Zoloft Information

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Although the way Zoloft works for depression, panic disorder, OCD, and PTSD is not completely understood, what is understood is that Zoloft is a medicine that helps correct the chemical imbalance of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain that is involved in the transmission of messages between nerve cells.

ZOLOFT is a prescription medicine used to treat depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (also called OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (also called PTSD) in adults. ZOLOFT is also used to treat OCD in children (ages 6-12) and adolescents (ages 12-17).

Depression
Symptoms of depression vary from person to person. You may have depression if you have five or more of the following symptoms and you have these symptoms almost all of the time during the same two-week period or longer. At least one of the symptoms must be a “sad” feeling that will not go away or a loss of interest or pleasure in most activities. Other symptoms are:

• changes in sleeping patterns
• restlessness or slowed movements
• fatigue or lack of energy
• changes in appetite or weight
• feeling worthless or guilty for no real reason
• trouble concentrating or making decisions
• repeated thoughts of death or suicide

In depression, these symptoms interfere with your day-to-day activities.

Panic Disorder

People with panic disorder have repeated, unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack is an unexpected attack of fear, anxiety or discomfort with at least four or more of the following symptoms that develop suddenly and usually reach a peak within 10 minutes:

• fast heart rate or pounding heart
• chest pain or discomfort
• sweating
• trembling or shaking
• shortness of breath or a feeling of smothering
• choking feeling
• nausea or upset stomach
• dizziness or feeling faint
• numbness or tingling
• chills or hot flashes
• feeling out of touch with reality
• fear of losing control
• fear of dying

In panic disorder, the panic attack(s) are followed by one month or longer of concern about having more attacks, or concern about what effect the panic attack(s) may have, or having a change in behavior.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

In OCD, a person may have two types of symptoms called obsessions or compulsions. Obsessions: These are unwanted thoughts that stay in a person’s mind. Even though the person knows these thoughts do not make sense, they cannot get rid of them. These thoughts can be frightening and embarrassing.
Compulsions: These are actions or thoughts that a person does over and over again to get rid of their unwanted thoughts. They believe this will help prevent something terrible from happening. These repeated actions may take hours to perform and can interfere with daily life.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
People with PTSD suffer from symptoms because they suffered, witnessed or learned of a life-threatening event or other serious event and felt intense fear, helplessness or horror because of the event.

A person with PTSD must have one or more symptoms from each of the following categories for at least a month and these symptoms must seriously interfere with being able to lead a normal life.

Reliving the event through upsetting thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, or having very strong mental and physical reactions if something reminds the person of the event.

Avoiding activities, thoughts, feelings or conversations that remind the person of the event; feeling numb to one’s surroundings; or being unable to remember details of the event. Having a loss of interest in important activities, feeling all alone, being unable to have normal emotions or feeling that there is nothing to look forward to in the future may also be experienced.

Feeling that one can never relax and must be on guard all the time to protect oneself, trouble sleeping, feeling irritable, overreacting when startled, angry outbursts or trouble concentrating.

ZOLOFT is approved to treat PTSD in both men and women. More women than men experience PTSD. There were three times more women than men in ZOLOFT PTSD clinical studies, and in these studies women responded better to ZOLOFT than men. What this means to the treatment of a patient is unknown. Only a doctor can determine if ZOLOFT is right for a patient.

DRUG NAME: ZOLOFT® (GSK)
COMMON NAME: Sertraline

WHAT IS THIS MEDICATION USED FOR?
ZOLOFT® is used to treat the symptoms of depression. It works by allowing nerves to communicate longer with each other through the presence of serotonin. It inhibits the reuptake of serotonin from the area between nerves (synapses).

WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE ZOLOFT®?

HOW DO I TAKE MY ZOLOFT®?
ZOLOFT® should be taken once daily or as directed by your physician. It can be taken without regard to food. Zoloft® may take 2 to 4 weeks to reach effective levels in your body. Alcohol should not be consumed while taking Zoloft®. .

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF ZOLOFT®?
The most common side effects of Zoloft® include effects on sleep and eating habits. Some patients are made drowsy while others experience insomnia. Some patients have an increased appetite while others have a decreased appetite. In clinical trials, these side effects were mild and decreased as the patient continues treatment. Talk to your physician if these side effects are bothersome.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Store this medication at room temperature and out of the reach of children. Protect from moisture. Keep container tightly closed. Throw away any unused medicine after the expiration date.