Sertraline don't be scared it works with the right dosage.

Hi Paul

it sounds like you've had a real rollercoaster of a time. Defo hang in there mate. You will defo get better it just takes a little time. There were times where I felt like giving up on meds but glad I stuck it out. And as Katy says, the ups and downs are perfectly normal. My trouble is I'm always very hard on myself when I experience bad days/negative emotions because I'm generally a happy sort of guy. 

Good luck Paul and hope you begin to start feeling better soon

I have found myself left with only valium 7mg as the anti deps havent helped me.  Have you found anything that has helped you, and have you managed to get off the valium at all?

HI Steve

How are u feeling?

Hi Melissa, 

Im feeling absolutely fine. I went back to work in July after 10 weeks off and have been back to normal for a little while now. Initially the 150mg sertraline dose didn't appear to be working but my doc advised me to stick it out and m glad I did. 

There are some days where I forget to take the meds until late am early afternoon, which is  a far cry from what I was like previously. I was never a big believer in anxiety meds but I'm coming to the conclusion that they do work coupled with self help, in my case keeping busy and getting back to work. 

Interestingly I opened up to a couple of mates which is something I've never done before and surprisingly they too shared their stress/anxiety stories, something which men particularly from my community have difficulty in doing. 

I would say persevere don't give up and definitely don't lose hope. The meds will work, it's just a waiting game unfortunately. 

if you fancy a chat drop me a txt and I will be back to you. 

regards. 

Steve 

07795466071 

That's so great to hear! I'm really happy for you.

have you had experience with going off of sertraline and going back on with success, or tapering down and then increasing with success?

I've been on 200mg for 9 years and starting goign down in may to 50mg. then I started a new job in the beginning of november and around that time, it hit me really really hard even tho i was stil on it but at 50mg. 

I've increased throughout the past month back up to 200 and have been at 200mg for 6 days.

It's always worked for me in the past but i'm getting so worried it wont work this time. its been really rough. How long until you started to notice better days more consistently? I did have better days a week or two ago and now I've had a rough patch for the past 6 days, it started before i increased to 200. 

I was also on 52mg of wellbutrin and last week my psych told me to increase to 75. im wondering if maybe that affected me. so now she said to go bck to half and then stop taking it in a week.

I havent felt relief in 6 days and its so hard...just need reassurance i guess.

 

Hi Melissa,

Ive not had experience of coming off sertraline and going back on, I only started this yr around Apr time and it took a good few weeks before I started feeling better. 

The rough patches are completely normal, I still get them occasionally now but don't dwell on them. I had a tendency to fear the worst as soon as I got a rough patch thinking that I was going to go back to square one but then I realised that was more to do with my expectations than reality. U see, I'm generally a happy sort of person and expected to happy all the time regardless of what life threw at me, but now I realise that it's ok to have ups and downs, it's ok to feel crap sometimes because this is a completely normal human emotion - is there anyone in the world who doesn't go through this?? No there isn't.

The trick is to get the balance right and change those things that are within our control. 

So, for example, my job can be stressful at times, but I have to go to work so I can't change that hence pointless dwelling on that aspect, however I could change the WAY I worked, which for me was simple things like not trying to do a million tasks at once, not feeling the need to respond to emails immediately etc.

I would suggest you stay on a consistent dose of sertraline and I can ABSOLUTELY reassure you that you will feel better in time and pretty soon the good days will far out number the bad, and even when you have bad days shrug your shoulders and accept them as completely normal which they are, Dont be hard on yourself like I was because pretty soon you will be feeling great again - besides Spring is around the corner (well almost) and just imagine those early Sunday morning Spring walks along that daffodil lined stream that meanders it way down to that gorgeous lake just in time to catch the sun rising over the hills beyond.........🙂🙂🙂

.....(oh hang on......I've just looked out the window -I'm surrounded by a concrete jungle 😐  Oh well, one can but dream!

Good luck Melissa and keep me posted on your progress!

regards

Steve

 

Thank you Steve. I'm almost a month on 50mg daily and beginning to have better days. I find your narrative inspiring. Thanks again!

Hi Steve,

I still think of your reply and it give me moments of relief. Ive been on 200mg now for three weeks and sometimes I feel like nothing's even changed. its so hard to tell. I had bad days and moments and they feel the same as the bad ones in the beginning which worries me.

Hi Melissa.  I went through exactly what your experiencing, the bad days are completely normal and will become few and far between before long. How are you feeling now?

Hey Steve, I was reading up on all the posts on this forum and came across yours - which inspired me to sign up for this forum in order to reply to your comment.

I need your advice - i had been prescribed Zoloft 25mg in May by my psychiatrist, didnt go on them cause I was afraid. Last month, my GP prescribed me 50mg of Zoloft and I also haven’t gone on them as I am still afraid. My panic/anxiety attacks develop when I encounter traffic when I am driving, going up to lifts in high floors, travelling to locations I am unfamiliar with, and so on... this all happened since I was 26 weeks pregnant with my first born last October and my boss wanted me to fly from Melb to Sydney for an impt business conference. I am finishing up my 12 months of maternity leave and have decided to try and resume work by the 15th of Jan in a couple of weeks. I have definitely improved from where I was before, but I am still anxious at times and have to check traffic conditions before I leave in a car. My work requires me to drive to 3 different locations to meet clientele and without being able to travel on the road, I will lose my job. 

My question is - as this is the very first time I’m being introduced to an antidepressant, is it the right time to start taking Zoloft tomorrow so maybe I have a chance at getting better in two weeks? Or would it make it worse with the side effects taking time to kick in? If I do take it, should I start on 25mg first and then ease into 50mg after a week perhaps (based on above prescriptions, 25mg prescribed in may and 50mg prescribed last month)? I also am organising my son’s 1 year old birthday party for the 6th of Jan which is in a few days. Will take Zoloft tomorrow make me unable to organise his party successfully AND go back to work in a couple of weeks with travelling in a car involved?

At a huge loss here as I have a 11 month old who is not sleeping through the night and my relationship with my husband is not at its best but he is trying his best to support me.

Much appreciated for any advice you could offer. 

*Forgot to mention that this all happened when I developed a panic attack on the plane for the first time in my entire life.

And I’ve been seeing a psychologist for the past 10 months as well.

Hi Steve how long did they start to kick in? As im on my fourth wk of 100mgs, with not much progress yet 

Are you feeling better??