Sertraline - Wow!

[Tobias Funke]

drakart said:

100mg

Try a lower dose, I started on 50mg, I now take 100mg, but it took a month for the side effects to go.

[sparkyhx]

Caddyshack said:

Before anyone gives up on sertraline they need to give it a few weeks to settle and also consider a lower does and give that time. I could not imagine 100mg. 50mg was strong and half a 50 does it for me.

I agree, I'm sure 50mg is the usual starter and then review and titrate accordingly. Not saying 100mg is too high (max is 200mg), and it takes 4-6 weeks to kick in properly. However as I've said other options are available and may suit better. Fluoxetine, Citalopram are the usual candidates but there are still others

[usn90]

I have been suffering health anxiety for 3 years, have my up and downs with it, currently in a down patch, no idea how long it will last.

never been doctors about it and to be honest don’t think I will, I don’t want to become reliant on pills to fix it, as I find I can crawl through it myself and usually have a “normal” few months

[sparkyhx]

usn90 said:

I have been suffering health anxiety for 3 years, have my up and downs with it, currently in a down patch, no idea how long it will last.

never been doctors about it and to be honest don’t think I will, I don’t want to become reliant on pills to fix it, as I find I can crawl through it myself and usually have a “normal” few months

nothing to be scared of, if they dont suit you you can stop them. Why go thru life being up and down. Obviously it depends on how severe and long the downs for are you, and the effect on others around you............... and only you know that.

[mcelliott]

usn90 said:

I have been suffering health anxiety for 3 years, have my up and downs with it, currently in a down patch, no idea how long it will last.

never been doctors about it and to be honest don’t think I will, I don’t want to become reliant on pills to fix it, as I find I can crawl through it myself and usually have a “normal” few months

I would say go to the Dr and see what he says, there's absolutely wrong with going on meds, for many people it gives them a base to work off, as far as your health anxiety is concerned I would recommend some form of counselling.

[Caddyshack]

mcelliott said:

usn90 said:

I have been suffering health anxiety for 3 years, have my up and downs with it, currently in a down patch, no idea how long it will last.

never been doctors about it and to be honest don’t think I will, I don’t want to become reliant on pills to fix it, as I find I can crawl through it myself and usually have a “normal” few months

I would say go to the Dr and see what he says, there's absolutely wrong with going on meds, for many people it gives them a base to work off, as far as your health anxiety is concerned I would recommend some form of counselling.

100% agree. My friend is a doctor and said to me that if you had a problem with your heart and we’re told to have a tablet every day for the rest of your life to be normal then you would....same with something for anxiety...the good news is that the meds give you breathing space to properly fix your head...it is just a thought process that needs challenging and a strategy to make it powerless. I am so glad I fixed my anxiety, life is too short to feel that terrible.

Anxiety will never cause me an issue again as I know how to make it go away in seconds or stop it happening in the first place.

[anonymous-user]

Caddyshack said:

Anxiety will never cause me an issue again as I know how to make it go away in seconds or stop it happening in the first place.

I know not everything works for everyone but go on HOW do you do it? What's the secret.

My anxiety (caused thru work ?) has led to me losing my relationship, having a medical episode, both of them caused by the 'initial anxiety' seem to have increased it into a 'downward spiral' now I'm falling out with everyone after losing those closest to me.

I was at someone's house a couple a months ago and they were just 'throwing pills' down them and said 'it makes me a good wife and mother'

[Caddyshack]

speedyguy said:

Caddyshack said:

Anxiety will never cause me an issue again as I know how to make it go away in seconds or stop it happening in the first place.

I know not everything works for everyone but go on HOW do you do it? What's the secret.

My anxiety (caused thru work ?) has led to me losing my relationship, having a medical episode, both of them caused by the 'initial anxiety' seem to have increased it into a 'downward spiral' now I'm falling out with everyone after losing those closest to me.

I was at someone's house a couple a months ago and they were just 'throwing pills' down them and said 'it makes me a good wife and mother'

Doctors were useless, I met a few counsellors (3), one had a sheet printed off the internet and the other two were not much better.

