Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Proper Use
Take this medicine only as directed by your doctor, to benefit your condition as much as possible. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. .
This medicine should come with a medication guide. Read and follow these instructions carefully. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions.
Sertraline tablets may be taken with or without food on a full or empty stomach. This medicine should be taken once a day in the morning or at night. If your doctor tells you to take it a certain way, follow your doctor's instructions. .
If you are taking the oral liquid form of this medicine, use the dropper to get your dose and mix it with 4 ounces (one-half cup) of water, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, lemonade, or orange juice. Take it right away after mixing.
You may have to take sertraline for 4 weeks or longer before you begin to feel better. Your doctor should check your progress at regular visits during this time. Also, if you are taking this medicine for depression, you may need to keep taking it for 6 months or longer to help prevent the return of the depression.
Dosing
The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.
- For oral dosage forms (solution or tablets):
- For mental depression:
- Adults—At first, 50 milligrams (mg) once a day, taken either in the morning or evening. Your doctor may gradually increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 200 mg a day.
- Children—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
- For obsessive-compulsive disorder:
- Adults and teenagers—At first, 50 milligrams (mg) once a day, taken either in the morning or evening. Your doctor may gradually increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 200 mg a day.
- Children 6 to 12 years of age—At first, 25 mg once a day, taken either in the morning or evening. Your doctor may gradually increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 200 mg a day.
- Children below 6 years of age—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
- For panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or social anxiety disorder:
- Adults—At first, 25 milligrams (mg) once a day, taken either in the morning or evening. Your doctor may gradually increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 200 mg a day.
- Children—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
- For premenstrual dysphoric disorder:
- Adults—At first, 50 milligrams (mg) once a day throughout your menstrual cycle or just during the premenstrual time. Your doctor may increase your dose as needed. However, the dose is usually not more than 150 mg a day throughout your menstrual cycle or 100 mg a day if you are only taking it during your premenstrual time.
- Children—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
- For mental depression:
Missed Dose
If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
Storage
Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. Keep from freezing.
Keep out of the reach of children.
Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed.
Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.
