Sertraline. The side effects.

Treatment and medication
1

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on my situation and let me know if it gets any better 😔?

I have been diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder. I suffer from panic attacks sometimes up to 6 times a day and my doctor has suggested I go onto sertraline starting at a dose of 25mg and increasing it over time.

The doctor told me to take it first thing in the morning and to take 10 mg of propanonol 3x a day to try and subdue the adrenaline.

I'm currently on day 3 and the side effects are horrible. Day 1 and 2 were ok. I feel very sick, I have a bad tummy, pins and needles in my neck and head and I feel extremely dizzy. Even when I lie down!! Is this normal and will it get better? Unfortunately the anxiety makes me fear the worst. It's a nightmare!!

I don't think I can cope with the dizziness more than anything. It's awful!

Any advice would be really welcome.

Thank you

2

I'm also on day 3 lol I like the medication so far but it's really strong! The only time I had trouble with it is when I took it near my time to work, I wouldn't mix it with anything else or try to drink anything that will give you energy because I almost fainted while drinking a energy drink and on the medication! I take mine at night now so I can sleep through most of it, it makes me so tired even if I just woke up it will put me right back to sleep so now I just take it at night!

3

Yes these will all improve susie im on day 4 and all my se's subsided faster today

4

Hey ange welcome to the sertraline roller coaster! How r u feeling on it?

5

Thanks for the kind words and the advice guys. I'll try to stay away from caffeinated drinks! The insomnia is quite bad - I dont seem to feel tired at all!

6

I actually really like the pills but I don't want to always be on them mainly because I like to workout and stay active so I'm trying not to take them everyday. I have a sedative HydrOYYzine, it helps with anxiety but during a attack it can take an hour to even kick in I asked to for these pills that act pretty fast and are very effective for me smile but i know if I don't take them regularly I will have to deal with the side effects everytime but understanding them helps forsure!

7

I am on week 8, and the rough side effects lasted about 12 days. It gets better! Stay away from caffeine and take it at night. My doc said to take it before bed so I would sleep off the side effects. I usually started to feel better early afternoon. Try some melatonin or lavender to help you sleep.

8

Ur not taking them everyday?

9

Ask doc for a sleep med there notorious for causing insomnia

10

I can't, I work full time and often visit the gym so taking them everyday will cause some problems for me but my does is only 25mg and my only real side effect is the crazy amount of sleep and trouble waking up from that sleep. I like them alit but if I take them everyday I would basically goto and sleep and have time for nothing else and I can't have that 😓

11

I keep trying to tell myself that it will get better. I just don't like being bed bound. I feel like I've got horrible flu Mixed with food poisoning! I'll see if taking it at night helps a little more. Thank you Annie

12

So do u find they still work without constantly taking them?

13

Well I have anxiety from a current legal situation which changed literally everything about my living situation and maybe some social anxiety so I take them when I feel down or anxious but mainly I use hydrOYYzine 50mg and I feel okay, I only asked for a stronger medication for times when the HydrOYYzine isn't working but I get that taking sertraline occasionally won't really change the way my mind works but it does help extremely during an attack!

14

Hhm handy to know!

15

I take mine in the morning my anxiety is horrendousmy worse than before I went on these meds, I've gone from 100 to 150mg. So to start taking them at night do I not take them tomorrow morning but evening instead??

16

How long have you been taking them now chick17418?

17

Probably nearly a year!!

18

Apart from the increase in anxiety - I'm really sorry you have to cope with that.

Do you have any other side effects?

19

Sweating at night, feeling sick but not enough to be off my food, in fact it helps me to eat!! But the anxiety is horrific in fact I think I'm going to go back to 100mg as of tomoz. X

20

Everyone I've spoken to has different initial side effects. I just want them to ware off now. I am on a tiny little dose and finding it silly hard which is embarrassing.