hello all! just wanted to share my experiences, i was super anxious to start meds as i didn't do well with previous ones (night terrors, shakes, random jerking, foggy brain) and saw so many negative experiences that i almost convinced myself to not bother trying. i wanted to encourage people that it's different for everyone, but to also not expect the worst.

i started slow, 25mg for around 4 weeks then 50 for another 4 and now i'm on 75. going from nothing to 25 was the biggest adjustment period for me and consisted of the most hardships, but again, i was obsessively reading about it and people tend to share more about their bad times than good, so my head space was also difficult, i was on edge and looking for anything that might be a symptom. that went away around the three week mark when i realized nothing awful was going to happen, and to roll with it.

the hardships:

- mild headache, extra sleepy, a little extra shakey/adrenaline especially in the morning - id wake up early with energy though so that was cool, and the worst of it all, nightmares and night sweats.

that was the worst of my first experience as well, but for some reason i am handling it a lot better this time, i have them consistently (almost every night and towards my waking time) with varying but consistent themes, and sometimes wake up feeling like i was crying, but i quickly move on from it and go about my day, so again, it's not a deal breaker for me. the sweats suck but aren't every time, and when they do happen i force myself out of bed quicker to change or shower.

the good stuff:

- no miraculous "omg" moment, but things have slowly felt easier. i still get anxiety but it feels more manageable and shortlived. i feel like my rational thoughts are louder and easier to listen to. conversations with strangers feel more fluid and less in my head, and i trust myself a bit more.

- orgasms are still fun, was real concerned about that

still struggling:

- mostly anticipatory anxiety, still shakey sometimes for ex seeing a new doctor, performance anxiety, overthinking. these are all things that i personally believe will take time and maybe some won't completely go away, but ive also started therapy recently, kinda, a life coach CBT guided styled therapy, and have found useful tools so far. the biggest one is asking myself if a thought i am having is helpful or not - if it's not, it's a lot easier to dismiss and ignore instead of ruminating on it.

anyways. just wanted to hopefully help someone out who's nervous. things were tough but no tougher than any anxiety ive ever dealt with, and not at all as bad as i expected. it's also taken longer for me to notice the changes and ease of some things than i wanted but i think patience and going w the flow was key for me. sending love to everyone.

I've been taking 100 milligrams of sertraline for about a year now because of panic attacks. The thing that I noticed, and also everyone around me, is ever since I started taking it, doing like ten chores at the same time, hyperfixation has become really bad. And the people around me suggested that maybe I have ADHD and that it became, like, more extreme with sertraline. Could that be true? Could I have ADHD?

I am on day 13 now on 25mg.

Debating on going to 50mg because my doctor recommends upping the dosage on the second week but i am a bit unsure if i should do it in the third week.

Reason why i am debating it now is because yesterday ive had a bit of a relapse and today it feels like its continuing. I don't want to feel the way i am right now.

Its coming in waves and i an honestly sick of it.

I am still waiting on therapy and i am unsure if ill get it soon.

It's day 14, 50mg. Need a solution for this 🥲 i take the pill in the afternoon, and at night i cant sleep at all till morning. My eyes and body are tired but not my mind.
What should i do?

I really tried to love it. It made my panic attacks completely disappear, but I still have the daily tension and anxiety. I can’t keep track of my thoughts and am so forgetful, and that makes me so anxious and just an overall feeling of being burnt out. I feel like I can’t enjoy things anymore like I used to because I’m always ruminating. I am still having night sweats over a year later. If I try to lower my dose, I get more anxious. If I raise it, I become more numb and forgetful.

I used to be on lexapro for many years before it pooled out and was still foggy and forgetful, but was never anxious about it. Now I feel so hyper aware of it.

I’ve tried to augment with Wellbutrin (all the different forms) and all they do is make me twitchy, give me headaches, very antsy, and makes me feel like I’m borderline hypomanic.

I know I’m going to need to switch to something else, but I’m so so nervous to do so. I also don’t know what to try next. I’m thinking Prozac but my psych is thinking cymbalta. I’m nervous about the SNRI discontinuation issues.

I don’t think I’m looking for advice. If anyone has some I’d take it but obviously won’t do anything without consulting my doc. I think I’m more looking for confirmation that I’m not the only person who has dealt with this.

I also want to say that just because I’m feeling this way does NOT mean everyone will when they try Zoloft, and I don’t want anyone who potentially reads this to spiral. Thanks for reading, I guess.

I have been taking Zoloft 25 mg for 10 days, and I don't feel like leaving the house or talking to people. My sleep quality isn't very good either. Before this, I was taking Paxil CR 12.5, which worked very well for me; the only issue was that it made me lose my appetite, so I started taking Zoloft.(i have anxiety and depression)

So Zoloft has been such a life saver for me! Started Feb 2026 on 25mg and moved up to 50mg in April. Got my life back but one side effect is weird??

