As some of you will know from my previous posts.....I was prescribed 25mg Sertraline for depression/anxiety, as HRT wasn't good for me.
The 1st 2 weeks were hell on legs. Nausea, shaking, sweating, dizziness....but also increasing anxiety.
Eventually, after even getting a few panic attacks, a different GP prescribed Venlafaxine instead.
But....before I could start them....I got a phone call from my regular GP. He didn't want me to start the Venlafaxine, as he felt it was wrong for me. He asked me to increase the Sertraline to 50mg, and give it just 3 days trial. If it didn't help he would change to something else.
So I trusted him (as he knows me well) and upped the dose to 50mg.
Well I have to say...he was right. I am feeling so much better now.
It may be that I had pretty much gone through the awful start-up effects, or it may have been the increase in dose...or a combination of the 2.
But, whichever, I am feeling good now. No more nausea and absolutely no more anxiety. My mood has lifted too.
I still feel pretty tired and slightly light-headed, but I think that's due to a few months of bad sleep and feeling so ill.
So I suppose the moral of the story is, that IF you can force yourself to get through the side-effects at the beginning of a new med....then there may just be light at the end of the tunnel.
I realise that many people find it just too tough, especially if having to go out to work whilst being so ill. But, if you can, try and push through. You never know, it may just be the right med for you after all.