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Starting Sertraline at 12.5mg problems

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clarkio
clarkio

Hi,

Took Citalopram end of last year which I had to stop after 8 days due to horrendous side effects.  Tried Mirtazapine which although didn't really suffer from side effects just didn't seem to work for my anxiety. Finally wih some trepidation started taking Sertraline.

Have started on a 12.5mg dose and all was fine for the first 5 days, some headache, upset stomach etc. but nothing too bad.  But yesterday (day 6) suddenly had really bad side effects again, huge raise in my Anxiety levels and as a result terrible nights sleep last night.

It seems rdiculous to me that such a small dose can cause such an increase in my anxiety level and wondering how I'll ever get up to 50mg. I'd like to really give the Sertraline a good go as my anxiety has runied my life this last year but find it very hard to bear this state of constant near panic.

I guess I'm looking hopefully for some reassumrance.  Did anyone else get the huge raise in anxiety on such a small dose and how long did it last? Did it subside at all after a few days or just keep getting worse?

Any guidance/assurance gratefully received.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Clare1972
    Clare1972 clarkio

    Posted

    Hi Clarkio, 

    I had side affects to such a low dose, I started on an eighth of a tablet then went up by 10% per week, which on the tablet looked like a crumb in increase! I usually had a couple of days of side affects sometimes only 1 day then I would settle again until the next increase. They do stop and usually settle once the dose is kept at the same level. Once I got to a whole tablet the side affects slowed down. I think that my body just reacted to each increase plus my anxiety went higher every time I upped the dose. 

    It does get easier x. 

     

    • clarkio
      clarkio Clare1972

      Posted

      Thank you. Still feeling high anxiety today but possibly might be waning slightly. Amazing something so small can cause such a reaction. 
    • clarkio
      clarkio Clare1972

      Posted

      how long did it take you to get to taking a whole 50mg pill?  Did you find any improvement to your existing anxiety other than increase dosage side effects whilst getting there?  Got that whole my mind is whirring with questions and doubts thing going on!
  • gingemac1977
    gingemac1977 clarkio

    Posted

    hi clarkio, yes i had raised anxiety and felt very uneasy close to panic sometimes and took some valium to calm me down, that seems to work, someone i work with has had the same problem and is also taking sertraline and they suffered alot worse than i did with their anxiety and their GP prescribed them valium, hope this helps :-)

     

    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977

      Posted

      it subsided for me after a week or two from memory, i've been on sertraline for 11 months you see :-)

       

    • Clare1972
      Clare1972 gingemac1977

      Posted

      Hi Gingermac, 

      How do you find Sertraline after 11 months, has it helped you?

       

    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977 Clare1972

      Posted

      yes, massively, i was a nightmare before, worried about everything you could think of and my depression was really bad too, i've had AD's before but none have worked for me like sertraline has, you have to bear with it though, it takes time to get into your system and you have to find the right dosage for you. i started on 50mg like all others, others are fine with the 50mg but i wasn't, i went to 100mg and didn't really do much either, so 150mg was next and between 6-9 weeks later i started to see a big difference and i returned back to my normal self, until yesterday, had a bad day yesterday because i'm due on and my emotions are hey wire, but i can cope with that, because i have a reason behind it if you know what i mean.  i'm feeling much better today :-) i get a bad few days every month around my due on time so it's loads better than it was, my down days used to be every day, then random days and it drove me close to insanity some days :-)

       

    • clarkio
      clarkio gingemac1977

      Posted

      Hi thanks for the reply.  Did you also start on 12.5mg and if so how long did it take you to get up to the 50mg?
    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977 clarkio

      Posted

      no i started on 50mg straight away, then 6 weeks later i was put on 100mg, i''m on 150mg now though and happy on this dosage :-)
  • Betsybell
    Betsybell clarkio

    Posted

    Hi, I started on 50mg and thought I was going out of my mind! Two weeks of feeling sick, anxious, didn't sleep felt suicudal. Eventually went back to the Gp who recommended going on 100mg, I thought he was crazy! Surely that would have doubled the already side effects!! However, within a couple of days I was a new person.... All side effects disappeared! Couldn't quite believe it, I just put it down to not having the right dose. I stayed on this for over two years, then tried to reduce and the same thing happened, couldn't cope so I asked for a completely new tablet. I was give paroxetine 30mg and have managed to reduce these to 20mg without any side effects so far! Hang in there x
    • clarkio
      clarkio Betsybell

      Posted

      Thank you, nice to have some reassurance. Doubling the dose seems quite an extreme measure to counteracting side effects, not sure I'm ready for that
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