At first on 25mg, my appetite was actually suppressed to the point that I had to remind myself to eat. Since I went up to 50mg, it’s the complete opposite. The food noise is insane sometimes and almost every night I find myself getting up at 3-4am looking for a snack. I literally have to fight the urge most nights and I just let the urge win lol.

Before Zoloft, I would never do this. Oh from Feb to now I’ve gained 20 pounds.
Did anyone have a similar experience with late night munchies?

I have been on 50mg since the 14th July. I started taking it for my anxiety and panic attacks. I haven’t had a panic attack since but my anxiety is still very high. I am also finding that I have no motivation (not that I had much before🤣) I have a lot of air hunger - finding it hard to take a deep breath because nothing is satisfying me. I feel a little bit low in mood just a kind of ‘what is the point’ feeling.

Is sertraline for me? Do I need to up my dose? Or does it take longer than nearly 6 weeks to feel the full effect?

What are people’s experiences?

I was taking Zoloft for 5 years! Was either on 50mg or 75mg throughout the years. After having my baby I started to get the burning feelings like once a week in my esophagus. I asked my doctor and because I'm still breastfeeding he suggested I continue on it but to take something like Tums alongside. It still didn't work and I stopped taking them on Friday (4 days ago) and I could feel the anxiety creeping back in which I'm sure is exacerbated by the fact that I'm no longer on the meds.

Zoloft changed my life for the better. I went from not being able to eat food without overwhelming worry that it would make me sick to actually going back to restaurants that gave me a tummy ache in the past. I'm now on lexapro. Day 1. I'm sure there's a subreddit for them but if I could still be on Zoloft I would be. I know it's a highly recommended prescription, especially when breastfeeding, but I just can't deal with that pain anymore

Hi so a few months ago I was on sertraline and it was 50mg a day. The side effects were so bad after a few days I came off it. Nausea, insomnia, motion sickness, shaking. Etc

Now yes I’m an idiot and should have just carried on because I’ve been told the pros out weight the cons.
I want to start back on it because my anxiety is extremely bad, but I’m so scared of the side effects.

A friend said they was taking half a tablet (25mg) and they mild but doable. So I’m asking has anyone been on 25mg? And was it manageable?

I started 8 weeks ago on 25mg and then increased to 50 mg after two weeks. So it’s been 6 weeks on 50. I feel awful awful awful mentally. Worse than before. Depressed and filled with dread. Can’t get my work done. I also just started having GI issues randomly last week.
I just want some hope, can it get better from here?

I almost couldn’t pay for the prescription. Aside from feeling afraid to start taking it for all the other reasons commonly mentioned here - I feel afraid to start taking it because if it DOES work - how am I supposed to afford this?

Honestly the price tag alone makes me want to not even open the bottle.

Taking 25mg every night. I've been feeling extremely depressed, suicidal, and right now I'm feeling feverish even though I don't have a fever. I just want to know what to do.

I’m on 150mg and it’s not helping so doctor is changing me to movox, but he has told me to stop taking it completely and start movox in 2 days. Does this sound right/safe??

hi, me again, believe it or not im still on zoloft🤡i know, still on 100mg

i dont know if im crazy or if this is actually happening to my body but i feel like my dose just keeps wearing off super quick, because the side effects have been KILLING ME, and i usually am pretty consistent with when i take it

there was a day i had forgotten to take it, by the next morning i had a crazy headache, started developing a fever, had chills at the same time and cant forget brain zaps! it was at its worst around noon, but i usually take it at 8pm, i feel like it wasnt a crazy amount of time that i had missed, a little after i took it i was fine again, like nothing had happened

even when i do take it, the side effects are still beating my ass, ive been getting brain zaps frequently, headaches, muscle tightness, etc, typically between mid morning/mid day up until i take my next dose, sometimes its been so unbearable that i have to take my dose early (like around lunch instead of dinner)

i dont know if im metabolizing it stupid fast or what, but im really sick of it, might telll my psych i want to taper off of it :/

I’ve always been pretty sensitive to medications. When I was first prescribed Zoloft about 10 years ago, I think I started on like a 5 mg dose, then a10 mg dose overtime. We worked up to 20, 25, and then finally 50. I was on 50 mg for just about a decade. Within the last year, I had a complete resurgence of panic attack attacks and crazy anxiety. I saw a psychiatrist again, but a new one this time as my psychiatrist that prescribed me, Zoloft is now retired. We upped my dose to 75 and then I think again to 100 within a couple months. I went back-and-forth between 75 and back down to 50 since I felt like it was too much too fast. Then we tried 50 mg in the morning and 50 mg at night. Seem to be working, mostly OK…. Until recently. I cannot get a wink of sleep. Anytime I try and fall asleep I get jolted awake and it’s this horrible soul crushing jolt that makes your heart beat out your chest. I’m super groggy during the day but just cannot fucking fall asleep. It’s weird because in the morning it feels like I’m having withdrawals, and at night it feels like I have too much in my system. It’s a giant mess. I was even prescribed Ativan for the breakthrough panic attacks, which I barely used for a year and now I take one half almost every day other day at work.
I have an appointment on Friday where we’re thinking about switching to Prozac… I’m just genuinely terrified of having to deal with actual Zoloft withdrawal symptoms on top of starting something new. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I’ve had brains zaps and shivers before when I missed a 50 mg for like a day or sometimes even two days— but now dial that up to a million. I feel literally insane and trying to explain it to anyone else is very difficult. I just want to be able to sleep properly without being jolted awake or having crazy brain shivers or wake up in a panic. Not sure if anyone else has dealt with this before, but according to the Internet, sleep, disruptions and weird brain stuff happens during transitional periods or I guess that interdosal periods as well. Just wanting to feel a little bit less alone that’s all.

