Sertraline. Advice?
 

Just been put on Sertraline for depression, agitation and anger. I find it helpful to hear of other people's experiences with medication so am just wondering if people have found this medication useful and how long it takes to really kick in? Is it very zombifying? My main fear is being so zombified I feel even more ill. Currently I have periods of feeling 'flat' and depressed, alternating with periods of actually feeling quite energised. I'm concerned this drug will eradicate even my more 'up' moods.

Thanks!

This is one of the few medications I have tried that I actually did not dislike. It did not make me 'zombified' and I did not have horrific side effects on it. It did not have much of an effect on a lower dose but on the higher dose (200mg) it did actually seem to help, especially with the OCD aspects of my self harm and some of my anxiety. It did not 'numb' me in the way certain other AD's have done.

Cheers for replying. I have problems with SH too so am hoping it will help. Just put on 50Mg at the moment so will see if it has an effect. My GP said it might not even do anything for up to six weeks.

It started working more quickly than that for me, although I was also given that warning. I started on 50mg but did not start seeing an effect until at the 100-150mg dose. My friend saw results on a much lower dose though. Give it a go. I hope it helps you.

This made me much worse, & I was actively suicidal & my SH got to the point of nearly bleeding to death.

That's just my experience though, so for you it may be different.

Give it a try :)

It didn't do much for me but it made a little difference and was the only SSRI I've tried that didn't actually make me feel worse. I noticed a difference within about 3 weeks. It didn't make me feel numb or anything, either.
Good luck, I really hope it helps.

When sertraline was working for me I did find it made a difference, though at the higher end of the dosage scale. I was put on it in hospital and stayed on for about 4 years; was pretty effective for me and certainly didn't have the zombie-effect others have.

1 draw back (for me, and certainly for my boyf!) is that it killed my sex drive. Not that I have much anyway but it was certainly the final nail in that coffin!

lol Ev ;p

It's gone! Seriously, I seem to have lost it somewhere and I've put up posters and everyhting but it won't come back! ;p

Anyway, back O/T...

Thanks for the replies everyone; it's really useful to hear of other people's experiences. Going to give it a go and see how I get on :)

Ev, have you rung the Missing SexDrive Helpline? I'm sure it'll return, with ferocity - that makes me sound like a pervert, but oh well!

I've been on sertraline for anxiety for ages. For me only real issues of it are extreme insomnia (which isn't that much of an issue as I had insomnia already) and that if/when you miss a dose the next day is horrible.

I started on 50mg, but until I was up to 100mg I noticed no real differance, and until I was up to 20mg there was very little improvement... but on the other hand it's the only med I've been on so far that hasn't either done nothing or made me worse

Just started on them and feel a bit nauseous... Hope it goes off, urghhh.

Hope it goes well, no advice as never had it as SSRI's & me don't mix.

Prozac was **** for me. Really bad side effects, suicidal, no positives.

Setraline has been great thus far. I'm on 50mg which may need to be upped at some point but it's doing good so far.

Yes. It really is. I have run out (again) and can't get any more until friday. Not looking forward to that!

Apparently nausea is a quite common side effect in most SSRI's for the first two weeks but it will pass. From memory it passed a lot more quickly for me on Sertraline than it did on some of the others (Escitalopram being the worst).

Thanks again guys. Went from feeling nauseous to feeling jittery and wired. Guessing this is a side-effect too. Medication seems to affect me immediately which I find odd. Saying that, I tend to feel jittery and irritable anyway !

I am supposed to be on it but haven't taken it for months. It makes my hands shake like a crazy and haven't really helped me much.

i found that even with the highest dose it didnt help me at all.

Likewise, lilmiss. For some reason I'm still on it. Luckily I don't get any side-effects from it either, except the withdrawal effects (dizziness/brain zaps) if I miss a couple of doses.