Woke up with intense anxiety, feeling like I was dying on day 3.
Posted , 9 users are following.
I was prescribed 50mg of sertraline for anxiety/social anxiety and yesterday I took my third tablet. I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 2am feeling like I was about to die. I was hyperventilating, dizzy, felt like I was going to faint, couldn't stop shaking, my hands went cold and got pins and needles... it was horrible.
I got up and went to the toilet thinking maybe it would calm me down, but I really felt like I was dying. I wanted to call an ambulance because I was so terrified of what was happening to me.
After about half an hour I'd calmed down a bit and stopped shaking, but was very worried about it happening again, which it actually did about at about 4am. I hadn't gone back to sleep after initially waking up and I didn't manage to get back to sleep at all last night because was so worried about waking up again with the same thing.
I wanted to see my doctor and talk to him about it, but managed to see a nurse instead. She basically said side effects are to be expected and to carry on taking the tablets.
I was expecting some side effects, but not this severe. I'm still not completely sure what happened to me - it seems like I might have woken up mid panic attack and had no idea what was going on which just made it all the worse.
I have had panic attacks occasionally before, but never ever anything even close to the intense feelings I felt last night.
Is this normal? Has anyone else had these kind of feelings? I'm honestly kind of scared of going to bed tonight for fear of waking up like I did last night, although if I do hopefully I'll be more aware of what's happening.
0 likes, 25 replies
karen261 Aphia
Posted
Ive been on sertraline for nearly 3 years. and i havent had this happen ive got loads of other side effects. i sometimes wake up in a panic and shout, but not to the extent youve said. if i was you id go back to your doctor and ask him what he thinks. how long did you say youd be on them? maybe dont take a tablet for a day and see how you feel. i can understand how you feel, it must be awful feeling like that! i do hope it gets better for you.
Aphia karen261
Posted
He didn't say exactly how long, just wanted me to come back in 2-3 weeks to see how I was getting on and discuss it. Was slightly annoyed that I couldn't speak to my doctor about it today but the nurse I saw seemed to know what she was talking about... still, might try to speak to my doctor tomorrow.
How bad are your side effects after 3 years? The more I read about this drug the less I want to take it, but I know it's different for everyone!
AdamE Aphia
Posted
If it's that bad I'd urge you to talk to your doctor right away and see if they will let you cut your dose for a few weeks at least. Until it's in your system so when/if you do decide you need to go to 50mg the side effects won't be so harsh.
Aphia AdamE
Posted
I'll definitely see if I can talk to my doctor tomorrow. I left work early on Tuesday and have been off since, but am also suffering with a sinus infection which isn't helping. Even without that though, I definitely wouldn't have been able to go in today.
AdamE Aphia
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papote53 Aphia
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paul32149 Aphia
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I would suggest dropping down to half a tablet for the first week so your body can get used to it then increase to full dose the following week that worked for me. Although it was still not nice for a few weeks i found it managable.
Aphia paul32149
Posted
Definitely think I want to do this because I really don't want a repeat of last night. Going to see if I can talk to the doctor tomorrow morning. What side effects did you experience, and do you know how many weeks it took for them to start easing off a bit?
paul32149 Aphia
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papote53 Aphia
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HopefulDee Aphia
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