PatientsLikeMe : Sertraline Treatment Report

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What is Sertraline?

Sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant, is used in the treatment of major depression; obsessive-compulsive disorder; panic disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; premenstrual dysphoric disorder; and social anxiety disorder.

Reasons taken & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Reasons taken	# of patients	# of patients evaluated by
Depression	489	93
Treat my mood condition(s)	237	54
Anxiety	158	39
Other	63	18
Emotional lability	30	5
Bipolar Disorder	23	3
Panic attacks	17	5
Fibromyalgia	15	2
General health	14	1
Mood swings	13	1
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD	13	3
pain,depression,fatigue	10	2
Support another treatment	10	4
Fatigue	10	3
Major Depressive Disorder	9	2
Obsessive compulsive disorder OCD	7	3
disease-related symptoms	6	0
Problems concentrating	5	2
Depression with suicidal thoughts	3	0
Pain	3	1
anxiety, depression, confusion, falling down	3	0
Anxiety attacks and drepression	3	0
Insomnia	3	0
Depression with anxiety	2	1
Slow my MS progress	2	0
Don't know	2	0
Mood	2	1
for pain	1	0
muscle pain, legs, tendons, ankles, hands, wrist and lower arms	1	0
Aggression	1	0
Vulvodynia	1	0
Migraines	1	0
severe anxiety	1	0
Cognition	1	0
support another treatment	1	0
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)	1	0
Assistive communication	1	0
Anxiety/Depression	1	0
Social anxiety/phobia	1	1
Brain fog	1	0
SEROTONIN DEFICIENCY SUSPECTED	1	1
depression symptoms	1	0
Treat Parkinson's	1	1
Apathy	1	0
Stress	1	1
Migraine Headaches	1	0
Memory problems	1	0
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)	1	0
Slow my ALS progress	1	0
depression and anxiety	1	0
Depression & Anxiety	1	0
Heart Palpitations	1	0
Impulsive behaviors	1	0
for S.A.D.	1	0

See all 54 reasons taken ▼

See all 969 patients currently taking Sertraline

Mouse over the table for more information

Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	27	14%
Moderate	37	19%
Mild	60	30%
None	73	37%

Most commonly reported side effects

Loss of sex drive (libido)	54	27%
Fatigue	42	21%
dry mouth	42	21%
Weight gain	36	18%
Emotional withdrawal	32	16%
Migraine Headaches	18	9%
Insomnia	16	8%
Increased appetite	12	6%
Anger/Irritability between doses	9	5%
brain zaps	7	4%
Nausea	7	4%
makes me goofy	7	4%
Depression	5	3%
Diarrhea	5	3%
derealization/depersonalization	4	2%
Sleepiness	3	2%
Constipation	2	1%
Tremors	2	1%
Excessive yawning	2	1%
Anxiety	2	1%
Bruising	1	1%
MILD DIZZINESS	1	1%
Rash/skin problems	1	1%
Paranoia	1	1%
Mood swings	1	1%
Apathy	1	1%
mania	1	1%
Depression when not taken correctly	1	1%
It made me lethargic	1	1%
obsessed thoughts	1	1%
INNABILITY TO ACHIEVE ORGASM	1	1%
nausea, dizziness	1	1%
dry mouth/throat	1	1%
Dry mouth (xerostomia)	1	1%
Loss of taste	1	1%
Inability to cry	1	1%
see unexpected effects	1	1%
elevated prolactin level	1	1%
Swollen tongue	1	1%
Suicidal thoughts	1	1%
slight paranoia	1	1%
Memory problems	1	1%
MORE depression!	1	1%
Stomach pain	1	1%
hypomania	1	1%
Depression with suicidal thoughts	1	1%
Feeling of hopeless and irremediable social/emotional isolation	1	1%
throat burning similar to acid reflux but it wasnt	1	1%
Loss of appetite	1	1%
upset stomach	1	1%
Weight loss	1	1%
extreme sweating	1	1%
Robot/Zombie feelings	1	1%
lack of concentration	1	1%
Painful breasts	1	1%
anger	1	1%
Dizziness	1	1%
Agitation/restlessness	1	1%
Hypersomnia	1	1%
Increase in suicidal thoughts	1	1%
paresthesias	1	1%
night sweating	1	1%
hand shaky	1	1%
Nausea/Vomiting	1	1%
dizzyness/vomiting	1	1%
Sinus headache	1	1%
Heart Palpitations	1	1%
first time mania	1	1%
shivering	1	1%
restlessness at beginning of treatment	1	1%
Difficulty climaxing	1	1%
social tension	1	1%
Allergic reaction	1	1%
Sexual dysfunction	1	1%
Bruxism/teeth grinding	1	1%
bad thoughts	1	1%
Psychosis	1	1%
joint pain	1	1%

Mild
Moderate
Severe

See all 78 reported side effects ▼

Dosages

Top 10 dosages based on patients currently taking Sertraline. See all 29 dosages ►

100 mg all the time (24/7)	100mg as needed	25mg as needed	50mg as needed	daily	10 mg daily	12.5 mg daily	20 mg daily	25 mg daily	37.5 mg daily	40 mg daily	50 mg daily	62.5 mg daily	70 mg daily	75 mg daily	100 mg daily	125 mg daily	130 mg daily	140 mg daily	150 mg daily	200 mg daily	225 mg daily	250 mg daily	300 mg daily	400 mg daily	500 mg daily	1300 mg daily	10000 mg daily	25000 mg daily
1	1	1	1	22	3	2	23	61	2	1	255	1	1	30	321	5	1	1	79	149	1	9	9	1	1	1	1	1

Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Sertraline (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work	102	41%
Doctor's advice	73	29%
Side effects too severe	66	27%
Other	49	20%
Course of treatment ended	22	9%
Expense	14	6%
Personal research	11	4%
Not indicated	2	1%

See all 241 patients who’ve stopped taking Sertraline

Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Sertraline

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
10	33	37	96	93	214

Stopped Taking Sertraline

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
31	39	31	39	39	62

Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Always	160	81%
Usually	29	15%
Sometimes	7	4%
Never	1	1%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Very	19	10%
Somewhat	18	9%
A little	33	17%
Not at all	127	64%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

$200+	0	0%
$100-199	4	2%
$50-99	8	4%
$25-49	11	6%
< $25	99	50%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Patient Evaluations

See all 197 patient evaluations

MammaMia2

Sex: F

Pain: Little

Fatigue: Most

Sleep: Some

Stiffness: Little

function: Some

external_stress: Most

Stickman: some

Description:F36y

FM:1y

See profile
MammaMia2

25 mg daily

since Jun 24, 2009
Efficacy Moderate for SEROTONIN DEFICIENCY SUSPECTED
Side Effects Mild
See full evaluation

cupatea

Sex: F

Pain: All

Fatigue: All

Sleep: All

Stiffness: All

function: None

external_stress: Most

Stickman: all

Description:F36y

FM:1y Dx

See profile
cupatea

50 mg daily

since Dec 10, 2008
Efficacy Major for Depression
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips Take them while you need them. Do not go off cold turkey. They are my happy pills. Have taken them before and realize when I need to go on them. See full evaluation

gbabies6

Sex: F

Pain: Some

Fatigue: Some

Sleep: All

Stiffness: All

function: Most

external_stress: Little

Stickman: most

Description:F46y

See profile
gbabies6

200 mg daily

since Jan 14, 2009
Efficacy Slight for Support another treatment
Side Effects None
Advice/Tips dont give up on treatment for at least a month even if you think you are going crazy it will level out & you will be fine. DO NOT STOP COLD TURKEY TALK TO YO... See full evaluation