Sertraline advice please

[sandie]

I started sertraline 5 weeks ago at 50mg daily. GP upped the dose 2 weeks later to 100mg, which gave me the most awful side effects, so within a week she told me to go back down to 50mg.

I actually reduced to 75 mg, but one week ago I decided that I wanted off these awful ADs - they made me feel so dreadful. So I dropped to 25 mg last Saturday and then nothing from Monday/Tuesday onwards.

Can anyone advise me how long it will take for the sertraline to leave my system please ?

In total I was only on the meds for 4 weeks and never more than 100mg for just two of those weeks.

The sertraline gave me the most awful panic attacks, chest tension, insomnia, shivering and body tremors etc - I hated it. The GP wants me to start Mirtazepine, but I have read that while this might sort out the insomnia and will deal with depression/anxiety, it almost always leads to significant weight gain - which i do not want !

I am seeing a CBT counsellor so may just try to get through the situation without meds.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya sandie and welcome to NMP

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Sandie,

Clear elimination has the following:

HL.......%
0.........100
1.........50
2.........25
3.........12.50
4.........6.25
5.........3.13

When its under 5% its no longer clinically significant. It's more complicated than this when you consider how people taper as it will mean some overlap and then with some meds (e.g. Benzo's) you also have the storage outside of blood plasma which also needs elimination.

Factors involved in speed of distribution (drug starting to work) & elimination (clearance out of blood plasma) can be things like age (children differ, there are specific calculations for age that can be used for older people), speed of metabolism, weight (which will impact on metabolism), renal insufficiency conditions, etc. There are some very complicated guides on the internet for those interested such as some books on pharmacokinetics on Google Books but they are very difficult to understand without a medical background.

Setraline has a half life of approx 26 hours (range 22-36) so multiple this half life by 5 and thats how many hours you could be looking at before it's at a clinically insignificant value (<5%). Usually a good 7 half lives will see it completely gone.

[sandie]

So looking at your figures (My Name is Terry), would suggest that at the dosage I was taking and my last sertraline of 25 mg being on Tuesday last week, it should be out of my system by the end of this week ? Ie, around 10 days after the last tablet ?

(That is assuming I have understood your calculations correctly).

[MyNameIsTerry]

If you used the upper limit, it would be 36hrs X 5 = 7.6 days to be clinically insignificant or 36hrs X 7 = 10.5 days for a full elimination.

If you used the upper limit, it would be 26hrs X 5 = 5.4 days to be clinically insignificant or 26hrs X 7 = 7.5 days for a full elimination.

Your metabolism affects it though and any renal insufficiency issues so it's not an individual calculation so it could be a bit less or a bit longer and no one will know without testing for it. Drinking water and keeping hydrated and having a healthy liver will help if you supplement already for that, otherwise just stay healthy and drink enough water to keep your body working as it normally does.

[sandie]

Have seen a very understanding GP today who has switched me to 15 mg Mirtazapine with effect from tonight.

Now we have to wait and see ...

[lottie59]

I have been on 50mg now for 4 months and I am eager to get of these but have no idea how or ware to start. any advice much appreciated please