'd ever taken. When I went through a trauma following my heart attack in October my GP put me on 15mg Mertazapine which led to 7 hour night sweats and also complete apathy to life, I only wanted to sleep. I came off Mertazapine after two weeks, the withdrawal was hard work and my Citalopram was doubled to 40mg which was no use. I ended up under a hospital psychiatry team in December who put me on 50mg Sertraline and I've felt a lot better since except for the night sweats and strange vivid dreams but as it's 4 hours I'm hanging It out. The Citalopram withdrawal wasn't as bad as Mertazapine but still I could do without another for now.

The psychiatry team were a massive support to me through Christmas and new year, having 5 appointments over 3 weeks. Here are some interesting facts about anxiety which I learnt from them:

Anxiety is a physical affliction, not a mental affliction so there is no way that changing thought processes would help. Anxiety is in the spine.

They taught me to embrace the anxiety and not try to fight it, anxiety is our body's response to be under attack if we embrace the anxiety and no danger comes to us, the body will eventually relax.

Anxiety and depression, depression presses us down and anxiety is the opposite, adrenalin fuelled, which was why one minute I really felt like doing something (small thing like email a friend) and the next minute I couldn't face it. 

Most importantly I was told to pace myself. Don't saddle myself with lots of tasks and if I didn't feel like doing something, to wait until I did feel like doing it. It has taken lot of pressure off me and I feel a lot better for it.

All of this advice really helped me understand what was going on and I've come a long way in a few weeks. Hope it helps you John or anyone else reading.

Best wishes to everyone and keep battling until you get there.

I am a 29 year old female. I have been on sertraline since i was 15... gradually going up or down during the years in milligrams. Anyways, I had problems sleeping on and off and I was told by my doctor, that it's a side effect sometimes so I was on amitripaline (I don't know if i spelled it right..?) And Ambien... the medicine would work for a while but slowly it didn't. So for a while i would be on Ambien and when it quit working my doctor would change me to the other... it just seemed to work idk...

I never once have I had night sweats UNTIL 4 years ago... I'm gonna explain... I sleep in like a 65 degree room with a fan blowing on me... i have to be cold or I can't sleep.. there's absolutely no reason for this but I can take my clothes off when I get up in the morning and they r do huge. Like i just jumping in a swimming pool nearly. Well not dripping extreme, but I mean you could definitely tell my entire body was wet...

I also wanted to say something else... while I wouldn't recommend this... I'm just explaining my experience of the drug and what I do... what seems to work for ME. you should definitely talk to ur doctor about all of this above all. But i have to take my medicine for a couple years and then go off of them for a little while and be completeing on nothing for a couple months. Idk... it just seems to be like nothing helps... so kinda like I'm resetting my system... I have tried other medications but they make me worse. Medicine for anxiety is 50/50. Either it helps you or it makes it worse. So i just take it for a while then come off it.

My doctor told me this, with all the symptoms I have, is it worth it to keep taking this medication? You have to ask yourself that! He said, you take it, you experience all this, do you think it's worth it?

Personally, night sweats suck!!! But I can't handle having anxiety and this medication has helped me so much.... in the grand scheme of things, this medication works for me...

So to all your replies. Nothing of these people are probably doctors themselves. You should be completely open with your doctor about everything. It's really important! Like he's your friend or something. Anyways, the only way you would be able to know if something is normal is to hear it from someone else... so you know my experience and u can learn from it I guess.... night sweats really isn't bad for you always just stay hydrated during the day lol

Good luck.

I am a 29 year old female. I have been on sertraline since i was 15... gradually going up or down during the years in milligrams. Anyways, I had problems sleeping on and off and I was told by my doctor, that it's a side effect sometimes so I was on amitripaline (I don't know if i spelled it right..?) And Ambien... the medicine would work for a while but slowly it didn't. So for a while i would be on Ambien and when it quit working my doctor would change me to the other... it just seemed to work idk...

I never once have I had night sweats UNTIL 4 years ago... I'm gonna explain... I sleep in like a 65 degree room with a fan blowing on me... i have to be cold or I can't sleep.. there's absolutely no reason for this but I can take my clothes off when I get up in the morning and they r do heavy. Like i just jumped in a swimming pool nearly. Well not dripping extreme, but I mean you could definitely tell my entire body was wet...

I have seen alot of people complain of getting or feeling sick... take it at night before you go to bed... when I was a teenager my doctor had me doing that and it worked... I guess I was on it for so long that my system just got used to it, idk...

I also wanted to say something else... while I wouldn't recommend this... I'm just explaining my experience of the drug and what I do... what seems to work for ME. you should definitely talk to ur doctor about all of this above all. But i have to take my medicine for a couple years and then go off of them for a little while and be completeing on nothing for a couple months. Idk... it just seems to be like nothing helps... so kinda like I'm resetting my system... I have tried other medications but they make me worse. Medicine for anxiety is 50/50. Either it helps you or it makes it worse. So i just take it for a while then come off it.

My doctor told me this, with all the symptoms I have, is it worth it to keep taking this medication? You have to ask yourself that! He said, you take it, you experience all this, do you think it's worth it?

Personally, night sweats suck!!! But I can't handle having anxiety and this medication has helped me so much.... in the grand scheme of things, this medication works for me...

So to all your replies. Not one of these people are probably doctors themselves. You talk to your doctor should be completely open with him or her about everything. It's really important! Like he's your friend or something. Anyways... so you know my experience and u can learn from it I guess.... hear what someone else is going thru on the same medication... night sweats really isn't bad for you always just stay hydrated during the day lol

Good luck.

Hello ! When I was on them I hadn’t Ben worst night sweats for about three months then they eventually stopped , I was on 100mg