PlainPill

Sertraline

People mainly take Sertraline for anxiety, mood. Based on 20 first-hand reports and 318 meta-analyses & systematic reviews in the medical literature. Ranked #583 of 1,974 overall.

24
User score
Mixed
20% positive25% mixed25% negative30% unclear

Of reports that state an outcome, 29% are positive.

Clinical research
AStrong research base
318
meta-analyses
906
RCTs
6,376
papers

What Sertraline does, according to users

Of the people who reported each effect, the share who said it got better.

3 more with fewer than 3 reports
betterno changeworse

What the research says

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from PubMed, with their published conclusions.

AStrong research base

3+ meta-analyses or systematic reviews and 10+ randomized controlled trials in humans. The grade measures how much human research exists — read the conclusions below for what it found.

Lancet · 2018 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: All antidepressants were more efficacious than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Smaller differences between active drugs were found when placebo-controlled trials were included in the analysis, whereas there was more variability in efficacy and acceptability in head-to-head trials. These results should serve evidence-based practice and inform patients, physicians, guideline developers, and policy makers on the relative merits of the different antidepressants.

PubMed 29477251 ↗
Lancet · 2019 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Pharmacological treatments for generalised anxiety disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest contemporary review of pharmacological agents for the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder by use of network analysis. There are several effective treatment choices for generalised anxiety disorder across classes of medication. The failure of initial pharmacological therapy might not be a reason to abandon a pharmacological treatment strategy.

PubMed 30712879 ↗
Mol Psychiatry · 2023 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Antidepressants for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder in the maintenance phase: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: Compared to placebo, venlafaxine was associated with a lower incidence of dizziness, while desvenlafaxine, sertraline, and vortioxetine were associated with a higher incidence of nausea/vomiting. In conclusion, desvenlafaxine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine had reasonable efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability in the treatment of adults with stable MDD.

PubMed 36253442 ↗
Lancet Psychiatry · 2020 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants, psychotherapies, and their combination for acute treatment of children and adolescents with depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: Despite the scarcity of high-quality evidence, fluoxetine (alone or in combination with CBT) seems to be the best choice for the acute treatment of moderate-to-severe depressive disorder in children and adolescents. However, the effects of these interventions might vary between individuals, so patients, carers, and clinicians should carefully balance the risk-benefit profile of efficacy, acceptability, and suicide risk of all active interventions in young patients with depression on a case-by-case basis.

PubMed 32563306 ↗

Dosage people report

As stated by users — not a recommendation. Follow the label or your doctor.

40 mgas reported
50 mgdaily
two hours before sexual encounteras reported
dailyas reported

Reported side effects

How often each side effect came up across all reports.

emotional blunting ×2night sweats ×1numbness ×1anxiety ×1nervousness ×1suicidal ideation ×1sleepwalking ×1dissociation ×1

What users say

Verbatim quotes, shortened only — each links to the original discussion.

“I am taking Zoloft (SRRI) which is indubitably having a substantial impact”
Source discussion ↗
“On 40 MG of both propranolol and sertraline. I find both moderately helpful.”
Source discussion ↗
“Quetiapin, Clonazepam, Sertraline, Modafinil, Lamotrigine (allergic to it), Stratera”
Source discussion ↗
“I am on an SSRI (zoloft) for depression.”
Source discussion ↗
“At the time, I was taking Zoloft (sertraline), and now I think that my success at both of those endeavours at a very late stage of life may have been related to plasticity induced by the antidepressant”
Source discussion ↗
Top discussions (5)

Other options for anxiety

User data from public discussions; research from PubMed. Information only, not medical advice — talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. Data updated October 2, 2026. How we rate