Is Sertraline a good medication?

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I have a prescription of it ... But I want too know some of your experience with it. I've tried a couple of SSRI's had awful experiences with them so I am a little afraid of starting this med. Hoping, maybe seeing some positive could get me enough courage too try it.

It's too simplistic a question. Any drug will help some people and harm others.

Did you tell the prescribing doctor that you have had bad experiences with other SSRI's?

On another matter, I have been using duloxetine (Cymbalta) to treat its two indications - which are depression and chronic pain. I tolerate it very well, and it gives me two treatments with a single pill. But that doesn't mean it would be the right choice for anyone else.

I've been on Sertraline for 7 years, and since I've been on them I haven't had any rage outbursts since, which was the reason I went on the meds, to control rage outbursts.

I think it has made my ADHD symptoms more noticeable though (as in positive hyperactivity and shorter attention span), but I'd rather be like that than have uncontrollable outbursts.

Obviously I still have my moments but it's still nowhere near as bad as I used to be. What I'm saying is being on meds hasn't turned me into an emotionless robot. I still cry, get a bit angry sometimes and feel anxious or whatever. But I can control my anger like an average, well-adjusted person.

I did/do not get any physical side effects from Sertraline by the way.

I used it in the 1990s for depression / anxiety, and again in the past ten years for PTSD / anxiety.

Observations:
Lower doses worked best for me. I started at 25 mg and doctor worked me up to 250 mg over time. I didn't notice that I couldn't cry and I was acting like an emotional zombie at the higher doses, until someone pointed it out. I worked back down to 25 mg and it worked much better for me, even though I have considerable PTSD / anxiety. I think 50 mg was OK too, but not much higher than that.

In the beginning it made me extremely anxious for a few weeks. It's like it "rounded up" and located all my anxiety in order to treat it. I heard that's kind of common.

It also caused some nightmares. My doctor said that's because it removes the anxiety from your conscious mind. I guess it pushed mine into my unconscious mind, and caused the nightmares.

I had trouble sleeping if I took it at night, so I took it in the morning. That also stopped the nightmares somehow.

I liked "Sertraline" better than "Zoloft". I forget which one is the brand name vs the generic, but I did notice a difference.

This sounds like a bad review. It's not! I actually liked it quite a bit at lower doses, taken in the mornings. I can't remember why I switched, but now I'm on Vortioxetine which also helps with brain fog and cognitive function. It's an atypical SSRI.

Good luck. It's true that everyone reacts differently but it's worth a try.