Here is what worked for me:

The biggest thing for me was understanding that panic and anxiety give the most intense feeling which is there to keep us alive, this is all driven by adrenaline and the issue is adrenaline with nowhere to go. I learned to notice and accept the start of that feeling and then not feed it, I.e. recognise the negative thought and then just slump your shoulders and sigh letting it dissipate.

Clean living, beer fear / alcohol is one of the biggest feeders of anxiety. I kept having really bad anxiety and panic attacks and could not understand the pattern, then I realised that it was after a holiday or something like bank holiday or xmas...when I drank more. Drop the alcohol to nil for 3 months and see the difference. This is hard for some but think about how bad anxiety makes you feel. Also, when you are unhappy it is easy to lose yourself in booze and kick the problem can down the road for another day.

Understand that you will never lose control, you have already felt the worst it can be so drop all the crutches, I used to carry a paper bag, rescue remedy and the like...theses things give the anxiety permission and you are then allowing it to manifest...remember to notice the feeling start, don’t feed it with catastrophic thoughts, learn to slump and sign and regulate your breathing with proper belly ‘ diaphragmatic breathing (look it up if you don’t know)

Practice at times when you are not anxious too, I regularly do a bit of breathing...I.e. sat in a traffic jam, notice how you feel then slump the shoulders and big sigh, relax.

You soon realise that you are back in control so anxiety is no longer a fear, when you realise you can control it then it doesn’t come and visit any more...you become normal again and can notice and experience anxiety without it ruling you....you then begin to notice how many other people walk around in a state of anxiety and you notice irrational behaviour in others and see how it controls them.

Your mind cannot deal with more than 2 things at once so if you are focussed on breathing and then also relaxing your whole body the mind cannot process the extra anxiety, it just goes away.

I take 10-20 mins per day to lay on the bed and relax my whole body, I am now mr laid back, it changed everything. I had ibs which made me more up tight...that went back to a normal Tummy like a light switch.


Work related anxiety, do not allow others to feed your anxiety, notice the feeling or thoughts start, then gently lead your mind back to a normal thought, learn to notice, accept and take no action on the bad thoughts, it is easy to let our catastrophic feelings run away with them selves, do not chastise yourself, just notice, accept and then guide it back to relax, sigh and normal thoughts...try to empty your mind and when it then goes off again, notice, relax, back to empty and repeat.

Noticing when your anxiety starts is the biggest thing, of you nip it in the bud early with the above it never gains traction, then you learn not to take action on any of the feelings and thoughts.


Ant (sas) talks a bit about it in his book "the fear bubble" once you harness it you can use it. You know that "I need to pee" feeling when you think you might just get in to a fight...that is the body saying "get ready" when you notice it early you can decide to focus the adrenaline and kick off if you need to.....or do nothing and the anxiety grips you and you freeze.

I hope this helps. Anxiety was the worst feeling I had ever experienced. It kept me in bed some days...that was the worst thing I could have done, get out of bed and go for a walk and the adrenaline has an outlet and it goes away.

[mcelliott]

Caddyshack said:

speedyguy said:

Caddyshack said:

Anxiety will never cause me an issue again as I know how to make it go away in seconds or stop it happening in the first place.

I know not everything works for everyone but go on HOW do you do it? What's the secret.

My anxiety (caused thru work ?) has led to me losing my relationship, having a medical episode, both of them caused by the 'initial anxiety' seem to have increased it into a 'downward spiral' now I'm falling out with everyone after losing those closest to me.

I was at someone's house a couple a months ago and they were just 'throwing pills' down them and said 'it makes me a good wife and mother'

Doctors were useless, I met a few counsellors (3), one had a sheet printed off the internet and the other two were not much better.

Here is what worked for me:

The biggest thing for me was understanding that panic and anxiety give the most intense feeling which is there to keep us alive, this is all driven by adrenaline and the issue is adrenaline with nowhere to go. I learned to notice and accept the start of that feeling and then not feed it, I.e. recognise the negative thought and then just slump your shoulders and sigh letting it dissipate.

