Experiences with setraline

[Milfordcubicle]

I’ve been on it for about 9 years. It was an absolute life saver and I wish I’d started it years ago. I have anxiety and OCD, intrusive thoughts etc. The first week I laughed like a hyena I literally couldn’t stop laughing. I think it’s caused my weight gain but I’d rather be fat and not suicidal!
conversely my husband was put on it a couple of years ago and had to come straight off it as it completely zombiefied him

 

[aidil]

First time I experienced real emotional blunting this weekend and it was weird. I’ve not had any extremes in emotion (both happy or anxious) for a while and been fine with that as anything is better than panic attacks. But I had a few things happen with a friend the other day that really made me want to cry…. But I just couldn’t physically cry? It was bizarre. Like I had a lump in my throat but no tears would come out. And then I ended up feeling worse as there was no release from the emotion so just felt like I was stewing all day.

Anyone else experienced this?

 

[boomska]

I’m in the same space. What have you decided? I collected my prescription today, but really can’t decided. Take care of yourself x

I’ve decided to go back on it! I know I’m a natural over thinker but it’s just been worse that ever recently. And I can’t seem to shake it off with my normal techniques lol you take care of yourself too! X

 

[theghosttown]

I have a dicky belly the last 2 weeks so I wonder if it's the setraline? I have IBS anyway but I've never felt like I'm going to shit myself before

All I can say when it comes to being of Sertraline, I can tell your from experience, you can never ever EVER trust a fart.

 

[pimplepopper123]

Sertraline has changed my life for the better! I am on 200mg which we have realised is the perfect dose for me. The first 6 weeks were rough and I wanted to give up so many times but i'm glad I stuck with it. It's been 18 months now and I am a different person! I was previously on citalopram but was told that it isn't good for anxiety so they switched me to Sertraline

 

[TapToBoreMeRigid]

Hi @aidil I just wrote a huge message to you then accidentally clicked an ad. Haha

Late summer I started on 50mg and stayed on that for 3 months. Unlike you I found the mental noise lessened but the physical side effects actual got worse temporarily. Racing heart upon waking and randomly through the day. I didn't want to increase my dose because I was being stubborn and stupid. I went up to 100mg and stayed on that for a month. It didn't change anything so I was upped to 150mg. On day 12 I began to experience tremors so my GP put me back to 100mg with a view to bringing me off the medicine altogether. It turns out the tremors are not related to Sertraline at all. I've been dealing with physical health issues, (it doesn't rain but it pours), and my rheumatologist is confident that tremors and muscle spasms are associated with that and not Sertraline.

I think I need to go up to 150mg again and give it longer now I know it wasn't what caused my tremors.

In my experience 3 weeks has never been long enough on any medicine I've taken to gauge if it will be "the one". (I've taken various medicines for mental illness since I was 15 and I'm now 35).

Best of luck to you

 

[itsnotmereally]

I’ve decided to go back on it! I know I’m a natural over thinker but it’s just been worse that ever recently. And I can’t seem to shake it off with my normal techniques lol you take care of yourself too! X

I weaned myself off from 150mg, so think it’s worth giving 50mg a go, as I’m not quite in the headspace I was then, but am terrified of getting back there. X

 

[aidil]

Who else is struggling in this heat with the Sertraline sweats? Feel like I’m going through the change

 

[Sunflower91]

Has anyone had a problem with sweating? I’ve been on it for about 6 months and can’t even walk to the shops without coming back and needing a shower. I wore a tshirt while it was snowing last week it’s horrendous!

Omg yes! And I got terrible night sweats. I used to wake up on a morning completely drenched.

Took sertraline for around a year and was an absolute idiot with it. Two that spring to mind were taking kalms with it (high dose + kalms left me pretty much out of it at my desk for three hours)
Then I decided one day I didn’t need them- “weaned” myself off them in a daft way (just taking them willy nilly) had an absolute crash a month or so later and thought I might end up being put on a section. Looking back I clearly wasn’t as well as I thought I was and the urge to come off them was just me being impulsive.

