What You Should Know About the Drug Zoloft

Zoloft is a type of antidepressant drug that falls into a category known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Zoloft works with the brain's chemicals that cause anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic attacks as well as post-traumatic stress and premenstrual dysphoric disorders. Zoloft may also be used for other purposes as well.

Zoloft should never be taken within fourteen days of taking a MAOI. Anti-depressants have been reported to induce suicidal thoughts in patients under the age of twenty-four. Zoloft has been approved for treating children with OCD, but has not been approved for depression treatment in children.

Your doctor should be contacted immediately if you experience any new or worsened symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks or changes in behavior or mood. Also, notify your doctor if you experience feelings of impulse, irritability, agitation, hostility, aggression, restlessness, mental or physical hyperactivity, increased depression, or thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Babies born to mothers who used Zoloft during pregnancy are at a higher risk of experiencing lung problems. On the contrary, a relapse into depression is a possibility if antidepressant usage is halted during pregnancy. If you plan to become pregnant, speak with your doctor before stopping treatment.