A mental disorder called depression causes a constant feeling of sadness, often leading to a loss of interest in life itself. This condition adversely affects the behavior, thoughts of a person. It can become a source of many physical and emotional disorders. Unfortunately, such a problem cannot be dealt with by one effort of will. Depression needs a long and adequate treatment.
The drug that is able to cope with an unpleasant condition is Asentra. Instructions for use characterize the drug as an excellent antidepressant. Consider the medication in more detail.
Drug description
The medication is an effective antidepressant. So the Asentra drug is positioned for use. A photo of the medicine is shown below.
The drug is a specific inhibitor of reuptake in serotonin neurons. However, it has a negligible effect on the metabolism of dopamine and norepinephrine. At therapeutic dosages, the drug blocks serotonin uptake in platelets.
What does the application instruction say about the Asentra preparation? This tool does not have a sedative, stimulating, anticholinergic effect on the human body.
Regular medication has a positive effect on the health of the patient. Excellent results are felt by the end of 2 weeks. So the drug “Asentra” describes the reviews of people who were prescribed this medicine. Although you should be aware that the maximum therapeutic effect occurs only after 6 weeks of regular use of the drug.
Treatment with this drug does not lead to an increase in body weight, which is characteristic of tricyclic antidepressants. In some cases, on the contrary, weight loss is noted. Medication "Asentra" does not provoke physical or mental dependence.
The medicine is in the form of tablets. The active substance of the pills is sertraline hydrochloride. Depending on its content, 2 types of medicine are produced:
- A pill containing 55.95 mg of the main substance (this is equivalent to 50 ml of sertraline).
- A tablet in which 111.90 mg of the active ingredient (100 mg of sertraline).
Indications for appointment
Despite the fact that the medication is a fairly effective antidepressant, do not take this medication at your discretion. Self-medication rarely provides the desired results. Most often, therapy selected without a doctor ends with the development of many unpleasant conditions.
Before starting treatment, be sure to consult a specialist if the Asentra drug is suitable for you or not.
Instructions for use recommend taking the medicine in the following conditions:
- depression of various etiologies (for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes);
- obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD);
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
- panic conditions.
Dosage regimen
Do not forget that only a doctor, given the pathology, stage of the disease and the age of the patient, can prescribe the correct treatment regimen. And now consider what the instruction writes about the use of the drug “Asentra”. How to take this medicine?
The summary provides the following dosage recommendations:
- For adults with OCD and depression, the recommended starting dose is 50 mg of the drug. Take the medicine once in the morning or in the evening. Gradually, this dosage may increase. However, this can only be done after 1 week of taking the drug. You can increase the dose to 200 mg per day.
- If PTSD and panic disorders are observed in adult patients , then treatment is started with a single dose of 25 mg of the drug per day. Also does not matter, a tablet will be taken in the evening or in the morning. After a week, the dose is allowed to increase. Now it will be 50 mg. If necessary, it is allowed to increase after another 7 days. However, it should be remembered that the maximum norm of this medicine is 200 mg per day.
Patients encounter the first satisfactory results, as a rule, on the 7th day after the start of the use of the Asentra medication. Reviews indicate that it was during this period that the first positive trend was noted. However, in order to achieve the full therapeutic effect, it is necessary to take the drug regularly for 2-4 weeks.
For people who have OCD, this period is longer. The beneficial effect of treatment occurs, as a rule, at 8-12 weeks of therapy.
Persons in old age do not need special dose selection.
Patients who have impaired liver function should take this drug with extreme caution. In case of severe pathologies, the doctor will recommend reducing the dosage of the medicine, or increasing the interval between doses.
In case of impaired renal function, there is no need to adjust the amount of the drug taken or the treatment regimen.
Features of treating children
Can children be given medication? And how to take? Asentra is indeed approved for use by children who are already 6 years old. For younger crumbs, this medicine is contraindicated.
The drug instruction explains how to take:
- Asentra for children aged 6-12 is prescribed as follows: the initial dose of the drug is 25 mg. It is recommended to take it once a day. You can use the drug in the morning or in the evening. If necessary, the doctor will recommend increasing the dosage to 50 mg. However, like adults, the norm can be raised only after 1 week of treatment.
