Changing sertralline 50mg from AM to PM

[ger_]

This is my 14th day now at 50mg. To say it’s neen a nightmare would be an understatement. The increased anxiety this drug seems to give me is far worse than anything I’ve experienced before.

I’ve noticed that my anxiety seems to be highest between 3-8 hours after taking it at 10am each morning.

When I wake up, I’m good feeling myself. I feel better at night time also.

From the research I’ve done, sertralline reaches peak blood concentrations between 3-8 hours after ingesting. This coincides with my increased anxiety.

So I’m considering changing from AM to PM dosing. Is this advisable? If so, should I take it tonight before bed? Or should I leave it until tomorrow night? My last dose was at 10am this morning.

[Angeline12345]

I’m day 19 and changed to 5pm as I couldn’t stand the stomach cramps that started within the hour of taking it and carried in most of the day and I thought I would sleep through the worst, or at least not be working. Stomach cramps are better but still have a bad stomach. I also have had a couple of good days this week. But my anxiety is worse than what I went in to my dr for.

[ger_ in reply to Angeline12345]

My stomach hasn’t been great. My appetite has decreased a lot. I’ve lost 7lbs in 14 days, which isn’t a bad thing lol

But I can’t help feeling my anxiety is at its highest when the drug reaches peak concentrations. So, I was thinking a PM dose would help

[Angeline12345 in reply to ger_]

I spoke to the boots pharmacist and he said it could be about 4 weeks for everything to settle and 4-6 weeks to work . So far the 5pm is working better with side effects. Or I’m sleeping through the worst

[ger_ in reply to Angeline12345]

My doctor said 2-3 weeks for side effects and 4-6 before I feel any real benefit. I think I’ll try PM dose tonight. I don’t sleep until 2-3am. So I’ll take it st 2am (8 hours earlier than normal) and hopefully sleep through any sides 🙏🏻

[seaShelly]

I take Lexapro but experienced the same thing. Although for me, the increased anxiety happens in about one hour. I initially thought I was having a cardiac contraindication. But I found that taking a Xanax made the increased anxiety go away within 5-8 minutes. It is reasonable to ask for a benzo until you get acclimated . Made all the difference in the world. Once I took the Lexapro for about 3 wks I finally stopped having horrible panic that everything I ate would cause me to suffocate, I stopped going to the ER so often that I knew the employees' names, my body shakes finally subsided a good deal, etc . Hang in there and you can always try a different AD if need be .