Sertraline. HELP! roller coaster ups and downs.

Mental health
1

hello everyone,

I’m a new member to the forum, but I have found the messages posted very reassuring to me whilst I’m dealing with this horrible disease.

Really sorry for the long life story post.

I was diagnosed with suffering from GAD in 2008 and was put on Citalopram, but it didn’t agree with me, so I started on Fluoxitine that helped or several years, however, I started suffering from really bad indigestion and reflux, so I was switched to Sertraline and I honestly cannot remember having any side effects worth noting whilst I was adjusting to them. fast forward a few years during a Covid lockdown, I was feeling great and ready to slowly come off the Sertraline, this went really well with absolutely zero side effects!

Fast forward a bit more and a few things in my life became very difficult to deal with and I slipped back into feeling low and depressed.

This time around I was suffering with constantly feeling nauseous and on edge. I tried many of the over the counter herbal remedies to help keep it at bay, but I got much worse over Christmas 2022 and suffered the worst anxiety attack I’ve ever had! Needless to say, I contacted the GP and explained the whole scenario. I still had remaining Sertraline so it was agreed to start them again.

Wow! it certainly caught me by surprise… on the first day of taking 50mg I had an ambulance called out to me by 12am that evening, the side effect were, extremely high anxiety, tingling/burning skin, nausea. no appetite, waking up only minutes after dropping off to sleep with racing thoughts and a massive feeling of panic etc… I was given Diazapam to help take the edge off, but they didn’t seem to work.
the dosage of Sertraline was reduced to 25mg and I put up with the horrible side effects for about 7 days and then upped to 50mg.

I was off work during this time as there was no way I could function at work during these symptoms. The side effects started to ease of after about 3 week and I start to have the odd day here and there where I felt OK (about 75%), I then started to get a few days in a row that were OK and a few that were rubbish! These happier day bouts have happened twice.

I have now been on Sertraline for 8 weeks and a few days ago I started feeling a bit low again and I thought nothing of it, I’m back at work now, and 2 days ago the side effects began to come back, the sleep issue I was having hasn’t ever really gone completely, but I have been able to manage it a bit with 5mg of Amitryptaline each evening. Last night I was back to square one! Irritable, really anxious, waking up after only several minute of sleep with a racing heart rate of 100bpm+ etc…

This doesn’t seem normal to me and I feel so hopeless and scared. Has anyone else gone through this roller coaster ride of highs and lows, and can you share if these get better with time?

I totally appreciate any replies I get about this.
I hope that I’m able to feel reassured that it will pass. Thank you so much and so sorry for the extremely long post.

2

Sorry you are going through this. I know how miserable it can feel. Everybody responds differently to medication. keep in mind that medication does necessarily not keep away anxiety 100%. You might need to combine medication with some therapy with a counselor, getting regular exercise, eating, healthy, staying hydrated, etc. Anxiety needs to be coordinated in different ways. Getting help to change the way you are thinking that might increase Anxiety is important. maybe there are things in your life you were doing and not realizing is increasing your anxiety. Maybe the way you handle life issues, etc. I’m just saying it’s something to think about. also get on YouTube and learn great breathing techniques for anxiety. Believe it or not how you breathe is important when it comes to anxiety. Hope you feel better soon!

3

Thank you for replying,

I'm currently 2/3rd of the way through Silver Cloud CBT, I do find it helpful at times and it certainly does put a different perspective on how we process stuff bouncing around in our heads... I'm still hoping that the medication is going to all level out soon. i can cope with anxiety to a level, but these side effects are relentless. here's hoping :)

I just wish there was a way to remain asleep as that would help me immensely!

4

yes staying asleep is huge. I’ll tell you what I do. First of all I’ve had anxiety since childhood and I’m in my 50s now. So I have been through it all! But as far as sleep goes, I, turn on White noise, and turn on a meditation for anxiety or sleep. It really relaxes me and I usually don’t make it through the entire meditation because I fall asleep. If I should happen to wake up later on, I just put another meditation on, because if I don’t, then I get lost in my thoughts which I don’t care for.. there is a lady with a super soothing and reassuring voice. That is really great for falling asleep. She’s on YouTube. Just search for joanne asmr. I like the one for anxiety, but all of them are great! People comment all the time on how she helps them relax. Just take one day at a time and relax your mind as much as you can.

