Stopped Sertraline 6 weeks ago... Not doing so well !

[Tinkerbell06]

Hello...

Looking for a little reasurance... or maybe a kick up the backside to point me in the right direction.. I'm not quite sure which...

I stopped taking sertraline about 6 weeks ago. I'd been on it a couple of months and I'll admit it really was doing the trick for my anxiety, but I hated the side effects. Sweating constantly, waking up in the middle of the night dripping! shaking, the teeth grinding was the worst!... so when I went back to my doctor to tell him about how unhappy I was about this and how the though of putting chemicals into my body seems to make me more nervous and he took non of it in and upped my medication. I got really upset and frustrated and decided to throw the lot away... (ok so not the best plan).

Since I've been doing ok... but old OCD and nervous moments are coming back... avoiding certain tv programmes, writting lists about everything but never using them.. yet still they have to be written... and this week I've hit square one. I'm edgy, nervous, avoid television, it took me 3 hours to leave to house to meet my friend for a meal last night.. and I'm sure to trek across america in 3 weeks! I'm terrified I won't cope...

Does anyone know any alternatives to sertraline? or have any advice at all?

I don't really have anyone to talk to about it...

THanks for reading,

Tink x

[R4963]

Hi Tink - to me it sounds like your old symptoms are returning or you're in withdrawal. I'd suggest you get hold of some more sert and take a small dose of it to see if your symptoms improve. You can then stabilse and come off it slowly. Trekking across America!
Good luck x

[Tinkerbell06]

Thanks for you're advice... :-) thats definatly a good idea... x
Indeed ! 31 days! should be good if I can keep myself calm!

Thanks again :-) x

[R4963]

Hi Tink- how are you feeling now? Did you go back to the GP in the end and ask for some more sertraline? If you reinstate I'd suggest you try a very low dose at first as you may be very sensitive to it now. I'm sure you'll be fine for your trip. Sounds exciting - hope you're feeling a bit better now R x