Should I give sertraline a second chance, or ask for something diffirent

Hello,

This is my first time taking medication, and when my psychiatrist prescribed sertraline(zoloft) for anxiety, and she said I may feel side effects in several days, and to be patient as it takes several weeks for it to work. Instead I got every major side effect from one dose and am hesitant to try it again.

Within the hour of taking 25mg I developed a unique nasty feeling in my stomach, diarrhea, and my libido was simply gone, which I need to deal with insomnia. woke up with bone dry mouth(no exaggeration) and moist shirt. I did notice something going on with my head but not sure if that's a good thing.

I am wondering if this is something to be expected from the average person, or if I am just sensitive to this and should try something different.

Perhaps the 25mg. dose was too much for you to start with. It sounds like you're really sensitive to medication, so maybe starting at an even lower dose would work.

I think you should contact your psychiatrist about this. I had a bad gastrointestinal response to Zoloft 25 mgs. After 2 weeks of stomach stuff, I changed to a different med. Your doctor may want you to take it for a few days to see if the side effects decrease over time. At the same time, I think it makes sense to ask the doctor about the possibility of trying a different med.

I will be trying a minuscule 6.25mg for a few days, and hopefully I can increase it to half the pill(12.5)mg later on. The original plan to increase to 75mg after 2 weeks is definitely out of the question as of right now. Still doubt it is worth the effort to experiment with such a small dose.

Yeah, I can understand why you feel the way you do. But, meds are strange. Sometimes what works is surprising. I hope the new dose works for you.

Like all psychotropic meds., sertraline for anxiety is hit or miss. It tends to be one of the more stimulating SRIs along with fluoxetine, for the most part. Many docs and pdocs will use them initially on a patient because they cause less side effects, dependence, addictive qualities and other dangerous side effects vs. many other classes of meds.
Yeah, side effects like you mentioned usually appear in the first few days or week deepening on the dose used. It takes 4-6 weeks usually to give it a fair trial of it's full benefits but if the side effects are a major issue many people stop taking the drug.
I took it once for about a week and it made me feel jittery and anxious. So, I stopped it.
A lot of the side effects you mention are typical of the SRIs. Some may go away, while others tend to stay. Like most of the above posters have mentioned. Talk to your pdoc about about it because everyone's physiology is different.