Hi, I was prescribed sertraline on thursday for anxiety, Ive suffered with it since I was 11 after my dad's sudden death, I used to have panic attacks regularly as a child. I'm now 25 with a 4 and 2 year old and its began to get worse, my 4 yr old is in pre school and I get really anxious about school runs, I turn down invitations to any sort of social situations as I panic so much. I sit and worry about all most anything and it gets me really down, I just want to be worry free and able to enjoy these precious years while my children are little! Anyway I have taken 2 tablets so far (50mg) and ive had all sorts of side effects, shaking, feeling cold, nausea, teeth grinding and ringing in my ears. These I can deal with if it doesn't go too long... just wondering how long before they start to work? Just want to feel normal again
Hi Jenni I no exactly how you are feeling I've been there it's horrible all I can say from my own experience Is stick with the sert as it takes 2-3 wks to start working I started on 50mg and I've increased to 150mg and I'm feeling pretty good now. This med sorted me out but it can make you worse before you get better I no it's hard but I'm sure will be feeling like me very soon ok take care Jamie
Hi Jenni,
Sorry to hear your story, we all suffer at some point in life with depression/anxiety/stress and people cope in many different ways, but remember you are in no way weak, actually you are the opposite!!
In my own experience it took about 3-4 weeks to really feel any difference, but in the meantime, try and supplement the tablets with getting fresh air, sunlight, speak with friends/family so they appreciate what you are going through AND make sure you get the same brand of tablet each time as getting different ones could make you worse. If you can, request a brand called LUSTRAL, it may not work the same for everyone, but from advice I was given by colleagues in the NHS, this would be the "gold standard" brand.
Try and remain as positive as possible and focus on the positives in your life and they will overtake the negatives.
God bless
Paul
Hello Jenni
The initial 'stronger' side effects for me lasted first couple of weeks.
It took 8 weeks until I felt completely 'normsl' again - but weeks 3-8 were no where near as bad as the first 2 weeks, and it wasn't every day. I'd have a few really good days and then a couple of down days.
It def got less and less over the 8 weeks.
From week 3 I could easily go about my normal day again.
Keep going and good luck xx
H Jen
I have experienced the same as you re school runs and I know the feeling in the morning when you are trying to get out the door with the kids, I did not look for help for while, I should have in hindsight but we do not like to admit we can not cope especially to partners ect.. You seem to understand when and why your anxiety began all them years ago after loosing your dad, have you ever had counselling to explore this. ?
I have been taking sertraline for 8 weeks now and at the start I felt sick, headaches ect but persevere because they do slowly stop. Give this med a good go , five weeks ago I could hardly function and now im enjoying life and a managed to write an assignment for uni and enjoy it. I would say the tablets do work perhaps not with everyone but you can get through the first unpleasant stage just focus on what the outcome could be for you.
You still a young woman with so much in front of you to live for, tell yourself you will defeat this anxiety and you will lead a happy normal life !!
I wish you the best of luck
x.
Thanks so much to you all for your replies!
Thats good to hear Paul as 'LUSTRAL' is the one I was prescribed 
I've also been referred for counselling so I have to book in for my session this week, something I should of thought about doing many years ago!
So I should feel them starting to work in 2-3 weeks, thats good, looking forward to nice days out in the summer with the kiddies and not feeling anxious every time I leave the house!
When do you make a decision about whether you need a higher dose?
Xx
HI Jenni
Sorry to hear all of this. I feel like we live teh same life. I have always had anxiety never treated. Have a 5 and 3 year old and aftter they were born had sever postpartum anxiety. I was put on Zoloft with my first and weaned off and went on it after my second. Stayed on it and lost my dad suddenly in december. I had sever panic attacks after that and had to go back to life, the kids a stressful job ect. I was on a low dose of Zoloft but with my doc have gone up to 150mg. When you increase you have some of the increase side effects but i am going on a little over 3 months and i feel better. . I still have bad days but not like it was a few weeks ago. For the bad times i tried to do whatever with the kids, exercise, take baths. It is hard when you are anxious and i have felt down but have pushed myself as well as going out with friends. I also talk to someone about my anxiety which i have for a long time and she is great and a big help. Anxiety is awful. I feel out of control and "not normal" at times. Try to talk to someone if you can, i know it isn't that easy with 2 little kids but try to make the time for yourself it will help a great deal. HOpe this helps
Hi Annmarie, its nice to talk to people with similar experiences as myself and I don't personally know anyone who has or is suffering with anxiety so although I have family etc to speak to, none of them really understand 
I came across this forum this morning and I'm so glad I did as at last I am talking to people who know what its like!
Its nice to read that you are all feeling better with Sertraline, can't wait till it starts working for me!!
Xxx
I suffered severe depression from Xmas onwards, I ended up going on Mirtazpine at the end of January, it
Seemed to work great at first and then I dipped, my doc then added in Sertraline as I was also now
Suffering anxiety, I have only been on the 50mg Sertraline dose for 4 days and am already impatient
Waiting for the anxiety to dissipate. Have still got a general lack of interest in nearly everything. Want to feel
Well again. Someone give me some hope.