Clean living, beer fear / alcohol is one of the biggest feeders of anxiety. I kept having really bad anxiety and panic attacks and could not understand the pattern, then I realised that it was after a holiday or something like bank holiday or xmas...when I drank more. Drop the alcohol to nil for 3 months and see the difference. This is hard for some but think about how bad anxiety makes you feel. Also, when you are unhappy it is easy to lose yourself in booze and kick the problem can down the road for another day.

Understand that you will never lose control, you have already felt the worst it can be so drop all the crutches, I used to carry a paper bag, rescue remedy and the like...theses things give the anxiety permission and you are then allowing it to manifest...remember to notice the feeling start, don’t feed it with catastrophic thoughts, learn to slump and sign and regulate your breathing with proper belly ‘ diaphragmatic breathing (look it up if you don’t know)

Practice at times when you are not anxious too, I regularly do a bit of breathing...I.e. sat in a traffic jam, notice how you feel then slump the shoulders and big sigh, relax.

You soon realise that you are back in control so anxiety is no longer a fear, when you realise you can control it then it doesn’t come and visit any more...you become normal again and can notice and experience anxiety without it ruling you....you then begin to notice how many other people walk around in a state of anxiety and you notice irrational behaviour in others and see how it controls them.

Your mind cannot deal with more than 2 things at once so if you are focussed on breathing and then also relaxing your whole body the mind cannot process the extra anxiety, it just goes away.

I take 10-20 mins per day to lay on the bed and relax my whole body, I am now mr laid back, it changed everything. I had ibs which made me more up tight...that went back to a normal Tummy like a light switch.


Work related anxiety, do not allow others to feed your anxiety, notice the feeling or thoughts start, then gently lead your mind back to a normal thought, learn to notice, accept and take no action on the bad thoughts, it is easy to let our catastrophic feelings run away with them selves, do not chastise yourself, just notice, accept and then guide it back to relax, sigh and normal thoughts...try to empty your mind and when it then goes off again, notice, relax, back to empty and repeat.

Noticing when your anxiety starts is the biggest thing, of you nip it in the bud early with the above it never gains traction, then you learn not to take action on any of the feelings and thoughts.


Ant (sas) talks a bit about it in his book "the fear bubble" once you harness it you can use it. You know that "I need to pee" feeling when you think you might just get in to a fight...that is the body saying "get ready" when you notice it early you can decide to focus the adrenaline and kick off if you need to.....or do nothing and the anxiety grips you and you freeze.

I hope this helps. Anxiety was the worst feeling I had ever experienced. It kept me in bed some days...that was the worst thing I could have done, get out of bed and go for a walk and the adrenaline has an outlet and it goes away.

Great post

[anonymous-user]

mcelliott said:

Caddyshack said:

speedyguy said:

Caddyshack said:

Anxiety will never cause me an issue again as I know how to make it go away in seconds or stop it happening in the first place.

I know not everything works for everyone but go on HOW do you do it? What's the secret.

My anxiety (caused thru work ?) has led to me losing my relationship, having a medical episode, both of them caused by the 'initial anxiety' seem to have increased it into a 'downward spiral' now I'm falling out with everyone after losing those closest to me.

I was at someone's house a couple a months ago and they were just 'throwing pills' down them and said 'it makes me a good wife and mother'

Noticing when your anxiety starts is the biggest thing, of you nip it in the bud early with the above it never gains traction, then you learn not to take action on any of the feelings and

Great post

As above,
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I have 'butterflies' in my stomach now and have since I woke up about 7am and couldn't get out of bed.
Anyway got out for a walk with a pal about 4 miles but that hasn't helped in the slightest really to numb the stomach. Unfortunately since my relationship break up I've been a mess but heyho I have to get over it/work thru it somehow.

As for drinking I've virtually given that up for the last 3 months or more now (as well as eating really) and the weight is dropping off so at least that's a bonus .
Just need to sort out a life plan now. Supposedly on waiting list for CBT to help we'll see how it goes.

[CTO]

Interesting thread, thanks all who have contributed.

