

Sertraline buddies - support for anybody taking Sertraline

(1000 Posts)
buttonortwo Thu 13-Feb-14 14:48:29

I eventually went to docs yesterday, been really suffering with depression. Is it possible the medication can result in side effects straight away? I'm feeling sick and no appetite today, however feeling better, clearer... I'm on 50 mg the lowest dose.. Anyone else share their experience please?

Imliketotallyummm Fri 29-Aug-14 01:25:45

I get the last message! see you on the other thread ..

Chuffchuff Fri 29-Aug-14 00:34:53

Ooh nearly up to 1000 messages!

Chuffchuff Fri 29-Aug-14 00:33:27

I definitely don't feel ready to come off them either; I'm still a bit too up and down to think about that...

I think my problem is that I know i do feel better, but I'm still living in my own little 'safety zone' and I need to push myself to to all the things I stopped doing when I started feeling too anxious, like doing long car journeys on my own, going on long trips in general. I'm pretty sure id be fine but until I try i don't know. I need a big kick up the arse really smile.

Were you nervous about going to Berlin? I know I would be, because in my case my anxiety turned into feelings of agoraphobia sad.

Imliketotallyummm Fri 29-Aug-14 00:05:53

Glad you're back on track chuff.

Yes, I can't believe we've been taking them that long either. I've seen mention (here?) of a course of 6 months then weaning off them, but I am far from "cured"!

I can't work out if I'm just being pathetic or if there are actual issues I could sort out and improve my life. My main problem seems to be a total lack of confidence and I just don't know what to do about it.

Chuffchuff Thu 28-Aug-14 21:41:23

Ps can't believe we've been on these for nearly six months! Does that mean we're supposed to be 'cured' now then? hmm

Chuffchuff Thu 28-Aug-14 21:39:49

How long have you been on the increased dose now then? You might find a break from work does the trick without upping it again. I know what you mean about a 'dream job' - I've always envied people who always knew what they wants to do and just went for it. I still don't know!

I'm ok thanks - had a couple of wobbly weeks where I wondered if I might need to up my dosage, but I tried to make myself relax more with breathing exercises and mindfulness stuff and I think I'm back on track again, hopefully smile

Imliketotallyummm Thu 28-Aug-14 21:04:51

forgot to reply: yes I did feel the increased dose was helping, until things got crazy at work and I was left alone to cope! My gp asked if I want to increase again this morning, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel after some time off.

Imliketotallyummm Thu 28-Aug-14 20:49:44

Hi chuff smile Hope you are OK.

I feel more relaxed, knowing I have a few days to myself. I really don't want to go back, but unfortunately we need the money. The 2 weeks with SSP will hurt us as it is.

I wish I had a dream job, something I'm passionate about, but I don't. I love animals, but can't afford to retrain as vet. nurse. I've tried to set up pet sitting business before, but there is already a very good local one.

Chuffchuff Thu 28-Aug-14 17:26:36

here's the link to the new thread for when this one gets full...

Chuffchuff Thu 28-Aug-14 17:22:32

Hi everyone, not been on here for a few days, hope you're all ok smile

imlike sorry to hear you were struggling with work - but if the stress of your job was adding to your problems you could probably do with a break from it - hopefully that will help smile. Did you find your increase in dose helped at all? I remember you went up to 100mg a few weeks ago. Good to hear you enjoyed your holiday, anyway.

london I agree you should give the sertraline a go. As others have said, 50mg is a low dose so shouldn't have that drastic an effect on you anyway. Do you know what dosage your brothers are on? They may not even be on the same AD and they all work differently on different people. Bottom line is, your PND needs treatment and you will probably find the meds help, so it's worth a go IMO smile. By the way, I've never heard of anybody taking them and feeling disengaged from life - that sounds more like a symptom of depression than meds, really.

Anyway, this thread is nearly full so I'm going to start a new one and will put a link on here....

