Meds. To take or not.

[Palmolive]

Hiiii. :-)

Some of you may have seen my other recent post about medication. But on Wednesday I saw another doctor and she upped my dose of Sertaline from 50mg to 100mg. I took it that night and at 4am I started having a nose bleed, then hot flushes, then neatly fainted and kept going dizzy, then started being sick and I had to stay in bed until 5pm the next night and have the day of school. I couldn't physically walk. I am, putting this down to the medication. This always happen when my medication is changed. My psych told me I had to be careful because of the reactions I have. Anyway. I didn't take it last night because I needed to go to school today and now I am debating whether or not to try and start it again tonight, I don't know what the best thing to do is. I can't handle feeling so ill when I feel so low. I already feel like I have no energy and I don't know what to do. Beside the fact I honestly, don't think I want to be on medication. I feel so against it but the pressure to be on it is there, from everyone around me. I'm seeing my doctor on Monday but I don't know what to do about it over the weekend. Is it best just to leave it?

Thankyou.
Jessie

[Thirteen]

Well, maybe take a lower dosage (like trying 75 mg or something, if you can?) and see if you feel alright, if you think you need it for the weekend.

I mean, you probably shouldn't be taking it with effects like that, but if you feel it's necessary for your well-being, lowering it is the best thing I can think of.

[Revolution]

Can you call your doctor before Monday and ask this question? This can be very serious, you may be having an allergic reaction or something. Remember that these drugs are messing with chemicals in your brain, and that can cause serious effects on other bodily functions. I would either call her, or talk to your mother or somebody close to you about the symptoms and get their advice. Even not taking it for a day can really hurt you, it's very serious medication. I guess I would do with what they are telling you to do, but I would really recommend calling your doctor.

[Hallelujah]

Out of all the meds I tried, Sertraline [Which I'm on now] has given me the worse reactions. I had splitting headaches, nausea, dizziness and agonising muscle cramps for about 3 days, to the extent that trying to walk sent shooting pains right up my spine. It was awful, but I woke up one morning and it was gone. My GP made me stay on the pills, but with nosebleeds I'd say at least try and call them for some advice. Maybe even call NHS Direct?

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Do these hot flashes and everything else only occur when the dosage is changed or also when you take the medication at the same dosage? If they dissipate with time, then you could try waiting it out but if these effects always happen, then I'm confused why your doctor hasn't changed your medications. Not all those effects are a result of the medications entering your brain, in fact I would say very few of them are. Feeling faint and nose bleeding are likely due to the medications affecting your cardiovascular system. Dizziness may also be from that or it could be from the medications affecting your vestibular system, although you could hypothesize how the nervous system in general is involved indirectly, such as the cranial vagus nerve.

Hot flashes on the other hand are often associated with an allergic reaction. Do you also feel nausea?

[*Jen*]

If you just stop taking the medication suddenly then you are going to feel worse because you will get withdrawl effects. Perhaps you should just stay on the same dose of 50mg until you see your doctor next week. I hope you manage to sort things out