I've hit a confidence plateau. Should I change my depression medication?

I started taking antidepressant Sertraline at the start of the year. It was a decision I came to gradually after a range of different talking treatments hadn't helped enough. They had helped me to develop and be more capable, making better decisions socially and practically, but I was still hampered by fear and social awkwardness. So I bit the bullet and, in January, went to my GP.

I was prescribed Sertraline and started taking them immediately. That Tuesday, if I remember, I got a girl's number in Taboo. (Sertraline doesn't get into your system that fast, so it seems I was just on a slightly confident night. Maybe it was the placebo effect. Who knows.)

After this, though, it didn't seem to be affecting me. I genuinely felt no different. I went back to my GP after about a month and he told me to stick at it. I did.

The second batch of pills kicked in. I felt a lift, a rush, in the sternum. I started to step forward and talk to people a little more, although still clumsily with quite abrupt openers, but I got the odd phone number (and maybe more) here and there.

Since the spring, though, I feel like I've hit a plateau. I'm not getting any more confident; if anything, I'm getting more impatient and I don't seem to tolerate the places I used to enjoy going to. I'm more narrow-minded than ever about where I'll go on nights out, and I'm still feeling social anxiety. Not to mention, I'm piling on weight, something well-known to be connected to the use of SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors).

I talked to support group Andy's Man Club about this. A few members there have used SSRIs and have also reported weight gain. Should I change to some other form of medication?

The short answer: no. There are other drugs like Citalopram and Amitriptyline, but Sertraline is regarded to be the best (even though James Holmes, the who killed all those people at the Batman premiere in Colorado, was prescribed it and was a factor in his decision to carry out the attack. We can overlook this as Holmes had existing conditions that were behind his violent decisions). Sertraline is the most frequently-prescribed in the US and UK, because it's regarded to be the most effective.

AMC members also suggested not making any changes without my GP's advice. Typically, with memory difficulties, I'd forgotten to reorder my prescription until Tuesday night when I had only a couple of pills left. They suggested I tell my doctors that it's an emergency and that I need the pills as soon as possible. Easier said than done when I'm in work during the surgery's opening hours. I managed and got a new batch with a couple still to go.

Another question: Should I change the time at which I take my medication?

I first took Sertraline in the morning. Thankfully, this was on a day off: I had to go to sleep at 3pm for about 4 hours. After this I started taking them at 5pm. Is this a little late? Is it affecting my sleep? I usually struggle with sleep on and off anyway, so it's not easy to tell. Should I move it to 12pm and see if my sleep improves?

Well, let's try that from tomorrow onwards and next Saturday I'll review. Let me know if you have experience of changing the time you take Sertraline.