Imliketotallyummm Thu 28-Aug-14 10:11:46

I've been to see my gp this morning and she gave me a sick note for 2 weeks. I can't face looking for another job, there are so few in our area and there is no way of knowing they will be any better.

Welcome London smile I've been taking Sertraline for about 6 months and don't feel unable to connect with the people around me. I think it's worth a try. Remember though you shouldn't stop taking them abruptly, but should phase them out slowly.

Imliketotallyummm Wed 27-Aug-14 19:58:12

Pandora the holiday in Berlin was great. I was able to forget about our worries for a bit. Unfortunately it all came back to me with a vengeance when I got home.

I didn't go in to work today, I slept most of the day. I have an appointment with my go tomorrow.

LondonDonut Wed 27-Aug-14 18:38:26

Thanks Pandora. I'm feeling really desperate; just want to get better

Pandora37 Wed 27-Aug-14 17:51:41

Imlike how was your holiday? Your work situation sounds really difficult. I went back last week and I called in sick the first day as I couldn't face it, as well as having a bad headache. The next shift I felt sick panicking about it and was thinking about ringing in sick again but I forced myself to go in and I'm glad I did as it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think sometimes when you've been off for a while you get used to being away and you become more and more terrified about going back. That said, if you really feel you can't cope then I think you should be signed off. Maybe you could try and look for another job in the meantime whilst you're off?

LondonDonut unfortunately no-one will be able to say what sertraline will do to you as it effects people differently and at different times in their lives. It can increase anxiety symptoms for the first couple of weeks and it takes at least a month to work properly. I had nausea and diarrhoea the first few days yet I had a friend who's on it who didn't have that at all. I'm sure your husband means well and is concerned but if you have untreated PND then you won't be engaging properly with the world anyway. You've been prescribed the lowest dose and my GP said that sertraline isn't as strong as other ADs like fluoxetine so hopefully you'll be okay. I think as you're seeing a psychiatrist then you should give the medication a go, especially as it's something that could potentially really help. If it doesn't work or it doesn't agree with you then at least you can say you gave it a chance.

Normally it's recommended that you stay on ADs for about 6 months and then wean yourself off it, provided that your symptoms have improved. I was on fluoxetine several years ago for only a couple of months and I told my psychiatrist that it wasn't working and I didn't want to take ADs any more. He said that was fine and signed me off, although I regret that now and believe I should have tried another sort. But ultimately it's your choice and if you decide later down the line that ADs just aren't working for you then you're entitled to say you don't want to take them. Good luck. smile

LondonDonut Wed 27-Aug-14 17:00:31


I'm new to posting but I would really like some advice please. I've got PND and the psychiatrist has prescribed sertraline at 50mg. My DH is really anti my taking it, says that I won't be able to engage properly with the world. Both our brothers have depression and are on anti-depressants and they both tend to opt-out of life. What will sertraline do to me? Should I take it? And if I take it, will I be able to come off it again? Thanks

Imliketotallyummm Wed 27-Aug-14 00:46:25

Hope everyone's OK.

I've been off work 2 weeks and am due to go back tomorrow, but don't feel I can cope. I have an appointment with my go on Thursday morning, she has previously asked if she should sign me off sick, I think this time I will accept.

However I'm scared of how work will react and also don't really want to ever go back, as the atmosphere is so bad there. As dh is out of work I don't know what will happen to his benefits if I hand in my notice - at the moment he gets no JSA due to my (meagre) earnings, but we do get a little help with the interest on our mortgage and also with council tax.

I feel I should work, as dh currently doesn't, but just can't cope at the moment. The logical thing to do would be to have some time off to think about it, but I know how my colleagues talk about others, especially when they are off ill and it's a very small office and a difficult place to work if we don't get on.

Pandora37 Tue 26-Aug-14 09:36:04

Actually I tell a lie, I have noticed that my sex drive has decreased a lot recently but I don't know if that's due to the sertraline, or being depressed, stressed and having a bad break-up. I'm sure it's probably a combination of all of them.

