Help please, struggling with sertraline side effects for 8 weeks

[Cherry2berry]

Hi I'm 59 and currently into the 8th week of Sertraline at 50mg for anxiety and still having quite severe side effects such as high anxiety and a very senstive stomach which is making it hard to eat. I know it's side effects from the medication as the symptoms always start around 2 hours after taking it, I take the sertraline at 6am and do have some good days, on the bad days the side effects tend to ease off later in the day. I've used Sertraline twice in the past and once the side effects wore off I did really well on them but just don't remember the side effects lasting this long. The only difference this time is I'm taking 7.5mg of mirtazapine at night to help with sleep which my GP said should be okay. I'm just hoping to hear from other people that may have had a similar experience to put my mind at ease as I'm worrying myself silly about it which obviously doesn't help.

[IncognitoC]

as with all medication if the side effects are still severe after 6-8 weeks you need to contact your doctor and discuss with them.

[Tealpillow]

Yes - I had pretty intense side effects so my Dr suggested I take the meds at night which works great. I’m on 150 mg and I’ve been on this dose for a few years. 🙂

[Cherry2berry in reply to Tealpillow]

Can I just say thankyou to everyone for taking the time out to reply, I spoke to my GP last week and he said to give it another couple of ŵeeks to see if the side effects settle down. He also mentioned about maybe increasing the dose, but I'm absolutely terrified of the side effects as they're almost unbearable on just the 50mg. The problem with taking it at night is that one of the other side effects I have from Sertraline is insomnia, hence the low dose of Mirtazapine at night to help me sleep. The only difference between the 3 times I've been prescribed Sertraline is I wasn't previously taking Mirtazapine which I plan on weaning off once the Sertraline kicks in, but do wonder if it would make a difference being on Mirtazapine at the same time, that's just another worry I've got. I feel really stuck atm as I feel I can't go back or forwards and I'm really worried about what's going to happen. I don't really want to try any different meds as they all have side effects, I've tried a few in the past and found I was very sensitive to side effects and hence the reason for going back on Sertraline, as they seemed to suit me best in the past.

[Tealpillow in reply to Cherry2berry]

I feel for you - I hate the roller coaster of trying diff medications. I’m almost at the max dose so I worry what will happen when I can’t go any higher. Switching meds scares me.

You make a good point about insomnia - I forgot that was one of the side effects (I started Zoloft a long time ago 😆). The first few months on Zoloft were rough and scary but SO worth it once the side effects went away. Sending you comfort and support!

[Kinlay]

Our bodies change over time, so meds may affect us differently. If you are two months in and the side effects are interfering with your quality of life, I would personally say it's time to ask your doctor if you can either lower the dose or try something else.

[Teddy45]

Hiya, sorry to hear you’re not feeling too good. I’ve been on searching now for about two years and I am a mental health nurse. I had a breakdown when my son died at 21 those feelings you are talking about. It is to do with the side-effects of sertraline. I’m on 100 mg now for Anxiety I am back at work now. Just give them a little more time. They did upset my stomach so I decided to take them once I had breakfast which will make you feel a lot better and once you’ve been on them for around eight weeks so might put them up to 100 mgspeaking from experience as a staff nurse in a mental hospital for people with all different disorders, sertraline one of the most popular tablet for anxiety and depression. Just keep going. If you need to talk to me about anything I can give you my and you can text me it’s ( My name is Dani i’m off for a week now so I’ll be at home any time you want to talk to me I will help you as much as I can you take care now and remember I am here if you need me you could try taking them at night, because sometimes they work better for people

Love Dani

[designguy]

I've found that eating something before taking my meds and then drinking a cup of hot coffee helps with any digestive issues.

The other thing is leaning that it can take 2 - 3 weeks before the sertraline will take affect and make a difference. When I was on sertraline the only side affect I ever had was mild sexual dysfunction, which is pretty common with it. More than likely your issues are from your anxious mind blowing things out of proportion which helps perpetuate your anxiety. Try to relax some and accept that your anxious thoughts are just lies and give your body time to adjust.

You might spend the time looking on youtube about how to educate yourself about anxiety and how to deal with it, try the DARE Anxiety youtube, the Paige Pradko youtube and also ones buy Dr. Claire Weekes.

[Celtic76]

Hi, I’ve been on them for 2 years , yea I remember the side effects were quite bad but I persevered I think they lasted a good few months, but I’m really glad I did as they have been a godsend for me, I take them for panic attacks and anxiety and I’ve not had a panic attack for over a year, hope this eases your mind a little

[Cherry2berry in reply to Celtic76]

Hi thanks so much for taking the time out to reply, yeah I remember the side effects lasting a while the last time I was on them, I don't think they took this long though and wonder if it's because I'm nine years older than the last time I was on it, it just seems I'm more sensitive to the side effects this time round.

[Cashew1964 in reply to Cherry2berry]

I agree with this as I am 58 and my side effects and time to adjust were much longer this time as compared to other times I have taken Zoloft. I noticed a big change as well as I hadn't taken it for about 8 years. So maybe our age makes the timeline a bit longer.

[Cashew1964]

I had a lot of the same side effects you describe. For me it took about 3 months to completely resolve. I tried to eat smaller meals/snacks more frequently. I also found daily exercise helped to reduce my anxiety as did deep breathing. However, if you feel the side effects are still too severe and causing you more distress perhaps have a conversation with your doctor. There are other options that might work better for you. Zoloft can be a difficult med to adjust to but once you do it can be very effective.

[Cherry2berry in reply to Cashew1964]

Hi thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. I had 3 days over the weekend where I wasn't too bad but the past 2 days have been bad again, I hope it will settle down soon, the problem is I'm tending to worry about everything. I can't really do much physically as the side effects are making me very lethargic and any type of exertion is making my heart race, which makes me feel really weird, also getting quite a few headaches.

[mydogs]

Hello cherry2berry I hope you are feeling better I just wanted to ask you are you still taking Sertraline and have the side effects lessened? I am just nearly 1 month on them and anxiety and depression worse than ever can’t sleep or eat and just looking for reassurance Thank you.