Information on antidepressant drug Zoloft

There are a few side effects of Zoloft that one needs to be aware of. While some of these are quite common and not that serious, a few are rare and can be serious if not dealt with quickly. If you are under the medication and if you are experiencing any of the side effects over a period of time, then it is best to consult your physician. It is wise to seek a specialist’s opinion as early as possible. For the more common side effects however, your physician would most likely make you aware of them and will tell you to wait and watch, because most of them tend to go away over a period of time.

Zoloft is contraindicated in patients who are already taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or the antipsychotic pimozide. For elderly patients who have issues of liver impairment, Zoloft must be prescribed under extreme caution. This is so because Zoloft slows the rate of elimination of sertraline in these patients.
There are a few side effects of Zoloft that one needs to be aware of. While some of these are quite common and not that serious, a few are rare and can be serious if not dealt with quickly. If you are under the medication and if you are experiencing any of the side effects over a period of time, then it is best to consult your physician. It is wise to seek a specialist’s opinion as early as possible. For the more common side effects however, your physician would most likely make you aware of them and will tell you to wait and watch, because most of them tend to go away over a period of time.

Zoloft is contraindicated in patients who are already taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or the antipsychotic pimozide. For elderly patients who have issues of liver impairment, Zoloft must be prescribed under extreme caution. This is so because Zoloft slows the rate of elimination of sertraline in these patients.
One of the major side effects of Zoloft is on babies in the womb, whose mothers are prescribed the drug. This is especially true in cases where the mother has been exposed to the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy. The birth defects that are most likely to be found in babies of mothers under the treatment of the drug include omphalocele, anal atresia and limb reduction defects and septal defects.

As with other drugs of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class, Zoloft can cause sexual side effects and these would include arousal disorder and problems in achieving orgasm and ejaculation.

Also, like many other antidepressants, Zoloft can increase the rate of suicidal tendency, especially among children and adolescents. Hence, the prescription of such drugs to this age group of patients must be made with extreme care and caution.

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