VERY reluctant and anxious about starting Sertraline

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I've suffered from anxiety for 6 years and insomnia for 4, but since leavng for uni last year, both have worsened. I'm at the point where I throw up repeatedly all night on sundays because I'm scared to go into my lectures. Nothing bad has ever happened in my lectures and my tutors are really nice, so I don't know what this is. I also struggle to go out with my friends after having a panic attack in a club before Christmas. The doctor prescribed me 50mg Sertraline and I've had it in my drawer for 3 weeks unopened. Just very worried about all the possible side effects as I have previously self harmed. Would appreciate some advice/stories of your experiences 

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    I couldn't agree more with the low dosage startup. I was given 50mg for anxiety as a fairly standard startup last week and was due to move up to 100mg after 10 days. Day 1 was okay and I felt like I was back to normal. Wow! Day 2 through to 5 got progressively worse. I felt really sick, overly restless and had to force feed to eat. I didn't take a tablet on day 6 or this morning which is day 7. Yesterday was hell like the day before with the added hassle of my ears ringing unceasingly in response to listening to some loud (but not overly loud) music on saturday night and with having to force feed to eat it's as low as I've ever felt. I felt a bit better this morning (48 hours after the last tablet) and this afternoon I feel almost normal again. I don't know how long normality will last but I'm due to see the doc on friday for a review. In the meantime I've googled for low dosage sertraline and found stories of people overdosing on 10mg! I guess I come into that category or at least that's what I think given what's happened. So the moral of the story is you may need more ultimately but start off slow.

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