First day of Sertraline...

Mental health
1

I am currently in a 24/7 state of panic and fear with worsening agorapobia, I was almost admitted to a psychiatric unit yesterday but in the end it was agreed I would come home.

My gp prescribed sertraline 50mg, I took my first this morning and oh my goodness! Within hours I had even more panic symptoms than before, much more restless, weird intrusive thoughts, feeling more faint and chronic itching to name a few.

My gp is not available today so I rang the pharmacy and asked if i should half the dose until my body adapts so I don't get such severe side effects but they have said no, they told me to stop it completely and ask my gp for something else.

Now as far as I know most of the anti depressants used to target anxiety are very similar so I am terrified that I wont have any more luck with something else.

I am very sensitive to meds, been on diazepam for years but it's no longer effective,tried Mirtazapine last year and it put me in hospital.

Has anyone had a bad experience with sertraline and then found something else that didn't put them through so much hell that they were told to stop immediately?

I need some hope here, I can barely function with this anxiety, I am struggling to keep food down, barely sleep and when I do panic wakes me up not to mention the all day panic that never stops and I mean never, I make myself go out but can only manage local and panic the whole time, the children finish school tomorrow for 6 weeks and I feel so guilty because I can't do anything with them and it's going to be them seeing me in this state constantly.

2

Hi you obviously a sensitivity to sari's perhaps they will try you on a different kind eg an maoi.You need to see your doctor asap.Another thing they would need to address is your diazepam usage as long term use and tolerance can increase anxiety and agoraphobia.Perhaps going to hospital would be the best option until they get your medication sorted out.

3

Based on everything you mentioned the itching is the only potential issue i see with your first dose of sertraline (and even that may be a nervous reaction but better to be safe than sorry). I would persevere but in a controlled environment or opt for a different class medication. You should be given a controlled adjustment course of benzos or other class sedatives to help take the edge off as you adjust and then tape off once and for all. Prolonged aimless use of benzos is the likely reason why you escalated so badly anyway and you will be better off in the hands of a psychiatrist to fix all this than a GP. Adjustment to this or any antidepressant would take a while but the worst of it can be bridged in a couple of weeks. I would assume a hospital stay for the first week of administration would be wise to exclude possibility of allergy as well as to provide a safe environment just in case you escalate dangerously in terms of your actual condition.

Hang in there and do not be so afraid of medication. Your apprehension may slow down your adjustment and treatment. Not everybody needs medication but cases like yours are clear - this is the best way forward.

In your case there is currently no better approach as you are clearly not coping and this prevents you from not only enjoying your life but also from growth and adjustment that anxiety problems indicate are required.

All the best.

4

it is rather important to note that during the first 2 weeks of adjustment to any antidepressant your doctor should be available at all times. I am not sure what you mean by your GP not being available today? If s/he is not to be available randomly then kindly advise him/her to urgently refer you to a psychiatrist who can handle cases like yours. You nee support and attention right now so that you do not have to wonder and worry about any of this! Feeling apprehensive as you are now on toip of your struggles AND adjusting to new medication is too much foranyone to bear and in the developed world should not ever be considered ok.

5

and don't worry aut your kids. You have plenty to cntend with. Do what you can and arrange for someone else to do the entertaining whenever possible, including their friends' parents, any available support around you etc. You can have quiet quality time with them on your good days. Kids will be happy with that and won't mind if somebody else does fun stuff with them during this summer. Your main concern is resting up and ding what you can to get back on track. Once you are better they will have you back and no lasting damage will have been made. More damage comes from an untreated parent than one who fought to get better. So you are doing everything right. xxx

6

Hi Bella I have replied to you before a couple of weeks ago?? I know exactly how you feel I was first diagnosed as post natal depression 25years ago and put on Prozac which seemed to work but then after that and up til 10 years ago I had 3 major episodes in which I felt exactly the same as you are feeling now and I had two kids and a partner who wasn't that supportive ( but I think mainly through lack of understanding) I did the everyday things because of my kids and I somehow got through it (3 times) but it was hard ....... You will be able to if you get the right help ... I had what used to be called CPNs ( community psychiatric nurses ) come and visit me and talk me through things which helped me but I don't know if they still have these or they may be known by different names nowadays..... Please don't feel guilty about being like it in front of your kids and not doing things with them I punished myself for years with guilt about my kids and it didn't affect them ... Go and talk to your gp or ask to see a psychiatrist (no shame in it ) and talk about meds and whatever help you can get ........I honestly know exactly how you're feeling because it has happened to me.. Thame care and I wish you all the best you can always message me anytime x

7

Thank you so much for the reply, I saw a psychiatrist last week but she had very little interest in finding the actual cause of why these huge breakdowns keep happening to me, this is my 4th, 3 have been severe including this one and I am never well for more than a few months between them, it's like a continous loop of feeling better,breaking down and never knowing why it happens.

