My 20 year old daughter has been on sertraline medication for a year or so for depression and anxiety. She is also autistic. She's home from Uni at the moment and acting a bit strange - I just checked and she ran out a week ago and not reordered as she 'forgot'
I think we can get an emergency supply tomorrow through NHS 111
Is there anything I should be checking or need to know tonight. I've heard its dangerous to just stop taking this stuff?
It can send you a bit wonky coming off it fast/forgetting, so just keep an eye on her. My wife has come off it after a number of years, but I just have to ignore the mood swings and not react. Your daughter will be off kilter having not taken any for a week. It's only dangerous if she get's suicidal thoughts... so keep an eye on her.
Withdrawing from SSRI antidepressants can certainly be unpleasant, and the more suddenly it is done the more unpleasant it is likely to be, getting an emergency supply via NHS is important. As far as I know the danger is the possibility of returning suicidal thoughts or those involving self harm, rather than the withdrawals being dangerous themselves. To be clear I'm not a doctor.
The effects I had were nausea, dizziness and brain zaps among other issues. It's not nice at all and by the time those effects are in full swing it may take some time to get back on the drugs and get rid of the withdrawal effects.
I can only speak from my experience but I became very fed up of taking them and was tempted to just stop, even though I knew it wasn't a good idea to do so suddenly. It may be worth understanding whether your daughter forgot to get more, or whether she just doesn't want to be on them. The negative effects can be hard to weigh up against the positives, especially if she isn't in the best place mentally.
Of course it's up to her if she wants to stop taking them but it's important that the decision is an informed one and if that is her decision then it's best done with the longest taper possible.
Wishing her all the best.
I got nasty headaches when I forgot to take my daily 50mg for 2+ days, having been on Sertraline for ~1.5 years.
I went through overnight itching hell after a 7-week slow taper earlier this year that I did off my own back, lasting approx 5 weeks from when I'd completed the taper, but fine during the day until 1900ish. Waking up several times a night with hot itchy stomach, legs and arms that I would scratch so much, never known anything like it... I was frequently sleeping until gone midday to get eight hours of actual sleep.
Ironically my booked GP appointment for the itching was after four successive nights that were itch free and I've been fine since.
When i forgot to take mine for several days and things got weird, I took two doses in one day ( half a day apart) to help the levels build up quicker.
Not doctor approved, and possibly a bad idea but I was right with a couple of days.
Fwiw, my pharmacy (Well) orders my repeat prescription in for me, the drops me a message when the Dr's have approved it. All I need to do is pick it up.
I hope that it goes well for you all
Too late now, but for future reference pharmacies can fill emergency prescriptions if they're convinced of your bona fides and the criteria fit. IIRC NHS 111 is an alternative service https://bnf.nice.org.uk/medicines-guidance/emergency-supply-of-medicines/
Thanks all. Did an online emergency request last night and picked it up at local pharmacy this morning - very slick.
Daughter is out of sorts but hopefully a couple of days and the dosage will be restored. Personally I’m not a big fan of this type of medicine but we have few options right now.
Came here to say about emergency prescriptions and pharmacy. She’s gonna take a week or so to level back out in my experience.
Stay off the sauce and eat well.
It's incredibly variable tbh, I think broadly speaking SSRIs add to and then stir the bucket of homemade chemicals your brain sits in and runs on, and so pretty much anything can happen, including nothing much.
I was on Sertraline for a long time, sort of typical dose I think, I just stopped taking it one day which is a <terrible> idea and it literally made no difference, no side effects, no withdrawal (and no mood changes either). But that's absolutely not normal. When I went onto it I had a whole raft of side effects but it also made a big positive difference.
Hopefully she has a smooth return onto it
I was on sertraline for a short time. It didn't agree with me I felt like all my senses were muffled in some way. I couldn't stand that and also felt dissatisfied with my gp at the time. So I stopped taking it without telling anyone and within a few days I felt much better.
I don't recommend that course of action to anyone, The risks of coming off an SSRI are very real and serious. I lived in a small village at the time and had no chance of seeing another Dr, otherwise I would have gotten a second opinion.