Scared to death I'm dying.

[TrippyMcGuire762]

So I upped my dose of sertraline on Saturday from 25mg to 50mg and now I'm having a bunch of pain and weird symptoms in the right side of my head. The pain has been intermittent since I started the sertraline and would come and go, but always on the right side above my eye worse than anywhere else. I want a scan to tell me if there's something more going on there, but everyone just keeps chocking it up to anxiety or the meds, or both. I'm just freaking out right now..

[20Voices]

Hi, I always get a pain and horrible feeling above and at the back of my left eye when I am getting a migraine. I now know my migraines were related to my anxieties and stress, because I only get them occasionally now and I can tell when I am feeling anxious now as well.

If you upped your medication then it is likely to do with that. I presume you have spoke to doctor and that they are sorting your medication out for you now.

I was on medication before that when it was upped left me feeling awful so I spoke to my doctor and they sorted it out for me.

Take care and i hope you get your issue sorted soon.

[TrippyMcGuire762 in reply to 20Voices]

I'm in the process of sorting out the dosage for the meds, I think we might have jumped it too fast. I've had issues with all the other SSRI's I've tried. Zoloft just was the least problematic prior to this. Wondering if I should have gone to 37.5 instead of 50mg instead. Of course there's the fear in my mind its a tumor and I'm trying to get my doc to ok an MRI, but not sure on that.

[Chelle-Louise]

Hi Trippy

I've been on 50mg sertraline for going on 4 months now and i also get the odd pain but on the left side of my head behind and around my left eye! I was told by my doctor that this can occur so i'm not too worried about it..

Try to remember, those of us that have anxiety tend to fear the worse in any situation! Try not to worry, tell yourself you know what it is and hopefully it won't cause you any more stress.. The more you think about it the more prominent it will be.

Chin up x

[TrippyMcGuire762 in reply to Chelle-Louise]

That's the thing, I don't know what it is. I am hoping its the meds, but of course with anxiety, it makes it worse.

[Stantonrider]

Hey there, it's just your system getting used to the increase in the dosage of the Sertraline. Try not to worry too much about it as you are then causing your anxiety to rise unnecessarily. I take 150mg a day and at times as my dosage has increase I have experienced various side effects that didn't last to long.

If you are feeling uncomfortable make sure you are hydrating correctly, getting a balanced diet and don't be afraid to get some extra sleep. There have been times during my increases when extra sleep helped a lot.

Hope this helps a little.

[Dydy-gabb]

I am on sertealine 150mg and has sometimes felt pains and migraines but it goes on and off. Hope you can mention it to your gp to have a review

[Sammy-jojo]

Hi I take sertraline at 100mg a day and I do remember some cranky feelings as my medication increased , but the one sided pain is probably a migraine. I take migraleve pink you don't need a prescription and can buy this from over the pharmacy counter.

Take care and here if you need to ask me anything Sam 😊

[1979ukmale]

Hi , I take 100 mg. I recently stated tapering down to 50 mg , just to see if I could get the benefits for a lower dose, and started getting headaches... Went back to 100 mg and they stopped.. ! The physiology is complex, and there are so many factors which can influence headaches. I find Sertraline brilliant for various reasons, and with very few unwelcome side effects, but side effects are possible and can include your symptoms. Make sure you drink a lot of water, and also exercise, get your blood pumping, even a 30 min power walk.. You need to give it 1-2 weeks of 50 mg to level out. Consult your doctor if it helps you, but i'm certain it will be a temporary issue. Don't drink or use other drugs, and tailor your diet to healthy food, removing processed foods and sugar. Headaches can be diet, stress, dehydration related etc etc.. Also get 8 hours sleep if possible.. Is there anything in your life causing you stress that could be contributing? PS: I work too much, i barely slept monday night , haha. Not a good role model.

