Sertraline, what is normal?

[Wheatstone20]

I have been prescribed Sertraline as my IBSD has become worse lately due to enormous amounts of stress in my life at the moment, however I cannot fathom why my GP would prescribe a medication that includes diarrhoea as a side effect to a person who has anxiety linked to diarrhoea!!!! So I have started taking this at 25mg each day and I have noticed my stools are loose and sting when passed, is this normal? In addition I have started another period after only finishing the last one 5 days ago, this medication also includes bleeding as a possible side effect, has anyone experienced this?? I am at the end of my tether with all of this, I am feeling worse than ever, please help!

[Maureen1958]

I would contact your doctor about this. Do you take imodium for the diarrhoea? Have you tried pepto bismol. I find pepto better than imodium myself! Also kaoline and morphine is quite good but you can only get it online at present.

[Wheatstone20 in reply to Maureen1958]

I seem to be taking more and more Imodium but more recently I have used Pepto bismol but I am more cautious of long term use of this! I would rather find other ways to manage the diarrhoea but am struggling at the moment 😞

[Maureen1958 in reply to Wheatstone20]

Yes, I totally understand. But I would try to contact your doctor tomorrow about the sertraline.

[Wheatstone20 in reply to Maureen1958]

Thank you for your advice xx

[Jackie1612]

Hi Wheatstone,

Sorry to hear this. I was prescribed sertraline for my anxiety and it did help. My IBSD did improve, although the meds took a long time to help with the anxiety. I think I took it for about two years and when I stopped, the diarrhoea got much worse again.

I agree with Maureen and think you should contact your doctor again.

[Red1366]

I’ve just started Setraline too for anxiety which Doc said was causing my IBS. She did warm me that side effects could make me feel worse for 2 works but to try and push through it. I also looked at reviews about the drug and mist people had the same opinion. They said whilst the first couple of weeks were tough it was worth it for how they started to feel better. Always worth another call to doc if your worried though.

[sg25]

I had the same issues with Sertraline. When I read up on it people described it as the drug from hell! I decided to come off fairly soon but then withdrawal symptoms from this drug were also bad. It’s certainly not suited to everyone.

[MrAddy]

Hiya, I was on sertraline for years before I decided to come off it. First thing to note is the side effects are only possible, and I wouldn't suggest are probable. So certainly be aware of them but I didn't have anything noticeable, but I know others have, and if they persist other alternatives are available.

Secondly, it takes a good few weeks to start working, and kick in to make any effect, so really need to bare with it.

After the first year I was on 150mg of it, and I would probably say it helped with my mood. I was getting down because I could't do the things I waned to do because of my condition, which in simple terms is IBS-M. I say it this way because I do not actually tick all the boxes for IBS. But I have never felt depressed. I get annoyed at doctors that think I am depressed just because I am fed up with being stressed, panic for what ever reason at that time of my life/day, followed by sat on the loo for 40 minutes every few hours. I am sure that would get anyone down.

What Sertraline didn't do, is fix the principle reason for me being on it. It did not stop me having what I call episodes. Perhaps it took the edge off? Perhaps it helped a tiny bit somewhere in the process of my life? But it didn't stop me having episodes of panic, and it didn't reduce the recovery time, or pain, or duration of it.

In 2019, November, I decided to come off it. I wanted to test, and remember, what I was like before it. Even with being around 8 years older and wiser (maybe) I found I was no different than when I was taking it. Episodes are the same. I am still up beat and positive and I do not feel depressed. I do still get fed up thou when I am in a cycle.

I had two GP doctors tell me Sertraline was the goto drug for IBS, but for me it did't work as I had expected, and it didn't give me the boost, or confidence, to live an normalish standard of life. IE, even when taking it, if I had to go out I still couldn't eat anything 24 hours before, or eat whilst I was out etc etc...

