Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Christine79 on January 05, 2024, 09:42:10 PM
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Hello all,
I have been on oestrogel for 7 months and had a mirena coil for 4 years. I've never had anxiety before, but since hitting perimenopause this had hit me hard. My GP has just prescribed me sertraline as I got to the point where I was on the verge of panic attacks and palpations.
I feel even more anxious about starting a SSRI as worried about side effects.....does anyone have experience they can share??
Many thanks 😊 xxx
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Hi
I started on sertraline for anxiety 3 months ago and it's been great. I had a few minor side effects when I started such as a bit of nausea and reduced appetite but that went after about 2 weeks. No side effects since and it's sorted my anxiety better than my hrt ever has.
Hope that helps x
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Hi how many pumps of Oestrogel do you use ?
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Hi Christine,
My daughter takes Sertraline for anxiety and she is do much happier now. Like Bandango, she was quite queasy for the first 10 days or so (despite starting on a low dose (25 I think)) but she's fine now.
A completely different thought... I used to take oestrogel (for 18 months I was very happy) then when the bottle became cylindrical (Besins insist the contents are the same but I - and many other women- have our own beliefs) the product was not effective. After far too long I switched to Sandrena and got my life back. If you are scared to try an SSRI, you could try out a patch or Sandrena first?
Good luck x
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Oh wow that interesting I'm on the cylindrical bottles now. I'm on 3.5 pumps working up to 4 pumps as the gp said I might need more estrogen in peri?
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Hi Christine,
I friend of mine was having to take beta blockers just to function as anxiety had taken over her life. She too was in Oestrogel... I shared my experience, she switched Oestrogen and said the improvement was instant and hasn't needed to take a beta blocker since.
If you're worried about taking am SSRI, then I would highly recommend trying a different Oestrogen.
Good luck xx
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Thanks for your replies.
I started taking my sertraline, 25mg for this week. I know I need to be patient and give it upto 4-6 months to take affect but today (day 4) I feel so nauseous and anxious. My work days are a real struggle. I am due to increase for 50mg next week which is a worry if I'm feeling like this on a half dose.
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Sorry to hear that. My daughter went through the same and requested she stay on the half dose for an extra week. The doctor agreed. It took a couple of weeks for the nausea to really settle. But once it had, the move from 25 to 50 wasn't so bad.
Hope you're ok and good luck xx