Any risks i should be aware of taking Sertraline?

[Guwop2]

Ive had adverse reactions to LDN, High Dose Vit B1 and im very sensitive to caffeine, alcohol, carbs and inflammatory foods in general..any 'high-dose' substance seems to shock my system into relapsing - are there any risks of my nervous system being 'shocked' by taking sertraline?

 

[ilivewithcfs]

I don't know if the question is still relevant or not, but I'll answer anyway, since I've been in similar situation. I'm also sensitive to all the stuff you mentioned, I think a lot of cfs patients are. I was put on sertraline and it didn't go well. At first I had a little more energy,but felt wired all the time (as if I drank too much coffee or something), and after some time I crashed and started to feel worse. Fluvoxamine works so much better for me, it's more sedating rather than stimulating, and it also has the strong antiinflammatory effect. I take it daily and it works for me consistently. It doesn't solve the problem completely, but it helps somewhat.

 

[BrightCandle]

SSRIs can have permenant side effects that are quite serious and they usually just cause overstimulation in ME patients. I don't recommend them.

 

[jaybee00]

Withdrawal issues from ssris can be very severe.

 

[heapsreal]

Start lower than recommended and if comfortable on a low dose, don't let the dr try to push the dose up, which many try to do.
Normal starting dose of Sertraline is 25mg and they try to get you to 50mg within a couple of weeks. But for most cfsers, 50mg can be too stimulating and I know for me destroyed my sleep but I could handle 25mg and felt ok on that dose. Have been on it a couple of times and find it best to start on a quarter of a tablet which is 12.5mg and after a week or 2 than go to 25mg. This dose helps mood and increases energy slightly for me without disrupting sleep, which higher doses do. I have tried ssri's for pain like chronic headaches from shingles etc and it didn't help. But it might help others for pain issues ???

 

[Atlas]

Setraline did nothing for me except worsen my sleep, I kept on it for 3mo "just in case depression was the cause" but really it wasn't worth it to do that that early in my major relapse when better sleep could have given me a better chance of getting out of it

Then went on a tricyclic to try fix sleep but made me permanently worse (after only 3 days)

If you do go on an SSRI for any significant duration make sure you taper off slowly when you stop

 

[Wayne]

are there any risks of my nervous system being 'shocked' by taking sertraline?

Hi @Guwop2 -- You might be interested in a 5-Min. segment (link below) that was broadcast on the CBS program Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson (in 2019). It's an interview with a Psychiatrist (Dr. Peter Breggin) who's never prescribed an SSRI drug for his patients, but has spent a great deal of time helping those who have become dependent on psychiatric drugs get off of them.

Mad with Medication: A New View on Psychiatric Drugs
BY FULL MEASURE STAFF SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH 2019

In the video segment, the author describes the approval process for Prozac, which he became aware of when he was appointed to the discovery process by the U.S. government as part of a lawsuit against Eli Lily. He relates how the lead investigator discovered during the approval process of Prozac that it was filled with "addictive sedatives". It also was discovered to have "amphetamine type" qualities, which could make depression worse, make people agitated, angry, more prone to suicide, etc.

The interview paints a rather unflattering picture of the Psychiatric and Pharmaceutical Drug professions, which often work in collusion with the FDA to approve drugs without adequate warning about how much harm they can cause. I suspect the approval process for other SSRIs are likely similar to the one for Prozac. Breggin also wrote a book entitled, "Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal". It's the only book written on the topic.

There are a large number of stories and testimonials on a major tinnitus forum which describe how taking an SSRI (all kinds) caused severe tinnitus, or greatly exacerbated tinnitus they already had. Tinnitus can truly be a miserable thing to live with, and I would advise extreme caution for anybody considering starting an SSRI. I look at this tinnitus "phenomenon" as a situation where the SSRIs cause brain damage.

Just one of those heartbreaking tinnitus stories: (at THIS LINK)

So in October my doc took me off that antidepressant and prescribed Prozac and Ativan. Instantly my ears began to ring. I contacted my doc and he told me this can be a temporary side affect of the Prozac. He instructed me to try 2 more weeks on the Prozac and discontinue if it persisted. It did, so I stopped taking it. But the tinnitus never stopped.

It's been 3 months since stopping the Prozac and the tinnitus continues. I still take a very low dose of Valium for anxiety and have some depression. My life has been completely changed. I went from being a very happy and productive member of society to depressed, anxious, and dealing with tinnitus.

 

[ruben]

Just seen this online. People having success with Sertraline. I see it's an antidepressant. People though having their mental health assessed and cleared of having any depression. Seems it did the trick for their ME/CFS. Anyone familiar with this?

 

[BrightCandle]

Just seen this online. People having success with Sertraline. I see it's an antidepressant. People though having their mental health assessed and cleared of having any depression. Seems it did the trick for their ME/CFS. Anyone familiar with this?

Only in a negative way it was used by my GP early on in my ME when I was mild to try and deal with me. Turned me into a zombie that didn't care and followed their instructions which is how they got me GET and CBTed and ultimately led to my first crash that made me moderate. It didn't resolve any of my ME symptoms it just made me emotionally numb.