Sertraline journey

Hi Jessie,

Its not an easy ride but committing to take a medication for your anxiety is very brave and like many others will tell you its not a straight road more like a rollercoaster. So 50mg is the lowest therapeautic dose, several of my Drs told me most people need 100 so that convinced me to go up after following the same trajectory as you. Join Bruno Snow's Sertraline group on Facebook its very active and there is heaps of info that i didnt know.like it really take about four months on the same dose to really get the full benefit. Are you in therapy? There are so many other things that kind of need to fall into place to feel better and unfortunatley the medication doesnt fix things on it own. But i can say after being on Valium fir four months and nearly being hospitalised three times i am finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Sertraline is also a drug that takes a long time to build up in your system but riding out the side effects including increased anxiety can be hell! The dose of Valium you are on is really low and probably isnt enough to cover you whilst the Sertraline builds up. Can you review this with your Dr? hope you get some better days soon!

Hi Chantelle, thank you so much for your reply.

I've started some therapy and am trying to meditate too. The thing I can't seem to quite accept at the moment is that I might feel like this for a long time still. From the sounds of it, all the interventions are things which take time to feel the benefit. Sometimes I really don't feel I can cope with feeling this awful.

Can I ask how long it took for your side effects to go away? Even though I've had anxiety for years, I've never been this bad and felt so desperate day after day.

Thanks for your input! It gives me some hope. Can I just ask how long did it take for you until you started to see the light at the end of the tunnel please?

hi Bulldozer,

Iv been on Sertraline for two months and only the last few days i have felt a lot better. In saying that i know bad days are to come its just the nature of levelling out. And what a time to start taking medication during coronavirus i think we all need to be kinder to ourselves as we are attempting to get well without the usual support and social connections. I am on Sertraline for post partum depression and anxiety, i think it depends what you are on it for. What dose and how long have you been on it for?

Hi Jessie,

I had my third son in September last year and nearly died and had anxiety before so perfect storm for PPD. I literally could not sleep and would stay up for days. It was absolute hell. I didnt recieve treatment or a diagnosis until two months later (Mirtazapine) and they gave me Valium which finally calmed me down and i started to get a bit better. But when my period returned it was so heavy i became anamic really quickly and yay for me main symptoms were racing heart shortness of breath and fatigue. All anxiety i was experiencing anyway! Then when i got an iron transfusion in January this year i ended up getting a one in one million side effect that caused a very important electrolyte to get so low it nearly put me in a coma. Main symptom, anxiety, heart palpatations, numbing and tingling in my face, by this point i was rushed to hospital and convinced my heart was finally going to give out after being in a constant fight or flight mode for months on end. All my Drs were talking to each other and they decided to change me to Sertraline and really start from scratch. My electrolyte levels have just returned to normal after two months but it was so hard recovering from all that whilst riding out the side effects of the Sertraline (mainly increased anxiety) i totally hear you regarding always feeling this way, i had the mental health nurses in my house and i was sobbing saying this will never end and they assured me it would and i called them liars. Sorry for the massive story but i just wanted you to know if my anxiety can start to be managed after everything i know you can too. Start slowly, yes going to be uncomfortable, when we used to go out in public before corona i would look at everyone and fantazise about being every other person except me, i literally hated being in my body my mind i felt like i was crawling out of my skin. I have been told explicitly from my Drs that now i am physically better it will be a full year to feel the full benefits of the drug. A whole year i said? are you serious? but i take comfort that i am finally addressing my mental health after years and years of panic attacks and crippling thoughts and worries. Magnesium is the bomb supplement to add to your recovery, exercise, fresh air, talking to your friends and family (facetime etc) trying to eat well and just spending time with my family has really helped as we are so happy i am alive! but if you dont feel better after six weeks or feel really worse talk to your doctor about increasing the dose. its been 7 months since my journey started but really im starting all over with the 100mg. The increased anxiety in totally normal especially each time you increase your dose. Good luck keep in touch here and let us know how you go

Hi Jessie. You are a little behind me on taking sertraline (2x 25 6 x50) A few better days but that seems to make the bad days seem worse. l take mine at 8.00pm, sleep is not good, usually wake about 4.00 and then the mind goes into overdrive although I do think nights are improving a bit. Stay strong and positive.

Hi Sandi. Thank you for taking the time to post this. l am new to sertraline so found your first success story very interesting and reassuring. l am at 6 weeks on 50mg, having some better days but also some awful days when l question -- is it ever going to work? Take care.