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Sertroline for anxiety Please give me some hope

Posted , 4 users are following.

john54486
john54486

I have had extreme anxiety for 10 months and recently couldn't carry on working. I have been on 25mg Sert for a week and today took my first 50mg tablet. After this long I can't remember what it is like to feel healthy. Can anyone who has been where I am now and come out the other side with the help of Sertraline, please post a reply. It would be good to hear that it works and how long it takes. Thanks.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Cuffy
    Cuffy john54486

    Posted

    Im scared to say things are getting better in case i jinx myself but after 7 weeks on Sertraline i am starting to feel better. Thats after wasting 3 months on mirtzapine that did not to anything.
    • john54486
      john54486 Cuffy

      Posted

      Thanks for replying Cuffy. Glad to hear you are improving. I hope I am not far behind you.
  • laura84921
    laura84921 john54486

    Posted

    Hi John, hopefully I can give you some hope as I've been where you are and thought I would never recover. I too struggled with extreme anxiety for around 9 months before starting on Sertraline. I took 25mg for 3 days and then increased to 50mg. I'm sure you're familiar with the possible side effects and sadly I felt worse after the first week but persevered as I knew this was common. It did take a little while but I started to notice a difference after 5 weeks. It has been up and down but I'm now 4 months in and feel so much better. I'm so glad I tried this medicine and hope you will be too. I'm sorry I cant tell you it happened sooner but the important thing is you will get there. I still have some anxiety now but it's much more manageable and doesn't stop me from living a normal life. I wish you all the best for your recovery 😊

    • john54486
      john54486 laura84921

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply Laura, it gives me some hope that I will recover and get back to the real me. Did you do anything else to help you get better? I'm trying to keep busy if I can, but it's really difficult with the symptoms going on all the time. It's very difficult to actually stop thinking about the anxiety.

    • laura84921
      laura84921 john54486

      Posted

      I understand and it's strange because I can't pinpoint the exact moment I stopped thinking about my anxiety and symptoms all day, it just slowly improved over time after about 5 weeks and continued to get better and better. My doctor was great and advised me not to rely on the tablets alone and gave me lots of ideas of things to help and I was so desperate I did all of them! I downloaded an app called Cigna Coach and started practising mindfulness, spending time outdoors in nature, following guided deep breathing exercises in youtube, eating healthier, drinking lots of water, cutting out caffeine and yoga. I also read books on anxiety to help understand and learn to control it. I believe all of these things helped but even if they didn't and it was all the meds then it certainly kept me busy for a weeks which helped take my mind off everything and made me feel like I was doing something positive which lifted my spirits a great deal and helped me to begin leaving the house again, which I had previously avoided at all costs in my darkest moments.

    • john54486
      john54486 laura84921

      Posted

      Thanks Laura. I'm a keen cyclist and try to get out on my bike a couple of times a week for a 25 mile ride and i'm going for a walk every day. I'm also continuing to go to shops, my sons football matches  and other places where I find it difficult, despite all of the symptons. Sometimes I have to force myself to do these things, but luckily the boredom of being in the house on my own all day seems worse than going out and suffering.I think I will look at mindfulness and breathing as well. I've bought a book by Paul David called At Last A Life and also have one of the Claire Weeks books. At the moment I want time to go very quickly to the point where I am better.

  • jen48700
    jen48700 john54486

    Posted

    Hi John. I can relate to the "always thinking of the anxiety" part 100%. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety almost 2 months ago after having a really bad panic attack. After the attack, it seemed like every day was getting harder and harder for me because I was always "stuck" on my thoughts. I finally met with a psychiatrist and I've been on Zoloft for 2 weeks now. So far I haven't had too many side effects., however, the first week was a little rough for me because I would get sudden panic attacks throughout the day. It's not day 15 and I've had a few good days. Yesterday was the best. Woke up feeling fantastic, when I thought about my anxiety it didn't scare me and I could easily distract myself. Today has started off a little different though. Woke up feeling depressed and can't stop thinking about the anxiety. It's almost like yesterday never happened. They say it takes a few weeks for your body to fully adjust to the sertraline. I'm looking forward to the days where I stop thinking about my anxiety the entire day! 

    • john54486
      john54486 jen48700

      Posted

      I think the fact you had a really good day is a good sign. I understand that it appears that recovery is two steps forward and one step back. You might want to take a look at a you tube channel for Stephen Lee. He set down the path of anxiety after an initial panic attack and he has documented his recovery from start to finish. Good luck with your recovery, I hope it it happens quickly.
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