Sertraline side effects: How long before they pass?

[DaveT81]

I was started on 50mg 2 weeks ago, suffered side effects immediately had to stop after three days.

I chatted with my Dr who agreed with my idea of taking half a dose for a while. Love and behold, 12 hours after first dose, aide effects start again.

General side effects I'm getting are shakes and shivers and clenching of my jaw. But I also have afib (ablated 2 years ago) and it irritates that and also seems to elongate the pause between irregular beats.

So, yeah, how long do these side effects take to pass and are these pretty standard for us all or should I stop and try something else? Only been on them 2 days again..

[JAYnLA]

Hey Dave - these questions are hard to answer because everyone reacts so differently to these medications. If your depression or anxiety had reached a point that it was damaging your quality of life, medication is definitely something to try but finding the 'right' one is a challenge most people face. I'd stick close to my doctor and keep telling them what you are experiencing. Don't be afraid to be 'a bother' - this is your health we're talking about.

[DaveT81 in reply to JAYnLA]

Hi JAYnLA, I'm not actually at a point where depression is an issue, and anxiety and stress are generally just caused by my wide, varying symptoms (which I've had numerous tests and scans for). I'm not at a point where the anxiety is so crippling that I absolutely have to be on medication. But my Dr and I agreed that it would be wise to try to 'take the edge off'.

I feel like anxiousness and stress are making my symptoms worse, and it's looking like I may have a combination of 2 things - a functional nerve disorder and chronic fatigue. Obviously, things like this often go hand-in-hand with a healthy dose of anxiety. I was given fluoxetine late last year, got a weird side effect that stressed me out. Then my new GP put me on sertraline. This is the second time in 2 weeks I've attempted it but had to stop after a couple of days due to the stressful side effects. I'm due a telephone-consultation with my GP on Monday, so I'll ask him to prescribe another one then. It's going to just be a case of throwing sh t at a wall to see what stick, it appears!