Hello, I was put onto 50mg sertraline by my GP because they thought it would help reduce fatigue I was experiencing due to iron deficiency. I started getting terrible headaches and dizziness, so when I next saw my GP 23 days later they told me to just stop taking the sertraline. They stated that I hadn’t been on long enough to experience any problems. It has now been 12 days since my last dose and I am getting dizziness, headaches, sometimes joint pain, and a feeling of numbness in my head.
How long should I be experiencing this for? Whenever I ask a medical professional they are surprised it hasn’t gone away. I’m really hoping it will go soon because I’ve just started a new job and am trying to make a good impression, which is hard at the moment .
And as for the energy, it turns out all I needed was an increase in my iron prescription.
Thank you
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ae0200
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I see your fairly new and that this is your first post, so hi and welcome!It is strange that you're still having stmptoms. I wonder if the medication hasn't left your system yet? Have you asked your doctor what you ask here? Maybe if you word it the way you do here, you'll get more help? I don't know what to suggest other than that.
That was what my GP thought, that it might still be in my system. I’ve just been told to hold tight, it’s just hard when I’ve been feeling rough for 5 weeks now since starting sertraline
yea -- i had a doctor tell me that. Every body is different. they should know that. do a minor gut cleanse. You could skip fats and eat raw veggies plus juice like cranberry juice. Raw beet juice with carrot is particularly good. Be careful of buying it pre made because of the sugar. Not suggesting you starve yourself. Chicken breast is fine for protein. Serotonin also lives in your gut. That is the reason for the cleanse.
I also have another question, I struggle to get up on a morning and feel like I have a thick head. Is this likely to be the sertraline? And if so, why hasn’t it got better with stopping it?
Maybe you should've come off it gradually but you weren't to know that Some people have problems coming off these medications I am supersentive too. Like I said it will take time its a bit scary I know when your body is reacting like this but you mustn't panic or take more drugs it could take a year to get right again but probably not that long , Coffee may help your head on a morning , you need a good healthy diet , water , sleep, you will get right again but it will take time
you have reacted very strongly to an SSRI maybe not so much by taking it but rather the withdrawal some people would be fine stopping as you did but you obvs are not you could take a teeny speck of it every day and try to ween off it like that but since you have come this far you may as well carry on cold turkey has it improved in the last few days ?
I have found that my headaches and dizziness have improved a bit. But I’m still feeling tired a lot of the time, it’s different to when I started being iron deficient because I still feel like I have energy, I’m just very sleepy. I would say rather than a headache, it is tingly
I would stop taking that b12 for a few days - won't matter if you aren't deficient One thing that is always good to take for your brain your mood and overall health is codliver fish oil
That's sounds like an awful lot of iron maybe you should ease off that too You can tell your iron status by the colour of your number 2 s when you go to the loo if it's dark your iron status is good if it's pale you are low on iron yours must be black I would ease off it you only need 12 mg a day of iron vitamin b12 helps you absorb iron but 1000 mg of B12 is quite a high dose
The ferrous fumerate is equivalent to 100 mg elemental iron so it’s a bit less. Yes the sertraline is getting better slowly, less dizzy now and headaches aren’t as bad. One thing I have developed though is bad joint pain, I was previously vitamin d deficient so maybe it’s come back
I usually get lots of sun, I have been taking cod liver oil for a while. I was wondering if the sertraline could be causing aching? When I started aching a couple of weeks ago I also started taking high strength vitamin D but that’s not helped
I was only put on because of fatigue due to iron deficiency. At the same time they increased my iron dose too which helped. I stopped because the iron was helping my fatigue and the sertraline was making me feel dizzy and headaches
I was vegetarian for 10 years, I’m not sure how it happened. All I can think is that I became underweight towards the end of last year and have managed build up my weight now but the iron could be from that?
You did the right thing I don't like animals being killed for me to eat but my daughter got hypothyroidism from going vegan I try to only buy free range chicken and outdoor bred pork
Just wanted to come back and say that my headaches and dizziness are about gone. But I am left with this numb feeling within my head that makes me lethargic, it’s an odd feeling. Almost like my head has anaesthetic in it. It makes it hard to concentrate on anything, which as a university student is hard
thats good about the headaches and dizziness almost gone hope the numbness also goes in time - you are young so you should make a full recovery just make sure you eat well don't skip carbs and stay hydrated - keep me posted
Just thought I'd update this. I've been off sertraline for probably 3 months now. I went to go see a doctor about my iron, and he thinks I have pernicious anaemia and it is likely that my head pressure is from low B12, I am now on treatment for that. The sertraline was just my GP not knowing what to do
hi nice to hear from you , it seems being a vegetarian may have sonething to do with your possible pernicious anaemia ? I remember you said you were on a high dose of an iron supplement seems like you have not been absorbing it ? Vitamin b 12 really helps to absorb iron , what's with the head pressure ? As I said before it can take a long time to get back to normal do you eat a healthy diet ?
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