Sertraline increase and decrease
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi everyone,
I was on 50mg of sertraline for 2 months after suffering with bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts for a long while. The start up was terrible with multiple side effects which eventually subsided one by one up to 3.5 weeks. Feeling better but not quite there i upped the dose on advice to 75mg. 16 Days I've managed but I've decided to go back to 50mg. I was expecting a few side effects but not for it to be this bad. I got most of the original side effects but new ones to add into the mix. Palpitations, hands excessively shaking, fuzzy/weird head feeling and increase in the thoughts. These could well go if i persevere but im not willing to go on any longer, I'll still be much better off than when i started at the lower dose.
50mg, plenty of exercise, CBT and no binge drinking will have to suffice, hopefully another few weeks at 50mg will also help. Sertraline for me has turned out to be a very powerful A/D, many seem to have the side effects on start up (for a week or two) but then bump up to higher doses with minimal problems. This stuff has knocked me for six, there is no way i could cope with 200mg or even 150mg. We are all different, 50mg seems the best dose for me, i wished id stuck with it for longer before going up. Ill be staying with sertraline and not be changing as there have been been benefits, my advice is don't necessarily think you have to keep rising because others have, its very much each to their own. I just hope i don't get much/any withdrawal symptoms by cutting back 25mg. Good luck all
0 likes, 2 replies
antony46257 whodareswins
Posted
Very similar story to me, was on 25mg and after 2 weeks was going better. Then got upped to 50mg and the living hell began.
4 weeks i lasted with scary and debilatating side effects. DR just kept saying they will pass. After 4 weeks he put me back to 25mg and yo be honest i feel like i have gotten worse.
I have had dramatic weight loss which they say is to not eating and bad nausea when i do eat, hightened anxiety, weakness, cold hands and feet, then crazy hot flushes, sore legs, dizzy spells, blurred vision, night sweats, tremors.
But the one that started on 50mg that is still here that is freaking me out is the head ones. I get pressure in my forehead and left temple and then i get prickly sensations across my forehead and scalp and lips. Its like you have been sunburnt without actually going in the sun. It hurts after you rub it.
its been 2 weeks on 25mg and still there. Its sending my anxiety through the roof and scares the crap out of me.
whodareswins antony46257
Posted
Its a nightmare, i wish i hadn't gone up but you don't know until you try. I've found it to be a very powerful drug. Its only the first day on the lower dose so I'm not expecting miracles but the higher dose symptoms have persisted all day. Palpitations and the shakes. Also, It feels like someone is pressing down with their thumb on the top of my head, not painful but massively annoying. It will go its just a matter of how long it takes, i don't think i will get prolonged withdrawal effects as i only took 75mg for 16 days, time will tell though. I'm just trying to keep busy by hammering the cycling, im currently off work. Sleep is impossible so I'm still taking zopiclone which i need to knock on the head soon before it becomes a problem.
The side effects are not harmful from a physical point of view and will subside. Its the last thing you need when your are already suffering mentally though. Why don't you see if you can get a short term supply of diazepam to take the edge off the anxiety. They don't like prescribing them in the UK but a week or two wont do any harm, you just have to be forceful with the doc, it might give some relief. Let me know how you get on. Good luck.