Sertraline confusion
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Hi. I've been on citalipram for years but it s stopped working for some reason. I developed awful anxiety (crying constantly and feelings of dread). My GP persuaded me to change over to sertraline 50 m after battling for many weeks. I'm a tablet phobe! The changeover was brutal. I didn't think my anxiety could get any worse ... but it did. At this point the Sertraline made me feel sick and gave me indigestion.
After two weeks I was still really anxious all day but especially on the mornings, waking up in a cold sweat and with dread. I rang my GP who told me to take 100mg. After being on this dose for 1 week I started to have the most chronic diarrhoea. It would wake me twice in the night and I would have to go up to ten times in the day. My tum was so sore as was the ache in the bottom of my back. I rang the GP again who said carry on, it will settle down. My anxiety I must say had started to improve but I felt so physically ill.
After 5 weeks of this and so much weight loss as my appetite was zero I went back to my GP who advised me to half the dose. I have done this for the last two weeks and the diarrhoea has halved to 3 to 4 times in the morning. However the sickness has come back with awful headaches and a feeling of walking like I'm drunk and dizziness. GP said this is due to the diarrhoea and being weak. I'm not so sure. Is it withdrawal side effects or still side effects of Sertraline. Anyway one been told to persevere for 3 more weeks as halving the dose as helped stop the diarrhoea by half and my anxiety is better.
Anyone else experienced any of this? Did it get better? Did you have to swap to another anti D. I really want this to work as u don't want to have to swap again with the possible brutal start up side effects and crossover. The sensible part of me just things this Sertraline is not for me and it's never going to settle.
Did it settle for anyone else after giving it a fair go of about 8 weeks?
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Lsutiger1989 jane42137
Posted
I don't know of reading this is giving me more or less anxiety lol! I started on sertraline yesterday and honestly I thought I had the flu at first. Almost immidiately I got horrible diarrhea, nausea, headache, body aches. I went to work and barely made it through. I had to call out of work this morning and my boss is p*ssed. I don't know what to do. I can't quit my job, I don't have back up income or someone else who can help me financially. How am I supposed to work, I can barely walk in a straight line. Driving home last night I felt so drugged and I was scarred I was going to get in a wreck.
I don't think my GP knows much about antidepressants. She told me in her office that is come is 50mg tablets but I can half that of I want. Like what do you mean if I want? Your the dr. and prescribing me medication with no direction isn't ideal plus I called this morning to tell her that my anxiety is at a 100 on a scale of 10 and I was sure it was this medication and she told me it wasn't? A basic Google search told me that with this medication your anxiety is expected to get worse before it gets better. If I would have been told that upfront I might not have spent all night last night thinking I was dying!
I can't even imagine sticking with this for the recommended 4-6 weeks. After 2 days I feel like I'm dying! And then the though of what if this doesn't work? Then I have to start all over with a new medicine? I don't think my anxiety has ever been this bad! My heart is racing, my hands are clammy, I am having hot flashes, my face is tingly, and I feel so sick, I can't keep any food down and the fact that I am already underweight I can't afford to not eat.