Sertraline

[Ryank99]

Sertraline has made me lose faith in getting help

[Megapanda]

I am sorry you feel this way ... Can you please elaborate about why feel like this 🐼

[Ryank99 in reply to Megapanda]

They just made me feel a lot worse and my suicidal thoughts went through the roof and I don’t want to go through that again with new ones so I’m just not taking them anymore

[Megapanda in reply to Ryank99]

That must of been very difficult . Is it the first antidepressants you have tried ? .

[Ryank99 in reply to Megapanda]

Yeah they’re the first ones

[Megapanda in reply to Ryank99]

I can totally understand why you would want to come of that medication . However It can sometimes take a few attempts to get the right medication . So don't think that no medication will work for you just because you had a terrible experience with one type .

[Ryank99 in reply to Megapanda]

I just have a feeling that it would take me trying a few to get the right one and I don’t want to go through all this again, I lost a good friend because of how the sertraline was making me act and that made me feel worse and it just spiralled

[Megapanda in reply to Ryank99]

I don't know what happened between you are your friend but I hope you guys can sort it out . Maybe in the future when your In a better state if mind you can explain your behaviour and mental health e.c.t . Obviously it is up to you what you decide to do . It's just about weighing up the pros and cons of being on medication . If you are able to cope without it e.c.t. Did you speak to your doctor about not starting new medication ?. As you can get some withdrawal effects from coming off anti depressants . do you have anything else that can help you e.g therapy ?

[Ryank99 in reply to Megapanda]

No I don’t have any therapy to help it was just the medication, and I didn’t tell them I was stopping

[Megapanda in reply to Ryank99]

Are you going to ? They could refer you or for a support group e.c.t . How long have you been off them for , has the suicidal thoughts reduced since ?🐼

[Ryank99 in reply to Megapanda]

I don’t think so I’ve kinda just lost interest in getting help, and yeah I feel a lot better without them

[EsmeLu in reply to Ryank99]

You can’t expect it to help if you stop it and don’t tell them. You also need therapy. One without the other is not much help. At least it wasn’t for me.

[Hidden in reply to Ryank99]

I have tried different depression medications, and they act differently for each person. Like it or not, the doctors have to experiment on each patient to find out what works best for them. Sometimes one may go down a rough road before finally finding a medication that works for you. I had been on a mental ward with the VA for several weeks before the correct medication would work for me. It is an experiment because everybody is different, and that is a fact. When I was on the ward, I saw some people in awful shape, and sometimes they had to be put into isolation, which is a special room to protect the patients and other people. At times, it was heartbreaking to hear a patient scream and carry on. However, I knew the patient was in the good hands of the VA. I trusted the VA staff that they were doing the right thing. Each day I saw the patient was recovering to join into the main social system and attend classes to help that person at the cognitive level, so that person was able to control themselves. It was a slow process, and it was working. The reason it was working, because the VA was changing the medications until they found the right combination of medicines that worked for that particular person. For me, it was a positive emotional experience to see and visit with that person because that person was able to be in control of themselves. There is hope your doctor will find what medications will work for you, in spite of the discomforts and experimentation's. I suggest that you do not give up on yourself. Things will get better.

[Salma2289]

Sorry for what you feel my friend, you can say why you feel like that and talk about your thoughts towards it. We are all here for you don’t hesitate talking whenever you feel you want to. All my love

[Ryank99 in reply to Salma2289]

They just made me 10x worse and they’re wanting to try me on something new and I’ve been weaning off them for the past couple weeks and I’ve decided I’m not going to start the new ones because I don’t want to go through all that again

[Salma2289 in reply to Ryank99]

I feel how it’s really hard, but could you just give a try for some time that you will be able to see clearly weather they work or not, sometimes it just needs sometime I hope you feel better my friend

[Against_the_current]

