Sertraline GI Side Effects

[alf_678]

Hi, my doctor recently switched me from fluoxetine to sertraline bc I was having a lot of uncontrolled, general anxiety. I’ve been on 25mg for about 10 days and I’m having abdominal pain/cramps. My doctor did warn me about the diarrhea side effect, but I haven’t had that so much as abdominal pain. Anyone else? Is that a “normal” side effect that will improve??

[wecanhelpeachother]

on my information leaflet which came with sertraline (UK) it lists abdominal pain as a possible side effect. But you should talk to your doctor if you're worried. Don't get health advice from random strangers on the internet

[Sqlguy]

Was the fluoxetine helping, outside of the side effects? Fluoxetine and sertaraline are both from the same class of drug, the SSRI family. Have you ever taken an SSRI that helped? If one drug in a class is not helping, it is not likely that another drug from the same class will help, yet that is what doctors do all the the time, switch you from one SSRI to another. You may better off with a drug from a different class, like duloxtine (Cymbalta), an SNRI. If you cannot tolerate the side effects of the sertraline, or they disappear but the drug does not seem to be helping after a fair trial of 6-8 weeks, talk to your doctor about trying a non-SSRI.

[Joseph46]

I started Sertraline 6 months ago. At first I did experience stomach upset and diarrhea but it was short lived - went away about 2 weeks after starting. Also sertraline should be taken with food to ease upset stomach.