Pandora37 Tue 26-Aug-14 09:07:37

How are you all doing? I'm actually really glad that my dose has increased as I'm finally starting to feel a bit more functional. I'm on a different placement now that I enjoy more so I'm sure that's having an effect as well but I feel like I can cope with things a bit better and I finally feel like I'm able to do some academic work whereas before my head was just too fuzzy. I'm not really having any side effects other than a bad headache a couple of days after my dose increased but that may have been unrelated. I also seem to be going to the toilet a lot but I don't have the dreaded diarrhoea any more, thank god.

Chuffchuff Mon 18-Aug-14 22:09:31

No i haven't - is it good? I've had a good read through the website, is there lots in the book that's not on there?

MouseandChops1 Mon 18-Aug-14 21:54:25

Thanks fluffy and chuff. Really needed the encouragement tonight.
Chuff, I'm half way through reading his book at the moment, a life at last.
Trying to put what he recommends into practice but it's hard. Will keep slogging away though.
Have you read the book?

Chuffchuff Mon 18-Aug-14 21:24:26

No problem mouse - I was honestly feeling just like you earlier this year, but I haven't had those horrible 'panic' feelings for about two months now. I still get anxiety symptoms sometimes, like butterflies in my tummy, but never anything worse, so I can live with that smile

And I'm on 50mg too btw.

Are you trying anything else alongside the meds? I have some mindfulness meditations I listen to on my ipod that really help to relax me. I've also found reading this website really helps - particularly this section. Give it a go! smile

Am having an ok night thanks - nothing on TV so on mumsnet smile

fluffybunnies246 Mon 18-Aug-14 21:15:51

(((mouse))) agree with chuffchuff I found that when I started Sertraline I got a bit agitated like the side effects from taking recreational stimulants but without the good bit grrrrr but my system calmed down after a while. More than 3 weeks will pass. Anxiety/depression is soooo drawn out if you are feeling crap the days feel like weeks.

MouseandChops1 Mon 18-Aug-14 21:10:51

Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. It's just rubbish, my logical side knows it will ease but there's a stronger pull saying 'this is me forever' and I'm trying to distract myself but the evenings seem to be worse.
Hope you are having a nice evening

Chuffchuff Mon 18-Aug-14 21:01:44

Aw mouse sorry to hear you're having a rough night.

I didn't start to feel consistently better until seven to eight weeks in. I did start to feel better sooner than that, but I would have a few days of feeling good then a few of feeling really stressed again. When I had been on them a couple of weeks I was at home on my own one night and had a horrible panic attack that lasted ages, probably the worst I've ever had sad. I googled it at the time and found that is very common that your anxiety often does increase before it starts to get better, unfortunately. Actually it's such a common thing that doctors sometimes prescribe diazepam to take for the first couple of weeks alongside the sertraline.

I do think three weeks in is very early days to think it may not be working properly. I think you need to be a couple of months in to really able to assess how well it suits you. That's not to say you're going to feel awful for another few weeks - I'm sure that my anxiety peaked to it's worse just before the positive effects of the meds started to kick in.

In the mean time, be kind to yourself, try to do things that help you feel relaxed, watching a film, having a doze on the sofa, whatever. Remember this is an illness and it's not your fault, and you're on the road to recovery smile

MouseandChops1 Mon 18-Aug-14 19:50:15

Evening all, some advice/ reassurance required please. I'm three weeks in on 50mg and this evening I'm feeling really panicky. Is 3 weeks too soon to worry about tablets not working or am I hoping for too much. I felt ok most of today, teary this morning but ok.
I've been on it before for post natal anxiety and it was effective but I just have no memory of that time and how long it took/bumps along the way etc
Sorry as I've asked similar question a few days ago but I'm really struggling to see how this anxiety period will pass and it's making me panic (very productive evening of worrying here smile) )

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