Discussion Sertraline

[Deleted member 19654]

After two bad experiences of going to the doctors where they didn't take me seriously, I tried again for the third time. I had a little meltdown over the phone while being asked questions like "do you feel hopeless and suicidal?" I'm having one of those days where once I start crying, I can't seem to stop.

The doctor prescribed me a month's worth of 50mg sertraline and I'll be going back in 3 weeks for a review. Has anyone else been on sertraline and what was it like? Any bad side effects?

 

[BipolarGuy]

Ok firstly I'm really sorry you're feeling like this.
I'm find of you and it genuinely breaks my heart that good people have such a hard time.

On sertraline; it's probably the most effective antidepressant I've taken, by some margin.

I felt a bit like an emotionless zombie at first, but I kind of liked the feeling because emotionally I felt 'still'.

Has your GP referred you to a psychiatrist?

 

[ecmnesia]

It was my first. I felt really bad trough the first week, really sleepy, irritated, had some stomach ache and mild diarrhea. Sertraline gave me a horrible jaw ache and weirdly vivid dreams (which some people hate, but I actually liked). To be honest, I feel like I was lucky, if you search the zoloft reddit sub, you will find worse experiences.

It didn't do much for my case though. Had to up the dose and that end up incrising anxiety and suicidal tendencies. But it do work for lots of people, and that's why it's basically doctors first option for a new patient.

Hope you get better :)

 

[Deleted member 19654]

Ok firstly I'm really sorry you're feeling like this.
I'm find of you and it genuinely breaks my heart that good people have such a hard time.

On sertraline; it's probably the most effective antidepressant I've taken, by some margin.

I felt a bit like an emotionless zombie at first, but I kind of liked the feeling because emotionally I felt 'still'.

Has your GP referred you to a psychiatrist?

No I haven't been referred to a psychiatrist. It's my first time on antidepressants and my anxiety is playing up today so I'm a little anxious about taking it.

I don't think I'd mind feeling like a zombie for a while because I'm a little tired of feeling sad.

 

[imdone1]

It's pretty effective. It takes a while to build up, but once you get there, it helps you feel more stable, though at the cost of dulled-down emotions. I had to up my dosage to get there. You'll still struggle, but it's a big help. Nosebleeds for the first like 1-2 days are also normal I'm pretty sure. Do not discontinue suddenly though, it will make you feel just as bad or even worse than you did before. There may also be physical symptoms in doing so too.

 

[TheGoodGuy]

I don't think I'd mind feeling like a zombie for a while because I'm a little tired of feeling sad.

After 6 years with apathy and anhedonia i.e. no feelings/emotions I wish I could go back to feel the sadness I did when I was a teenager I actually miss it because it felt good in a way to get it out and feeling sadness is a great drive to ctb now I know ctb is the rational choice but I have no teenage hormones or sadness to motivate me only logic.

 

[BPD Barbie]

Well done for keeping on with the doctors and reaching out for help. I take 200mg of sertraline every day, its hard to say exactly what it did for me because I take other psych drugs as well, but I feel more mellow. Less impulsive, kinda numb to some things almost. But it did kill my sex drive, its honestly non existent now. I hope you get some success with them and notice improvements. Sometimes you can feel worse before you start to feel better so give it time. Also 50mg is a fairly low dose so I wouldn't expect too much from it.

 

[Deleted member 19654]

Well done for keeping on with the doctors and reaching out for help. I take 200mg of sertraline every day, its hard to say exactly what it did for me because I take other psych drugs as well, but I feel more mellow. Less impulsive, kinda numb to some things almost. But it did kill my sex drive, its honestly non existent now. I hope you get some success with them and notice improvements. Sometimes you can feel worse before you start to feel better so give it time. Also 50mg is a fairly low dose so I wouldn't expect too much from it.

I think feeling more mellow is what I'd like right now and I'm not so bothered if it kills my sex drive. I guess if it doesn't do much, I'll go back and they'll increase the dose.

Love the new profile pic by the way.

 

[BPD Barbie]

I think feeling more mellow is what I'd like right now and I'm not so bothered if it kills my sex drive. I guess if it doesn't do much, I'll go back and they'll increase the dose.

Love the new profile pic by the way.

Thanks love, its spooky season

 

[Worthless_nobody]

I really don't want to be negative but sertraline (zoloft) gave me permanent ssri induced anhedonia and pssd. It helped destroy my life and my brain. I have been off it 5 years with no improvement. Psychiatrist told me it's likely never going to go away.