[Maman2144]

Hi trippy, I've been on 200mg of sertralin for two years now and I don't get the headache as often now. Mine is just above my right eye but my doctor told to expect it and to just try to relax when it happens. I usually put a cold flannel on my forehead and sit in my comfy chair till it subsides. Hope you can work out a way to cope with it too. Best wishes Lorna

[MercyMe]

hi, you're not dying, it's just your body adjusting to the change in medication. I can get headaches with increased doses and a dizzy wooshing feeling in my head with decreases in dose. I was for some time on a high dose of Sertraline (200mg) and had many more headaches - I had terrible night sweats and this can make you dehydrated during the day as well as worse PMS. If it's warm or you are having night sweats make sure you're drinking enough fluid. Best of luck, an increase in dose is not the end of the world (although it often feels like it at the time), you will feel better and your body will adjust soon. Take care and be strong, Gilly

[Binkyreeree]

Hey there. I'm on 150mg of sertraline & get that pain sometimes.. My psychiatrist said it could be that a part of the brain that hasn't had enough serotonin is getting more now and the brain neurochemistry is firing up again to get back to doing what it should. It sounds like you might have panic as well as anxiety, with the feeling like you're going to die, etc. My friend has had that intense fear & it was so physical it was like she was having a heart attack. I've never had a panic attack, just constant insidious social anxiety and general anxiety. Let your doc know if you think it might be "panic" cos they might have different ideas about how to help you (because some different medications are sometimes used for the different diagnosis) . I hope that makes sense. Another thing I would recommend is doing a thing called "paced breathing". My friend did this while she was being monitored by a machine at a docs and I saw with my own eyes (on the monitor) that it calmed her down in a matter of minutes by improving her 'heart rate variability' which helps suppress anxiety (fight or flight) and improve calmness (rest and digest). It wasn't anything she could fake, so that's proof to me that it helps. She does it every day now for 10 minutes and it's worked like a form of medically proven meditation! Google if you're interested "paced breathing". You're going to be ok. Hang in there. ☺️

[whitty99]

Hi Trippy. I have been on Sertraline for about 4 years and it has been great for me, but I remember upping from 25-50 mg after 5 days and feeling dreadful for about 2 weeks. I remember calling a Paramedic as I thought I was having a heart attack or then I had a brain tumour. I know now this was the anxiety talking. Anxiety is horrid and remember it will be playing tricks with you. The stress is likely to then cause headaches and even migraines. It is important to talk to your GP though . Mine said if I could cope with symptoms for a few days it would get so much better as it is a very good treatment for anxiety so i am glad I stuck with it. Another thing that helped me with Anxiety and headaches was acupuncture and it helped me switch off. Yoga good as well.

Really hope you feel better soon and remember just to keep talking to people x

[Georgiamiaf]

Hi, I am also on Sertraline 50mg I have been since around April when I changed from Citalopram. I experience odd fuzzing sensations at the base of my head which I have always put down to the medication. I haven't experienced many side effects other than the fuzzing, extreme tiredness, vivid dreams and waking up with a jump from a nap which is annoying. I would re-read the side effects on the medication but if it gets worse I would go back and see your GP. Hope this helps and if you have any other questions please feel free to message me.

[TrippyMcGuire762]

Thanks all, gonna call the doc and talk to them about it.

[del28it in reply to TrippyMcGuire762]

I Hope all the advice has helped settle your mind. I'm new here so not sure if my message gets shown to all. so I will post here too incase it helps other.

Me3 days ago

Hi I feel for you, as you are clearly concerned there is something bad going on, I really get it! I have been in the same situation and the anxiety just keeps getting worse but that was a while ago and I now have a better perspective on it. This is what I think is happening I hope you can relate to it, now bear with me for a minute as if you don't know this already you need understand what’s going on in your body.

You have been suffering bad anxiety that’s why your doctor stated you on a low dose of 25mg, what I have found from experience and from others is when your suffering anxiety your system is on high alert, your senses are pinging off the scale, this is caused by the extra adrenalin and cortisone. This is the bodies way of dealing with a perceived threat (fight or flight) In todays modern world of too much stress or bad events that have happened to us the body responds with this fight or flight mechanism realising the bodies own defence system and pumps the adrenalin into the blood system. So what does adrenalin do, well it heightens all the senses making us super in tuned and blurring out the background noise, reducing the blood flow to the organs like the stomach (hence stomach problems with people with prolonged anxiety) and pumps the blood to the heart (palpitations) its a primal response the human body still has, Why? Because we would not have survived all the things in the past like saber tooth tigers wanting to eat us! Adrenaline made us focus, zoned in all are senses that we needed and tuned out the ones we don't nee, and to make us super alert for danger until the danger had passed.

