Published on 12, July, 2020
hi, my doctor wants to start me on 50mg of sertraline for a few months for depression and anxiety. I've done some research into it and the side effects, however most ND people seem to have had negative effects. are there any autistic people on here that it has actually been helpful and worked for?
Hi - I was once prescribed an anti-depressant called Cipralex (citalopram) and I had quite a bad experience with it. I know it does help a lot of people - so I think I was unlucky to have such bad side effects with it. I had to stop taking it because it made me feel dreadful. I’ve been told that sometimes the first few days (up to a couple of weeks) the side effects can be bad - but if you can get past that then the side effects calm down. I think it’s important to have some support around you for the first few days when you start taking it - just in case the drug doesn’t suit you. If you do feel bad contact your GP and ask their advice. Another thing to bear in mind is that when you come of anti-depressants you can get withdrawal issues - so you need to come off them very slowly.
of course they do help many people - I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom. I think it’s important to be aware though (more aware than I was when I took them!). I was totally unprepared and found the experience very scary. Everyone is different - I’ve heard many people say only good things about their experience with anti-depressants.