Sertraline dose

[mollieyoung_27]

I’ve recently upped my meds from 100mg to 125mg, as soon as I take the meds, within an hour i start feeling the side effects. When I first started Sertraline I didn’t have many symptoms, or I did but didn’t notice them as much… the lack of appetite is crazy, I’d happily just not eat all day and I keep having nausea and stomach problems/heartburn - any advice or similar experiences?

It’s sad I feel like this for Christmas but I wanted to up the meds whilst I was on Christmas break so it didn’t interfere with work…

Did an early Christmas at my dads this weekend but I’m going home early because I just can’t stand not being at home when I feel so unwell, I’ve been trying to mask it so people don’t make a fuss, I just have to keep telling myself it’s side effects.

[PadThaiNoodles]

The side effects of SSRIs often go away after a couple of weeks. I'd guess it's the same when upping the dosage.

If it doesn't ease off, you could talk to your GP about trying one of the other SSRIs. They all have slightly different side-effect profiles.

[mollieyoung_27 in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

yeah i think it is improving so it’s just a waiting game now, i definitely feel better than i did at the weekend so slowly but surely we’re getting somewhere. the side effects just really suck!

[PadThaiNoodles in reply to mollieyoung_27]

I got lucky and only had dry mouth, and it went away after a week or so.

I hope your improvement continues. Waiting is at least easier when it appears there's a clear direction.

[linuxusr]

Hello mollieyoung_27: I too am taking setraline. I just upped my dosage from 50 mg to 75 mg. We are still evaluating what dosage will be necessary for maintenance. I am making significant improvement in anxiety and depression with this medication and have not as yet experienced side effects. But individuals respone differently to medications, so I'm not surprised that your case is different. My opinion: You need to speak with your physician regarding known side effects for setraline. The problem is that some of the side effects you describe may not be side effects of all but symptoms of anxiety. So you need to separate which are side effects of setraline and which are symptoms of anxiety. Only your physician can parse this. Further, if some of what you are experiencing are, in fact, symptoms of anxiety and not of setraline, then when you reach steady state after the dosage adjustment, you may find relief from some of those complaints that are, in fact, not side effects of setraline. My psychiatrist tells me that steady state is achieved in 7-14 days. To be on the sure side, I assume 14 days and mark this target date on my calendar. Only when my target date arrives do I begin evaluating the quality of the dosage change. Hope this helps.

[Beavis2022]

I'm so sorry for what you are going through. I know everyone is different - I took this for years, it never worked, and when I went off them, I had withdrawal effects for two years. I truly believe I have brain damage from years of taking all these mental health drugs, and I wish I never started in the first place.

[mollieyoung_27 in reply to Beavis2022]

sorry to hear! i have been on sertraline for 9 years and its worked well for me, it’s just the increase that’s making me feel weird!

[Beavis2022 in reply to mollieyoung_27]

Thank you.... I wonder why your Dr wanted the increase? Hopefully, you'll adjust.

[mollieyoung_27 in reply to Beavis2022]

It was because the panic got bad again after i had back to back illnesses - hopefully its sorted soon!

[Beavis2022 in reply to mollieyoung_27]

Hopefully, the crisis has passed, and maybe you can go back to your usual dose - side effects are horrible, sometimes.

[Mirro19]

Hi mollieyoung I am having the same issues with sertaline, started on 50 mg for 6 weeks been on 100mg for a week and today I have had 5 anxiety attacks its driving me mad, the indegestion I have got is unreal made my chest sore with it. Banging headache all day don't know how much longer I have to wait for this to subside.

[mollieyoung_27 in reply to Mirro19]

I hope you feel better soon! It’s been 10 days for me taking 125mg every other day and 100mg inbetween and it is slowly getting better so definitely hang in there! it does get better eventually - you may want to ask your doctor if taking 100mg every other day for 2 weeks would be better for the side effects.

i’m defo not 100%, my appetite isn’t great but before I couldn’t even look at food and now im eating little by little and feeling okay. 2 weeks feels like forever when adjusting but im confident i’ll be in a better place mentally soon!