Sertraline side effects or seratonine syndrome! Please help

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hi

So 2 weeks ago my GP decided to put me on sertraline 25mg I was on citalopram but my GP thought they had maybe stopped working. She decided to cross taper me off, so citalopram for a day then sertraline day after then citalopram then a sertraline and so on for 18 days. Anyway after 12 days my anxiety and panic have gone through the roof!!!! I'm severely agitated, tremors/shakes, goosebumps, really tense, can't eat, feeling nauseous, pain in my jaw, severe sweating, rapid and pounding heartbeat when waking. Iv spoken to another GP and he said the cross taper shouldn't have been done, also iv spoken to nhs 111 and a few other doctors but non of them seem to want to help me and just say it's my anxiety and have given me 2mg diazepam which aren't really touching it.

All I want to do is sleep because I don't want to feel this way I can't cope with it all.

Why after a week of taking sertraline (even though I was on the citalopram in between) am I now getting these side effects? Surely the sertraline side effects would have started straight away? At first I really thought they were working. Could it be because of the cross taper of 2 ssri's??

The past 3 days all I have taken is the 25mg sertraline and totally stopped my citalopram now.

Any advice would be great as I don't know what to do

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Posted

    Could be withdrawal from the first medication and then when a second one is added you experience start up side effects from that! I was on Lexapro and my psychiatrist switched me to Paxil which I started right away and stopped the Lexapro immediately! My anxiety was high for a couple of days but has been better lately! I was on Lexapro for 10 weeks before the switch! Hang in there things should get better! It takes awhile for meds to really work! 
    • Posted

      Hi

      I'm just confused as to why after 12 days iv only just started getting such severe symptoms? Last night I thought I was losing my mind!!! Had an ambulance out as I was so bad! Had an ecg done and it showed a non specific inferior abnormality in my t wave, which severely increased my panic/anxiety and wondering what it could be. It feels like nobody wants to help or take me seriously because I have anxiety 😔

    • Posted

      we take you seriously on this forum! I think you are experiencing withdrawal from med to the other! How long were you on citalopram? Anxiety and depression sometimes gets worse before it gets better! If you can find a psychologist  or psychiatrist who are familiar with your situation! I went to a mental health clinic for help and they had both specialist there to help me! One for therapy the other for perscribing meds! 

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.