 

[Maxine1974]

My daughter is currently on 200mg and it’s been really good for her. She started on 50mg and she had some nausea,shakes, headaches to begin with but the soon wore off. There not a magic fix by any stretch but they’ve really helped her manage much better the she was before she started taking it

 

[itsnotmereally]

I’ve been on 100mg for a year now but started on 50mg at first was on it for about 6 months before and then upped the dose. The only side affects I really had was fatigue, and a bit of a headache and sweating. I’m on it for depression & anxiety. My side affects didn’t worsen when I increased tbh but the only side affect I can’t stand is the sweating especially in the summer months. Also used to take it in the morning but now I take it at night as I found taking it during the day it made me really tired and drowsy I take it at night about an hr before bed, but some people it keeps them awake if they take it at night, affects everyone so differently.

I’m one who has to take it in the morning or my insomnia has a party.

 

[HoneyBee29]

I'm on 100mg daily, I want to come off sertraline. I've been on it over a year. Has anyone ever come off it and if so how did you get on?

Everyone has different experiences, it affects everyone so differently. I came off 100mg in February this year, dropped to 50 for 2 weeks then 25 for a week, I’d been on them for 3 years and ended up back on it about a month later, feel like I can’t function now without it, only on 50mg now. Side affect wise coming off I wasn’t too bad just a bit of vertigo for a few weeks and did have one night where my stomach was really crampy and I had the runs and felt sick, sorry TMI but it was away by the next morning. I read somewhere sertraline is apparently absorbed a lot by the intestine which is probably the reason for the cramps. The vertigo/light headedness was away by the time I went back on it again.

 

[theghosttown]

I wake up absolutely saturated every morning! It’s horrendous! I get through so many duvet covers in the laundry now!

I’m on week three and have started experiencing this. I am SATURATED when I wake up. I’m not even hot either which is the weirdest thing. It’s vile. On the plus side I’m not suffering from the absolutely crackers dreams I used to get when I was previously on them. I really hope this symptom stops because I’m fastidious with my hygiene and I wake up feeling absolutely disgusting.

 

[JSquared]

I started them beginning of February following a mental breakdown. I don’t know if it was a placebo effect but the first week or two was hideous but after I seemed to pick up massively and felt happy that I’ve finally found something that will help. Now I’ve crashed again, struggling with pretty much everything, I have a 2 year old who is on the go constantly and I’m finding that really tough.

Perhaps you need a higher dose?
I would honestly recommend you speaking to your doctor. They can give you the best guidance on how to move forward with your medication. Sending you lots of love, we all know how tough it can be

 

[unidentified]

Same here with the sweats! I am constantly sweaty top lip and on the wards I work on the heat is always crazy hot and I can feel the sweat running down my back. I get so conscious about sweat patches. It isn’t nice but clear headband all that. These meds are really not easy at times are they when you think about it. We crave that clarity so much that we’re prepared to be sweaty messes with zero libido

 

[soapybubbles]

It doesn’t stop the sweats but if your hands are bad (like mine) liquid talc keeps the moisture down a little bit. I also use it on my lower back!

mine is my scalp and face

 

[Vivian124]

Does anyone else suffer brain fog?

 

[Oohthedrama]

totally agree everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to medication so I’m not going to bash it because of my experience or the experience of people I know, It also depends what you’re being treated for as well I assume.
Will be interesting to see if they approve psychedelics as a for of treatment soon, looks promising.
Off topic sorry!
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i feel like they would want me to settle before coming off but im just sick of being on meds. Im sick of being depressed. Im sick of having anxiety.

Im gonna sound like your mother but… people who are “sick of having cancer” wouldn’t just come off their medication.
Mental health is no different. You might not like being sick but you can’t just ignore it and hope it will go away, speak with your doctor and work with them, they’re there to help you come off the medication safely and maybe give you an alternative. Xx

 

[thenoodle]

Ok! I had headache for a couple of days but nothing other than that yet. It has made me feel a bit flat though, not particularly tired but I don’t have the motivation to do much

 

[theghosttown]

Has anyone experienced really crazy vivid dreams whilst taking this? I’ve been taking them for 3 months. The dreams were WILD at the beginning then stopped but have since started up again even though my dose hasn’t changed. I spoke to my GP and she said she’d never heard of this happening before

Your gp is an idiot. Crazy dreams is a dead common side effect!!