@penguin and @nas...
Sorry, I wasn't on my laptop over the weekend.
I definitely felt worse for about 2-3 weeks and after 3 weeks I asked for the dose to be increased.
In terms of "in what way", it was all anxiety related. My thoughts were just going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole and the only thing that kept me on the tablets was that other people I knew and my Nurse Practitioner and good old Dr Google all said the same thing, that I'd feel worse before I got better. I didn't feel my anxiety could be worse but it was! All that said, i had other symptoms too, dry mouth, lack of appetite, wild wild dreams, tired, a bit of an iffy stomach (but not unmanageable) so I knew they were doing something!!!
I have now been on my 20mg for three weeks and the 10mg for 3 weeks earlier. I am definitely better but I would say I'm still not 100%.
It's been just a bloody awful time and I didn't realise exactly how bad I was till now and I'm looking back at it. It's a miracle us ladies get through it all.
I am going to finish this packet (so another week) and see how I am - it can apparently take anywhere between 2 and 8 weeks to really see a difference. Then I'll assess and might make another appointment with the NP.
The thing that keeps me going is that this is completely irrational for me - my life is probably the most stable and happy it's ever been so I am absolutely positive it's hormone related.
Nas - my friend is on Sertraline and it works like a charm for her so whatever your Dr says is probably best.