I've been taking 25mg of sertraline for two weeks now. I'm aware it's too early to notice any positive effects on my anxiety. I'm also aware anxiety might increase for some time when starting with sertraline. However, the way the drug feels like is making things extra difficult for me.
Like people described in this thread, I'm constantly experiencing a kind of body load reminiscent of the way MDMA and other drugs feel like just before they're kicking in: a warm, numb, fuzzy feeling like a low-grade fever along with some restlessness and confusion. When I wake up in the morning, I already feel like I had a drink. Driving is not ideal and interacting with people on the job is more difficult.
I'm not sure if these are side effects that will subside or if this is just the way the drug feels like (or is supposed to feel like, even) because it adjusts serotonin levels. Even a friend that found sertraline to be really helpful described the feeling as something like a "warm hand" holding him. The thing is, many of my mental problems started 30 years ago when I nearly overdosed on MDMA. So the feeling itself triggers panic with me. For two weeks now it's been taking me a lot of strength to get through the day and a lot of courage to take the next pill. I'm afraid to go up to 50mg. And I suspect I might be just too damaged in a very specific way to get used to this drug.
Have you experienced something similar? Does sertraline feel like this to you, too and you just don't mind it? Did you get used to that feeling or did the benefits just outweigh it? Or is it a side effect after all that will definitely, completely go away after another week or two? Because if it won't, I don't think I can go on with it.