I recently commenced on sertraline following a reasonably sized mental health wobble. (Think ending up in mid France with no recollection of driving there probably sums it up).

As a mental health clinician with many mental health professional colleagues and friends it was still quite a shock how critical it got and how quickly it seemed to come to a head. My other half reckons I hadn't been right for months and on reflection I would agree with her.

Spoke to my GP on my return who was excellent. Started on Sertraline 50mg daily and increased to 100mg after seven days. 100mg made me feel worse, heightened anxiety/headaches and racing thoughts. Spoke to the GP again who reduced it to 75mg daily and that seems to have balanced out quite nicely.

Initial side effects (nausea and diarrhoea) have subsided but the libido/completion thing is definitely a thing!I

Haven't had a beer since mid september, no plans to have one anytime soon tbh.

To all.of you on the same journey, keep hanging in there.

Cheers all

CTO

[mcelliott]

speedyguy said:

As above,
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I have 'butterflies' in my stomach now and have since I woke up about 7am and couldn't get out of bed.
Anyway got out for a walk with a pal about 4 miles but that hasn't helped in the slightest really to numb the stomach. Unfortunately since my relationship break up I've been a mess but heyho I have to get over it/work thru it somehow.

As for drinking I've virtually given that up for the last 3 months or more now (as well as eating really) and the weight is dropping off so at least that's a bonus .
Just need to sort out a life plan now. Supposedly on waiting list for CBT to help we'll see how it goes.

Cortisol levels will be very high first thing in the morning, hence the jitters, make sure you have decent brekkie and some fresh air if you can.

[Caddyshack]

mcelliott said:

speedyguy said:

As above,
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I have 'butterflies' in my stomach now and have since I woke up about 7am and couldn't get out of bed.
Anyway got out for a walk with a pal about 4 miles but that hasn't helped in the slightest really to numb the stomach. Unfortunately since my relationship break up I've been a mess but heyho I have to get over it/work thru it somehow.

As for drinking I've virtually given that up for the last 3 months or more now (as well as eating really) and the weight is dropping off so at least that's a bonus .
Just need to sort out a life plan now. Supposedly on waiting list for CBT to help we'll see how it goes.

Cortisol levels will be very high first thing in the morning, hence the jitters, make sure you have decent brekkie and some fresh air if you can.

If you have no appetite then try complan, it has some good vits and minerals plus it kick starts the feeling of hunger. Anxiety makes you not want to eat as the body is in fight or flight mode...it only wants the functions you need to survive a big fight...that’s why the heart pumps, adrenaline flows and your extremities feel cold as blood pumps to vital organs...it is also why your tummy gets upset as you do not need to digest food in a life or death battle.

[Scabutz]

CTO said:

the libido/completion thing is definitely a thing!I

I have been on it since about April, start on 50mg, 100mg since May. My libido has gone into overdrive, but has couple with ED and inability to finish. What I have found ,and this was based on stuff I found on the internet is timing of the pills is crucial. If you plan to have sex/wk in the evening then take your pills after that, that way the drug is at its lowest level. If I tried to nut a few hours after taking it, no chance, but leave it almost a day, do your thing, then take the pill

[CTO]

Scabutz said:

I have been on it since about April, start on 50mg, 100mg since May. My libido has gone into overdrive, but has couple with ED and inability to finish. What I have found ,and this was based on stuff I found on the internet is timing of the pills is crucial. If you plan to have sex/wk in the evening then take your pills after that, that way the drug is at its lowest level. If I tried to nut a few hours after taking it, no chance, but leave it almost a day, do your thing, then take the pill

Noted, makes sense

[tim0409]

I decided three weeks ago to quit sertraline as although it was working (especially for anxiety) I found that I suffered from serious apathy and had very little motivation, which is a known side effect. The timing isn't ideal as winter is always the worst time for me, but on balance I thought it was the best move and replace medication with more exercise. I reduced from 50mg to 37.5mg, then down to 25mg, and finally 12.5mg, before quitting last week. Within a few days of taking the last tablet, I started to feel really irritable and angry all the time. I've stopped before so I knew what to expect, but it's still difficult not least for my OH! Hopefully it subsides quickly this time and I can get out and cycle when the weather improves!

