Sertraline making me too emotional!

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hi All,

I've been taking 50mg sertraline for 7 weeks and moved up to 100mg yesterday. Week 1-4 a few minor side effects but nothing serious and stayed in game as had a few benefits on terms of reduced anxiety too. Weeks 4-6 were even more positive and I felt like this medication could actually work well for my ocd and social anxiety. Week 6-7 I began to feel a vague sensation that I could cry easily, which was very unusual as I'm a 45 year old male and not a Cryer at all, this sensation and accompanying much increased anxiety continued to get more severe. Went back to doc yesterday and she put me up to 100mg which I started this morning, today I was feeling even more anxious and tearful! It's getting to point where I don't think I can do my job! Should I hang in there? What's causing this? Is sertraline messing with hormones?? Have noticed small man boobs forming too! Any help much appreciated. Pretty desperate.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    I think you should definitely mention that to your dr! Sertraline has been known to cause increased prolactin and can even cause milk production in women who havent had a baby so the man boobs can be a sign of that. I was on sertraline too but after a month i started to go downhill as well, it ended up making me feel much more depressed and sick physically not to mention mentally i just didnt feel "right". Sertraline isnt for everyone so you may need to ask your dr to try a different antidepressant.

    • Posted

      Hi there,

      Thanks very much for your thoughtful reply. I did tell doc about my side effects possibly being hormonal in nature, she said that I should give 100 mg 2 weeks and then I will check in with her again. If I'm still feeling overly emotional they will do blood tests to check hormone levels.

      I've been taking 100 mg for 2 days now and so far no positive changes at all, feel exactly the same.

      May I ask what finally worked for you after sertraline? I really hope and pray I don't have to try another antidepressant as I'm hanging on by my fingernails at work and not sure if I could cope with a protracted withdrawal period followed by starting up a new drug.

      Thanks again for your help.

      All the best

    • Posted

      hello...i have not found anything to help me sadly. Like you, im too afraid to keep playing around with antidepressants i think they have messed my brain up! Ive tried Paxil, Mirtzapine and Celexa besides the Sertraline and all of them made me feel worse. I hope you get well soon i know what hell this is!

    • Posted

      Hi there,

      No worries, sorry to hear that you didn't find a suitable medication, good luck with your recovery and thanks again for responding to my post.

      Hope you get well soon too.

    • Posted

      Hi there,

      Just a brief update, doc (who is very good) put me up to 100mg 3 weeks ago, still no improvement unfortunately. But, plan for me to stick with it for 2 more weeks and see if it finally kicks in. Doc saying dose increase can take 5 weeks to take effect! Doc also did blood tests on a range of hormones, including prolactin, all tests came back normal. But, she did say that this is not conclusive proof that the drug is not effecting my hormones in some way. Next step if no success in 2 weeks would be to wash out sertraline and try paxil. God help me! Thanks again for your help.

      All the best

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.