- For adolescents 12-17 years old, the daily dose is 50 mg. After 7 days, if necessary, the doctor will recommend increasing the amount of the drug taken. However, you should be aware that for such children, the maximum dose should not be more than 200 mg of the drug during the day.
At the same time, increasing the dosage for children, it is important to consider the lower weight of the child in relation to an adult. Therefore, when recommending taking a larger amount of the drug, doctors know that this category of patients needs careful monitoring in the early stages of treatment. Such an observation avoids the symptoms of an overdose.
Side effects
What does the instructions for use say about the side effects of the drug "Asentra"? Reviews of people to whom the drug was prescribed indicate that some unpleasant reactions may develop during therapy. It is best to immediately warn your doctor about all the symptoms that arise. This will allow you to timely avoid a negative clinic.
The abstract warns that side effects may occur during therapy with Asentra:
- Digestive system. Patients experience dry mouth, decreased appetite, sometimes the condition reaches anorexia. Often manifested dyspeptic disorders, such as nausea, vomiting, unstable stools or diarrhea, flatulence, constipation. Sometimes abdominal pain or cramping is observed. The drug can provoke the development of hepatitis, pancreatitis, jaundice, liver failure.
- Nervous system. The medicine may cause drowsiness, tremors, headache, insomnia, dizziness. Some patients note the occurrence of anxiety, agitation, akathisia, paresthesia, hypomania, mania. The drug can lead to the development of depression, aggressiveness, agitation, psychosis, hallucinations. Extrapyramidal disorders, gait disturbance, convulsions, dyskinesia are sometimes noted. Motor disorders, as evidenced by the medicine "Asentra", reviews of doctors are more often observed in those patients who have a history of such symptoms.
- Genitourinary system. Possible manifestations are delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, anorgasmia, gynecomastia, menstrual failure, priapism, galactorrhea, hyperprolactinemia.
- Respiratory organs. Some patients complain of suffocation or a feeling of constriction of the sternum.
- The cardiovascular system. Medication can cause heart palpitations, chest pain, hypertension, or hypotension. Swelling, fainting may occur. Tachycardia is extremely rare.
- The sensory organs. Sight may be impaired while taking the medicine. Sometimes patients claim to see a fuzzy image.
- Allergic manifestations. The medicine can provoke the following unpleasant symptoms: redness of the skin, swelling of the face, eyelids or lips, urticaria, generalized itching, skin rash, erythema multiforme.
- Other reactions. During therapy, you can encounter sporadic bleeding, hypothyroidism, profuse sweating, weight loss. Some patients feel the presence of weakness, constant yawning, ascertain frequent flushing of the face.
Contraindications to therapy
Like any medication, the drug has some limitations. The doctor, prescribing this remedy to the patient, must take them into account.
Consider what the instructions for use say about the contraindications of the Asentra medicine. These include:
- simultaneous use of MAO inhibitors (as well as another 14 days after withdrawal);
- unstable epilepsy;
- simultaneous use of "Fenfluramine" or "Tryptophan";
- children under 6 years old;
- individual sensitivity;
- pregnancy;
- lactation.
Some categories of patients need special attention during drug therapy. Let's consider how the Asentra preparation recommends using the instruction. Doctors' reviews confirm the need to monitor the condition of people who have identified:
- neurological disorders;
- mental retardation;
- epilepsy;
- liver failure;
- manic states;
- renal failure;
- low body weight;
- children over 6 years old.
Drug overdose
It is important to realize that it is possible to take Asentra medicine exclusively according to the scheme prescribed by the doctor. Reviews of patients who strictly adhere to the recommended therapy show that overdose symptoms in this case are absent. But, unfortunately, not everyone adheres to this rule.
For those who abuse the Asentra medication, the instruction gives a number of symptoms indicating an overdose:
- serotonin syndrome;
- nausea, vomiting;
- increased drowsiness;
- tachycardia;
- agitation;
- dizziness;
- psychomotor agitation ;
- diarrhea;
- profuse sweating;
- myoclonus;
- hyperreflexia.
