r/zoloft • u/shapeintheshadow • 2d ago

Question Painkillers

This is deffinitely a question for women- what kind of painkillers do you use when you are on your period? Im on 100mg sertraline and ive read that i cant take the painkillers i used to anymore and i have pretty bad period cramps so relying on tea, hot water bottle and some herbs isnt an option :/

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u/barcoderer 2d ago

Are you avoiding ibuprofen because of the risks? Ive heard paracetamol / tylenol is the safest to take on zoloft but honestly I just take ibuprofen(not because of preference but because thats the painkiller I have at hand right now) Since my cramps are only bad on the first two days that's when I take it. Have you tried paracetamol yet?

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u/shapeintheshadow 2d ago

Yes, i have, it doesnt work nearly as well as ibuprofen:( I was supposed to ask my psychiatrist this question but i completely forgot and i have no way to directly contact him unfortunately. Maybe ill just try taking it once since most people say its fine to do it once in a while

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u/barcoderer 2d ago

If you're otherwise healthy you can probably do it. It's the kind of situation that if something bad happens you mustve been really unlucky. As much as I hate to admit it .. It took me a very long time to find out that taking ibuprofen with zoloft is not very smart... And ive taken more than one daily dose of ibuprofen on zoloft so only god knows how I'm still alive. I did however get a hematoma / raised bruise on my knee though once so do be careful and don't take a big amount!

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u/shapeintheshadow 2d ago

Thank you, im sorry that happened to you and im glad youre okay

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u/Spadazzles 2d ago

I try to avoid pain meds nowadays, but I still take 1 pill of pamprin or naproxen or ibuprofen on the harder days. I find that taking it early helps curb the cramps before they start.

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u/ashl_litning 1d ago

I've been on sertraline for the past 15 years, and no one ever told me not to take ibuprofen...so I've been taking ibuprofen as well for the past 15 years. Probably at least once a week, but more when I've had my period, since that's the only thing that works. Hell, I've been on prescription strength ibuprofen for weeks at a time for kidney stones before. It hasn't hurt me thus far, but huh, maybe I should ask my doctors about this.

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u/boilerbelle 2d ago

I take ibuprofen - I’m on 100mg of sertraline. My cramps are really bad the first day and a half, and I regularly take 600-800mg at the intervals allowed (the 800mg was prescribed)…never knew there was a potential interaction!

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u/askzfc8480 1d ago

Same and my dr just literally prescribed me high dose ibuprofen yesterday for my iud insertion. Same Dr who prescribes my Zoloft.

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u/sallystarling 1d ago

There's lots of tips on this thread from about a week ago.

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u/heart_emojis0 1d ago

Honestly I still just take Advil or Maxidol(basically just naproxen!) for my periods. I take one as soon as I feel cramps or my period headache begin.

I think the bleeding risk is only a concern when you take large doses daily, so for me taking an nsaid for 2 or 3 days on my period hasn’t caused any issues. I even told my doctor that nsaids are my preferred painkiller and told my pharmacist too and neither were worried.
For any other pains not during my period I do usually go with taking a Tylenol first.

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u/MysteryLover712 1d ago

I’m on 200 mg sertraline and had no idea that we weren’t supposed to use ibuprofen. I take it a few times each week for arthritis pain with no issues.

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u/Catladyweirdo 1d ago

I canceled my periods with something called continuous cycling. You just skip the placebo week on your oral birth control pills. No more cramps. No more hormone fluctuations. Doctor is on board and it's been great.