Opinions of sertraline

[Bleaney]

My doc said that he's going to put me on sertraline from citalopram. According to him, it's better for anxiety. Any thoughts about this?

It did not touch the sides of my anxiety, but apparently it has helped some people.

I tried Paroxetine, sertraline, and mirtazapine. All of which were supposedly helpful for anxiety.

They had absolutely no effect for me.

With the benefit of hindsight, or if I could go back in time, I'd have stopped Mirtazapine after a few months, seeing as it wasn't really helping for anything except sleep. Although that benefit isn't anything to be sniffed at.

I'd have tried Venlafaxine instead. That is meant to be good for anxiety, by many accounts, although the withdrawal syndrome is said to be particularly nasty.

If even Venlafaxine wasn't helping my anxiety after a few months I'd have stopped taking that too, and concluded that the whole class of meds is no use to me.

I wouldn't have ended up taking mirtazapine for years, just because it helps with sleep. God knows what effects long term usage of these meds has on the mind and body.

I really dont relish the prospect of doing a Mirtazapne taper or reduction whilst holding down a job. I think it would be very rough. Plus you can't even get the same type of pills with every prescription refill. Sometimes they are curved and rounded pills, which are extremely difficult to shave bits off with a blade, in order to reduce. Sometimes you get flat oblongs, which are much easier to shave bits off. But it no use trying to taper unless you can be sure of getting the same type of pills every time.

If / when I do come off it, I'll have to see if the Dr can prescribe a specific brand for me every time, and if the pharmacy can get the same brand every time. Something like Milpharm, Actavis, or Alamy, for example which are flat oblongs, and so I could work out the weight of one pill, by weighing several to see if they are all the same, and then ever so gradually reduce down, over as long a time frame as I need.

I'll probably get off benzos first though, as a higher priority, whenever I got an opportunity to do so.

 

[Perkins : Reborn]

It did not touch the sides of my anxiety, but apparently it has helped some people.

I tried Paroxetine, sertraline, and mirtazapine. All of which were supposedly helpful for anxiety.

They had absolutely no effect for me.

With the benefit of hindsight, or if I could go back in time, I'd have stopped Mirtazapine after a few months, seeing as it wasn't really helping for anything except sleep. Although that benefit isn't anything to be sniffed at.

I'd have tried Venlafaxine instead. That is meant to be good for anxiety, by many accounts, although the withdrawal syndrome is said to be particularly nasty.

If even Venlafaxine wasn't helping my anxiety after a few months I'd have stopped taking that too, and concluded that the whole class of meds is no use to me.

I wouldn't have ended up taking mirtazapine for years, just because it helps with sleep. God knows what effects long term usage of these meds has on the mind and body.

I really dont relish the prospect of doing a Mirtazapne taper or reduction whilst holding down a job. I think it would be very rough. Plus you can't even get the same type of pills with every prescription refill. Sometimes they are curved and rounded pills, which are extremely difficult to shave bits off with a blade, in order to reduce. Sometimes you get flat oblongs, which are much easier to shave bits off. But it no use trying to taper unless you can be sure of getting the same type of pills every time.

If / when I do come off it, I'll have to see if the Dr can prescribe a specific brand for me every time, and if the pharmacy can get the same brand every time. Something like Milpharm, Actavis, or Alamy, for example which are flat oblongs, and so I could work out the weight of one pill, by weighing several to see if they are all the same, and then ever so gradually reduce down, over as long a time frame as I need.

I'll probably get off benzos first though, as a higher priority, whenever I got an opportunity to do so.

I eventually let a doctor suggest how I should progress