Sertraline 50mg side effects?

[RossA93]

Hey all! I've been on 50mg Sertraline for a week and 2 days for my anxiety and around 2/3 days ago i started feeling sick and started having diarrhoea, but since then i've also started sweating a lot, getting headaches, i can't eat anything without feeling sick and all i want to do is lie in my bed and sleep, i spoke to my doctor about this and she said it may just be a bug and i have to try and continue with the medication but i hate what i'm going through right now! Is it the tablets causing me all these and should i be worried?

[nomorepanic]

Hi

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This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[Travis]

Hi Ross
I was on sertraline many years ago in fact apart from my current medication it is the antidepressant that I stayed on for the longest.
Unfortunately it was when I was probably at my lowest I took to my bed for days on end & lived on cups of tea.
Re side affects I had random bouts of diarrhoea without any warning it would come away from my body I had a few accidents. But it wasn't every day or even every week just now & again I did have headaches at first but It seemed to pass
As I was not eating properly at the time it may have been a factor.
I think overall sertraline is one of the better meds I have tried.
I was in a bad place at the time so don't know truthfully at the time if it helped with my depression but a lot of the side affects did pass.
I would say you probably haven't got a virus it's the sertraline but if you feel really ill don't be frightened to tell your doctor you're not happy.
At the end of the day it's you taking the drug not them.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help & hope you are feeling better soon :yesyes:

[Lucym681]

When I first started on sertraline, after switching straight from citalopram, I felt like I was on a high. I felt amazing. I felt like I was the happiest I had been for about 5 years. That lasted a week or so, and then mellowed. I didn't get any other side side effects apart from that. I think we are all different, and maybe the fact I had just switched from citalopram may have had an impact on the effects that I felt.

[RossA93]

Thanks for replying Travis :) yeah i know what you mean about staying in bed and having the accidents, i have told my doctor and she wants me to try and stay on the medication, if the side effects do pass then i'll give it a go if they help me in the long run, but i've hardly been eating for the past few days so maybe that has something to do with it

[Travis]

Hi Ross
You are welcome
Not eating doesn't help but I'm not criticising because I don't eat properly, you don't want to when you feel that bad.
My partner tells me off for not drinking enough fluids.
If your stomach is empty & only the sertraline your body possibly finds it harder to tolerate.
The trouble is it's easy for doctors to say stick with the meds but they don't suffer the side affects. I've had many heated discussions with doctors & psychiatrists over medication.
Hope you're feeling better soon :yesyes:

[ninnie]

Hi ross
have you thought that maybe its the anxiety or the uncertainty of your medication thats making you feel so ill?
I can make myself really physically ill with fear of the unknown especially tablets!
sertraline can upset your tummy, so you shouldnt take it on an empty stomach and always with lots of water.....
if you really cant eat (sertraline temporarily ruins your appetite too) try complan or a milk shake
I have been on 100mg for years and doubt I would cope with life without it.....
I know not everyone agrees with anti depressants, but without them, I doubt I would be here now......
one minute, one hour, one day.........youll get there.....:bighug:

[mgw]

Hey,
I started on Sertraline just under 3 weeks ago.
At first my appetite was okay then after a few days I started to feel sick and couldn't eat properly. It was strange, the idea of eating carbs made me feel ill, all I wanted was sweet things like chocolate and in small portions!
A few days ago, my normal appetite started to return. Now its nearly completley back to normal :)
Also- I had horrible headaches the first two weeks! Again these have eased up. I've always suffered from pretty frequent headaches but these felt worse and now feels better than normal!

[Glaws]

An upset stomach appears to be a fairly common side effect. Mine is settling now after 4 weeks. X

[RossA93]

Thanks to everyone for replying! It may just be my anxiety making me feel ill but tobe honest i don't feel anxious at all, i'm just really scared to eat at the moment incase it makes me sick but like you said ninnie i shouldn't take the tablet on am empty stomach, i'll try and eat something maybe 30 minutes before i take it and see how i feel, hopefully it doesn't make me sick lol

[ninnie]

Hi ross, I take my pill directly after my breakfast and then have a drink, just to make sure it doesnt get stuck halfway down, as they give me really bad heartburn.

