Sertraline induced nightmares?

[hallows_eve]

Upped my sertraline dose from 50mg to 100mg about 2 months ago and I started having vivid dreams immediately. I used to never really dream, if I did it was very unrealistic, very short, and I knew I was dreaming. These dreams feel real. They feel like real life both in their content and that sometimes I can’t tell if it’s real or not when it’s happening.

Over the past 2 weeks my dreams went from ordinary to nightmares where my abuser and trauma has made an appearance 3 times just in the last week. All of them were him finding me again and doing everything he’s done before. The other nightmares I’ve been having are also reliving really horrible things from the past.

Is this normal? How do I stop these nightmares? I wake up every morning feeling like I’ve just regressed back to how I was 5 years ago when everything happened and all my progress is gone.

[Fireking1]

Hello my darling,firstly your progress hasnt gone this is a part of accepting it happened so you can process how you felt and move on from it.I have dreams about the abuse I suffered still,even if I am in a good place. Just thank your brain for highlighting it and focus on a good thing from where you are now.Medication can also make your dreams vivid, I am on citalopram and mine are better than films sometimes!

[Barleythere]

I googled this for you,SSRI's..These medications affect the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain to improve mood. Other SSRI antidepressants have also been reported to cause nightmares. Some examples are sertraline (Zoloft).

I hope that helps...

I used to have night terrors with my other meds...my Dr prescribed a small dose of diazapam for that on top of my other meds. If the Sertraline is working maybe they can prescribe something like that for you. 😊