first step to getting my life back

[jaynemarie]

that makes me feel a bit better, just worried by Gp wont let me have anymore when they run out. How are you feeling Haz ?

[bajope]

Hi jaynemarie~
What a awful roller coaster ride this is!!! Monday I had a pretty decent day, Tuesday was like Monday never happened, Wednesday afternoon was ok and now today (Thursday) I feel absolutely awful again! This up and down stuff is really getting to me!!!!
How r u doing?

[haz]

that makes me feel a bit better, just worried by Gp wont let me have anymore when they run out. How are you feeling Haz ?

Hi jaynemarie,

I'm feeling a lot better thanks although still have some panic attacks but my agraphobia is much better. 11 weeks is still pretty early days for a new med. The side effects will gradually start to wear off and you'll find you need your diazepam less and less.

Keep going, you'll get there. Don't let the bad days get you down, you'll soon have more and more good ones.

Best wishes. x

[bajope]

Hi Haz~
So your at 11 weeks and feeling good??? Thats awesome! I'm feeling really discouraged. You probably read my post above. I seem to be all over the place. Really anxious one minute..really depressed the next. The psychiatrist says I'm not taking enough for it to be very effective. I started at 25mg and have worked my way up to 38.5..trying to get to 50. I was not very functional when I started and have seen some improvment in that area. But it's really hit and miss. Were you like that around week 3? Some ok days and some really bad days? I guess I thought once I started to feel better, I would just continue to feel better daily.

Hope you continue to feel better and better everyday.

Blessings,
Jackie

[jaynemarie]

Hi all, same as you Jackie. Up and down, i did manage to take my youngest out for a walk but within five minutes really breathless, so had to come home. I know 2 weeks isnt long enough to see any improvement, but i am so fed up with being like this. Anxiety and depression i feel like it is eating away at me. x Will keeping going though, Haz thats great really pleased for you. Hope i can say the same soon x

[haz]

I don't want to "burst anyone's bubble" and I try to make my posts positive but this is a "support" forum so I won't lie to you. I've had an absolutely awful day today, from the minute I opened my eyes this morning!

Woke up feeling very anxious and agitated, felt like my "skin was crawling", took 5mg diazepam but it didn't really help much. Got up and took my 50mg sertraline and that sedated me a bit. I've been in tears off and on all day. To be honest I can't wait until bedtime when I'm due more diazepam and my sleeping tablet. I just hope I get a good nights sleep and tomorrow will be a better day. I felt fine yesterday!

On a positive note I still managed to go to the library later in the afternoon and grab a few things quickly at the supermarket.

I hate it when I have a really bad day, cos it does feel like one step forward and three back! But then, everyone has the odd bad day I suppose

Haz.

[bajope]

Aww Haz, I'm so sorry you're having a bad day. But I bet compared to how you have been lately, this is just a small blip and tomorrow you'll be feeling great again.

When you're feeling better...would you mind sharing a little bit of how you were when you first started on the Sertraline compared to how you're doing now? If you'd rather not, I completely understand.

Praying your day gets better!

Blessings,
Jackie

[haz]

Thanks Jackie.

I have been on a lot of different medications for anxiety/depression for over twenty years now. I started on 25mg sertraline for a week whilst in a psychiatric ward, then up to 50mg. Immediately prior to starting Sertraline, I was on a very old antidepressant called Imipramine but it made me feel worse and I couldn't handle the side effects. Before that I was on escitalopram for 5 months which seemed to work initially but then I ended up back in hospital again. I don't think it was "sedating" enough for me. Before that I was on Paroxetine for 14 years with no hospital admissions and honestly have to say that it gave me my life back. Unfortunately it stopped working for me last year, hence the recent changes in medication. I will be 43 in a few months and am convinced that there is a hormonal element involved. Also, a few traumatic life events, deaths etc. during the last two years have probably also contributed.

Anyway, back to Sertraline! I honestly found Sertraline to be one of the easier drugs to take in terms of side effects. Slight nausea, upset stomach were really the only side effects I experienced. I didn't notice much difference, if any, going from 25mg to 50mg. Insomnia and increased anxiety can be an initial side effect but as I was already on 3 x 5mg diazepam daily and 7.5mg Zopiclone (sleeping tablet). I gained a lot of weight on paroxetine (lost two stone when I came off it). I might well put it back on with the Sertraline but I don't care. When it comes to losing weight or losing my mind, I'd rather have my sanity. I also got pretty bad "head shocks" or "brain zaps" with paroxetine and some on escitalopram but haven't had any on sertraline so far, fingers crossed!

I take Lustral made by Pfizer which is the branded version of Sertraline in the UK. I had some problems with increased side effects when they changed the generic brand of sertraline in the hospital. I also find that Lustral sedates me a bit more after I take it in the morning which is a good thing for me as mornings are my worst time.

I have no intention of changing or increasing my dose of medication at the moment. I like to give every drug at least four months before I consider a change. If I start to feel worse then I will probably increase my dose of sertraline before changing to another med.

My psychiatrist says all SSRI's are the same. They're not! He clearly hasn't taken any. What works for one person doesn't always work for another. Prozac and escitalopram probably weren't sedating enough for me but I'm not slagging either of them off because I've seen people improve dramatically on both of these drugs, they just weren't for me.

I suggest you keep going with the sertraline for now, and, if after you've given it a good chance and you don't notice any improvement, try another one. Like I said, it's trial and error. What works for some doesn't work for others.

Best wishes and I hope you start to feel better soon.

Hazel.x

[Patsta]

Hi all,
I haven't been on for a while and only just saw these posts.
Firstly, I have to say that you are all doing so well, you may not feel like you are, but having taken that first step and trying to help yourselves is a big achievement!
I have now been on sertaline for 8 weeks or there abouts...and feeling so much better! I have been where you all are now, and those early days are tough...but there is light at the end of the tunnel and each and everyone of you are approaching it!
The first few weeks is an emotional rollercoaster....we have some good days and we feel like we are improving, but then the next day is really bad and we think we are failing....but we just need to remember that it does take time. I would always wake up in the mornings with that feeling of dread....I didn't want to get out of bed...take the kids to school etc...I just wanted to stay curled up in my bed. I couldn't do that, so I got up and did what i had to...some days were ok...some days were bad...but I got through each day...one step at a time. I did take Xanax in the early days....which I think without it, I wouldn't have coped so well. It took all my anxiety away within about 15 minutes...which I could then get on with my day.
Each and everyone of you is different....what works for one, may not work for the other....its all trial and error when it comes to dealing with our anxieties.
I found that getting out in the garden and doing something a little more physical really helped me, for others it may have been watching tv or reading book. You just need to find what works better for you and then just do it.
Ok...I know I'm babbling now...its just that I have so much to say and trying to get it all out at once! Sorry!
Anyway.... to all of you!
Take care and keep posting
Patty

[jaynemarie]

Hi all. Patsa so glad you posted you always cheer me up. Hazel having a really bad day today as well. Close to tears and wanted to sleep most of the day away. Spoke to my doctor and as of tomorrow increasing dosage to 100mg. I have got to the point now where i will give anything a go. Again tomorrow another day, perhaps it will be a good one for all of us. Take care Jayne x