New To Medication

[Deleted member 33880]

I have never taken any anti depressants but my anxiety is getting a bit much, it goes away and then suddenly comes back and I crash. So on Friday my doctor advised me to start Sertraline (?) an SSRI and I started at 25mg (half a pill) each day for a week and then up it to one whole pill. I am nervous but I thought I would give it a go - like an experiment. I have tried so many things and I have perhaps nothing to lose giving it a go even though I am very reluctant to take medication.
I would appreciate people's own experiences of this drug. thanks

 

[StacyD]

Hi Kaluki, I am new to the site but not new to being a guinea pig. My own personal experience with prescription meds has not been positive but that does not mean it cannot work for you. I have been 'disabled' from my 'normal' life for 4 years now. Anxiety is horrible and it tends to make you feel like an idiot when others around you are witness to your behaviour. When it happens, I feel like I am having an out of body experience :(
I could not handle the side effects of the meds and have now turned to medical Marijuana. It is a life saver for me but is still not a socially accepted therapy. I don't care. Despite what people think, it greatly helps my motivation and has a calming effect. There are days where I do nothing but smoke because if I didn't, I would get very wound up. I have a large dog who forces me out of my house. I feel best in nature, away from people. The downside is, I am now completely isolated from family/friends. There is a huge lack of understanding and compassion regarding this illness, so instead I prefer the company of strangers. At least with strangers, even if you have an acute attack, the likelihood of seeing them again is minimal. ..call it self preservation. It is no where near a perfect solution but it is what works for me, at the moment.
Long story. ..sorry :( bottom line - try whatever resonates with you. Listen to your intuition. Try not to doubt yourself. Best wishes,
Sincerely, Stacy xo

 

[Deleted member 33880]

well, the 50 mgs made me so dopey that I have gone back to 25mgs (snapping a pill in half) and that seems okay. I will stay on that for a while. I do feel a bit chilled but it is hard to know as I often just get days anyway, where I feel fine as nothing is particularly triggering me. I think 25mgs is such a low dose that it will be interesting to see how it impacts on me.

 

[GenerousMoon]

taking wellbutrin XL 300mg which is aminoketone not a ssri. Doesnt make me drowsy or gain . Aminoketone is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Helped me with my add, major depression, sucidal thoughts, & migraines. Also, helped with weight gain from prozac. Everyone is different. Only take medication if you know its going to help, not because someone think you should. I started out with prozac which was the worst decision. Once I stopped prozac, took me until I hit rock bottom to start wellbutrin XL. Also, take buspar for anxiety. Stick with your decision if feel thats best for you.

 

[Gadgie]

(snapping a pill in half) and that seems okay.

Do you use a pill cutter? I bought one from our local chemist, only cost about £2, they make a nice clean cut, with no waste.

I used to have to cut some of my pills in half to get the correct dosage, but later on they increased that, so I don't use the cutter any more.

 

[Deleted member 29920]

Haven't tried sertraline but have tried fluoxetine which caused me to have suicidal ideation and some others like mirtazapine, zopiclone and valium which helped relax me but made me very dizzy and recently Effexor which caused me to develop symptoms of pernicious anaemia. So I guess I'd say be careful. I've taken a more natural route and am starting to feel better as opposed to those modern medicines.

 

[Gadgie]

Quote........"zopiclone". That's my knock out pill, that helps me sleep, it works wonders for me.

The doc only allows me seven a month, as he says they are very addictive. I only use them after Ive had three or four sleepless nights, and I start to get cranky!

 

[Mit]

I was on Sertraline for three years, 200mg a day for the most of that time. I think it helped me get through a very difficult period in my life, although it didn't prevent me from taking an overdose.

I eventually weaned myself off it over a period of six months as I became increasingly concerned by the effects on my memory and concentration.

Two weeks another GP prescribed it again. He put me straight on 100mg a day, instead of a low dose like you, and like I had started on previously. I found the side effects unbearable at this dose. I had days of hyperkinesis at night stopping all sleep, severe hand tremors and blurred vision. I was still going to work at this time and was barely able to function. So I've had to stop taking them. I see my GP again this week so will be talking to him about it and deciding what next. Clearly the dose was far too much to start. I'm still taking diazepam, but my GP isn't keen because it is addictive and becomes ineffective after a while. Whilst sertraline helped me in the past and I am having a very difficult time at the moment, hence the prescription, I may still try to cope without them. Anything that has such bad side effects simply can't be good in the long term. I am convinced I have some lasting effects from being on them for so long previously (particularly memory problems).

SSRIs also take quite a while to really start working so I'd take your time before increasing the dose, and keep it as low as you can manage. Getting off them isn't straight forward ( a slow reduction in dose over period of months) so I'd try to think of being of them in the short term (say six months) whilst trying to find alternatives (therapy if your not already in receipt of it).

Best wishes. Mit

 

[Deleted member 33880]

I did do therapy, two session a week with a psychologist but he abruptly suddenly terminated with me - he didn't even have the decency to tell me himself, he used his line manager. Since my main issues were on the trauma of being abandoned and attachment difficulties, this was a severe shock. which is WHY I am now on the sertraline. My dopamine levels dropped (heart ache, heart break, loss of attachment figure) and my adrenaline spiked so that I was an anxious weepy non functioning mess. 25mgs of sertraline does seem to help and I am also doing things like acupuncture, relaxation, yoga, qi gong, and finding a counsellor to help me process (have had three sessions with her, she seems nice and seems to cope with me ranting about f*cking useless therapists LOL). I might try to go up another 25mgs to 50mgs - I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday and shall talk about it. I am nervous of going up as I may need to go up later on if I 'get used' to this dose and start feeling crazily anxious panic all over again.

 

[Deleted member 33880]

I started 50mgs of Sertraline today after talking to my doctor. she said that as I don't take anything else, 25mgs is not enough really to make a medically therapeutic dose.
I have been on 25mgs for a month so it is time to try and up the dose a bit.

 

[Deleted member 33880]

I have now been on sertaline/Zoloft for nearly 8 weeks, and 50mgs for nearly four of them. I feel happy in my mind. Not anxious at all. It is really cool. I like it. I feel positive and energised and like my old self back. I have been having trouble sleeping from 4am each morning but in the last couple of days, that is been changing a tiny bit and I am hoping that over time that will gradually bit by bit, improve. that is the only side effect that I have noticed and even that may not be a side effect, it may be due to the natural grief response that I am going through.

 

[joeylittle]

Glad to hear it, @Kaluki - I was wondering how things were going for you. Thanks for updating!