Zoloft is prescribed 1 time / day in the morning or evening. Tablets can be taken regardless of food intake.
With depression and OCD treatment is started with a dose of 50 mg / day.
Treatment of panic disorders, PTSD and social phobia begin with a dose of 25 mg / day, which is increased after 1 week to 50 mg / day. The use of the drug in this scheme allows you to reduce the frequency of early undesirable effects of treatment, characteristic of panic disorder.
When there is insufficient effect of sertraline in patients at a dose of 50 mg / day the daily dose can be increased.
The dose should be increased at intervals not more than once a week to the maximum recommended dose of 200 mg / day.
The initial effect can be observed 7 days after the start of treatment, but the overall effect is usually achieved in 2-4 weeks (or even for a longer time with OCD). In the case of prolonged maintenance therapy, the drug is administered at the lowest effective dose, which is subsequently changed depending on the clinical effect.
In children and adolescents aged 13-17 years suffering from OCD, treatment with Zoloft should be started at a dose of 50 mg / day. In children aged 6-12 years, OCD therapy starts at a dose of 25 mg / day, after 1 week it is increased to 50 mg / day. In the following, if the effect is insufficient, the dose can be increased stepwise by 50 mg / day. up to 200 mg / day. as needed.
To avoid an overdose, with an increase in the dose of more than 50 mg, it is necessary to take into account the smaller body weight in children compared to adults. Change the dose should be at intervals of not less than 1 week. In elderly patients, the drug is used in the same doses as in younger patients.