Hello, I'm a 24 year old female and I have suffered for over 2 years with what numerous doctors have said is just anxiety. I constantly feel as though I am not breathing properly, difficulties swallowing, I get hot flushes, racing heart beat after just small activities and I continuously worry about and Google my symptoms. I have been put on 50mg of sertraline per day and today is day 11. Since day 2 I have had sever stiffness in my neck and my leg muscles feel weak, I haven't had to go to the toilet regularly but when I do, it is runny/diarreah like, my anxiety symptoms have all increased and the breathing seems worse than ever as do the hot sweats. I am also taking 10mg of propranolol per day.
Has anyone else had the same symptoms on this dosage or combination and how long did these symptoms persist for?
I know that I am awful at googling symptoms which makes me feel worse but I am worried I have serotonin syndrome at this stage.
Thank you for any help available.
Hi jodie
I have been on sert 50mg for the last 4 weeks and I had most of the symptoms at that stage of starting but they go after a while you just have to let it take it's course. But I'm no doctor so everyone has different side affects. If you need to talk or just ask anything just drop a line.
Hi Jodie,
I am on day 10 of taking Sertraline, have just increased my dose today from 50mg to 75mg. It is very common for your anxiety symptoms to increase quite a bit when first taking this type of medication, some times it's not the medication itself making it worse, but perhaps if you're like me, and you sound like you are with googling your symptoms, you're working yourself up because you're convinced that they are making you ill.
I have had terrible hot flushes, nausea, leg cramps and tiredness, particularly worse today with increasing my dose. I have never had the breathing problems but I have a friend with anxiety with the same symptoms, she would frequently call me to tell me that she couldn't breath and thought she was having a heart attack etc. She wasn't, it was just anxiety and the symptoms that you're describing can all be traced back to your increased anxiety.
I didn't intend to write a super long repy sorry, but I hope it helps to know that you are not alone in the symptoms that you're describing, it can taken several weeks for side effects to start to decrease, and before you see any kind of difference.
Stick with it, things will get better.
Thank you for your replies, it has given me a little more comfort knowing I'm not alone with these symptoms. I was also worried because reading up on the side effects - it claims they are rare and to contact your doctor - I haven't done so yet and I'm not seeing them again until next week.
The headaches and stiff neck seem to be getting worse but a few of the other symptoms actually seem to have settled a little the past 36 hours.