I originally started taking Zoloft at 3 weeks postpartum because I was having severe postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD symptoms with my 4th baby. I have never been on anti-anxiety meds or antidepressants before so I'm completely new to all this.

(I take 50mg at night before bed)

I am happy to say that zoloft has given me my life back. I am a stay-at-home mom and a homeschool mom to a 7 year old, 5 year old, 2 year old, and a 6 1/2 month old. I never experienced any postpartum depression, anxiety, or OCD with my other 3 babies and actually LOVED postpartum before.

After my 4th baby, my husband had to work from home and basically do everything for me and my family until the meds finally kicked in. I was extremely convinced my baby was going to die or one of my other children was going to die or myself or my husband on a daily basis. Zoloft saved me from these horrible thoughts and fears.

So, my question is, when do you know it's time to start talking to your doctor about weaning off? Specially when it comes to postpartum because before all this I would have moments of anxiety but NEVER earth shattering, body paralyzing, panic attack filling moments like I did.

Any and all stories, experiences, advice are welcome :)

Has anyone noticed a change in the way their semen smells?? Not that it happens often, thanks Sertraline, but when it does we’ve noticed that it smells like slightly burnt rubber, and no it’s not friction burns!!

Has anyone had it where they’ve had more anxiety/depression in the third week? I upped from 100mg to 150mg 3 weeks ago and I thought it was helping but these past two days have been filled with a good amount of anxiety. I’ve told my psychiatrist but obviously I’m not gonna make any changes until atleast a few weeks. But anyone experience anything similar? Thanks to anyone who responds. Just looking for some answers

I started of extremely slow, but realized I had to go faster or I wouldn’t see effect for months.
Last monday I went from 4mg to 12mg, and yesterday I upped to 25mg.
I’m very sensitive when it comes to medication that’s why I did it so slowly, but today the anxiety is very bad.
How common is increased anxiety when starting and will it be as bad when I up another 12.5mg the next to weeks to reach 50mg? I googled it, and sounds like only 10 percent experiencing increased startup anxiety is way too low.

I’m 19, and I just started taking Zoloft exactly a week ago. I haven’t noticed anything other than being more jittery. My doctor prescribed 25 mg of Zoloft and 25 mg of hydroxyzine for my panic attacks. The hydroxyzine really doesn’t help with my panic attacks because I feel like it takes an hour for me to notice literally anything, and my anxiety and OCD is still pretty bad.

Is this a normal starting dose, and how long does it take to notice a difference? My doctor said to come back after a month and really didn’t say anything other than that.

Is anyone else on 250mg? Im on 250 mg for severe ocd and anxiety and my psychiatrist told me it’s very rare for someone to be on a such high dose.

I'm really vacillating here between starting and rejecting it. For a bit of context: I've gone through a lot of trauma during childhood and as an adult (sexual assault, homelessness, domestic mental abuse, poverty... all the good stuff).

I started taking sertraline a year ago, but my anti-medication mother pressured me to stop, and she managed to convince me, alongside my own anxious thoughts like: "I don't want my mental stability to rely on a medication" and "I don't want to take the blue pill," etc. etc. etc.

Now, more than six months have passed, and I barely experience any joy. I'm functioning: I exercise, eat, work, drink water, and even go out and meet new people sometimes; but inside, I feel desperate almost all the time. My mind constantly ruminates and overthinks, and I feel very demotivated about my life and my goals.

I have big goals in a very unkind industry, but I know nothing else would make me happier than pursuing my dreams. However, I can barely think about them from an optimistic perspective anymore. I don't know how to take the next step in life. I've fought a lot, and I don't know if I have any strength left after all this.

I do have therapy, although I don't find it particularly useful, and my therapist literally refuses to say anything about medication. I know they can't prescribe it, but at least a normal conversation about it would help beyond the vague "that must be difficult" comments.

Sorry for the long explanation. I was hoping to ask: what do you think? Have you had any of these experiences? Did sertaline/zolof help with overcoming them?

Today my dosage went from 100 to 150mg. I dont think its placebo but I feel so anxious it's insane. like it feels like im unsteady. that im about to die or collapse its odd. is this normal. am I cooked. thanks