Hi guys been on this sertraline for about 8/10 months have had good reaction head wise but have had the odd bit of diarrhoea for like one week out of a month but this last spell has lasted nearly 3 weeks should i be concerned I'm due to see the doc on 10th June do you think I should see him sooner thx
Graham,
Diarrhea sucks! I feel your pain. Sertraline gave me bad diarrhea at first, but no more.
Three weeks is a very long stretch of time for diarrhea!
From my experience with docs and tummy problems, I don't think the doc is going to be much help with the diarrhea. Your doc is going to suggest simple solutions, such as eat more yogurt, or take pepto-bismol. Sigh.
I say wait it out, but you might email or phone your doc (or the doc's assistant) and ask if you should come in for a visit.
Hang in there!
Maybe alter your diet.
Hi,
I would contact your gp ASAP rather than put it off. I was given Sertraline approx 18 months ago and started getting loose (sometimes slimy bowel movements).
At first the diarrhoea was only occasionally but it escalated slowly week by week until i visisted the gp ( i didnt link it to the medication at all).
Anyway the bowels got worse, i got tested for all kinds of things, sent to consultants etc and was told over and over again that the tests showed nothing so it must be irratable bowel movement. After months off work (it got so bad it got to the stage it was happening in my pants on occasions).
Anyway the long and short of it was that i had 'microscopic colitis' common in 60 - 80 year olds!!! (i was 36 at the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and it can only be diagnosed by biposies taken during an endoscope procedure.
The result was the microscopic colitis was caused by the Sertraline and within two days of stopping this medication and taking steroids (for the inflammation caused to colon) i slowly recovered. The bowels are still occasionally funny and i put this down to all the hassle caused by this medication.
A good medication for some but if its causing bowel issues then get it changed by your gp as soon as you can - dont suffer like i did (for a good while before diagnosis i was convinced i was dying of bowel cancer).
Hi Tanya,really interested in your post. I have been on Sertraline for 5 weeks now,and for the last couple of weeks I have had horrendous watery diarrhoea. Spoke to my gp today and she said Sertraline can cause tempory colitis which horrified me. She wants me to stop the Sertraline immediately and go on to Escitalopram. Are you better now and do you think stopping the Sertraline will cure this? Kind regards
Hi, I have been on sertraline for 6 weeks at 50 mg, prescribed for anxiety. Over the last 3 days I have developed very loose liquid stools which has increased my anxiety. I'm going to stop taking the drug as it wasn't easing my anxiety at all anyway. What I'd like to know from anyone with experience of this is will the diarrhoea go away after stopping sertraline? How long will it be - it's freaking me out!
Hi Adam,I stopped Sertraline 8 days ago after being on it for 5 weeks. I developed chronic watery diarrhoea at week 4,up to 7 times a day which sent my anxiety through the roof. However,for the past 2 days it has been slowly getting better. Have you tried Immodium? I have also been having Yakult daily and peppermint tea or capsules are meant to help. I advise you to see your gp,to talk about a change in medication and the diarrhoea. I am about to change to Escitalopram,as I used to be on Citalopram and never had diarrhoea on that. There is light at the end of the tunnel,please try and relax x
Hi Justine,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply which I found very reassuring. I've been to see my GP this morning and she's told me to stop taking sertraline immediately. She's given me propranalol for my anxiety instead because none of the SSRIs seem to help. For the past 12 months I feel as though I've been some kind of medical experiment, being given one drug after another, but this sertraline has given me the worst side effects by a mile. Hopefully, my bowels will settle down in a few days and I can get back to work. By the way, I went and bought some peppermint tea! Thanks again, Adam
Hi Adam,I'm glad you went to your gp,beta blockers are meant to be good. I'm so sorry to hear none of the ssris have helped,that seems so unfair on you. Do you try anything else for the anxiety,yoga,relaxation etc? I am looking to try yoga if I can find the confidence to join a class! Also have you tried Escitalopram,the ssri I will be trying next? Kind regards,Justine.
Hi Justine, Anxiety has been quite a journey and the first step was understanding what was actually wrong, then I had some counselling but that didn't go deep enough so now I'm having CBT. For my part, I've tried meditation, mindfulness training, and tried to get more exercise. I've also read quite a few self help books. Sometimes, the problem is finding the time to do these things. I've heard that yoga is very good for relaxation so you should definitely try to give it a go. I've not tried Escitalopram so I can't comment on it but I really hope it helps you. Take care, Adam
Thanks Adam,I appreciate your advice. I'm waiting for cbt through NHS 'time to talk'. Really hope things get better for you soon. Kind regards,Justine
Hiya Justine, I stopped taking sertraline on Wednesday on the advice of my GP. I realise that's not very long ago but there's been no change whatsoever. Still passing watery diarrhoea. Will this ever end? I've found the CBT really useful btw. Adam
Hi Adam,hang on in there...I'm day 11 off Sertraline,and am just noticing an improvement. Are you using Immodium? It does help,I know it's not meant to be a long term measure,but it may help regulate and possibly reduce any inflammation. Also take Dioralyte sachets after every loose movement to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Did you GP recognise that Sertraline causes significantly more diarrhoea than any other ssri? Still haven't started the Escitalopram...very wary in case of side effects. Glad you find cbt helpful,hoping I don't have to wait too long. Kind regards,Justine. PS.is the 1972 at the end of your name,the year of your birth? If so,snap!
