1 month into my fist ever depression

Treatment and medication
1

i went to the doctor for severe anxiety at first, (health anxiety) and constant waves of panic attacks NOT NICE!, he gave me ‘anti anxiety’ tablets which were sertraline 50mg,
the first week was absoloutly horrendous.HORRID they sent me spiralling into depression,i physically couldnt eat anything, i could barely reach out for a drink on my bedside, i was curled up in a ball in bed in the dark for 2 weeks. all i could do was pray this depressive feeling in my head went away FAST
I felt as though i couldnt be left alone as i would get into a panic , they made me feel like i was totally losing my mind, i didnt eat for 4 days straight

i had the normal side effects of starting antidepressants .. loose stool, headaches, bad dizzy spells and pain between the eyes, zero apetite ) and crazy crazy isomnia which i still have, (2 -3 hours sleep a night)
all the latter side effects i can deal with if it meant i would never have to feel that disgusting draining, im going crazy kill me now feeling in my brain)
i went back to a different doctor and explained these tablets gave me severe depression which she agreed but insisted i stick with them for a little longer so VERY RELUCTANTLY i did
it was day 14 that i felt things change, still dizzy, headache and loose stool but my head started to feel clearer, i slowly felt i was getting better, , im on day 20 now and my mood is improving and panick attacks have calmed down, i still get dizzy spells but im getting back to my old self, i can now speak to people again
i went to see a private psychiatrist who is much more trained in mental health than a GP ( cost me a a fortune) to speak about this medicine as the doctors on the nhs seem to have conflicting views on it (not there skilled profession)
he said sertraline is one of the best anti depressants available and i done the right thing to stick it out for the first 2 weeks even though they were so bad
MORAL OF THE STORY - PLEASE GIVE SERTRALINE A CHANCE TO WORK - at least 3 weeks,
my psychiatrist (works in a top private hospital in london) said not to listen to too many of the bad reviews as he believes most of them
will be from people who didnt stick it out past the first couple of weeks and didnt allow the drug to work,
if this helps at least one person fighting mental health as i am ill be a satisfied man

from peter parker

2

I am so sorry you went through that! I had exactly the same thing in June. Health anxiety, constant waves of panic attacks everday for weeks. I lost 5kg..ended up at 54kg at my lowest (I’m 173cm tall).
A GP put me on Sertraline 50mg and just like you..the first week/ two were HELL. I had every side effect in the book.
Also went to a private Psychiatrist who slowly upped me to 100mg and got me into psychotherapy with an amazing psychologist.
Now, 6 months later and I feel like my old self. Still on the 100mg. It DOES work, people please hang in there. It took about 6 weeks for me to start feeling it working positively. You just have to ride out the adjustment period xxx

3

thank you both for taking the time to post some positive. I am 10weeks into taking sert and am feeling so much better, just had a small dose increase so a bit up and down but I know I getting there and post like this keep me goingl

4

Thank you guys :slight_smile: I have just stated sert first time last night. Was a little worries about it. Been on citrelpram for 20 weeks and that did nothing. So I’m a bit apprehensive :slight_smile: but if it worked for spiderman :slight_smile: lol.. it could work for me. Cheers guys :slight_smile:

5

spiderman lol, thanks for the replies guys! yes ryan stick with this medicine give it a real good chance to work as many do not,
if your feeling really down for the first 1/2 weeks as i was, JUST TELL YOURSELF THIS ISNT YOU ITS THE TABLETS MAKING YOU FEEL THIS WAY - AND ITS ONLY TEMPORARY - IT WILL PASS
im only on day 21 now but it has really calmed by body and mind down, still not feeling like doing too much at the moment but as each day passes now i feel i have more and more energy, before the tablets i felt like a dead man walking. i can see the light now, im finally looking forward to christmas, and might even be able to get some shopping done too, also i strongly believe as the days go on now my mind will get happier and ill start thinking positive, just so happy to escape that dark dark place
good luck guys and girls :heart:

6

i am on 100 and i felt good week 3 but an incident happened in my family took me backwards i dont know if anyone had the same and felt good aftwards i am really scared amd intrusive thoughts panics me . plz any help ?