[ilda8786]

Hi
Don't give up on the tablets side effects will pass you will gain your appetite back dont worry.
Myself I lost a lot of weight from a size 8/10 to a 4. But working on it im taking B12 vitamins with folic. It helps a lot plus I take omega 3. Don't panic give it a few more days and all will go.
Take care Ilda:)

[ninnie]

Spot on ilda........:o)

[teej]

I too switched from cit to sert. It was an easy switch. I think my euphoria at switching was that the citalopram *really* didn't agree with me big time.

I didn't really have any side effects for months until I forgot about 3 - 4 doses. I've had an utterly awful week with anxiety but I don't think it helped at that I fell off the drinking wagon epically to counter the anxiety. When I forgot the doses I found that a myriad of strong emotions came piling back onto me.

Of all the medications I've been on - citalopram, escitalopram, sertraline has by far been the better.

I take 50mg by the way.

Thankfully I seem to be pulling through now and on the way back up.

[yenool]

Sertraline definitely made me extra sweaty and gave me a weird sicky feeling along with a lump in the throat sensation.

I don't think it was really effective at all but having said that it was more tolerable than Citalopram.

For many people tiredness seems to be quite a common side effect of SSRI antidepressants and if you tell the doctor they always seem to pass it off as part of the anxiety/depression and not accept it is a medication side effect! Citalopram made me so sleepy I could barely function.

[teej]

Sertraline definitely made me extra sweaty and gave me a weird sicky feeling along with a lump in the throat sensation.

I don't think it was really effective at all but having said that it was more tolerable than Citalopram.

For many people tiredness seems to be quite a common side effect of SSRI antidepressants and if you tell the doctor they always seem to pass it off as part of the anxiety/depression and not accept it is a medication side effect! Citalopram made me so sleepy I could barely function.

Strange that - to be honest I've not even noticed I've been taking the sert (until I forgot to take it). On the citalopram I just felt drugged. Something was wrong - it just felt like the front part of my brain was numb. That wasn't so bad but every so often I'd just drop out the numbness back into absolute damn miserable side effects.

I'm a terrible sleeper anyway so anything to make me sleepy is a godsend. Most of the day I just run around like a nutter until finally the sertraline decides it's time for some rest. :yesyes:

[Ken1]

I have just been put on 50mg daily, but to help the dr has said start with 25mg to try and get over any side effects.

I haven't taken any yet, as I'm a bit scared.

The doctor also gave me 40mg propanol to cope with the anxiety part.

Can anyone please let me know if i start to take them when should i feel getting back to my happy old self.

[Ken1]

I have just started to take 25mg of lustral increasing in a week to 50mg for anxiety. The side effects I read can be many. I took it at 0930am this morning, don't feel any side effect, does anyone know how long before they start to work?

[valleybear]

I am in my third week of Sertraline and all the early side effects seem to have gone or lessened dramatically. All except the insomnia, which is my main worry as I am a poor sleeper at the best of times. I started to feel an immediate effect for the better, had a slight depressive dip in the middle of week two but feel much better now. It is a little like going 3 steps forward and 1 step back, but you are still gaining steps every day, if that makes sense. I believe that it will even out around 4-5 weeks and am aiming for that. Don't give up..give it a chance to help you. BTW I am on 50mg Lustral.
Take care xx

[Ken1]

I am feeling really anxious today, its day 3 of Lustral, and I have this terrible feeling in my stomach.

I am dreading day 4 - anyone there with a bit of advice?

[valleybear]

If this is anxiety it will pass and will not harm you. Some people get an upset stomach but I hadn't anything like that. If it is physical , as opposed to anxiety, there are remedies you can take to settle it. X

[twentystars]

out of everything ive tried, sertraline didnt make me feel sick initially (occasional nausea but no more than expected for new meds). i did get diarrhea and some cramping but that improved around day ten; my boyf has just started on 50mg and he is getting stomach cramps; not sure what to suggest to help him. i would like to say though that its obviously a natrual thing to be concerned about when starting a new med; but the initial anxiety about being on it can bring on bouts of IBS as well. if you are concerned about the nausea, ask your doctor to give you something anti-emetic, gravol or similar, to keep you from the concern of nausea. everything else i would just suggest breathing exercises! ive been on zoloft for two years now and feel amazing apart from general fatigue. after a month of being on zoloft i found that i was a lot more stable overall.