Hi Justine, thanks for all your good advice and reassurance. By my calculation, I only have another 9 days of this torture to go before things start to improve - !! I've not used immodium yet but I went to work today for the first time since this all started and wished I had some. By inflammation do you mean of the back passage or the intestine? I read a previous post about microscopic colitis which freaked me out a bit, although I tell myself that surely 6 weeks on Sertraline would not be long enough to cause such a condition. No, my GP never mentioned diarrhoea as a particular side effect of this drug which frustrates me as I seem to have a particularly sensitive tummy when it comes to SSRIs. I was born in 1972 and share my Birthday with Madonna - 16th August! I would never recommend this medicine to anyone - it didn't ease my anxiety. In fact this prolonged episode of frequent watery diarrhoea has increased it dramatically. When it comes to anxiety and depression, the experts don't seem to have many answers. The best answer seems to be talking therapies but they are so stretched and under resourced you invariably have to wait for weeks if not months, during which time the problems deepen. It's like banging your head against a brick wall. Thanks again, Adam
Hi Justine,
Glad your gp has looked at steps to sort out your loose bowels quickly.
When i stopped the Sertraline my bowels came under control quite qucikly (what i mean is i wasn't running to the toilet) but the bowel movements still continued to be loose and still was worrying so the consultant put me onto Budenfalk ( a brand name for a type of steroid but i forget the actual steroid name now). Anyway 3 months after the steroids im colitis clear and have been for a good while now. I have to say that within 3 days of starting the steroids my bowels returned to normal and my overall health got a heap better.
Keep an eye on how you go as you may just need to let your guts calm down by themselves. Also gp's and consultants are really reluctant to give out steroids without a definite diagnossis which can only be done with bowel biopsies.
Thinking of you and hoping you feel better soon.
T x
Hi Adam,
Sorry to hear about your loose bowels, Are you still on Sertraline? Microscopic colitis seems to be linked to it as i discovered far too late.
If your still having loose watery and or slimy bowel movements despite using immodium (i found this just seemed to delay the inevitable diarrhoea to a few hours later - it didnt bulk out or slow the bowel movement down). Also i found that peppermint capsules actually hurt when they passed through as it irritatted the back passage like you would imagin menthol would - agony!!!!!
If your bowel movements dont settle themselves and/or your still on Sertraline then get back to your gp. I dont know how long it took it to give me microscopic colitis but i was only on it for 6 months max but by that time it had got really bad and i was almost suicidal just with the bowels alone.
hang in there, thinking of you and sending you good thoughts
t x
Hi Tanya,
Thanks for replying to my posts. When the diarrhoea began last Sunday I took it upon myself to reduce the dose by half to 25mg and then stopped completely on the advice of my doctor on Wednesday. I have noticed a slight improvement today. Justine's advice was really useful too - Yakult, diarrhelyte, peppermint tea, although I haven't yet taken immodium. I hope today is the start of my recovery but the last 7 days have been dreadful, unable to live a normal life let alone work. This drug was supposed to help ease my anxiety. Instead, it made my anxiety steadily worse over the last 6 weeks (I couldn't see it at the time but realise it now - too scared to get out of bed) and made me really poorly over the last 7 days. One doctor suggested I increased the dose from 50mg to 100mg - I shot him a look of absolute horror and he swiftly moved on to a different approach, thank god. Fingers crossed, I'll be back to work tomorrow and my life can resume again, no thanks to the devil drug certraline.
Hi Adam,I am on day 13 of no Sertraline and a slow and steady improvement with the bowels so hang on in there. By Inflammation,I meant of the colon/intestine. My previous post which is waiting to be moderated,due to a website link said that Sertraline causes significantly more diarrhoea than other ssris,also that it is least liked by people with anxiety as it is so activating. I certainly found this,insomnia,diarrhoea,vivid dreams and night sweats. Am sure Sertraline works for a lot of people,but I for one am glad to be off it,and you sound the same. I too got freaked out about the link between Sertraline and microscopic colitis,but like you I'm trying to rationalise that just being on it for 5 or 6 weeks,wouldn't cause that. I'm a March 72 baby! Really hope every day improves for you and you can start to relax :-)
Thanks for your reply Tanya,and I'm so sorry you had such a rough ride with your bowels. I am pleased the course of steroids sorted the problem out,but sad that you had to go through all that to get the treatment you needed. I stopped Sertraline 13 days ago after 5 or 6 weeks of being on it,and am finally noticing an improvement in my bowels (only taking one Immodium in the morning too) Did you go on to try a different ssri? Kind regards,Justine
I posted on here a few weeks ago that after being fine for weeks on 50 mg, then I was upped to 100mg which was fine to begin with but after three weeks or so gradually turned into painful tummy ache and watery diarrhoea which was totally debilitating. My GP said it must be a bug as Sertraline does not make you have this problem. I went on holiday and it got worse and worse. I rang up for advice but was unable to speak to anyone but a receptionist. I therefore decided to cut my night tablet in half so I was only taking 75mg a day which eventually calmed the diarrhoea.
I am now back to normal bowel wise, but am definitely feeling more worked up again and unable to cope. I am going to try and see the GP tomorrow and I think, reading all these replies, should probably ask for a different medicine. Either that or I will have to up the Sertraline again. Does anyone agree?