To everyone who's been on sertraline. Concerning night sweats

[Arioch]

I've been on Sertraline since July now, and it's the best medication I've been on so far. In October my dosage was increased from 50mg daily to 100mg daily.

I've experienced a complete loss of libido since I began taking Sertraline, I understand that a lack of libido is often caused by depression and anxiety themselves, but that it was caused by Sertraline has been confirmed by short periods when I haven't taken any.

Anyway; In any case, the two weeks I have been experiencing a new side affect. My dreams have suddenly become much more dramatic, and at times upsetting. The most unusual aspect is that even if I have not been dreaming, I find myself waking up soaked in sweat. And I mean this is to the extent that I've been keeping a towel by my bed to wipe the sweat from my body.

I've just researched it and found out about 'Sleep hyperhidrosis', and the Wikipedia article says:

Certain medications, including anti-depressants (such as sertraline) have also been known to cause night sweats in some individuals. Another cause could be withdrawal from various drugs (mdma, opiates, benzodiazepines, etc.).

Has anyone else had similar problems? As far as I can tell, the problem was unprovoked and has been persistent the last few weeks.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated; If it doesn't stop then I'm going to request a change of medication because it's disturbing my sleep.

Thanks!

Hmm. I have always had bad nightmares that sometimes caused me to wake up drenched in sweat. How long were you not taking the sertraline for when your libido came back? Because it takes a certain amount of time for it to clear out your system.
To be honest it's best to go to back to your doctor, who can make an informed decision on what to do.
Also wikipedia isn't necessarily the most reliable source. We're always discouraged from using it at school because anyone can write an article on it. Does it have a list of sources? Has anywhere else said the same?

[Arioch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Moggie

Hmm. I have always had bad nightmares that sometimes caused me to wake up drenched in sweat. How long were you not taking the sertraline for when your libido came back? Because it takes a certain amount of time for it to clear out your system.
To be honest it's best to go to back to your doctor, who can make an informed decision on what to do.
Also wikipedia isn't necessarily the most reliable source. We're always discouraged from using it at school because anyone can write an article on it. Does it have a list of sources? Has anywhere else said the same?

The sweat doesn't seem to correlate with the nightmares.
I've stopped taking it more than once, for 4/5 days each time, and I'm certain that's what it is. I've discussed this with my psych and he seems to agree; But as I actually prefer having no libido, I don't mind.

I'm a Wikipedia editor and I spend a lot of time editing and improving articles. If used correctly, Wikipedia is the most reliable source; Schools just don't have the resources to teach students how to use it correctly. While it's true that some unscrupulous individuals find it funny to vandalise pages, most changes are instantly unrecognisable. There are guidelines in place for what constitutes a reliable source; For example, blogs are not considered reliable sources, nor is original research.

[LetMeSlipAway]

I've been on sertraline since around june time... im currently on 150mg and don't find it o be much use!

when i first started taking it, the same thing happened me... every nite i was waking up three or four times a night breaking out in sweats... it was awful because it would usually leave me smelly... not as in a B.O smell but a really strange smell...

I just wore lighter p.j's and usually i would just strip down to my undies but i was in hospital under observation so this wasnt the best idea...
with me it did stop tho eventually after about a month of it happening...

It's probably best to talk to your perscriber tho...

[Aphelion]

My university has banned us from using Wikipedia as a source reference, because compared to the other resources (periodicals, reviews, conference papers, patents etc) the open internet comes almost last in terms of reliability.
As for the sweats - they ARE a side effect of the medicine, there's no doubt about it. Sometimes new ones appear with an increase of dose, but they should disappear/subside with time as your body adjusts to the new potency. I'd speak to your doctor though..

[x-dying-inside-x]

i used to get really bad night sweats when i was on that.

[Arioch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aphelion

My university has banned us from using Wikipedia as a source reference, because compared to the other resources (periodicals, reviews, conference papers, patents etc) the open internet comes almost last in terms of reliability.

Well, this makes sense. Wikipedia is definitely not designed to be referenced as it is not a source of information; it is merely a collation of data, and should be treated as such. However, a lot of Wikipedia's sources are some of those that you mentioned before- Peer-reviewed papers and essays, periodicals, books and other reliable sources.
This is espescially true for medical pages.
So while it's not appropriate to reference a wikipedia page, check out where the page authors found the information, and you'll often be linked to useful books and papers of undebatabley reliable origin.

[Arioch]

Thanks to everyone who's replied, it's definitely helpful knowing that it's not an uncommon side affect.

I have my review in two weeks so I'll bring it up then and see if he'll switch me to something else.

[DestinyInPain]

I was on sertraline for about two months.
It worked better than what I'm on now(prozac)
but I didn't get night sweats.

[Silent_Screams]

I have recently been prescribed sertraline and for the first few weeks I was getting terrible night sweats but it seems to have died down now, so maybe give it a while for your body to get used to.

[dingisboy]

I was just searching zoloft body odor and found your thread here. Last year I was taking 50 mg zoloft and weaning off ativan, the smell was horrid. I actually feel bad for my roomate who had to put up with it. Luckily, he didn't have a very good sense of smell and he probably thought it was just our "apartment smell." Though I'm sure eventually he realized it was strongest near my room.

Best way I can describe it is a sour ripe funk that will make you sick to your stomach. I noticed it was particularly bad after drinking which would further mess with my sleep. I distinctly remember waking up from passing out on the couch late one night and being overwhelmed by the offensiveness of my own strange body odor. That was the night that actually got me thinking about what the **** could be making me smell THIS bad. Trial and error as well as lots of research has led me to the same conclusions as you about Sertraline, and weaning off other meds on top of it. The alcohol was a major catalyst in my case. It was a gradual process but I'm now finally off the Lorazopam AND Sertraline- doing well so I'm going to keep it going so long as I can keep my **** together without it, not drinking much either just once a week. The smell seems to have gone dormant for now and I'm hoping to keep it that way...

[Serendipity.]

Closing this as it's an old thread.