Time For A Change, Sertraline

Anxiety, Poem 1 Minute

Sertraline,
‘s been getting stale,
And I’ve been feeling so pale,
My energy, once so fiercely abundant,
Has been daily dissipating;

Staying awake and enthused,
Is a constant stream of conscious, willful decisions,
β€”Of the sort you make on a winter’s morning,
Exerting your will and all of your effort,
In your sheer determination to proceed,

Which is a pretty fucked-up way to live;

Once, so sensitive to caffeine and coffeine,
β€”No later than lunch,
Or you’ll ruin your whole night of sleep!

Now impervious to its effects,
Even taking it right before bed,
Results in no problems, and no dramatics!

This added lethargy and sleepiness,
Are now the only effects,
I’m feeling from this,
β€”I guess my body,
Must’ve got used to it! πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ

It’s a strange new world,
And a shit one,
So bye-bye Sertraline,
(For now, at least),
Been nice knowin’ ya.

Yes, don’t worry,
I’m getting off it slowly,
But the doctor said to meβ€”
Let’s wait until you see the mental health team,
Which is happening,
God knows when;

So I’ve had to do it myself,
As I’ve always done,
Yup, makes sense!

πŸŒͺ

Published by 𝑹𝒐𝑩𝑰𝑡 πŸͺ

I write poems which are mental health-themed, creative or humourous :). Within mental health I write a lot about: ADHD, OCD, anxiety, autism, emotional traumaβ€” usually with an optimistic slant. My goals for my blog are to give myself a therapeutic, creative outlet whilst also being able to connect with and relate to other people.

Published

43 thoughts on “Time For A Change, Sertraline”

  1. I feel the same way too Robin. Tired all the time from them. I can get energy with like three energy drinks but yeah…
    If you’re going to stop taking them though wean yourself off!! ❀️ Sending love β€οΈπŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, it’s really interesting to compare with your experience! How long have you been taking them, and do you still notice any mood boost? It’s hard to imagine struggling against that lethargy whilst having to work in a busy job!

      No worries :D. I’ve been taking 100mg and I’m reducing by 25mg one week at a time. Which is 3 weeks in total tapering off it. Will let you know how it goes! Thank you! πŸ’™

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I was on it for like ten years. Took a break last winter because I thought I was okay. I was not okay. Got back on them pretty quick. I notice I don’t feel as depressed… More numb I guess. I just feel tired all the time. I take 100mg now and am thinking about dropping it a little too to see if it helps my energy level.
        And good to hear!!! I approve of that idea!! ❀️❀️❀️😁

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Interesting. It’s hard for me to imagine anything that bothered me without antidepressants or other medication, no longer bothering me whilst taking them, or as much. It would have to be a big effect to make a difference. Actually, I found that Elvanse had a bigger antidepressant effect, and I also noticed it helped me to keep my mood more stableβ€” when I would get angry it would act to make me feel better, really obviously.

        I’ve realised that a big part of the lethargy with Sertraline is simply that I need more sleepβ€” ridiculous amounts, 10 hours a night to keep on top of it. I’m really skeptical of any medication that induces this kind of lethargy, it’s really counter-productive.

        Thank you for your feedback!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Yeah. I’ve thought about switching meds too. But it makes me nervous because it’s all I ever known and what if I get worse….
        I could literally sleep all day. I wake up and want to go back to sleep even after twelve hours. You’re welcome Robin. I’m struggling on this shitty boat too. It helps having someone who gets it. ❀️

        Liked by 1 person

      4. “I could literally sleep all day. I wake up and want to go back to sleep even after twelve hours” β€” yeah, that’s definitely not right! I actually have no idea how long I could sleep if I was free tooβ€” because the noise from floorboards would be the limiting factor against relaxing. I’ve noticed that naps are a great way for me to reset from OCDβ€” in the beginning this was helping me, but I no longer have that choice!

        What happens over there if you get to a point where you can’t work? Have you missed work before? Everything seems a lot more risky over there health-wise, with less of a safety net, which sucks.

