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Sertraline side effects

Lemon920 profile image
6 Replies

So about 3 months ago my dr put me on 50mg of sertraline for anxiety/panic. I took it for about a month and it seemed to help but the tremors I got from it made me want to stop taking it. Long story short is I weaned myself off for 3 weeks and at the end of the 3 weeks I started having major anxiety attacks again. My counselor and I decided to go back on the sertraline. Since starting it back up 5 days ago I have had a slew of strange symptoms, most notable random muscle twitching all over my body and extreme daytime tiredness. Has anyone experienced these side effects before?

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Lemon920 profile image
Lemon920
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6 Replies

Ive taken 50 mg for two years, just upped it to 100mg. Ive never had any twitching. I started taking it at night as I thought it might be making me sleepy. I havent really had any problem with it.

PushingThru profile image
PushingThru

I got tremors when I started it too. Also felt weak and dizzy on and off. All of that cleared up by about the 6 to 8 week mark. It could last from an hour or two up to a couple of days at a time and was really annoying but it did stop after 2 months for sure.

Claysha_L profile image
Claysha_L

I’ve been on Sertraline for almost 8 years and still experience mild side effects similar to yours, and they’ll get slightly worse if I up my dose, but that’s just me. It personally doesn’t make me to drowsy, but I will get random muscle twitches and my hands are always shaky, not to mention my leg jittering more than usual when I’m sitting, or even standing. I’ve learned to kind of ignore it, but again it’s different for everyone. If it’s bothering you it never hurts to check in with your doctor, even just to get clarity! Hope this helps!

hypercat54 profile image
hypercat54

Hi I started on 100 mgs of sertraline and am now up to 150 mgs. It really helps me but I do get some mild side effects still such as twitching a bit, a dry mouth, and detailed disturbing dreams. Like Claysha though I try to ignore them as it is worth it for the help the med gives me. x

I take the same and I have not had those side effects. Even when I first started. But that is just me 🙂 I hope your twitching and tiredness gets better.

Lemon920 profile image
Lemon920

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. Here is a little update:

After 2 weeks of being on sertraline I met with a psychiatrist and she switched me over to Lexapro(Escitalopram). Since starting this I have felt better but still have the twitching all over. It does seem much worse in the morning and then gets less throughout the day. I have noticed that when I get anxious the twitching gets much worse also. It just freaks me out because of course I googled the symptoms and the first thing to pop up is ALS(this didn't help my already terrible health anxiety). Hopefully this gets better.

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