Can i ask when you started it? And in what dose? I'm mainly on sertraline and at your age and i study for a therapist and even though i don't have rights of prescribing meds, espessially here, i study them. There are mainly 3 problems with sertraline - If you started it soon and are trying to adapt to it, If you're on a dose that's too high for you and you got a serotonin syndrome (the max dose is 200mg but it can take less to get a sertraline syndrome, it passes but you have to cleanse) or it's not the med for you. For example i have taken other SSRI and they almost killed me, they made me so miserable and i'm still scared to change my meds which seem to not be working. Also there can be influence from the brand. I once got sertraline from a cheeper brand and it felt like i'm taking nothing at all. Had Absolutely no effect. And probably this one doesn't either. Probably i'm gonna get a new SSRI (that's the group of meds where sertraline is) Anyway maybe your problem is not with serotonin but with other neurotransmitter. Or it's the opposite of the med's effect. I know it sounds annoying but ask your doctor for your concerns so you're safe. Also vit D defficency plays a big role espessially in winter, i have it and i had to take vit D, B, magnesium and zinc to regulate the synthesis of neurotransmitters and the spasms of veins in my brain. Anyway make sure your doctor knows about your coundidion

[Ryank99 in reply to Against_the_current]

I’ve been on them since July and they just made things worse, got upped to 200mg over the course of the 5 months and they’re now weaning me off to go onto Prozac but I’m not going to bother starting the Prozac

[Against_the_current in reply to Ryank99]

They gave you the max dose so fast. Most probably your organism couldn't adapt and got serotonin syndrome but i can't tell. Espessially the evening doses hit hard because of the serotonin - melatonin which controls the wake-asleep state. I end up sleeping at day and awake all night. I'm not really familiar with prozac and in which group it is but i know it's a really strong medicine and i don't know how it combines. I'm not qualified yet and not right to say such things online so what i can recomend is to talk to your doc, ask another doc and see what they think. I'm through something similar so know you're not alone and you're gonna get better. I had a friend whose meds got terribly mistaken and she recoved completely for 1 month. Moreover i even got the chance to see a doc she recomend and it felt so much better to compared their views and to have him confirm my meds because i was scared they're wrong for me. So try and wishing you the best of luck

[Purpledreamer in reply to Ryank99]

Hello please correct me anyone if I’m wrong but i thought you could swap directly from one medication to another without weaning off.

[Music_love in reply to Against_the_current]

I'm scared to switch too. It terrifies me so much. Im barley hanging on the edge

[Against_the_current in reply to Music_love]

I feel you. I'm not okay but i can't change

[Agora1]

Hi Ryank99....I'm sorry to read that you had some pretty significant side effectsfrom your medication. Unfortunately, not even our doctors know how their patients

will fare on the drugs prescribe. The drugs tend to be on a trial and error basis.

But when you hit the right medication and the proper dosage for yourself, it can be

life changing for you.

I hope you rethink trying another med or you may go throughout your life

suffering needlessly. I'd like to Welcome you to this amazing forum where people

do care. xx

[Ryank99 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you😋 I feel better now that I’ve stopped them so I don’t know if I maybe just got put on them too early, just not sure if I want to go through all this again trying new ones

[Agora1 in reply to Ryank99]

You know Ryank, I totally understand where you are coming from. Since youare feeling a little better, you could try CBT or one of the many other ways to

work on your mental health issues.

Even with medication and talk therapy, that still isn't the complete answer.

It's about changing your way of thinking with everyday problems. Finding the

root of your issues. Talk with your prescribing physician in regards to other

alternative methods you could try. I wish you well my friend. One day at a time,

one foot in front of the other can still get you to your goal. Good Luck xx

[Ryank99 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you!x

[chatnoirmd]

I’ve tried half a dozen antidepressants throughout life. Sertraline works very well for me I’m happy with the results. I can say that my GP upped my dose to 200mg because I was struggling with depression. There was a six month waiting period to see a psychiatrist and when I finally got in, he was surprised and had me immediately decrease my dosage. They told me that 50-100mg a day was an ideal dosage for most people taking it. The biggest key with sertraline (and probably any antidepressant) is to gradually increase/decrease the dosage.