        I’m glad it’s helping you to be able to discuss it πŸ™‚.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Yeah it’s definitely not right lol. I haven’t missed work from it at all. Work actually helps me the most because I have to focus on others. I actually pick up shifts because I know it helps lol. My floor is short staffed so… Unless I take a shit on my supervisors desk I’m probably good lol 😁πŸ€ͺ

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Hahahaha! 🀣. That’s wonderful job security though! I can totally understand how focusing on others helps :). I’m sure if I was responsible to people, to help them, that would seriously help me too. It would just come before OCD discomfort, simple as that :), right? I’m planning to get to that position eventually :).

        Really glad to hear that work helps! And amazing that you haven’t had to miss work! πŸ’™

        Liked by 1 person

      8. There’s a lot of power in having somebody else understand your mind’s inner workings πŸ™‚. I heard somebody say that on a podcast the other day, and as far as I’ve experienced it, it’s been true. So it’s not necessarily too ironic! πŸ’™

        Liked by 1 person

      10. I was reading about other people who’ve experienced Sertraline/Zoloft ‘stopping working’β€” they found that they had to keep stopping and starting it to feel the benefit from it. Maybe that’s the case with you?

        Liked by 1 person

      12. That’s good it’s definitely helping with depression then :). For me, it’s basically that exercise and being outdoors does THIS much, then everything else is just faffing with details. Nothing compares to that. Being outside also wakes me up instantly and clears my head.

        It’s good you’re going to try a smaller dose :), I hope it helps with the tiredness! Yes, maybe taking at night would help, may as well try! Don’t make both changes at once though lol, will be impossible to know which had an effect! I was actually taking it at night in the beginning, but also in the beginning it caused me insomniaβ€” it actually WOKE me up at first, lol. Seems quite common. But because of that I never went back to taking it at night.

        Liked by 1 person

      13. Exactly. Like I want to be completely off them but also don’t want to feel like death all the time. I just feel cloudy most the time. I’m starting this new routine tonight so ask me in a week how this plays out lol πŸ˜‰

        Liked by 1 person

      14. Good luck! I’ve been taking it at night for the last 2 days, too. So far so good :). I HAVE been way less lethargic (in fact not lethargic at all), but I’ve also made a point of sleeping until I’m no longer tiredβ€” and I’ve found it’s consistently 10 hours a night (compared to 7/8 without it). I really think my lethargy was basically sleep deprivation the whole time…urgh… Since you’re so busy working, that would definitely make you require even more sleep on top of that too!

        Liked by 1 person

      16. Really, you’re feeling less lethargic?

        Haha what’s a pre-workout drink? The protein/energy things?

        Liked by 1 person

      18. That’s great it’s helping too! Taking it in the evening is definitely helping me now, I’m needing less sleep πŸ˜„. I’m re-thinking whether I need to stop taking it… whether boosting back up too 100 now would make me benefit again, or if going down to 0 then back to 50 would have just as much effect! πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ It’s also quite nice going to bed knowing you just took it, and at least ‘imagining’ that it’s going to help you relax, lol.

        Liked by 1 person

      20. I slept really badly last night, but I also had a coffee quite late. I think now that I’m less lethargic, I’m more sensitive to coffee again. I’m also worried that perhaps the medication will go back to keeping me awake at night. I’ve had less coffee today so will see how it goes :). Is it still good for you?

        Liked by 1 person

      22. Yeah, I’m actually ok with sleeping again now :), I did have a late coffee on that day, lol. Just didn’t expect it to actually work πŸ˜†.

        Liked by 1 person

      24. What! Weren’t you working today? That’s what happened to me the other nightβ€” up till 6!

        Liked by 1 person

      26. Ohhh, nicely done haha. Probly me too πŸ˜†. Need to reset. Maybe I should stay awake all night again πŸ€”.

        Liked by 1 person

      28. To be honest, taking it adds a hint of hopefulness that it Will help, compared to notβ€” bit of placebo effect that we may as well have πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you very much PoojaG. I am actually feeling better now after reducing the dose for a week, then going back to the normal dose, and also taking it at night instead πŸ™‚.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Thank you PoojaG. Indeed, it seems so! It was exactly like that with my ADHD medication, before. I actually felt a greater antidepressant effect from that.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to agrishaw Cancel reply