I am new to this site, My GP has prescibed me Sertraline 50mg for anxiety, has anybody used this medication any feedback would be helpful

[JML62]

[Untitled]

Hi there JML i was on Citalopram for a long while and the doc said i needed something stronger to start working for me, so she gave me Lustral, sertraline... 50mg to start then i was to up to 150mg. Sorry to have to tell you this but my experience was awful. I became this horrible person, i was horrible to everyone i spoke to. I did not want to go out, i wanted to take my life and had started planning things. I was only on them for about a week and half and i immediately noticed all this change in me so i stopped them and went straight back to my Citalopram.

This was my experience. I have to say though they are different for everyone but for me they made me worse. It was awful. If you get any horrible side effects or thinking awful things then please please go back to your GP immediately. Its not worth what i went through. Good luck. Sorry its all negative but im just being honest. xxx

[JML62 in reply to Untitled]

thank you for your reply, I was prescibed them 6 months ago took them for 2 weeks

they made me feel worse, Went back to GP he told me to stick with them as there was no alternative so I left them in the cupboard, I found the side effects not worth it.

Thank again xx

[Untitled]

Good on ya love. There are alternatives, if i was you love i would most def ask to see another GP in the practice. If there is none just go and get a second opinion from someone because that is not the only drug available. I empathise with you because doctors should not be saying this to patients, there are hundreds of drugs available. Go back and insist the doc listens to you. Just tell the doc your side effects were to severe for you to cope with so can they give you something else, if they say no. Either speak to practice manager if your not happy with that doctor or ask to see another, if still no joy maybe think about joining a different practice.

It's ok for docs to just come out and say things like this when your new to this awful anxiety thing but they never seem to understand just how hard it is because they have probably never suffered it.

Good luck and i do hope something is sorted for you. xx

[JML62 in reply to Untitled]

hi untitled Thanks I will take your advice and go back and dig my heels in as they say

I am still trying to navigate around this site so I might be a little slow in replying to answer's

Thanks for your advice xx

[ScarlettD]

Hi JML62 . Thanks for your question. I am 2weeks into moving onto sertraline (from cital). I desperately want the new treatment 'regime' to wave that magic wand for me. I guess I travel more in hope than expectation. Heres my sense: At the moment I feel as though Ive been picked for the national anxiety squad representing GB (so no pressure there...) im half naked(not in a good way..) AND im in the Novelty Steeplechase NOT the elite Anxiety classic 100m ...........right (Im thinking..) bend down assume the position -you know the training..wait for the B..in Bang and then WE'RE OFF!! phew FLYING WITHOUT WINGS.........then phut phut stutter stutter...theres the water jump......YYYYYIKES!!!! (its ok..I know Im safe and this isnt a competition BUT WHY WHY oH WHY do I feel so wretched for trying to joke my way out of everything...and now im crying and wishing I could just go back to the factory and be reset. >....and if the answer is truly inside me then I really am wasting my time searching for it.

ps Hope this is ok but it's where I am .

ANy Others ever experience such CONFUSION....ambivalence and an OVERWHELMING desire to learn to think without this gravel pit that I sink into everytime I think its better???

Scarlett x

[JML62 in reply to ScarlettD]

Hi scarlettD Thanks for your two replies, I do not think you were rude at all, It is thoughtful of you to reply.

Thanks a lot and good luck x

[Hidden in reply to ScarlettD]

Hi scarlett,

Just to say what a brilliant sense of humour you have, you maybe confused but your letter writing is spot on. xx

[roadsend]

i too have been prescibed sertraline 50 mg,was very wary of starting taking this ,so stasrted by taking half to begin with and then increased to the full 50mg ,havent found it has helped at all reallly ,just made me very tired and lethargic ,,been on them now about 6 weeks and just feel as if i have just woke up ,am there but not with it at all,not sure if its the medication or just mental exhaustion i think its something you just have to try and see if it works for you ,was concerned about all the possible side effects but apart from the odd headache and confusion ,didnt have any serious side effects for me ,but havent seen any real benefits either

[JML62 in reply to roadsend]

Hi roadsend, thanks for your message. I have checked a few site's with feedback regarding side effects of sertraline a lot of user's said they experienced bad bouts off

diarrhea, that would be the last thing I need at the moment. Have you any thoughts on that subject I hope I do not cause any emmbarrasment.

Thank you JML62

[roadsend in reply to JML62]

didnt really have any noticeable side effects ,whether it was because i went onto it slowly at half a tablet at a time to start,or because it just didnt affect me in the way some others found ,was very wary of taking anything that was going mess with my brain.the doc said you will feel like a new person within a few weeks but that hasnrt happpened either ,the stress and anxiety of all the forms and paperwork that comes through the door every morning isnt helping either ,supply this,send us that, and then getting it all back a week later to start again,i think the sertraline may have more of a physcological effect for some that belive that is a tablet for all ills ,personally my own view is it just masks symptoms for some people ,at the end of the day the problems havent gone away ,they still have to be dealt with ,its getting help to get through them that is the hard part,till you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and not expect another oncoming express train

[JML62 in reply to roadsend]

Hi roadsend that was a good idea to start with half a tab at a time, I know what you mean when you say they only mask the problem the probs don't go away.

Thanks and good luck

[Hidden]

Hi JML,

Welcome to the site. Have to say Sertraline 50mg worked very well for my anxiety/depression. Started at a low dose to try and keep side effects to a min. Although Anxiety did increase for the first couple of weeks it did settle down and the benefits were well worth the initial rise. I think the biggest plus Sertraline helped me with was it totally stopped my panic attacks which helped me gain more confidence to lead a fulfilling life. Hope that is useful.

[JML62 in reply to Hidden]

hi newday thanks for your positive reply, what you said is very useful, as with other

comments off members I can get a idea of the pluses and minuses.

Thanks again

[sprinkles in reply to Hidden]

Have to say it has been very beneficial for me but it's going to be different for everyone, but if it's not working after a few weeks I would go back and try something else. It's just everything takes time and you are feeling like this it feels much longer than it is.

Best wishes

Sprinkles xx

[pccogni]

I have been on 150 mg of sertraine and now feel need something stronger, my moods were better but started to come back but so has my anxiety . I would say they take the edge off but the i worry that if you go onto something else it will be worse, but people are different as to how meds effect them.

[JML62 in reply to pccogni]

Hi pccogni,

Thanks for your message, how long have you been on 150mg? did you start off on a lower dose? how were the side effects when you started them.

Thanks

[pccogni]

I was on 50mg to start. side effects for me, not a lot really, i am less angry, sleep better and feel more calmed . I would say that the side effects for me have not really been anything major at all.

[Hidden]

Hi,

I have been on 150 mg Sertraline for as long as I can remember. I have found them, combined with CBT beneficial without any side affects. I think before them I was on Dothiepan.

Good luck with the meds.

[Dolphin35]

Hi, I have been on Sertraline for 4 weeks and I think that it helps. Although the root cause of my depression is still there (the breakdown of a 14 year marriage) my moods have steadied and become less extreme. I still feel miserable, but I can at least function to a limited extent, and although I want to break down and cry several times a day I don't. How much of this is due to the pills and and how much is due to the natural healing process I can't say, but in my case I think that most of the bad effects that people are reporting here are probably due to the condition, not the drug. I am certainly going to keep on taking it.

My only other experience of antidepressants is Prozac, about 20 years ago, which was awful and turned me into a walking zombie. This stuff doesn't. It can't take away the problem but it seems to allow me a better chance of dealing with it.