5

Thank you for the advice, I'll check her out on YouTube. I hope that it helps me... I have no trouble falling asleep, my issue is nodding off and then waking up sometimes only 10-15mins later feeling all tingly and anxious, I'm then up for about an hour then nodd off again and the cycle repeats, it's so frustrating as I know that I would feel so much better if only I could stay asleep long enough.

I will give Joanne ASMR a go to see how I get on...

I know that I'm not alone, but it's so easy to feel like you're the only one going through this sometimes...

Thanks 😊

6

Hi Jan,

thought I'd update you 🙂 GP increased my Sertraline dosage and I seem to be doing much better now 👍

Hopefully, it's upwards and onwards from here.

Thanks...

7

hi there i am sorry you are feeling this way i can empathise

i was on citalorpam for years with no issues except my anxiety spiked early this year so they moved me to Sertraline . it didnt agree with me and made me feel nervy, jittery all day for no reason for 2 weeks

i know a friend who also came off it and changed

but thats not to say it wont be ok for you but if youre not feeling right soeak to GP

there are loads of other options

ive just switched to Venlafaxine and having thay awful adjustment period 1 week in

keep speaking to the GP . but i wouldnt recommend keep changing (like i did as i was a bit impatient)

8

hey don't apologise for this you don't need to. I'm the same as you except I take my sertraline in the morning with my breakfast & then my propranolol 40mg at night. I've got some hypnotherapy relaxation recordings I can send you if you would like them & some anxiety book downloads as well.

9

Hi Stacey,

That's very kind of you... the roller coaster ride seems to be slowing down finally!

I'm having less bad days recently, maybe 2-3 a week, I'm starting to understand the meditation a bit more and seem to be adjusting to the dosage of Sertraline that I'm now on.

I would love to give those recordings and books a go 😊

This community is so reassuring when you're feeling really low, it reminds me that there are lovely people around the world willing to support those struggling. I'm hoping that I can help others on here suffering from what I'm going through by offering the knowledge that I have learned along this path!

All the best...

10

Hi, I have a similar experience to you in some ways. I'm on 50mg 5 weeks now and although I feel motivated my Anxiety is high with insomnia and if ever I nap im awake within minutes. I was thinking of upping the dose to 100mg but am scared it would make my symptoms worse...How are you doing now and are you on 100mg?

thanks

Sean

11

hi guys sorry to bother you all ive been taking sertaline for 3 weeks i did start seeing some progress last week but stupidly enough decided to drink alcohol ever since then its like my anxiety has got worse and im awfully tingley after taking my tablets has anyone else experienced this ? i feel ljke im just getting worse and its hard to believe that this is just anxiety with all the feelings im having does anyone have an suggestions on what will make me feel better

12

Hi Owen,

I hope that you're feeling a bit better today...

I feel you there... I've not had a beer since before Christmas! Unfortunately, alcohol and Sertraline don't mix very well as alcohol is a depressant and Sertraline is an anti-depressant. Please double check this with your GP, but you could be suffering with side effects from the medication. Tingling skin, heightened anxiety and a sudden feeling of impending doom were side effects that I suffered with regularly for a few month, but it does get better as time goes on.

I knew when I began to adjust to the medication as these feelings became more tolerable and less frequent, so hopefully the same will happen for you.

Things that really help me are keeping hydrated, walking, mindfulness meditation, being kind to yourself and reassuring yourself that it WILL pass... oh, and a plain old cup of tea helps too.

I wish you the very best in your recovery...

13

Hi Sean,

I missed your message, sorry... I'm doing much better thanks, still having ups and downs, but it's more manageable.

I'm currently taking 100mg of Sertraline and I think I'm at the right dosage for me at the moment. I increased from 50mg to 75mg for a couple of weeks and then to 100mg. The side effects did come back when increasing the dosages, but they were less, for me anyway, on each increase.

I have never really been a great sleeper, but the side effects that the Sertraline was causing me were awful. What really helps me is 5mg of Amitryptaline before bed and meditation whenever I have the time to fit it in.

Speak to your GP about the possibility being prescribed something to help you stay asleep. Good rest is very important for your recovery.

All the best...