Worried I have serotonin syndrome
Posted , 5 users are following.
I was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety nearly 4 weeks ago. I started 50mg of sertraline on 17th September I had very minimal side effects (was sick a couple of times the first 2 days, had ringing in my ears, insomnia vivid dreams and dry mouth) and within 4 days I was back to my normal self. I was feeling loads better. Only had 1 bad day (not even that bad just felt a little anxious but was able to get on with life)
However, 10 days ago I started on Cerelle the mini pill. By the start of this week my anxiety is back at an all time high. I'm constantly tired, sleep is off, the ringing ears vivid dreams and dry mouth is back. My first period since having baby came back on Monday also and its been quite bad. I went to the GP and she said I had a slight high temp and I've been taking it at home and it has been slightly raised (37.9) I've also had diarrhoea the last 2 days but not sure if this is linked to the heightened anxiety. a few times this week Ive also taken 20mg of propranolol to help ease the anxiety symptoms.
Thanks to the wonderful world of google I've now convinced myself I have serotonin syndrome. Is this possible after 4 weeks of low dose? Or is it likely to be a result of taking the mini pill (which having researched shows it is common to cause anxiety and depression in people) Or could it also be a setback of ups and downs as sertraline can cause
I have health anxiety so convincing myself I have it and I am going to die. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
0 likes, 10 replies
sue74917 natalie65464
Posted
hi natalie. Bless you, you have got yourself in a bit of a state over this but I have been there. had lots of problems when on citalopram that you are having now, junior dr read the text book list for ss and sent me to a and e, got checked out and was told most def not ss. it maybe your hormones or it maybe the mini pill, if it does not settle then go back to your dr to find out what next. hope you feel better soon x
natalie65464 sue74917
Posted
I've just got myself so worked up and I don't know which way is best to go. Do I come off the pill and give it a few days to see if I feel better or do I ask to increase the dosage of sertraline...or do I do both and increase the sertraline and stop the pill. It's driving me insane which way to go. Every time I go to the dr it's a different one I see and I'm yet to find one who can really give me good advice on whats best to do. I'm seeing a gp for some blood results tonight but on Wednesday she said it was too early to increase and that the 3 weeks I've felt better for wouldn't be down to the medication so I don't know what to do
sue74917 natalie65464
Posted
ok firstly, if you felt better you felt better no dr can really tell you how you feel, yes they can say how you should feel but that may be a lot of difference, I have felt fairly normal on sertraline and I have only been on it 10 days, some would say placebo, I say bring it on. secondly whilst getting stable on these meds do you need to add something else into the mix, as in mini pill? this is what I would do if I was you, come off the pill, stay on sertraline dose as it is at the moment wait for your period to stop and hormones to settle and then see how you feel. I am not in anyway trained to give medical advice just my own thoughts
natalie65464 sue74917
Posted
This was me exactly! For the first 19 days I felt great. But since day 20 I started to slip and been getting worse ever since. The only thing that changed was I added the mini pill in on day 15. I didnt take it this morning so hoping for the best that it clears out of my system quickly and I start to feel better sharpish. I hate this so much x
Theanxious1 natalie65464
Posted
it could be the pill. the first time i got really bad anxiety is was actually brought on by the pill. came off it and got an iud.
k80659 natalie65464
Posted
ah the curse of google... we are all in the same unfortunate boat of being anxious and being able to convince ourselves of worst case scenarios . im not a doctor so i cant tell you anything from that point of view. All i can say is all those symptoms are very common in upping doses and when other tablets are involved. My advice, for what it is worth, is to keep your doc well informed, try to stay off google!! and , the hardest of them all, wait this out. In most cases once the brain levels out with the new meds the side effects lessen. Dont do anything rash without checking with your doc. And tell yourself every day it will get better. instead of focusing on bad things, take note of any improvements in any area, no matter how small. That list should get bigger as time goes on. Keep the faith...
Hope you feel slightly better soon
dana84408 natalie65464
Posted
Hi Natalie congratulations on your new baby, I had a baby 5 months ago and yes I also had a temp a couple of weeks after, your hormones are crazy now and they will be for a couple of months, I'm pretty sure you don't have SS, I got postpartum depression and anxiety and was put on prozac, and I got a low case of SS, it was horrible my hole body was vibrating even my brain it felt like if I had Parkinson, I been on sertraline now for a month and all the symptoms you are having are totally normal and they will pass, I do suggest going up slowly on the dosage it helps with the side effects, but you have to be patient it will take 4-6 weeks for you to start feeling a little better and a couple of months to feel 100% better, also not sleeping doesn't help with anxiety, I take unisom for sleeping and my baby wakes up twice a night to feed, if you can get someone to come over and watch your baby while you take a nap that would be great, you need all the sleep you can get.
dana84408
Posted
oh and yes the first period after a baby is pretty heavy and it's normal, they will get better.
natalie65464 dana84408
Posted
Its just horrible...I never had anything like this after my first and I just feel so stuck. After feeling better for nearly 3 weeks it's so horrible to go right back to where I was. Please tell me there is hope and it will get better? I'm not sure whether to ask to up to 75mg or stick at the 50mg for longer. Did you feel good straight away and then crash back down?
Im on day 7 of the ridiculous heavy period...it's like a blood bath. Again...never had it like this after my first!
dana84408 natalie65464
Posted
well I have 4 other kids and never got postpartum depression or anxiety after having a baby, this was my first time and yes I never got such a heavy period after a delivery with any of my other kids, this was also a first for me but I read that it's totally normal to bleed a lot after a delivery, and I didn't get postpartum D, after 1 month and a half after he was born so yeah our bodies change, but thank goodness for antidepressants lol..