But as suggested, any concerns deffo go to the GP and confirm stuff. One thing also to note, I was taking a lot of medication at the same time as Sertraline and another reason I stopped all my meds was because it seems I was taking meds to help against side effects of other meds. I was popping like 15 pills a day. I do not think it was to do with Sertraline though, but cannot be sure. The only meds I take now is Amitriptyline to help me sleep.

Hope this helps in some way and you start to feel better soon

[SueMount]

My doctor prescribed it to me and like you it made my running to the loo worse. I felt dreadful on it. I felt like a zombie , flat no emotion and it didn't help with my IBS. I must admit I only stuck it for 3 weeks and took myself off it. I know you are not supposed to do that but I hated it.

[Edgar77 in reply to SueMount]

In 2016 I was put on sertraline for IBS C I felt awful! It did nothing for my symptoms. After just 4 days my pupils were dilated. A sigh of brain damage! So I stopped them. Now the gastroenterologist has put me on amitriptyline. I read many side effect is constipation so have not yet taken them. My Doc was cross when i told him. Why do they prescribed it.???

[SueMount in reply to Edgar77]

I have no Idea but I wish they would find a cure or some decent help for IBS. It effects so many people but its not life threatening (life controlling though!) so no big money spent on research

[Edgar77 in reply to SueMount]

Maybe it is life threatening. I bet the suicide rate is higher among IBS sufferers, but no research has been done for that.

[SueMount in reply to Edgar77]

Yes you are probably right

[Maureen1958 in reply to Edgar77]

People certainly feel suicidal, and think how they could do it (I certainly have) but it's such a difficult thing to do for all sorts of reasons ie you can't tell anyone or get anyone to help you and then you worry how your loved ones will react. My dad killed himself and people didn't know how to react at all. I phoned a childhood friend to tell her my dad was dead (we lived a few houses away from each other as children, so we were often in each others houses when we were growing up) so I phoned to let her know and she asked how he died and when I told her he had hanged himself she couldn't get off the phone quick enough, mumbling something about "was he depressed?"! He wasn't depressed, he thought he was loosing his marbles and took the quick way out! I thought he was very brave!

[Arkus]

I was on sertraline for 10 years. It helped in some ways but the side effects were difficult; dry mouth and sleepless nights. The problem was diarrhea and panic attacks. The sertraline certainly helped with the panic attacks, so I was grateful to have it. Not eating dairy or wheat helped alleviate the worst digestive symptoms. Eventually I came off sertraline and felt a whole lot better. I hated the dry mouth and difficulty getting a decent night’s sleep. The fact that life circumstances changed for the better helped with depression. By nature I am a very optimistic person, but sometimes life throws at one horrible events and if one feels cornered and that goes on for years the body breaks down.

It took my doctor a long time to figure out my digestive issues were part of depression. When he finally decided I was clinically depressed, the cause of my depression, my husband, had died. I felt a huge relief and was no longer depressed, but the panic attacks and anxiety continued. The digestive problems lasted unfortunately. It's going on twenty years struggling to live a normal life. I personally believe that some of the good bacteria in the gut die when one is depressed and there is no known way yet to replenish those bacteria. It's time science looked into these issues.

[Sapphireblu]

Hello there, I was prescribed this and had to come off it after 1 day I was admitted to hospital because of it, the doctor there couldn’t understand why I’d even been prescribed it.

[Wheatstone20 in reply to Sapphireblu]

Wow that is amazing! I have been on it for nearly a week now and so far all I can say is my stomach is not liking it, mostly diarrhoea each day after eating, but not 100% sure it is because of the medication or just me being me!!!

[Sapphireblu in reply to Wheatstone20]

It caused me to bleed , diaorrhea was just red with it quite scary.

[Daisychain127]

I was missed diagnosed for years with IBS. I had a flare up and ended up in hospital with the pain that is indescribable. I had gall stones. I had a complicated surgery to remove my gall bladder and haven't had one bout of IBS since I left hospital in December 2019. I got my life back after years of anxiety. The doctor kept telling me that the IBS was stress related in relation to my work. I lost years of my life being misdiagnosed,Get checked. I hope all goes well.