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I've been on sertraline for about 2 and a half weeks now, and it makes me so drowsy that I have to take it at night. the drowsiness is actually making my mood much worse. please tell me this horrid depressing drowsiness goes away. I need a med that lifts my energy and mood, and doesn't turn me into a lazy, tired, depressed slug :(
Two and a half weeks is still very early in the treatment process. It can be up to six/eight weeks before there's improvement.
You're doing the right thing by taking it at bedtime if you're finding its causing drowsiness.
There are two polar opposites on the spectrum; patients that have insomnia (it can be severe, some only get an hour a night) and then there's others which get a bit "zombified" and are tired all the time, and feel they need more sleep even if they've had a full nights sleep. This should pass.
Benzos have the notorious effect of a "paradoxical reaction", e.g. they cause what they're meant to prevent. So someone who is prescribed temazepam for insomnia will actually experience increased alertness, worse insomnia etc. They act like a stimulant rather than a sedative in that scenario.
Persist for the time being - and avoid anything which could make your drowsiness worse:
* Avoid other drugs which could cause drowsiness e.g. antihistamines. IGNORE THIS if the drug in question is prescribed by your doctor and must be taken every day e.g. anti-epileptics etc.
* Try and stick to a regular sleep routine and practice good sleep hygiene (see this article)
* Although caffeine and sugar can offer a temporary boost in energy, the "crash" after is often worse, so try and avoid these altogether
Good luck
Depressingly- I actually preferred it when these gave me severe insomnia when I was on them years ago- because by the time the insomnia settled- I had loads of energy. this time round it's making my depression worse and turning me into a total slug. I can't cope with this for much longer. I've started to have thoughts about hurting myself due to the severe somnolence.
I changed to Lexapro because the Sertraline was so bad.
Everyone's different so what worked for me may not work for you.
what was it about the sertraline that you didn't get on with? Xxx