Christine. Xxx
Hi Christine, I started feeling the blahs out of no where from end of Jan through March. I do have a lot of stress. I am a single mom working two jobs and running around like a " rat in a wheel" then bam! One week I was having really bad shortness of breath. I went to the ER' and then has all kinds of test done. Heart was good but I was very anemic. Doctor started me on Iron 3 x day. However I still felt blah. That's when I decided to go to see my shrink who then prescribed Zoloft 50 mg. I started taking it about 9 days ago.. So far the first week I was very jittery/ hot. Somewhat anxious. I went down to 25 for about 4 days and then back up to 50 mg. I have periods where I feel ok and anxious.. I feel as though it is starting to work. My only prob is weight loss, decrease appetite and middle insomnia. I fall asleep but wake up solid after about 4 hrs. I also want to add that in 2009 I took zoloft when u had knew surgery bc I was very depressed. I did take it with klonopin every night and I don't remember the jitters. I took it for 3 months and what I can remember is that I felt back to normal right away. Coming off it was very easy... I weaned myself by dropping the dose 25 mg every 2 weeks and then even slashing that in half. Only side effect massive night sweats for about 1 to 2 weeks and then normal.. I was also sleeping about 8 hrs a night. And was off zoloft up until now 2014 ( about 5 yrs) give it sometime.. Don't be afraid and if u can take it with an anxiolytic like klonopin, Xanax, Valium. Don't be afraid bc I felt the same and I am fine. I took about o.25 to 0.5 of klonopin for 3 months straight once and has no prob coming off it. Now everybody's body is different but please ask you doctor and keep a positive attitude.. I was so fearful of any and all medications .. I think that you will be fine and just give zoloft time.. Best of luck!! Hugs
Hi Christine,
Wanted to you ask you I have had experience with Zoloft too and needed it after my boys were born for postpartum.. Went off of it after my first and almost went off after my second was down to 25mg and my dad died suddenly and was having panic attacks. They tell me to take the ativan until I am at the right dose but dont' like taking ativan with fear I will get addicted. I do take it at night to get good sleep and sometimes during the day not everyday, even though i could use it I guess what I am asking how often did you take the klonopin and was it hard to come off of it? I don't like taking meds either but was having a hard time with the anxiety and had to go back to work and the kids. Thanks AnnMarie
stick with it mate i have been taking 50 mg for 3 weeks .i had terrible side effects from them so i took 25mg
twice a day that was better.
now i take 50 mg twice a day and i feel normal again.
i did see a hypnotherapist he talked to me an adviced me and put me under i feel brilliant now it had taken 5 sessions with him not bad for £300 . if your thoughts are getting you down then you need to see a expert to get the emotion out of you, and replace it with positive stuff , your mind is like a garden. you plant things and it becomes nice and colorful .if you don't weeds will grow . so you have to tell your self every day things are
going to get better ,you are more positive even if you dont feel it say it to your self .
Hi Jenni,
I started generic Zoloft 13 days ago. I was having bad depression and anxiety has always been with me. I worry constantly especially about my daughter , who is 30 but single and lives alone. I get myself into panic mode when I can't reach her and always fear the worst. Anyway, I was pretty much forced to retire last January and then my husband had to stop working due to 2 bad hips. I have slid into a totally immobilized person. So far Zoloft has had only slight effect but mornings I am nauseous and anxious and feeling weak and shakey. Wondering if you saw any improvement as time went on.
jenni42789,
I see it has been about 7 mo. since u have been on the medication. How do u feel now? I hope terrific? I just start week and half ago. Still struggling so would appreciate an update on your situation. Thanx, christel1967
Hi Jenni,
I have been taking Sertraline for about 2 1/2 weeks now - it's 11/19/14 today. I started with 25mg on 11/1/14 and it definitely "knocked me down a peg" for the first 4 or 5 days. I seemed a bit anxious, probably more because I worked myself up a bit about it. Not ridiculously worked up, but just a little angst as I was not used to the feeling it gave me. After 2 weeks of being on 25mg I seemed to tolerate it pretty well.
Just this past Saturday (11/15/14) I upped it to 50mg as prescribed. I thought that maybe since I was already on the 25mg and tolerated that just fine, that I would not really see much for side effects. Although not really terrible, I definitely saw a little more side effects. Not so much on Saturday or Sunday, but on Monday (2 days ago) I started to feel a bit of nausea and last night I felt pretty run down. It has definitely made me lose the will (or stupidty...lol) to fight or argue about meaningless things - which is one of the reasons why I asked my doctor if prescribing me an SSRI would help me with my anger due to my inability to seem to be able to deal with my current stress levels.
For a couple of years now I have not felt like myself. I have been anxious more than I have ever been before and depressed. I remember I used to be able to snap myself out of that feeling, but now I feel like I need help to do that. Aside from the few side effects that I am feeling now, the way it is starting to make me feel seems to be heading me in the right direction.
I wish you and everyone on here luck with everything. Hopefully in a couple/few weeks I will be able to tolerate the "sert" even more and can continue to benefit from the intended effects of the med. Just trying to be patient as I wade through the semi-zombie period that this med seems to be making me feel like.
Hiya Jamie relise it was a while ago since you posted but was just wondering when did your side effects actually stop and when did you start feeling you self again been on sertraline for nearly 5 weeks 2 weeks on 50mg and coming up 3 weeks on 100mg and had a really good week last week even tho I couldn't bare going out the house I felt normal and was eating but three days ago I feel like I'm back at square one.
Thanks.
I've just started taking this today after suffering in silence for the past few months with anxiety. I feel like I'm going crazy at the minute with crazy thoughts of losing my nearest and dearest. How long do you think it will take before this starts to work ? Thanks xx
Hi Kate. I've also just started taking Sertraline. Took 12.5 mg each night for a week then went up to 25 mg. After emailing my Dr because I was feeling no relief she upped it again to 50 mg per day which I have taken the last few days. Still, no relief. I began taking this med because of anxiety over an undiagnosed medical condition I have been dealing with for about a year. The stress of feeling physical symptoms/discomfort with no explanation or diagnosis is getting to me. I have never before taken anxiety/ depression medication and the idea of it itself makes me a bit nervous. I'm trying to stay positive and be hopeful that it will just take a little bit of time to "kick in". How are you doing with the meds since your post? I'd love to hear that you have gotten some relief! Let me know?
I just found this site today and I was wondering how you are doing.
Has the medicine started working?