My year on Sertraline.

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Good post the biting the bullet is crucial glad I did I felt like I was slowly falling down a well with no way of crawling out I have been on sertaline for 8 weeks now and it’s starting to make a difference to me I’m not falling down that well anymore I’m starting to crawl out baby steps tho

Fantastic to hear you are starting to notice the benefits. If you have been down or struggled with anxiety for years, people need to be kind to themselves and accept the meds aren't going to work overnight.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Ah sorry to hear about your struggles TH, hopefully you’re on the upwards curve now.

Thanks mate, a million miles away from the person 18 months ago who was thinking some very stupid thoughts.

Only my wife and kids stopped me from ever truly going past that point.

A newspaper office really was no place for a kid of 16 at the time, suffered terrible verbals and questioning of my ability.

I thought digging in and taking it was what you were supposed to do to prove myself.

I was wrong and working to deadlines and for myself for 30 years was just too much in the end and I had a breakdown. My body and mind telling me to stop the mental torture.

 

[give it to gordon]

I have been on these for around 9 months now and very lucky I feel great never felt so happy and chilled, cant remember the last time I get angry or upset. I love life and every day. I cant put into words the effect.

I was in a bad place after 7 years of shit, I have always suffered abit from depression through out my life. Always thought pills werent for me, wish I had started years ago.

These pills do take a few weeks to start working and your body needs time to adjust to them. I think for me i felt tired but stuck with them. The doc said give them time.
Also my doc was fantastic

Also when you start talking about things its amazing how many people are on these

 

[give it to gordon]

Thanks for sharing mate.

I will be a year on 100mg Sertraline later this month, it took me years to bite the bullet.

The first few weeks are pretty brutal mate, I had blurred vision and hands were shaking, it can even make your anxiety worse in the beginning.

Please stick with it for at least eight weeks, as that is the acknowledged amount of time to see what is effective.

I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder a few years back but a number of setbacks and then losing my business during Covid was the final straw.

My doctor was brilliant and said they would even me out and no longer have the wild extremes of me being too high or too low.

I check in every six weeks when I need a new prescription. He also gave me beta blockers when the anxiety was so bad in the early stages of taking Setraline.

A year on, I still have some of the same work/financial issues in my life, but the tablets don't let me ruminate on stuff and I don't sweat things like I used to.

It's changed me as a husband and a father. I'm a better person for being around and although I miss not caring as much about things, it is very difficult to get overly emotional about anything, to the point I can't cry or stew about a big game or event.

It has also stopped the cycle of eating crap because I felt crap about myself, so have lost four stone in last six month and down to 10.5stone, as light as I was as a 16-year-old.

I know Sertraline has many side effects but the pros outweigh the cons for me, and scared to try other meds and see if something else works better.

I will stay on these indefinitely, because it is no hardship and has given me my life back.

Drink plenty of water, cut out the sugar and good luck, you have made a very brave step and I admire anyone for taking their mental health in hand.

I was dying inside and dead behind the eyes, but Sertraline has lifted my fog.

Very similar to me mate.

 

[argyle]

I've just started these today, not sure if its placebo or not but feel absolutely fucked after just one! Had a tough couple of years, its not been permanently bad. Left a terrible job earlier this year and got a better (but not perfect) job in the summer. I think I had a panic attack in there on Wednesday and had to be brought home, I've absolutely no stress tolerance or resilience. Because I've been so subconsciously anxious it has effected my performance significantly, they probably think im a chancer gaming the system but the truth is that any request or basic thing sends me into a fight or flight mode. If it was a shit environment then fair enough but on the rare occasions my rational brain comes through, I can tell that this is a good opportunity that doesn't really infringe on my personal time or life aside from the crippling imaginary pressures that exist in my head. I don't want to keep burning through roles.

I've been on quite a few anti-depressants.

I find GP's/Psychiatrists hand out setraline as the first attempt.

There is no one size fits all with anti-depessants. What might be good for others might not be good for you. If after a couple of months you aren't improving or still feeling bad from side effects then don't hesitate to ask for another.

Setraline, imo, tends to level the mood. Which is great if your mood is generally low and it can pick you up a bit. However it had too harsh side effects for me.

Plus my moods were generally a bit higher but with very sudden low crashes due to anxiety so setraline lowered my mood over all. It levelled it so much that i didn't experience lows but I didn't experience highs.

Went through another 3 anti-depressants until I found Venlafaxine. It has less harsh sides and no impact on sexual function like Sertraline. However if I don't take it for around 24 hours or so it has sudden side effects like nausea.

Anyway, I hope you start to feel better soon mate.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

I have been on these for around 9 months now and very lucky I feel great never felt so happy and chilled, cant remember the last time I get angry or upset. I love life and every day. I cant put into words the effect.

I was in a bad place after 7 years of shit, I have always suffered abit from depression through out my life. Always thought pills werent for me, wish I had started years ago.

These pills do take a few weeks to start working and your body needs time to adjust to them. I think for me i felt tired but stuck with them. The doc said give them time.
Also my doc was fantastic

Also when you start talking about things its amazing how many people are on these

Chuffed for you. It was only when I opened up you find out plenty have been using meds like this.

 

[Holcombe bloo]

So pleased sertraline is helping some folk on here. My sister has been through hell the last couple of years, had every tablet there is and then followed up by lithium and ECT which are both supposed to be the ultimate anti depressant treatments. She’s still not right but at least suicide thoughts are less now and she’s ok some of the time.
If sertraline and similar don’t work for people I saw a lot of people helped by ECT just not my sister sadly.

 

[Holcombe bloo]

Thanks for sharing mate.

I will be a year on 100mg Sertraline later this month, it took me years to bite the bullet.

The first few weeks are pretty brutal mate, I had blurred vision and hands were shaking, it can even make your anxiety worse in the beginning.

Please stick with it for at least eight weeks, as that is the acknowledged amount of time to see what is effective.

I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder a few years back but a number of setbacks and then losing my business during Covid was the final straw.

My doctor was brilliant and said they would even me out and no longer have the wild extremes of me being too high or too low.

I check in every six weeks when I need a new prescription. He also gave me beta blockers when the anxiety was so bad in the early stages of taking Setraline.

A year on, I still have some of the same work/financial issues in my life, but the tablets don't let me ruminate on stuff and I don't sweat things like I used to.

It's changed me as a husband and a father. I'm a better person for being around and although I miss not caring as much about things, it is very difficult to get overly emotional about anything, to the point I can't cry or stew about a big game or event.

It has also stopped the cycle of eating crap because I felt crap about myself, so have lost four stone in last six month and down to 10.5stone, as light as I was as a 16-year-old.

I know Sertraline has many side effects but the pros outweigh the cons for me, and scared to try other meds and see if something else works better.

I will stay on these indefinitely, because it is no hardship and has given me my life back.

Drink plenty of water, cut out the sugar and good luck, you have made a very brave step and I admire anyone for taking their mental health in hand.

I was dying inside and dead behind the eyes, but Sertraline has lifted my fog.

Blimey 10.5 stone! well done, how tall are you bud?

 

[nw42]

Blimey 10.5 stone! well done, how tall are you bud?

 

[Holcombe bloo]

Hehe!