Sertraline good or bad?

hi minigoo,

your side effects will go away after a few weeks, i've been on it for 6 weeks now, i started on 50mg and am now on 100mg, and it's made a big difference for me, i'm on it for depression and anxiety. i've had a few attacks myself early on at the start of the treatment, out of the blue and ones i felt coming on but they didn't happen very often and i used valium to subside these. i've also have bad migranes which have now stopped also.

you should start to feel a difference by week 4 at the earliest so try your best to stick with it. it's worth it.

many people on the forum have reported very different side effects like, diorreah and sickness, severe mood swings and hightened anxiety etc. myself i've only experienced the ones i mentioned above and the best one which is i've lost nearly a stone in weight, it does surpress your appetite somewhat, but i do not complain about that!!

hope it helps :-)

Thnx for the quick reply, my main side effects are dizziness, heart racing, headaches but not migraines and my stomache churns. I havnt been in to work since the 1st attack and I can't bring myself to speak to my boss because she scares the living day lights out of me.

oh you poor thing, you shouldn't be made to feel like that, that in itself is probably giving you bad anxiety etc........that's awful you can't talk to your boss. anyway, it's not going to be forever, the side effects will subside after about 4 weeks so try not to worry :-) just give it time. keep taking the valium if you feel yourself heading for or in the middle of an anxiety attack :-)

one of the biggest reasons that I'm now on Sertraline is my job. My supervisor more than anything, I was literally crying the nights before I had to go in when she was in also. I managed to speak to the manager when I started taking these, I was so scared I was shaking and stuttering so much when talking to him, but since then everybody there has been so lovely and it's helped with my panics so much more!

Hope you're feeling better

K x

My job has been understanding in the past as I had glandular fever last year so was off for quite a while,but my supervisor intimidates me. The thought of having to speak to her about this situation scares me to death, and probably makes my anxiety worse. I do have a union that do help, do you also have a union? But there is only so much they can do. My main fear is going in (i work in a busy large call centre) and having an attack. Just hope it goes away soon.

Glad your work has been understanding

Kylie x

Maybe try going up? Speak to her boss or maybe raise a grievance?

Unfortunately, we don't have a union I work in a coffee shop inside a major chain store. Customers help keep me distracted from my thoughts and keeps me on my toes lol. Luckily I've never had to deal with any overly rude customers, I'd probably be in a ball in tears.

If you feel an attack coming on then maybe try and get outside? If not try the good old breathing techniques.. 1 to 10, in and out, ect?

Hope you manage you get this sorted so you don't feel so bad, you don't need to added stress of worrying about other workers

K x

Hi everyone , im also on sertraline , for panic attacks and depression , i was on citallopram for about 4 years , but changed over to sertraline almost 4 weeks ago now , started on 50mg and yesterday got put up to 100mg , i was crying alot for no reason , my panic attacks were so bad i thought i was dying , im not feeling any change yet so hopefully be soon , im also off work too , this will be my 2nd week off , one of my panic attacks was when i was asleep then woke me up with it , the worst one ive had yet .. glad there is people to speak to on here :0) i hope everyone is fine today ..

Hi red! Oh dear Sounds like you've had a hell of a ride!

Hope you're feeling a little more at ease this evening,

I almost had a panic attack at work today, managed to calm myself down though. Had been the busiest at the cafe since I've begun taking Sertraline. Glad to be home now though!

K x

Today has been a bit better for me today, felt a bit sick and had the usual headache and have actually been able to get out of bed today! I can't face work..spoke to my manager today and by the sounds of things he didn't want me in saying "there would have to be a first aider around in case you have an attack" i do hate how some people are ignorant to the fact that anxiety/panic/depression is a serious problem.

Hope everyones day has been okay

Yay! :D Take each step at a time

It's a pity that most people don't properly understand it but I've found it's just something you need to take with a pinch of salt - well try to at least

K x

morning minigoo,

sounds like you're manager was just trying to reassure you that if you did have a panic attack that someone would be on hand to help you if you needed it?? i do the same when people say nice things, i always seem to focus on what that means in a negative way, perhaps he/she was just trying to be helpful, especially if they have no experience in depression and anxiety?? i know how you feel though, depression and anxiety can get a mixture of reactions from people, i can't stand it when people say things like "you need to get a grip and just sort yourself out" and "try not to think negatively" if only it were that easy, when i have one of my being depressed episodes nothing can make me smile, everything feels black and dull, and it comes into my life at any particular time, causes havoc and then completely disappears for a few days, just as i am starting to recover and get back to my normal self, it comes back again and it all starts again, i can't seem to shake it, feel like it's a vicious circle......however, i've been myself since thursday last week, so time will tell, hopefully this 100mg will be doing its job and keeping it at bay??

hope you're feeling better today :-)

katy , hope your doing ok today , im feeling great , lots of energy , no panic atal today which is great for me, hope you have a good day today x

Hi all,

I hope your treatments are going well.

I'm a man in my 30s. I've been on Sertraline before and now I'm back on it again following the death of my mum. For me, it has always worked well and relatively quickly (i.e. weeks instead of months).

In terms of side effects, I have noticed an increase in anxiety for the first day or two, but it's impossible to say if that was the pill or my worsening anxiety/depression. I also notice that it slightly lowers my libido but other than that it seems fine.

I would certainly recommend Sertraline to anyone who had misgivings. It has helped me before and I'm confident it will again.

Hello Minigoo, I have also been on sertraline for several of years at 200mg daily, just yesterday i went to my doctor and told him i wanted to be winged off the meds because of the side effects i have learned about 1 this med takes the calcium out of your bones.( so please take a calcium supplement or ask your doctor because they wont tell you this). I am only 50 and already have the start of osteoporosis. I have night sweats every night around the same time.Just started on 100mg today lets see how things go, hopefully i will respond good.