Sertraline- need positive stories

[em4]

Hi all

The amount of times I've gone on this forum for help but never posted anything so I decided it was time because I need some reasurrance from people.

I started Sertraline over 3 weeks ago for severe anxiety and derealisation with 1 week on 25mg to begin with. Side effects wise, I had a bad headache at first and could NOT sleep which was no ideal. My sleep is getting a little better but I still feel absolutely shattered all the time. Most of the other side effects have gone, well apart from feeling INCREDIBLY anxious all the time. I felt slightly calmer last week but this week I fel horrific. I was taking 0.5mg lorazapam everyother day but like most of us I have a fear of getting addicted to them because it makes me feel so much better. However I have decided to stop taking it unless i REALLY need to.

I guess I just wanted to hear from positive stories about Sertraline really, from my (obsessive) googling, it seems to take anywhere between 6-8 weeks for it really kick in.

Sometimes it's just so hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel you know?!!

Any replies are MUCH appreciated.

Thanks

[Davit]

Well you aren't screaming about side effects and it hasn't made you suicidal so I'd say you are okay. Don't take the Lorazapam for more than a month if possible and after that only if really needed. Diazapam is less addictive. Different half life is why. I was addicted to lorazapam for four years. It took a year to get off. I do know people that use it only a couple times a month and are fine. It really is dependence not addiction

[wareing77]

Check out yappy94's thread. Im on week 4 at 50mg and feeling better than i was but still get the shakes and anxiety especially in the morning, I'm also not sleeping very well still. I hope for this to improve once im settled on the meds.
I take diazepam now and again when it gets too much but never more than 2mg a day.
Hope things get better for you, as you say we gotta give it 6-8 weeks and hopefully we will be feeling alot better.

[Dazza123]

I used sertraline for about 6 months-ish. Its a nice med, much kinder than most other AD's, I had headaches, trouble sleeping for a while, extra acid, but it passed and made me quite calm after a while. Only reason I stopped was to go onto Pregabalin, but I am planning on adding sertraline again at some point.