The drug does not cause a severe clinical picture, even if it was used in high doses. However, you should carefully consider the combination of this medication with other medicines. In some cases (for example, taking the drug with ethanol at the same time), severe poisoning symptoms may appear. This condition can be fatal.
There are no specific antidotes to the medication. Therefore, treatment includes the following areas:
- supporting intensive care;
- monitoring vital functions;
- taking activated charcoal tablets (this is a more effective method than washing the stomach or inducing vomiting);
- airway support.
Since sertraline is distributed throughout the body in large volumes, dialysis, forced diuresis, hemoperfusion, and blood transfusion are ineffective.
special instructions
Before therapy with Asentra, it is important to familiarize yourself with some of the features of the medication:
- There have been no controlled studies on the safety of using the drug during pregnancy. Therefore, this tool is completely not recommended for future mothers. The only exception is the condition of the woman, when the benefit for her significantly exceeds the risk for the baby.
- During lactation, Asentra tablets are strictly contraindicated, since sertraline is found in breast milk.
- Women of childbearing age should use effective contraceptives during therapy with this drug.
- It has been clinically established that the drug is safe and useful in the treatment of depressive states in patients with unstable angina or after myocardial infarction.
- The medication can be taken by patients who are diagnosed with diabetes. For this category of patients, the medicine is completely safe. This has been confirmed by clinical studies.
- The drug "Asentra" is strictly forbidden to combine with alcohol!
- People with depression are at risk for suicidal attempts. This tendency persists until remission is achieved. That is why patients experiencing depression need constant monitoring by doctors. This observation continues until a person reaches a normal psychological state.
- Can I drive during therapy? It is known that sertraline does not lead to a violation of psychomotor functions. But the combination of this medication with other medicines can provoke a violation of coordination, decreased attention. Therefore, patients during treatment with Asentra medication should better refrain from responsible activities.
Analogues of the drug
What should I do if the Asentra drug prohibits taking the instructions for use? Analogues of the drug will be an excellent alternative to treatment. However, do not forget that both the original drug and its substitutes should be selected only by your doctor.
So, what are the analogues of Asentra?
Pharmacologists give the following list of medicines:
- "Stimuloton";
- "Zoloft";
- “Serenate”;
- Thorin
- "Serlift";
- "Aleval."
Doctors' opinions on the drug
What do people who have been prescribed the medicine think of this remedy? And how do doctors treat the drug?
Doctors consider the medicine to be a fairly safe remedy. This allows you to recommend tablets to most patients. Doctors, carefully observing the dynamics of therapy with Asentra, came to the conclusion that the medicine is quite effective. It helps to cope with depression, eliminates psychosis, relieves the patient from increased anxiety.
Comparing it with such a common antidepressant as Zoloft, doctors agreed that the Asentra drug is still more effective. Reviews of doctors indicate that by the end of the second week, patients begin to respond much more calmly to various stressful situations.
What do patients say?
And the opinion of patients about the medication is not always so positive. Although, in fairness, it must be said that negative reviews are rare. Most often, people say that the medication helped them in a certain life situation.
Patients taking pills for a long time fully confirm the opinion of doctors about the drug "Asentra". Reviews of patients indicate that the medicine perfectly eliminates anxiety, fears, panic states. Effectively in the fight against psychosis. People claim that treatment with the drug allows you to return a good mood, improve mood.
However, patients focus on the cumulative ability of the drug. After all, many people who started treatment with this medication claim that Asentra tablets do not help. Patients who felt a favorable effect of treatment indicate that the first results were felt only after 2 weeks. And some people much later. Indeed, most often the question of increasing the dosage is decided precisely after 2 weeks. This avoids such an unpleasant condition as an overdose.
Speaking about this drug, one can not stop at the side effects. Patients indicate that undesirable manifestations may indeed appear during therapy. It is hard to say which side effects exactly will arise. It depends on the body. But it should be clearly understood that during therapy, unpleasant reactions may well appear. You should not wait until all the symptoms indicated in the abstract appear. If you have the first negative signs, be sure to consult a doctor.