Saturday 30 December 2017

I took Sertraline 5 hours earlier than usual for a week.

A post shared by Matt Tuckey (@matttuckey) on



Last week I discussed using Sertraline, an antidepressant, and how the timing had possibly been giving me insomnia. I decided I'd take it at midday, instead of at 5pm.

One week isn't enough to gauge the effects, especially when I'm off work over Christmas and there's no need to get up at 7:30. I don't remember having any particular issue with falling asleep, so perhaps it's benefiting me. I'll come back to this in 4 more weeks to see how it's working, by which time I'll have been back in my work routine for a while and sleeping and eating at regular times.

With it being the holidays, my schedule- like most other people's- is quite different, so I've had to remember to bring my dosette (pill) box with me to family functions, shopping or other events. It's another thing to remember, which, with memory difficulties is a challenge in itself, but one I seemed to have managed.

If you're in a situation like mine- memory difficulties from a head trauma and using medication for depression- a dosette box is one of your tools. Your phone calendar is another. Without the ability to receive reminders from my phone, I couldn't have taken my meds reliably. So, obviously, I'd moved that recurring reminder back 5 hours.

Weight gain is a serious problem / side effect of Sertraline, and Christmas is one of the hardest times to avoid junk food. I wan to enjoy the holiday though, so I'm not dwelling on it. I'll probably have put weight on, but whatever. I have plans for how to lose it.

I'll come back to this in 4 more weeks.

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