“Sertraline 50mg” … who noticed?

What Northwind said.

@singletrackmind please speak to someone while trying to get GP contact.

Samaritans can provide an initial route, there also may be local mental health support groups for you.

Yes. Mind offer lots of local services, depending on where you live. Depending on your income, they may even offer free/low cost talking therapy services. There are also group therapy services which can be very helpful to many people; the idea you are not the only one problems can be very reassuring. Such therapy can be quite expensive, but also extremely effective. So consider any cost to be an essential part of life.

It’s ok .
Got prescribed 50mg tablets. Stated straight away and am now on day 6 . Had some massive headaches and overnight sweats leading to more loss of sleep. Slight giddyness and fuzzy brain but no upset stomach. Found it much easier to split the dose , taking half a tablet 12 hrs apart. Sleeping much better doing it this way.
I have also found a local therapist and had a phone chat. Just got to sort out time off work that fits with her.
I am no state to go to group therapy. Not a chance. I do feel better actually, less anxious and relaxed and able to form cohesive sentences.

Doc was great actually, not judgemental at all.

Follow up phone consultation booked as well.

Have been on and off them for years. They keep me regulated at a sensible baseline that I can use to work in other therapeutic practices on top of without letting things get too low.

Some people benefit from talking therapies, CBT etc but I never did.

@singletrackmind always welcome up here in Scotland if fancy a break mate. Its pretty cool here, Dumfries & Galloway great to explore for a week and would be good to catch up!

Good to hear @sinngletrackmind

It worked for me previously, then upped to 200mg but that stopped too. Now on venuflaxcin, didn’t like it at first and nearly stopped as the the symptoms were awful. Then I gave it some more though, I’d only been off sertraline a week or so. The likely hood it was that more than the new one, so carried on.

Getting some benefit from it now, still don’t sleep well but I’ve not for as long as I can recall. Big change at work recently though has been hugely beneficial, more on that in coming weeks.

I spent over 10 years on various meds and talking therapies, and here I am at the lowest steady point I’ve probably ever been at. It didn’t work then, in fact, I got worse after talking as it confused me and I couldn’t deal with it at times. Most of the meds had horrible side effects including night sweats, migraines, more anxiety and sleep issues.

Well done to anyone who can get it all to work for them.

I have also found a local therapist and had a phone chat. Just got to sort out time off work that fits with her.

That’s great. I wish you all the best with your journey. 

I am no state to go to group therapy. Not a chance.

And thats absolutely fine. Group therapy is extremely daunting, and takes a lot of courage to be able to open up in front of strangers. Not everyone is capable or ready for that. I’ve seen some very poor group therapy services which were just a way of getting more people in to save money. 1 on 1 services are expensive. 

@singletrackmind always welcome up here in Scotland if fancy a break mate. Its pretty cool here, Dumfries & Galloway great to explore for a week and would be good to catch up!

That’s a very kind offer. Maybe take it up? A good break from your ‘normal’ routine can be in itself very therapeutic, give you time and space to reflect more objectively maybe. I’ve just spent a few days in Wales, and it was wet the whole time, but absolutely beautiful. Came back feeling really refreshed and relaxed. 

I spent over 10 years on various meds and talking therapies, and here I am at the lowest steady point I’ve probably ever been at. It didn’t work then, in fact, I got worse after talking as it confused me and I couldn’t deal with it at times. Most of the meds had horrible side effects including night sweats, migraines, more anxiety and sleep issues.

Well done to anyone who can get it all to work for them.

Everyone’s journey with therapy is different. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. I personally found drugs worked int he short term, but the underlying issues were still there. Which is why talking them through with both trained professionals and others really helped. With counselling, it really does matter what the therapist is like; I’ve had some absolutely terrible experiences with one or two individuals. The relationship between you is very important. 

Talking therapy can expose you to thoughts and memories you might have suppressed or ignored. This can be very painful. But it is often important to confront such pain, in order to break down those barriers and get to a place where those thoughts no longer hurt. I can now openly joke about stuff I couldn’t even talk about with very close friends. And friends are very important, but good friends, not people you feel socially obliged towards. It can be very difficult to form positive relationships with others, if you are in a dark place yourself. People aren’t attracted to negative energy. I’ve seen with myself and others, that being in a bad place personally can sometimes lead you to form relationships with others who are themselves not in a good way, and these can end up being very damaging and even toxic relationships. Think how some alcoholics seek out like-minded people, for example. Sometimes, friends and loved ones telling you the truth can seem very hurtful, but it’s important to listen to them even if you don’t like what they’re saying. The truth often hurts. 

I don’t think I have damaged any relationships or been drawn into bad ones. I only have a couple of friends really, so that wont be a problem. I did however have a run in with them a couple of weekends ago when we ended up discussing my current situation. It had come up before, and often ends up feeling like a bit of a personal attack.

Well 3 weeks and 5 days in and after my first docs review I’m confused.   First two weeks I went through the usual – enhanced anxiety, slightly shaky hands, the shits, slept worse waking 5 times a night vs 2 times a night.

On week 3 – bliss – I thought “yay, they’ve kicked in, this is nice, this must be what everyone else feels like”.  Then this week happened.   I feel tired, have been waking 4-5 times a night, slight bouts of anxiety again albeit not as irritable.

The doc says I need to stay the course past 6 weeks of course, and even beyond that past my first flight of the year in May to test a peak anxiety event for me, but I hope after this week things improve, becuase right now I feel more or less the same as without them.

I’m interested to know if this compares to others experience?

Same timeline
Totally different experience.
Suicidal thoughts totally disappeared.
No thought about self harming
Super relaxed . Mellow attitude , less peaks but also alot less troughs.
Like I feel all summer , but in march .
Sleeping differently but mostly ok , got prescribed sleeping pills but don’t need them at all.
Eating more , peckish all the time but that’s not bad as I stopped eating pretty much.
Still splitting the dose , 25mg morning and evening.