Sertraline (Oral Route)

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Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

• Decreased sexual desire or ability
• Failure to discharge semen (in men)

• Aggressive reaction
• Breast tenderness or enlargement
• Confusion
• Convulsions
• Diarrhea
• Drowsiness
• Dryness of the mouth
• Fast talking and excited feelings or actions that are out of control
• Fast, pounding, irregular, or slow heartbeat
• Fever
• Inability to sit still
• Increase in body movements
• Increased sweating
• Increased thirst
• Lack of energy
• Loss of bladder control
• Mood or behavior changes
• Muscle spasm or jerking of all extremities
• Nosebleeds
• Overactive reflexes
• Racing heartbeat
• Red or purple spots on the skin
• Restlessness
• Shivering
• Skin rash, hives, or itching
• Sudden loss of consciousness
• Unusual or sudden body or facial movements or postures
• Unusual secretion of milk (in females)

• Abdominal or stomach pain
• Bleeding gums
• Blindness
• Blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
• Bloating
• Blood in the urine
• Bloody, black, or tarry stools
• Blue-yellow color blindness
• Blurred vision
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Chills
• Clay-colored stools
• Coma
• Cough or hoarseness
• Darkened urine
• Decreased urine output
• Decreased vision
• Depressed mood
• Difficulty with breathing
• Difficulty with speaking
• Difficulty with swallowing
• Drooling
• Dry skin and hair
• Eye pain
• Fainting
• Feeling cold
• Feeling of discomfort
• Feeling that others are watching you or controlling your behavior
• Feeling that others can hear your thoughts
• Feeling, seeing, or hearing things that are not there
• Fixed position of the eye
• General feeling of discomfort, illness, tiredness, or weakness
• Hair loss
• High fever
• High or low blood pressure
• Hoarseness or husky voice
• Hostility
• Increased clotting times
• Indigestion
• Inflammation of the joints
• Irritability
• Joint or muscle pain
• Large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs
• Lethargy
• Light-colored stools
• Lightheadedness
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of balance control
• Loss of bladder control
• Lower back or side pain
• Muscle aches
• Muscle cramps and stiffness
• Muscle trembling, jerking, or stiffness
• Muscle twitching
• Painful or difficult urination
• Pains in the stomach, side, or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back
• Pale skin
• Puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
• Rapid weight gain
• Rash
• Red skin lesions often with a purple center
• Red, irritated eyes
• Redness, soreness, or itching skin
• Right upper abdominal or stomach pain and fullness
• Severe mood or mental changes
• Severe muscle stiffness
• Shortness of breath
• Shuffling walk
• Sore throat
• Sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
• Sores, welting, or blisters
• Stiffness of the limbs
• Stupor
• Sweating
• Swelling of the face, ankles, or hands
• Swollen lymph glands
• Swollen or painful glands
• Talking or acting with excitement you cannot control
• Tightness in the chest
• Troubled breathing
• Twisting movements of the body
• Twitching
• Uncontrolled movements, especially of the face, neck, and back
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising
• Unpleasant breath odor
• Unusual behavior
• Unusual tiredness or weakness
• Vomiting of blood
• Weight gain
• Wheezing
• Yellow eyes and skin

Get emergency help immediately if any of the following symptoms of overdose occur:

• Actions that are out of control
• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Change in consciousness
• Confusion as to time or place or person
• Constipation
• Darkened urine
• Decreased awareness or responsiveness
• Dizziness or fainting
• Drowsiness
• Headache
• Holding false beliefs that cannot be changed by fact
• Loss of consciousness
• Nausea
• Pounding in the ears
• Severe sleepiness
• Shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking of the hands or feet
• Unusual excitement or restlessness
• Unusual tiredness or weakness
• Unusually fast heartbeat
• Unusually large pupils

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

• Acid or sour stomach
• Belching
• Decreased appetite or weight loss
• Diarrhea or loose stools
• Heartburn
• Sleepiness or unusual drowsiness
• Stomach or abdominal cramps, gas, or pain
• Trouble with sleeping

• Agitation, anxiety, or nervousness
• Bladder pain
• Burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, "pins and needles", or tingling feelings
• Changes in vision
• Cloudy urine
• Constipation
• Difficult, burning, or painful urination
• Flushing or redness of the skin, with feeling of warmth or heat
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Increased appetite
• Pain or tenderness around the eyes and cheekbones
• Stuffy or runny nose

• Flushed, dry skin
• Fruit-like breath odor
• Increased hunger
• Increased urination
• Redness or other discoloration of the skin
• Severe sunburn
• Swelling of the breasts (in women)
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unusual secretion of milk (in women)

After you stop using this medicine, it may still produce some side effects that need attention. During this period of time, check with your doctor immediately if you notice the following side effects:

• Abnormal dreams
• Electric shock sensations
• Failure to discharge semen (in men)
• Feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings
• Trouble with walking

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

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