[markiii]

Totally getting the apathy

[Jimmy No Hands]

I'm really starting to despise alcohol and the ruinous impending doom I seem to suffer from (occasionally for up to 48 hours) but yet find abstaining incredibly difficult as I'm so social and tend to enjoy the (brief) sense of relaxation it can provide. I suppose it's sad, but I feel stupid missing an opportunity to have a "drink" even though I definitely shouldn't. The strongest episodes of anxiety without a doubt will follow the night before, then I usually have sleeping troubles for several days after. The dentist has told me I've practically ruined my front teeth because of anxiety driven grinding (which is done subconsciously while I sleep) I have a fantastic support bubble and home life but really struggle to stop and "smell the roses" sometimes.

Has anybody else found it difficult giving up the booze? Any tips? Sometimes when I've chosen not to drink at social events, I end up being the "boring" one and in turn made to feel guilty for not letting myself go a bit. I don't think these people realise the consequences of flippant comments like that however.

[sparkyhx]

Jimmy No Hands said:

I'm really starting to despise alcohol and the ruinous impending doom I seem to suffer from (occasionally for up to 48 hours) but yet find abstaining incredibly difficult as I'm so social and tend to enjoy the (brief) sense of relaxation it can provide. I suppose it's sad, but I feel stupid missing an opportunity to have a "drink" even though I definitely shouldn't. The strongest episodes of anxiety without a doubt will follow the night before, then I usually have sleeping troubles for several days after. The dentist has told me I've practically ruined my front teeth because of anxiety driven grinding (which is done subconsciously while I sleep) I have a fantastic support bubble and home life but really struggle to stop and "smell the roses" sometimes.

Has anybody else found it difficult giving up the booze? Any tips? Sometimes when I've chosen not to drink at social events, I end up being the "boring" one and in turn made to feel guilty for not letting myself go a bit. I don't think these people realise the consequences of flippant comments like that however.

I'm certainly no expert on this as I'm virtually T Total.. However I dont get the impression you are in an AA situation having hit rock bottom, so how relevant the below is I dont know.

I believe the recommended way to stop is to simply stop and keep stopped. The difficulty is to avoid the addictive personality response to replace it with something equally harmful.

Whether people can handle low level social drinking coming from a more 'addictive' drinking place is debatable. But I think the general idea is to stop.

Getting support thru your journey is key, whether thats the Drs, therapy to investigate 'reasons' for drinking or give strategies for coping going fwd

Maybe AA has some useful guidance even if you personally are not at the AA stage.

I'

[Jimmy No Hands]

sparkyhx said:

I'm certainly no expert on this as I'm virtually T Total.. However I dont get the impression you are in an AA situation having hit rock bottom, so how relevant the below is I dont know.

I believe the recommended way to stop is to simply stop and keep stopped. The difficulty is to avoid the addictive personality response to replace it with something equally harmful.

Whether people can handle low level social drinking coming from a more 'addictive' drinking place is debatable. But I think the general idea is to stop.

Getting support thru your journey is key, whether thats the Drs, therapy to investigate 'reasons' for drinking or give strategies for coping going fwd

Maybe AA has some useful guidance even if you personally are not at the AA stage.

I'

Thank you - I am far from what I'd consider a rock bottom scenario. I contain drink to mostly weekends if I can help it, but it's almost a certainty on say, a Friday night, then the Saturday, and if football is on, occasionally the Sunday as-well. I may have a mid-week tipple, usually a beer or two but it's not too common. The issue is really I'll happily drink 7-8 cans then have a few shorts. I honestly don't think the frequency could be considered anything more than "normal" (maybe a touch over) but it's the God awful episodes that follow internally. Mentally, it just isn't worth it as there is obviously something in alcohol that triggers my crippling anxiety. Early 30's is an awkward age, I still think I'm 21 inside and one of the lads. I just wonder what the point is sometimes..