My personal life factors could have caused this since I was out on it so young in life. I was put on it as a young teen and stayed on it for years because of brainwashing. It did literally nothing for my mood, depression and anxiety. I was on a high dose...it was 100% ineffective. I just "appeared" happy in college because my circumstances suddenly changed. I decided to go off of it after doing my own research and the withdrawal was BAD. I have gone through bad benzo withdrawal but coming off of zoloft was equal. I know these meds can help some but it certainly didn't help me..it ruined a lot for me. I really really hate drs push these meds like candy without warning of side effects.

 

[Deleted member 19654]

I really don't want to be negative but sertraline (zoloft) gave me permanent ssri induced anhedonia and pssd. It helped destroy my life and my brain. I have been off it 5 years with no improvement. Psychiatrist told me it's likely never going to go away.

My personal life factors could have caused this since I was out on it so young in life. I was put on it as a young teen and stayed on it for years because of brainwashing. It did literally nothing for my mood, depression and anxiety. I was on a high dose...it was 100% ineffective. I just "appeared" happy in college because my circumstances suddenly changed. I decided to go off of it after doing my own research and the withdrawal was BAD. I have gone through bad benzo withdrawal but coming off of zoloft was equal. I know these meds can help some but it certainly didn't help me..it ruined a lot for me. I really really hate drs push these meds like candy without warning of side effects.

I'm sorry it made things worse for you. The doctor didn't say anything to me about what the side effects are. I'm just trying to do my own research and see how it affects people. It seems to affect everyone differently.

 

[Silver]

I've tried sertraline a few times. It did help me for a year or so at the maximum dose. Most recently I tried going on it again earlier this year and it made me so restless and tense that I stopped it.

 

[NightmareTour]

I'd like to stress that this isn't the experience everyone has, and lots of people probably have decent experiences with sertraline, but bad reactions do happen and it's important to keep them in mind and figure out what to do if you have a bad reaction.

I had to stop taking sertraline within the first 2-3 weeks, so I didn't really have a chance to let it work properly. It made me feel like I was walking through life in a dreamlike state, basically permanent dissociation/derealisation. It also gave me some really horrible, vivid nightmares. I could have probably stuck with it and let it settle, if it weren't for the fact that it also made me AGGRESSIVELY (towards myself) suicidal, and gave me the constant urge to seriously harm myself.

 

[Deleted member 4993]

I'd like to stress that this isn't the experience everyone has, and lots of people probably have decent experiences with sertraline, but bad reactions do happen and it's important to keep them in mind and figure out what to do if you have a bad reaction.

I had to stop taking sertraline within the first 2-3 weeks, so I didn't really have a chance to let it work properly. It made me feel like I was walking through life in a dreamlike state, basically permanent dissociation/derealisation. It also gave me some really horrible, vivid nightmares. I could have probably stuck with it and let it settle, if it weren't for the fact that it also made me AGGRESSIVELY (towards myself) suicidal, and gave me the constant urge to seriously harm myself.

Exactly the same here

 

[voyager]

A friend takes it against anxiety. Her side effects are sleep disorders and low sex drive, but that's about it. Originally she said the trade off was worth it but her poor sleep has been a motivation for her to get off it. Overall, I guess she got lucky because if one searches for side effects they seem quite vast and possibly destructive. Withdrawal is supposedly difficult too.

Can't remember who it was but a few months ago someone here linked the following article on it, in particular referring to the comment section which paints a fairly devastating picture of the drug and it's correlation to irratic behaviour. Not fearmongering, just passing it on:

The Zoloft-rage/violence connection

[This post is quite lengthy so I suggest you grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit down and read it. The following is not for the faint of heart (or those with a lack of time).] It’s been amazi…

depressionintrospection.wordpress.com

Apart from six weeks on unknown anti-depressants 19 years ago, which didn't really do anything, I've never taken drugs myself. I'm numb and suffer from anhedonia and apathy like everyone else here, which leads me to believe that there's a lot of clueless tinkering involved and everyone reacts differently to medications, but ultimately our illness and mind sets the true pace of the symptoms.

PS: I wish I had energy.

 

[Worthless_nobody]

A friend takes it against anxiety. Her side effects are sleep disorders and low sex drive, but that's about it. Originally she said the trade off was worth it but her poor sleep has been a motivation for her to get off it. Overall, I guess she got lucky because if one searches for side effects they seem quite vast and possibly destructive. Withdrawal is supposedly difficult too.

Can't remember who it was but a few months ago someone here linked the following article on it, in particular referring to the comment section which paints a fairly devastating picture of the drug and it's correlation to irratic behaviour. Not fearmongering, just passing it on:

The Zoloft-rage/violence connection

[This post is quite lengthy so I suggest you grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit down and read it. The following is not for the faint of heart (or those with a lack of time).] It’s been amazi…

depressionintrospection.wordpress.com

Apart from six weeks on unknown anti-depressants 19 years ago, which didn't really do anything, I've never taken drugs myself. I'm numb and suffer from anhedonia and apathy like everyone else here, which leads me to believe that there's a lot of clueless tinkering involved and everyone reacts differently to medications, but ultimately our illness and mind sets the true pace of the symptoms.

PS: I wish I had energy.

Wow that is scary a rage violence connection? I wonder if that explains a lot for me too. I have bpd so I'm prone to anger outbursts but after starting zoloft and stopping I have had 10x more rage and anger issues.

 

[NightmareTour]

A friend takes it against anxiety. Her side effects are sleep disorders and low sex drive, but that's about it. Originally she said the trade off was worth it but her poor sleep has been a motivation for her to get off it. Overall, I guess she got lucky because if one searches for side effects they seem quite vast and possibly destructive. Withdrawal is supposedly difficult too.

Can't remember who it was but a few months ago someone here linked the following article on it, in particular referring to the comment section which paints a fairly devastating picture of the drug and it's correlation to irratic behaviour. Not fearmongering, just passing it on:

The Zoloft-rage/violence connection

[This post is quite lengthy so I suggest you grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit down and read it. The following is not for the faint of heart (or those with a lack of time).] It’s been amazi…

depressionintrospection.wordpress.com

Apart from six weeks on unknown anti-depressants 19 years ago, which didn't really do anything, I've never taken drugs myself. I'm numb and suffer from anhedonia and apathy like everyone else here, which leads me to believe that there's a lot of clueless tinkering involved and everyone reacts differently to medications, but ultimately our illness and mind sets the true pace of the symptoms.

PS: I wish I had energy.

The article you linked is really interesting. I'm glad (maybe glad isn't the right word) to know that the problem I had was definitely the medication and not just something else to do with me. It literally got to the point where a friend had to remove anything sharp or otherwise dangerous from my flat so I couldn't harm myself. Apparently I was getting pretty creative. (I did threaten him with a knife when he did, which I'm really not proud of) The potential side effects of this medication definitely need to be recognised a lot more.

 

[TheEndIsIrrefutable]

I'm sure Sertraline/Zoloft have been a very effective drug for many. For some though like me, it fucking ruins their lives forever. It's been 5 years since I quit it, and the sexual side effects have yet to disappear for me. It's called Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction. Considering that only a very small minority of patients gets it, there will probably not be any effective treatments for it available anytime soon...

Sertraline is one of the two medications that will make me CTB very soon. Just fuck the pharmaceutical industry for killing me.

 

[fox21132113]

Sertraline was my first, it lasted a year. Now I'm on to my third different type of antidepressant. I'm on four other psych meds, sooo yeah

 

[KleinerWolf]

Sertraline was the only medication I've taken in the past for treating depression and possibly OCD.
I reckon it was mostly for depression.

Side effects were diminished sex drive, unable to externalise my emotions.

However I only took it for about a month whether it could've been more beneficial in the long term,
I wouldn't know...

 

[checkouttime]

i used to take it. and guess where i ended up!!! it didn't diminish sex drive, but i was taking testosterone. it did however make it harder to orgasm, which was never a problem for me personally.

in regards to emotions, not so sure. i mean i got happy. and also i got pissed off!!!

 

[Deleted member 19654]

It's been about 2 hours since I've taken it and I think it's starting to kick in. I did spend nearly an hour having a hot bubble bath but I do feel quite calm emotionally and mentally, although my heart is racing a little.

 

[KleinerWolf]

i used to take it. and guess where i ended up!!! it didn't diminish sex drive, but i was taking testosterone. it did however make it harder to orgasm, which was never a problem for me personally.

in regards to emotions, not so sure. i mean i got happy. and also i got pissed off!!!

yeah.
everyone's reaction to the medications can be different.
That's thought-provoking.

It's been about 2 hours since I've taken it and I think it's starting to kick in. I did spend nearly an hour having a hot bubble bath but I do feel quite calm emotionally and mentally, although my heart is racing a little.

calm is good.

 

[greebo6]

After two bad experiences of going to the doctors where they didn't take me seriously, I tried again for the third time. I had a little meltdown over the phone while being asked questions like "do you feel hopeless and suicidal?" I'm having one of those days where once I start crying, I can't seem to stop.

The doctor prescribed me a month's worth of 50mg sertraline and I'll be going back in 3 weeks for a review. Has anyone else been on sertraline and what was it like? Any bad side effects?

I remember trying them years ago and having very bad side effects. I was switched on to Mirtazapine They had no bad side effects at all. So Mirtazapine might be worth trying for you. Just a suggestion. But good luck with the Sertraline anyway.