Sickness and vomiting on sertraline still continuing after stopping

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone can help. I'm feeling really worried about symptoms I'm getting. My GP put me on citalopram 10mg initially for anxiety/panic attacks which I only survived 5 days on due to horrid side effects. I then dropped down to 5mg which reduced the severity of the side effects and which I continued on for about 2.5 weeks. I then spent a week alternating 10 and 5mg to try to increase but started feeling sick and was actually sick so I was then switched onto sertraline 25mg. After a couple of days of switching I started to feel very sick especially in the morning and was actually sick nearly every day. Even after being sick I felt like gagging all day.

I carried on like this for 10 days then saw a doctor 2 days ago who said I could stop them and it was ok to just stop without tapering off so that's what I've done. I felt sick yesterday and still not much appetite but wasn't actually sick but today I've been awfully sick this morning again and thrown up. I'm also getting horrid eye and head pain that comes on during the day and is terrible by evening. 

Basically I'm feeling very anxious (my anxiety is predominantly health anxiety) about what is going on. I don't know whether the sickness is still the sertraline in my system or a side effect from withdrawing (GP seems pretty sure I'd be fine just stopping) or whether there is something else wrong with me or if it's my anxiety?

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi well i think i know exactly how you feel because your story is very similar to mine , i have been through a lot in my life if you read my story you will know what i have been through, so bringing you up to date if you read my story is the reason i am now on sertraline, i was on the same as yo at first and was very sick , then put me on these starting on 50mg , then up to 100mg which made me very sick and dizzy and bad heads, but i do suffer migraines, but the drugs made me worse, i decided to go back down to 50mg, still feel rough but not as bad but the depression, and anxiety has come back, so i thought i have to help myself, it is hard and i believe if you have a great support system you can get through it, also alternative medicine can help, talking therapy, counselling and there is medicine to help you with the nausea, so i hope you have some one to talk to , and you have this forum , its a great help its helped me loads, so i hope this helps nd if you need to talk i am here
    • Posted

      Hi sorry it has been a while to get back to you, i have had a terrible few days my, stomach feels it is about to explode, so i have decided to stop taking sertraline, today just to see how it goes, though i thought it was my ibs, but what i usually do to git rid of it has not worked, so a few people said i could be starting the change, i am 54, so i am going to phone the doctors and get a blood test, but i have to try one thing at a time, so drugs first , i just hope my depression and anxiety does not get worse, how are you doing hun
    • Posted

      Are you on buscopan for your ibs? My ibs is only brought on now by stress and anxiety so I know how you feel 😢 I still haven’t started my setraline yet and reading the comments I don’t think I will x

    • Posted

      Really sorry to hear you haven't been well sad hope you are doing better today. I'm ok but still feeling very nauseous in the mornings and gagging... this all started when I was on the SSRIs but I've been off sertraline a week now and it's still happening. So not sure what's going on

    • Posted

      SO SORRY I have not got back to you till now my laptop is playing up, still is so if you get back to me and I do not respond straight away you will know why, as for your question I am on colofac it is prescribe by my doctor, I think it might not be working because I am at the age I could be going through my change, I am 54, also the weather is not helping, my migraines are having a field day, so to be honest I am feeling rather poorly how you doing
    • Posted

      Sorry you are still feeling rough we all re going through it to be honest I think the weather has a lot to do with it, I have spoken to quite a few people and they have all got sick since this heatwave, I have got worse,, drink lots of water try to sleep as much as you can I am not getting much, and if the drugs make you worse stay off for a while, hope you feel better soon cheesygrin
  • Posted

    I had the same side effects on citalopram so stopped as I couldn’t cope with it 
  • Posted

    I was also having terrible side effects to citalopram (10mg) so then I switched to Sertraline (25mg). That ended up making me feel depressed, so I was told to stop taking it. I am now on Prozac (mild heartburn and headaches are the only side effects I'm feeling from it) and it seems to be workingsmile 

    Are you going to try another medication?

    • Posted

      No I think I'm going to leave off the medication for while and see if I can recover with therapy. Glad prozac is working for you- how long have you been on it for? Are you on it for depression or anxiety?

    • Posted

      For GAD, Panic disorder, and OCPD originally, and honestly probably a bit of depression I didn't know I had. But depression comes with feeling panicked and anxious all the time (for me it does). I've been on it almost 2 weeks. I was only on 10mg to make sure I wouldn't have any crazy side effects, but now the doctor upped it to 20mg which should be a  therapeutic dose for me. I'm also in counseling and I'm working on CBT. The counseling really really helps. And for me, the counseling is what really matters. The medication is just a tool to use to help me be calm enough to do CBT, and once I can learn how to deal with my thoughts and panic, I no longer want to be on medication. But however long it takes I'm okay withsmile

      I'm glad you're in therapy!!!

      Let me know how you're doing!

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