Hi - My GP prescribed sertraline for me to help with anxiety, tearfulness, low mood etc etc and I find its good apart from I don’t sleep well. I can’t get to sleep then have strange dreams and feel as though I’m semi-conscious! Have been on them nearly 6 weeks now but don’t think I’ll be able to continue without some decent sleep. Any body else had similae problems?
Dear Katie
I am sorry that you haven’t received a reply as yet, you are welcome to call our helpline to talk this concern through on 0808 800 6000, lines are open 9-5 weekdays and 10-2 Saturdays, our helpliners can talk to you about further forms of support such as our one to one service too
The following link will take you to the BCC page ‘Coping with it all’ which you may find helpful to read:
Best wishes
Lucy
Hi Katie. I don’t come on site very often now so missed your post. I am on Sertraline as well. Didn’t sleep well previously with the anxiety so it has improved a bit on the AD but still not finding it easy to go to sleep. I have had some weird dreams too. The sleep thing is miserable isn’t it, makes you want to snooze during the day and that makes it worse at night. Bah Julia x
Hi Julia, thanks for reply. At least I know I’m not the only one. Have you been on it long and whats your dosage. I’m on 50mg, I wondered if breaking tablet in half & just taking 25mg a day might help. Suppose I’ll have to speak to GP.
Stella x
Hi im taking these at the moment been on them bearly 4 week and am having trouble sleeping but cant get up in a morning i see my doctor next week going to mention it and see what she says
I have tried sertraline and they worked fairly well for the low mood, but didn’t do enough for the hot flushes, so I switched back to Citalopram, another in the same family of drugs. I have definitely had trouble sleeping but thought it was to do with the other stuff I’ve got going on in my life. Didn’t think to look at SEs of anti-ds, and sure enough, sleeplessness can be a side-effect.
If you’re still having problems sleeping, see if swapping to a different SSRI (NOT Prozac/Fluoxetine if you’re on Tamoxifen) as there are plenty that you can try. As with a lot of things, it can take a bit of trial and error to find the right drug whose benefits and side-effects have the best balance for you.
Hi ladies
I went drs last Weds and I’m now trying half a tablet for 2 weeks. First few days seemed a bit better but didn’t sleep well last night. Dr said if didn’t improve would try another one - I was trying to persevere cos do feel brighter - if thats the right word! See how things go next 2 weeks. Thanks for the advice ladies.
Stella x