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I'm on my 3rd attack of Anxiety and Low Mood in 4 years. I suppose I'm about 10 or 11 weeks into it. Previously, I've worked through it, on medical advice, without medication but I felt so horrible this time that I asked for medication. My researches had indicated that Sertraline was a good choice, and my GP (who's fantastic) agreed.
She also gave me Propranolol 10mg, to take 3 times a day, and that's been the absolute life saver!
** If anyone is struggling with the physical symptoms of anxiety while you wait for Sertraline to kick in, ask your doctor about Propranolol. It does nothing at all for the mental aspects of Anxiety but is stunningly good at controlling all the churning that can go with it. **
I almost didn't take the Sertraline but I'd read that it was particularly good for recurring bouts of Anxiety; I'd chickened out of taking anything for the first bout (offered Citalopram in 2013 but was too frightened to take it), wasn't offered anything for the second bout. Decided to go for it.
First night ~ no sleep at all. This is a major disadvantage for someone for whom anxiety has become focussed in Somniphobia.
I also felt nauseous, bloated, no appetite, and generally grim. For weeks, I found I had to dash for the loo about half an hour after breakfast with major looseness, not nice. I've been taking acidophilus tablets for a couple of weeks, and that seems to have helped a bit. Also, having porridge rather than eggs. The rest of the day is fine.
The grimness lasted for quite a few weeks, although by week 2 my mood began to lift a bit, and the anxiety began to drop a bit. Although it was an improvement, I'd still get quite despondent at having to work at it still. Like everyone else, I wanted the magic wand.
A newish friend of mine disclosed that she'd been on 150mg for years. Hearing how ill she'd been beforehand was really quite traumatic! Anyway, she has hinted once or twice that I should get the dose upped. She seems to feel a mild kind of bliss, and I generally don't.
I don't want to go too high too soon ~ though if I need to, then I will. Where I am now is vastly improved on where I was before I started the meds 8.5 weeks ago but I don't feel medicatedly blissful. I feel like I often have over the last 4 years: that I'm also putting in my own efforts to feeling better.
Now, I'm firmly in the camp that says that if we need to take medication to improve whatever chemical imbalance is giving us Anxiety and Low Mood, then we take it! always have been.
At the same time, I look at where I am/how I'm feeling in the same way as I'd look at having to do physiotherapy ~ I've got to do the work too.
Like others have reported, I have good days and not so good days. Things had been going pretty well, until a text a couple of days ago from my sister-in-law saying that, now my mother's died (11 months ago) she and my brother won't be travelling up for Christmas.
I totally get that for them it's great to have the whole Christmas season in their own home for the first time in their married life but she didn't seem to notice that I get to spend the first Christmas without Mum (her funeral was 4 days before Christmas last year, so she wasn't here either but it was all a fog) and without any other member of my family either.
Huge sense of abandonment (a lifelong issue) and having no-one to care (a new issue)!
Please don't worry about my Christmas! I'm spending it with a superb friend who's been incredibly supportive while I've been ill this time; but the abandonment thing was intense and I've had a very low couple of days, which then makes me anxious about sleeping, which then makes me feel even lower..... but I'm aware that I'll come back up. I haven't enjoyed this but it does feel "normal", and that's kind of where Sertraline seems to be keeping me ~ "normal", not blissful.
Oh, and not long before the abandonment text, I had a brief sensation of borderline bliss ~ again, normal.
I found an excellent website that described having a fear of not sleeping as a phobia like any other, spiders, clowns, whatever, and giving ideas for working through it. That's really helped.
I fairly quickly knocked the Propranolol down to twice a day - it seems that every med I take (Propranolol, Sertraline, Losartan, Atorvastatin) can have negative sleep implications, so the sooner I can start ratcheting them down, the better.
So in brief (ha!), the first days on Sertraline were miserable but it helped knowing that I was taking something that could help (and could also be causing the temporary misery). I believe it's helping me get there, and the return to a sort of normal degree of anxiety and mood is a place I'm happy to be in ~ I'll work on the bliss.
1 like, 2 replies
Kmom Ailidh
Posted
I am on 7 weeks at 50 too. I am waiting for the bliss too lol!
Ibwas told to up to 100 but am scared since I've had little side effects thus far. Keep me posted pls.
kerry56645 Ailidh
Posted
Hi ladies I've been on sertraline for 13 months I was like you both terrified of taking it. It I had to do something I was literally going crazy! I have the bliss! I started on 50g side affects for me were horrid after 4 weeks I had an improvement but still had the anxiety, I upped to 100 surprisingly I didn't get any side affects. 100g was great for about 6 months then I started getting g anxious again and had a few panic attacks. I monitored this for around 4 weeks I defiantly was slipping back so I upped to 125 and I can honestly say my life has changed for the better, im relaxed happy, thinking rationally. If you are still feeling anxious and it can't be explained then you still have some symptoms 50g is a very low dose, 100g is the general maintenance dose and 200g is the maximum dose. I'm all for the increased dose ... life is too short for anxiety! Xxxx
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