Hi , I have been on Sertraline 50mg for 22 days , my side effects seem unbearable , high anxiety , trembling, insomnia, no motivation and dizziness and fatigue , I asked the Doctor 4 days ago how long this would last and she couldnt tell me she suggested coming off but I have come this far and was hoping for an improvement , has anyone had a similar experiance , Thank you
Sertraline side effects, how long do they last?
Question posted by Kismet6 on 12 Aug 2023
Last updated on 17 August 2023
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Answers
Hi. I see this question all
All the time. It’s a common problem. I have an issue of being very jittery with an antidepressant depressant when I first begin. I’m very sensitive to them. So I have to start off very gradually. Even more gradually than the starter pack gives.
Back in the nineties when I first started taking it. They gave you a starter pack. The starter pack gave you a week at 25 mg, then a week at 50, then 75, then 100.
Now they start Zoloft at 50 mg which I think is too much too fast. I would be doing backflips at that. Not really.
It’s always a balancing act between feeling better quickly and being able to tolerate the Med.
If you are jittery you can skip a day to give your body a chance to rest and let the Med wear out if your system. Then start the next day if you’re feeling better. On this site ,it recommends when you start feeling jittery, to go back to the previous dose. continue until you’re feeling better then began moving up to the higher dose. Also taking “calm” powder might help. AD help a lot with anxiety but first your body has to adjust to it.
Correction; go back to previous dose until anxiety calms, then move to next larger dose
All of the side effects which are making you life miserable, are considered common side effects from this antidepressant. Common side effects should subside within a week to 10 days in most people as everyone reacts differently to medications in this case, side effects.
My opinion is that if your Dr. ´s suggestion is coming off of Sertraline is not the proper solution for your treatment, yet.
Most people start feeling an improvement by week 2 you are on week 3 ( in most people in order to feel the full therapeutic effect it takes 6 to 8 weeks) and still experiencing common side effects, in some cases people starting treatment with antidepressants that belong to the drug class of SSRIs (or any other class), things tend to get worse before they can better and besides that your dose is an initial dose, in my opinion you are very sensitive to this med in particular, I do not know what other meds you are on or have been on.
I agree with you, if you have come this far and if you can tolerate these side effects, I suggest you stick it out and see what happens, at least one more week and if not I do suggest you follow you
Dr.´s suggestion rather than increasing your dose.
Related topics
depression, anxiety, insomnia, generalized anxiety disorder, sertraline, side effect, fatigue, anxiety and stress, doctor, motivation
Further information
- Sertraline uses and safety info
- Sertraline prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Sertraline (detailed)
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