My spouse struggles with side effects from sertraline so he’s always going off and on. While he gets by daily, I notice a more positive shift in his mood when he’s on it. I truly encourage you to hang in there. Sometimes trying a different class of medication makes all the difference. Good luck to you!

[secrets22]

I was on Sertraline for a very long time,and then i questioned why am i still depressed,and so i weaned myself off them totally,and i take no anti-depressants at all now,and i feel so much better for it. I now face my anxieties head on,and although it has its limitations i do handle it quite well.

[JTiegan]

I understand how you feel. I'm in the process of getting of it. They gave it to me to help with my Anxiety but it made my anxiety MUCH worse. Can't wait to get off of it fully and see what happens.

[sobs1962]

Please understand that anti depressants take a few weeks to start working and during that time, you're likely to feel worse and suicidal. I have had over 30 years of suffering horrific depression and anxiety and now,being diagnosed with BPD, which explains why no antidepressant has worked. I understand that we want a magic pill that works straight away but unfortunately it doesn't work like that. Please don't give up as depression is very treatable if you give it time and I understand why you have no patience.

[Ryank99 in reply to sobs1962]

I’ve been in them for 5 months, just want to get back to some semblance of a life

[zellingson in reply to Ryank99]

I too took Sertraline and for the first few weeks I was way worse off. Felt suicidal too. Then it made me gain a lot of weight (30 pounds) and lost my sex drive. I then changed to Lexipro and it gave me vertigo and I actually fell off a roof at work but somehow tumbled down my ladder onto my feet so I didn't injure myself too bad. Then they put me on another one I can't remember but it made me sleep for 3 days straight. They switched me to Bupropion and I never took it because I felt like a Guinea pig. I felt great getting off all these meds for a while but now I'm back to hating myself and my anger and anxiety is off the charts again. I'm with you, buddy. I lost my best friend from all this too. You are not alone.

[Music_love]

I understand. It made it a tiny better... Sometimes.My hearts not pounding at the bottom of my stomach. Yet I feel like I have no future... No reason to even try. I feel hopeless, some family don't understand. I don't want to be this, if I could just stop it I would.

[zellingson in reply to Music_love]

I feel the exact same way. I feel like I'm going to die sometimes my anxiety is so bad. I even say how I wish I could just die but I don't want to hurt myself. I have countless ways to end it all but I don't want to actually do anything drastic. Sometimes I just feel like dying, if that makes sense. I hate that I'm always angry/nervous/sad and if I could stop, I would too

[bethelbee]

Just because one med gave you problems doesn't mean any other will. It's also dangerous to quit a medication with no supervision or weaning down. There can be serious results. It can take time to find the right one or combination to help you and they all take time to take effect. I am in my 60's and over the decades have been on several, some successful, some not. Prozac was one of the most successful for me(I was on it shortly after it came out in the late 80's)and I had no side effects. It worked for about 10 years then stopped so was switched to Celexa with about the same results. After that it was hit or miss and trial and error, but unfortunately that can be the way it is with meds. Over the decades I became treatment resistant to meds and can't take them anymore. I have had success with TMS(transcranial magnetic stimulation), but they usually won't do it unless you've been on at least a couple different meds with no success. My own opinion is to try the Prozac. Meet with your doctor or provider and talk to him/her about what they think is best for you. Hope it works out for you!!

[Matt_S]

Hello and sorry you feel like that I’ve been on sertraline for 7 years now, I have felt the same way that you are feeling now, I was going to stop it in the beginning but I stuck it out for 3 and a half weeks until it kicked in, you might have to give it time to build up in your system and everybody is different, sertraline has worked great for me and yes you should seek therapy that is what I did and it helps, I hope this helps be safe and reach out if you have any questions.

[jjyankee]

If you do try another anti-depressant, start at a really low dose. I am on sertraline and started with 12.5 mg. And very slowly worked up to 75mg and have stayed there. Many docs start patients at 50mg! , for me it has helped with anxiety and really helped with intrusive thoughts. I still get depressed but don’t sink as low. I’ve tried quite a few different mood stabilizers and this has worked the best- don’t give up- just start low and go slow. Good luck