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Started on Sertraline and feeling desperate.

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angela54572
angela54572

I’ve been on Fluoxetine for around 15 years but it stopped working over a year ago. I’ve been on Sertraline for the past 3 weeks and feel like my depression is never going to improve. I’ve been on 50mg for 3 weeks and upped my dose to 75mg yesterday. I’ve been told that it can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks to start feeling the benefits. I know it’s early days but I just need some reassurance from people who have been in the same situation to help me get through this horrendous period. I’m not sleeping and appetite seems to be getting worse. I’ve tried CBT, psychotherapy, Reiki and lots of other alternative treatments but nothing seems to help. My obsessive negativity is causing me to lose faith in ever recovering and I don’t know how to change this. Please help.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Dragorphis1
    Dragorphis1 angela54572

    Posted

    I started on sertraline mid-january after being off it about a year and at 3-4 weeks I still had crippling anxiety, it was taking over my home life, work life , everything! I was super hungry, but had no appetite too.

    Then a week later I woke up and suddenly realised I hadn't been feeling so bad for the past few days, it kinda crept up on me?

    I then increased to 100mg and the anxiety came flooding back till just recently! It can take a while for it to make ANY difference, even then, it's not perfect.

    Give it chance, stay on 75 mg or go to 100mg if your doc allows, but always give it time. remember:"this too shall pass" and when it finally does, when you find the right dose, you'll feel better (:

    • angela54572
      angela54572 Dragorphis1

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply. I’m going through the menopause and my CBT lady told me that Sertraline is a good AD for hormonal problems. I know a lot of people respond well to Sertraline but with my crippling negativity it’s difficult to convince myself that it’s going to work for me. How do you know which dose is right for you and whether you need to increase or drop down? 
    • Dragorphis1
      Dragorphis1 angela54572

      Posted

      Honestly it's just long-winded trial and error, if you go up to 100mg and eventually feel fantastic, stick with it, increase if the anxiety comes back.

      I know what you mean about the negativity, upping to 75mg from 50mg will have made your anxiety worse too so it even harder to accept that the symptoms will go away, But they should!

      If you find in a month or two you feel no better, there are other SSRIs to try: I had a massive success with Prozac but I work with heavy machinery and it gave me a careless airy feeling... so not safe for me!

    • angela54572
      angela54572 Dragorphis1

      Posted

      I was on Prozac for 15 years and felt really well on it until it stopped working last year. I’m praying the Sertraline will work because I can’t bear the thought of going through months and months of trying different SSRIs.  My sister takes it and it has worked wonders for her. 

      Do you need to take anything for insomnia? 😴

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