Sertraline - sweating, going cold turkey & increased anxiety

[Fluffy_Cushion]

I have been reading lots of the threads in this forum and would like to say several things

1) I took Sertaline for a coupe of years and went cold turkey after running out of tablets and not asking for more because I felt so good - BIG mistake! Never ever do this - always speak to your doctor first.

2) I ended up back on Sertraline after my panic attacks returned - for the first 10 days my panic attacks were horrendous - worse than they had ever been BUT it did subside and my attacks are now completely controlled - I still get a bit anxious but, touch wood, I have not had a full blown panic attack whilst on this medication.

3) The only downside is the sweating. My body temperature seems to be constantly higher than before Sertraline - I get night sweats sometimes and generally sweat and overheat very easliy. I'm pretty sure it's an effect of Sertraline and I wondered if anyone else is experiencing this?

[Jenny]

YES YES YES ! The hot sweats are horendous. I am now down to 50mgs on Sertraline one daily. I get them all the time. Very uncomfortable.

I am on edge at the moment waiting to have an endosopy and gall stones sorted out. (See another thread) Sertraline has never really helped that much for me. After I have been to hospital and got over whatever it is they have to do I am going to ask if I can change medication.

Hopoe you are feeling much better.
Jenny F xx

[pammy1944]

Ive been following the withdrawal prog for coming of sertaline slowly..........today is day 4 without .......im feeling a bit queasy but i really hope to get there in the end xx

[cathytink3rb3ll]

I was put on these this week as I have gone a bit down hill with everything lately... and I jsut couldnt cope with the hot sweats and stuff - it all made me feel worse... so I am trying to do it on my own without the tabs at the moment... I only took a couple and have stopped taking them alltogether now as I thought it wouldnt matter too much.
Im still feeling real groggy but I guess I gotta wait till theyre all out of my system... (anyone know how long this will take?)
Also to Jenny - I had to go in for an endoscopy a while back and was so so scared about it - but it was over in seconds and wasnt as bad as i 1st thought - take care
xx

[MoonlightFire]

1) I took Sertaline for a coupe of years and went cold turkey after running out of tablets and not asking for more because I felt so good - BIG mistake! Never ever do this - always speak to your doctor first.

I second that! NEVER stop taking Sertraline abruptly, it's a nightmare! I had palpatations, dizziness and exhaustion so badly that I could hardly walk last time I tired to come off Sertraline cold turkey. Not to mention the feeling that my brain was jelly sliding about in my head and slurred speech!

I think I've had the overheating and sweating thing. I definitely have occassional nights where I wake up sweating when It's not particularly hot in my room. Also I seem to get hot quite quickly. Oh, should probably tell you my dosage - 100mg a day.

Moonlight

[MoonlightFire]

I was put on these this week as I have gone a bit down hill with everything lately... and I jsut couldnt cope with the hot sweats and stuff - it all made me feel worse

Cathy,
I found that Sertraline made my anxiety worse for the first two weeks or so. Also I had mild headaches, felt a bit nauseous, shakey, lost my appetite and had urges to self harm. The first time I started taking it it started to make me feel tons better after about the 3rd week. Subsequent times I've been put on it or have had my doseage upped it has taken about 4-5 weeks to properly kick in. Once it has started working properly I feel SO much better. I guess it depends on the person and how you react to the drug but I have the say the 2-4 weeks of side effects and increased anxiety were so so SO worth it!!

Moonlight