Rejecting hormone soup

What HRT has done for me

I did a brief Q&A while travelling down to a book event last week and the most commonly asked question, as ever, was asking how I’m getting on with Sertraline. It’s asked both by people on the drug and by those who feel like they might like to try an SSRI in the future but are scared of medication for mental health (the stigma has still not fully gone away).

I talk about taking anti-anxiety medication openly and casually, in hopes that other people might feel some of that stigma lift, so that those who might be in need some pharmaceutical help know it’s out there and taken by people just like them. So I feel rather bad that Sertraline hasn’t been the miracle drug I really hoped it would be. Of course no one drug can work like a charm for everyone, and I don’t wish to put anyone off trying it. It’s one of the most commonly prescribed SSRIs, and seems to be very effective for most people. But it didn’t do a huge amount for me (except give me some pretty rubbish side effects like raging heartburn).