They often ask what helped me to get better 'last time' but to be honest it's just been a case of putting up with it until it improves on it's own, I was really well for a few months before this one, best I've been in 2 years but it just blew up again for no reason.

I asked to be put into hospital so that they could observe me, find the root cause and treat me but they said they don't have the funding for that and every time I push for it there is a different excuse like 'it wouldn't help' or 'you are not enough of a risk', my husband has tried so hard to get them to understand how severe it is but they don't listen to him, the gp or anyone.

I am really lucky that my husband is so supportive and helps so much especially with the children but it's a miserable way for all of us to live.

I have a lot of contact with my gp but appointments are not always available and of course a gp has limitations, they are not mental health professionals, my gp has really tried to get me all the help she can from the mental health team but they are completely useless and think it's actually acceptable for someone to live like this.

They are giving me a support worker who will visit me at home starting on the 31st but the intention of that is so that she can check my well being and go over coping techniques with me which is okay but doesn't actually resolve the problem.

I don't just want to 'cope' (not that I feel I can) I want to recover and not keep slipping back into this state which is what I intend to tell her.

Sadly we have no family closeby, my parents are dead, my husband is an only child and has an alcoholic mother and his dad lives miles away now so it's just us trying to battle on the best we can,not easy at all.

I will speak with my gp again at my appointment on tuesday about the medication issue, things got so bad on friday night with side effects that I called an emergency doctor and was told to stop the sertraline immediately, I was having intrusive thoughts and impulses to do dangerous things like throwing a metal spoon into the microwave oven and we were in the car and I was sat there thinking I should get out and touch the nearby railway line, these were not suicidal thoughts, they were shocking and frightening and my husband said that he had never heard me talking like that before starting sertraline.

Today is my second day of no sertraline and those thoughts have gone along with the explosive headache, double vision and most of the intense itching it was giving me.

I honestly don't know what is going to happen next but something needs to change, all I can do is carrying on trying to get the help I need xxx

 

8

Thank you beverley, my mind has been so scrambled that I forgot I had even posted, it's so scary!

I used to have a CPN but they are not so available now, I am getting a support worker but it's likely to be a social worker and in my experience they are not the best at dealing with mental health.

The psychiatrist I saw had no interest in finding the cause, suggested a few medications and that was that, I got the sertraline from my gp, it was one of the suggestions but after 3 days the emergency doctor told me to stop, I know the gp will be annoyed that I stopped but the emergency doctor was adamant and to be honest I was struggling to cope with the side effects on top of my existing anxiety state, especially the weird and intrusive thoughts.

I have an appointment on tuesday but could try calling tomorrow and will see what the gp says, I know I can't go on in this state, it's like living in a constant panic attack, not a full blown 'can't breath or speak' attack but very much on the verge of one every second of the day with constant anxiety and fear smothering me, I am exhausted but sleep is so hard, the attacks/intense fear feelings wake me after a few hours, this morning it was 4am, since then it's been non stop feeling scared,anxious etc whatever I am doing.

I can't think straight, I realised this morning that I have been neglecting bills that need paying and that there is money sitting in the bank that needs sorting out to pay them and put into savings for xmas (we start early) and I haven't been doing any of that, I need to make a list with my husband but not sure how in this state, he's happy to help but needs me to list what needs doing and when because I'm the one that usually deals with these things so he wouldn't know where to start.

We did get me out to a park yesterday thank goodness, I panicked but settled enough to stay there, I thought it would give me the confidence to go out today but I was in an awful state just being driven to the supermarket and walking around it.

I feel so self concious too because my hair is a state, unwashed with a good 4 inches of grey coming through, I am a proud woman who usually manages to look okay even if I don't feel it but I am so unwell that I just can't do anything about it at the moment.

Thank you so much again for your kind words and support and sorry for rambling on, I'm just utterly terrified x

9

Hi I know this post is old but did you manage to stick with sertraline? I'm having severe panic attacks and anxiety and I've been prescribed sertraline today but I bit weary of taking it