Switching to sertraline

[a4000]

Hello,

After 30 days on 20mg of Fluoxetine I was feeling pretty good then I increased to 40mg as planned and I almost immediately starting getting "blips" or spikes of anxiety and obtrusive thoughts. 30 days later I'm now struggling to get to sleep every night and the anxiety seems to be edging it's way back. CBT doesn't seem to be going well either and I may need to see someone else.

Anyway I had an appointment with my Psychiatrist and told him of my symptoms. He told me to immediately drop back to 20mg and said I would be switching over to sertraline in two weeks time.

I feel like a bit of train wreck at the moment, has this happened to anyone else? Did switching medication help?

[LAURA48]

Hi - if you were feeling pretty good why did you up the dose to 40mg? Would stay on the 20mg a bit longer and why does the psychiatrist want to change at this stage?

[makalalee]

Hi a4000
I am on sertraline and am doing so much better. I have been on it for 4 months now, I started on 50mg and then it was increased to 100mg a day. When I first started taking it I felt worse for the first month or so but gradually began to feel better. After being unable to leave the house at the beginning, this week I have travelled on the train by myself 4 times (something that used to induce major panic attacks). I have found sertraline very helpful and the only side effects I seem to have nowis sometimes I get a slight tremor in my hands. When you do move on to it, as difficult as it is, you must be prepared to give it time as it is not a quick fix. I have also been seeing a mental health professional who has been doing CBT with me and that has been so helpful as I personally think drugs on their own don't work but that is my opinion only. I love my CBT sessions and get on so well with my therapist. In the beginning I wasn't sure about her but again I stuck with her and things have worked out well. I am so positive now about my life even though I was made redundant 3 weeks ago after being off sick for 3 months and am looking at it as an opportunity for a new start in life. I hope you begin to feel better soon x

[a4000]

Hi makalalee, thanks for your kind words. Its good to hear that its working for you. I still plan to attend CBT and see how it goes, I'm usually a bit of a pessimist but I don't see the point of stopping it now.

I had a few side effects when first taking fluoxetine but they subsided after a short while, hopefully it will be the same with sertraline

Hi - if you were feeling pretty good why did you up the dose to 40mg? Would stay on the 20mg a bit longer and why does the psychiatrist want to change at this stage?

I have OCD (as well as other things) and the physiatrists plan was to start me off on 20mg, then 40mg and finally 60mg.

[Tufty]

Hi a4000,
I've a similar story - started on 20mg Fluroxetine 8 weeks ago and slowly improved, increased to 40mg 4 weeks ago and fail to feel any better and have increased anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. I dropped back to 20mg 4 days ago and am feeling a little better. I haven't seen a psychi and going back to my GP on Tuesday ? to change to another med. I'd be interested to hear how long ago you dropped back to 20 and if it's made any difference and if you'll be changing from Fluroextine to Sertaline without a break?
I've also had CBT which does help but I agree you sometimes need something else aswell - like meds, it can help you change the way you think but you need to be in a reasonable position mentally to manage those changes. Good luck with the change over and please post to let us know how it goes
Sam

[a4000]

Thanks Sam, I hope your treatment goes well too.

I switched down to 20mg on Friday. I feel a little better but i don't know if that's the placebo effect giving how long Fluoxetine stays in the system. I'm waiting for a letter from my GP so I'm not too sure how I'll change over, I'll keep you up to date.

[Jayelle]

HI I'm on 100mg of sertraline. I've been on it for a month now. I still have anxiety but not as bad. It took awhile for it to work and I had side effects, which have now gone. My Dr told me it can take up to 6 weeks to start feeling better. Hang in there. Jayelle

[CosmicRiver]

I dont know why doctors stick so much to dose guidelines, I mean mental disorders are so subjective, it should be more of a trial and error. I had the same problem with fluoxetine, when I started it I felt like I was not improving as good as I should, so my doc bumped me to 40mg(from 20mg). And it was quite bad, eventually the side effects subsided but I felt so tired, so lazy, I was too much light sensitive too and gain about 40 pounds. Then few months ago we decided to lower dose, first to 30mg, and now 20mg for two months. Im feeling great now, more energetic, and mentally I think Im more fit, thinking more clearly and stuff. So my point is, give fluoxetine time(ive read that its slowest acting ssri), and try to adjust the dose to you not you to the dose!
Btw Ive been on Sertaline too, and its a wonderful med, especially if your early in your disorder, it can give back your hope. Take care!

[a4000]

Thanks Jayelle and CosmicRiver!

After 10 days of being back on 20mg, I'm not feeling as down now but I'm feeling more tired and lethargic, more so then what I did when I frist started fluoxetine. I had my last CBT session on Thursday and they will try me with another type of therapy. talking to the therapist it seems that I have more issues then OCD/Anxiety/Depression. I asked if it was a personality disorder and they said they were unable to say, but I got the feeling that's what they were hinting at. I'll see what the psychologist says.

[a4000]

Hello,

A quick update, I've been off Fluoxetine for two weeks now and I'll be starting Sertraline later on today. For the past week I've been sleeping for 9-12 hours solid. My dreams have been incredibly vivid, so much to the point I'm not sure if the events in them are real or not. I din't think SSRI withdrawal would be that bad!

Hopefully I'll get some relief with the Sertraline.