Now back to you, your anxiety has left the switch on for the adrenaline and other hormones because of the prolonged stress and worry that has lead to the prolonged anxiety its like the body still thinks there is a threat which ironically in todays world now works against us and leads to this prolonged feelings, there are no longer any saber tooth tigers wanting to eat us! todays threats are more prolonged and subtle switching the mechanism on far more often and for longer than was ever needed and if it continues to long the switch just stays open (modern day prolonged stress leading to long term anxiety) it a bit like drinking Redbull or coffee every hour of every day, think about that! What would that do to you body/mind? Pretty sure it would make you wired, alert to the point of no time to turn it down and RELAX. The chemicals are similar to the bodies’ own hormones but in access will do you harm and defiantly lead to bad anxiety! Now if you have read this far (I hope so its my first posting and I'm know speed typist) then that’s great!

Now imagine this, your having anxiety its horrible I know but what do you think your body/mind is doing... its pumped up on these hormones making you super vigilant and scared, that's the horrible thing about anxiety it feeds itself to keep you trapped in the cycle unless you do what’s necessary to slowly close the switch (which is jammed on) and you can do it!

So you have upped your dose to 50mg which is still not that high, I'm on 200mg a day and have felt side affects when I've tried to come down/off them myself. For me it was tingling in my face and feeling spaced out (not nice) and guess what! I got worried something bad was going, was I having a stoke etc. just more anxiety until I did it the second time and tried to come down/off and got the same feelings again, then I had that aha moment! I realised this is just a side effect of the medication! My anxiety levels dropped but were all human and don't like these feeling, so I have decided to stay on my dose as I have feel better on them then without.

So to the point! Your dose increase may be giving you some temporary side effects which highly likely to be harmless and will pass, but because your anxiety is keeping the switch on (primal fight or flight) this is making you supper aware and vigilant of everything that you are feeling, amplifying anything you feel could be a danger to your health!

Now knowing all this you have to act on it! Accept the side effects are temporary and will pass then the medication will start to go to work for you!! Don't fight the anxiety or wish it away, just accept it for now and let the feeling pass (they will) you will probably be exhausted by it all but your system will learn there is NO fight! When your out of that zone its so important for you to do what you can to calm down your “over stimulated” nervous system, here’s a few ideas but you can do what ever it is that helps you.

Most important notice the things that cause you stress or anxiety and temporally avoid them or notice when enough is enough before you get to stressed etc.

Don't drink any stimulating drinks like coffee, tea, coke or anything with caffeine, including the so-called faster working paracetamol (just paracetamol but laced with caffeine)

TIME FOR YOU, relaxing music, warm bath with candles, get some lavender essential oil and an oil burner to relax you mind and spirit, yoga what ever you feel is time for you and to switch off

If you find yourself going back to worrying, STOP and say to yourself everything is ok, I'm in the process of healing myself! Take some deep breaths and release slowly until all the air is gone and repeat the breaths and mantra (everything is ok, I'm in the process of healing myself! This pattern of healing is so important in turning down your over stimulated nervous system, be constant and don't be put off by temporary set backs (straight back on the horse) Your stronger than you know and you will overcome!

Well that was a lot for my first post! So many of us have been where you are and at this point, but it will change you can overcome these feeling in time so be kind to yourself while you heal.

[TrippyMcGuire762 in reply to del28it]

I made another post earlier today, that's the update.

[Dolphin35]

Hi Trippy, Sorry to hear you're not doing so good. I've been taking Sertraline for about 5 years, my dose is 100mg and it has really helped by stabilising my moods - I no longer get the descents into pitch blackness and can usually function pretty well, even though my depression is still clearly evident. It's a control, not a cure. I didn't notice any side effects at all, and I'm wondering if your stress and anxiety might be causing your symptoms to worsen, rather than the sertraline. My advice, though I'm no doctor, would be to stick with it for a few weeks and see if the symptoms subside. There's also an issue of when to take it - I took it in the mornings for a couple of years but then they put me on statins as well and I was advised to take them together last thing at night - I'm not sure but I think that has made them more effective because the chemical balance in the brain sorts itself out whilst you are sleeping and you wake up with a stable dose doing it's stuff as it is supposed to.

Having had a really bad experience with Prozac in the past, I am more than happy with the effects of Sertraline. I'm aware that what works for some doesn't for others, but I thought that you might find my experience useful in reducing your worries a bit.

Best Wishes,

Rick