Sertraline - Wow!
Discussion
Despite saying above I hated it. I've found myself going back to the dr and started again.
My anxiety had been reasonably under control for the last few years but it has come back with a vengeance last couple of months.
I'm getting 10 sessions of CBT from health insurance but felt like I needed some additional support whilst I work on that.
So far side effects are mild headache and dry mouth. My anxiety has been turned up to 11. I have Thursday off so 4 days off work to get through some of the side effects.
Last time I recall a crushing tiredness, but at that time I was also taking propranolol so wonder if that was causing that.
I'm only 2 days in so maybe that's still to come.
My anxiety had been reasonably under control for the last few years but it has come back with a vengeance last couple of months.
I'm getting 10 sessions of CBT from health insurance but felt like I needed some additional support whilst I work on that.
So far side effects are mild headache and dry mouth. My anxiety has been turned up to 11. I have Thursday off so 4 days off work to get through some of the side effects.
Last time I recall a crushing tiredness, but at that time I was also taking propranolol so wonder if that was causing that.
I'm only 2 days in so maybe that's still to come.
Almost a week in now. Struggling. Anxiety is stronger than ever but mostly because my body is trembling and buzzing all over. It seems to be telling my mind that I'm anxious and then I start looking for things to be anxious about.
Had first CBT session which was more of an assessment session, but hoping that will give me some tools to cope. Also trying really hard to put thoughts about work and other worries out my head when I'm not at work.
Talking to my wife helps, she is a counsellor as well, although not my counsellor but it's good when instart catastrophising about things to calm me down. I go from a grumpy email from my boss to thinking I'm going to be fired and wont be able to find another job.
Had first CBT session which was more of an assessment session, but hoping that will give me some tools to cope. Also trying really hard to put thoughts about work and other worries out my head when I'm not at work.
Talking to my wife helps, she is a counsellor as well, although not my counsellor but it's good when instart catastrophising about things to calm me down. I go from a grumpy email from my boss to thinking I'm going to be fired and wont be able to find another job.
Nothing to add, but perhaps a suggestion: if you’re feeling so anxious about an email from your boss (and that you could be fired and not find another job) why not start a sideline in something you’re good at? For me, I work in the haulage/breakdown industry here in Austria. Not being a native I always felt somewhat vulnerable if things went wrong, so I qualified and started to teach English- I now do that privately. The upshot is: is something happens, I have a fall
Back plan. Just a suggestion
Back plan. Just a suggestion
I have been on citalopram and propranolol for nearly 7 months for chronic anxiety, I have to say the first 3 weeks well hellish in terms of my anxiety, depersonalization, total fear of the future, and many more, ever so slowly things have got a bit better along with the horrible physical side effects. I find that now that instead of fighting my anxiety I am now learning to accept it, I feel the better I get to know it the less I will fear it. Hope that makes some sense.
mcelliott said:
I have been on citalopram and propranolol for nearly 7 months for chronic anxiety, I have to say the first 3 weeks well hellish in terms of my anxiety, depersonalization, total fear of the future, and many more, ever so slowly things have got a bit better along with the horrible physical side effects. I find that now that instead of fighting my anxiety I am now learning to accept it, I feel the better I get to know it the less I will fear it. Hope that makes some sense.
Thanks. I hope my side effects subside soon. I tried that propranolol a few years back when it was bad then and they made me really tired.Not sure I am getting on with these. Got put up to 100mg. Had started to feel better and think the CBT was working but last week i have been shaking. Thing is my mind is calm, I'm not "worrying", but my body is behaving like im terrified.
The sex side of things is bad. Oddly my libido seems to have gone through the roof, but I cant finish, at all now. Special torture.
Need to speak to the GP. Wonder if changing to something else is worth considering
The sex side of things is bad. Oddly my libido seems to have gone through the roof, but I cant finish, at all now. Special torture.
Need to speak to the GP. Wonder if changing to something else is worth considering
I was prescribed Sertraline 4 months ago but never took them as I wanted to try exercise/diet first, but things have been bad lately so I started 10 days ago. I was on 100mg the last time I took it (5 years ago) and suffered from really bad night sweats, nausea etc. so I decided to start low (25mg) for a week, then 37.5mg and finally up to 50mg. The side effects haven't been that bad apart from nausea immediately after I take it and tiredness, which seems to pass. I read an interesting study that suggested that lower doses may be as effective as higher doses for some people, so I will report back on how I get on. I'm combining this with a self-help book on CBT. The trouble is life is genuinely a bit rubbish at the moment, even before I start catastrophising!
Edited by tim0409 on Monday 22 June 14:48
Edited by tim0409 on Monday 22 June 14:49
I went on Sertraline for 6 months, and had several suicidal moments during that time. Worst one was where I had actually planned the whole thing out and made sure the wife would be financially ok. To me that was the medication, as I never had it on Citalopram which I was on before and went straight back on it after.
Just go in to it with your eyes wide open, and if you have those dark thoughts put something in your wallet or phone home screen to remind you it's more the medication than your actual want to do it.
Just go in to it with your eyes wide open, and if you have those dark thoughts put something in your wallet or phone home screen to remind you it's more the medication than your actual want to do it.
I've been on 100mg a day since March and my mood is much improved. Stopped drinking and really cleaned my diet up and started exercising again, I have lost weight but nowhere near as much as I would have expected from the changes I have made to calorie intake and exercise. Anybody find Sertraline causing weight issues?
I've been on 100mg for about a year now, I honestly don't want to come off them. I used to have 2-3 panic attacks a month, I've had one this year. The side effects come and go, I find alcohol now massively affects my, ahem, ability to orgasm, even the next day. I still get nausea and night sweats occasionally.
People mention brain zaps, I'm not sure if this is similar, but I've noticed if I'm late with a dose I get these "mouth zaps". I struggle to explain how they feel but they're like brief electric shocks I feel mainly in my mouth,
People mention brain zaps, I'm not sure if this is similar, but I've noticed if I'm late with a dose I get these "mouth zaps". I struggle to explain how they feel but they're like brief electric shocks I feel mainly in my mouth,
I had to stop taking it after a few weeks due to the side effects. I seemed to suffer from almost all of them listed. The terrible, mind crushing constant headache was unbearable. Looking back, I've always suffered from crippling anxiety but I just excused it as my character. I finally got some help and sertraline was prescribed. One of the oddest things was it turned me into a heartless robot very quickly. I could watch anything that would normally tug at my heartstrings and I'd feel nothing.I was totally disconnected. It wasn't for me, so I'm back to taking nothing.
drakart said:
I had to stop taking it after a few weeks due to the side effects. I seemed to suffer from almost all of them listed. The terrible, mind crushing constant headache was unbearable. Looking back, I've always suffered from crippling anxiety but I just excused it as my character. I finally got some help and sertraline was prescribed. One of the oddest things was it turned me into a heartless robot very quickly. I could watch anything that would normally tug at my heartstrings and I'd feel nothing.I was totally disconnected. It wasn't for me, so I'm back to taking nothing.
What was your dose?Tobias Funke said:
drakart said:
I had to stop taking it after a few weeks due to the side effects. I seemed to suffer from almost all of them listed. The terrible, mind crushing constant headache was unbearable. Looking back, I've always suffered from crippling anxiety but I just excused it as my character. I finally got some help and sertraline was prescribed. One of the oddest things was it turned me into a heartless robot very quickly. I could watch anything that would normally tug at my heartstrings and I'd feel nothing.I was totally disconnected. It wasn't for me, so I'm back to taking nothing.
What was your dose?Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff