confused

[vsf]

Hope someone maybe able to throw some light onto the situation. I started taking sertranaline 6 weeks ago after being on prozac(which didnt agree with me). Im on them for anixety and stress related symptoms, I started taking 25mg but it didnt seem to do anything I started feeling worse then last week he doctor incresed my dose to 50mg and I FEEL AWFUL!! Im sooo stress and the anxiety is awful everything is irratating me, and my sleep is disturbed by the most vivid random dreams i think ive ever had (my mum said this was because I wasnt falling into a deep sleep), my concentration is zero and am extremely dense at the moment but is this just the tiredness or is it the tablets. I feel like im taking something for a problem but infact they are making it worse and now im starting to feel abit depressed. the question is do i have to wait and how long does it take for the increased dose to take effect or do I come off of these all together??? Im so confused as what to do?
VSF:wacko:

[vsf]

And my spelling is awful by the looks of thing...apologies!!!

[nomorepanic]

Hi and :welcome:

We have a forum dedicated to this medication so have a read in here:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=54

[Dahlia]

Hi VSF

Everything you are describing is typical of starting on sertraline (and most SSRIs). You may feel more anxious, sleepy, spaced out for a couple of weeks or so. The GP may prescribe a small amount of diazepam to take the edge off this temporarily - so worth asking about that. The weird intense dreams are also part of starting the sertraline - these usually subside over the first couple of months.

If you can bear it, hang in there for a couple more weeks yet, to allow the med the chance to start working. Just keep reassuring yourself its the initial side effects of the med and they will pass in time - I knw it's horrid, but they should pass.

Good luck

Dahlia

[vsf]

Thank you for your advise.
Its so hard to know if they are working!! When I first started on the SSRI's I started on fluxetine(prozac) after 2 weeks I felt great and all the anxious stressy chest pains stopped and I hopped out of bed in the mornings! unfortunately they caused me tummy troubles so the doctors has put me on this sertraline but after 6 weeks i feel no better but worse. It really is hard to know whether to stop them or carry on. Do these take longer to take effect then? I just want the skip put back into my step and energy with not wanting to fall asleep everytime im sat down. Its soo bad at work because all i want to do is fall asleep!! It gets me down feeling like this because i start to worry that im depressed and not coping with things..........I will try and stick it out and see if theres any change. The sickness has subsided though thank goodness, just the headaches and the rest of it to go now hopefully

Thank you again VSF

[Dahlia]

Hi VSF

My understanding is that 25mg is a sub-therapeutic dose, in other words you probably won't have had any benefit from the meds yet. In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks of being on 50mg until I started to feel different i.e. they started to work. Your doc maybe started you on a lower dosage to try to minimise the initial effects.

All SSRIs can cause the symptoms you have - it just depends how each person interacts with them.

Dahlia

[vsf]

Thank you, you've helpped me with my concerns. i will carry on with them and hopefully fingers crossed i will see a difference in a few weeks. The doc did say to me that I would feel worse before feeling better!!

Thank you

VSf