"Asentra": instructions for use, patient reviews, analogues, photos. How to take the "Asentra"?

Mental disorder, called depression, causes a constant sense of sadness, often leads to a loss of interest in life itself. Such a state has a detrimental effect on the behavior, thoughts of a person. It can become a source of many physical and emotional disorders. Unfortunately, with such a problem it is impossible to cope with one effort of will. Depression requires long-term and adequate treatment.

A drug that is able to cope with an unpleasant condition is the medicine "Asentra". Instructions for use describe the remedy as an excellent antidepressant. Consider the drug in more detail.

Description of the medicine

Medication is an effective antidepressant. This is how the instructions for use are used for the preparation of "Asentra". Photo of the medicine is given below.

Medication is a specific inhibitor of reuptake in neurons of serotonin. At the same time, it has an insignificant effect on the metabolism of dopamine and norepinephrine. In therapeutic dosages, the drug blocks the capture process in serotonin platelets.

What does the instructions for use refer to the Ascentra preparation? This drug does not have a sedative, stimulating, anticholinergic effect on the human body.

Regular intake of the medicine positively affects the patient's health. Excellent results are felt by the end of 2 weeks. So describe the drug "Asentra" reviews of people who were prescribed this drug. Although you should know that the maximum therapeutic effect occurs only after 6 weeks of regular admission.

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, there is a decrease in weight. Medication "Asentra" does not provoke physical or mental dependence.

The medicine is in the form of tablets. The active substance of the pill is sertraline hydrochloride. Depending on its content, two types of medicines are produced:

• A pill containing 55.95 mg of the basic substance (equivalent to 50 ml of sertraline).
• A tablet in which 111,90 mg of the active ingredient (100 mg sertraline).

Indications for use

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, whether you are suitable for the preparation of "Asentra".

Instructions for use recommend taking medicine under the following conditions:

• Depression of a variety of etiology (for medicinal and preventive purposes);
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (ROC);
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• Panic states.

Dosing regimen

Do not forget that only a doctor, given the pathology, the stage of the disease and the age of the patient, can prescribe the correct treatment regimen. And now we will consider what is written about the use of the drug "Asentra" instruction. How should I take this medicine?

The following recommendations for dosages are given in the annotation:

• For adults with OCD and depression, the recommended initial dose is 50 mg of the drug. Take the medicine once in the morning or in the evening. Gradually such dosage can increase. However, this can be done only after 1 week of taking the remedy. Increase the dose can be up to 200 mg per day.
• If adult patients have PTSD and panic disorder, then they start treatment with a single dose of 25 mg per day. Also does not matter, the pill will be taken in the evening or in the morning. A week later, the dose is allowed to increase. Now it will be 50 mg. If necessary, it is allowed to increase it after 7 days. However, it should be remembered that the maximum rate of this medication is 200 mg per day.

With the first satisfactory results, patients usually encounter on the 7th day after the beginning of the use of Asentra medication. The testimonies indicate that it was during this period that the first positive trend was recorded. However, in order to achieve the full therapeutic effect, it is necessary to take the drug on a regular basis for 2-4 weeks.

For people who have OCD, this period is longer. The favorable effect of treatment comes, as a rule, on the 8th-12th week of therapy.

Persons in old age do not need a special dose selection.

Patients with impaired liver function should take this remedy with extreme caution. In case of severe pathologies, the dosage of the medicine will be recommended by the doctor to reduce or increase the interval between doses.

If there are violations of the kidneys, there is no need to adjust the amount of medication taken or the regimen of therapy.

Features of treatment of children

Can I give medicine to children? And how to take it? "Asentra" is really allowed to eat for children who are already 6 years old. For young children, this medicine is contraindicated.

The drug's instruction explains how to take:

• "Asentra" for children 6-12 years old 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, it is possible to raise the norm only after 1 week of treatment.
• For adolescents 12-17 years, the daily dose is 50 mg. After 7 days, if necessary, the doctor will recommend increasing the amount of medication taken. However, one should know 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 to children, it is important to take into account the lesser weight of the child in relation to an adult. Therefore, when recommending to take a larger amount of the drug, doctors know that this category of patients needs careful monitoring at the first stages of treatment. This observation avoids overdose symptoms.

Side effects

What does the instructions for use tell us about the side effects of the Ascentra preparation? The testimonies of people to whom the agent was prescribed indicate that it is possible to develop some unpleasant reactions during therapy. It is best to warn all your symptoms immediately. This will allow to avoid a negative clinic in a timely manner.

The abstract warns that side effects may occur during the therapy with Asentra medication:

• The digestive system. Patients face dry mouth, decreased appetite, sometimes the condition comes to anorexia. Often, dyspeptic disorders such as nausea, vomiting, unstable stools or diarrhea, flatulence, constipation occur. Sometimes there are pains in the abdomen or spasms. The drug can provoke the development of hepatitis, pancreatitis, jaundice, liver failure.
• Nervous system. The medicine can cause drowsiness, tremor, 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. Sometimes extrapyramidal disorders, gait disorders, convulsions, dyskinesia are noted. Motor disorders, as evidenced by the medication "Asentra" reviews of doctors, are more often observed in those patients in whose anamnesis there is a similar symptomatology.
• Genitourinary system. Possible manifestations such as delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, anorgasmia, gynecomastia, menstrual cycle failure, priapism, galactorrhea, hyperprolactinaemia.
• Breathing organs. Some patients complain of suffocation or a feeling of squeezing the sternum.
• The cardiovascular system. Medication can lead to rapid heartbeat, chest pain, hypertension or hypotension. There may be swelling, fainting. Very rarely develops tachycardia.
• Sense organs. Vision may be impaired during use. Sometimes patients claim to see an unclear image.
• Allergic manifestations. The medicine can provoke the following unpleasant symptoms: redness of the skin, swelling of the face, eyelids or lips, hives, generalized itching, skin rash, erythema multiforme.
• Other reactions. During therapy, you may experience sporadic bleeding, hypothyroidism, excessive sweating, and weight loss. Some patients feel the presence of weakness, constant yawning, ascertain frequent flushes of blood to the face area.

Contraindications to therapy

Like any medication, the drug has some limitations. The doctor, appointing this remedy to the patient, necessarily takes them into account.

Let's consider what the instruction on the use of contraindications to the medicine of "Asentra" indicates. These include:

• Simultaneous use of MAO inhibitors (and also 14 days after cancellation);
• Unstable epilepsy;
• Simultaneous administration of "Fenfluramine" or "Tryptophan";
• Children under 6 years;
• Individual sensitivity;
• pregnancy;
• lactation.

Some categories of patients need special attention during medication therapy. Let's consider how the instruction recommends to use the preparation of "Asentra". The doctors' comments confirm the need to monitor the condition of people who have:

• Neurological disorders;
• Mental retardation;
• epilepsy;
• liver failure;
• Manic states;
• Kidney failure;
• Low body weight;
• Children over 6 years.

An overdose of a medicine

It is important to realize that it is possible to take the medicine "Asentra" solely on the schedule prescribed by the doctor. Feedback from patients who adhere strictly to the recommended therapy indicate that there is no symptomatic overdose. But, unfortunately, not everyone adheres to this rule.

For those who abuse the medicine "Asentra", the instruction gives a number of symptoms indicative of an overdose:

• Serotonin syndrome;
• nausea, vomiting;
• Increased drowsiness;
• tachycardia;
• agitation;
• dizziness;
• Psychomotor agitation ;
• diarrhea;
• Profuse sweating;
• Myoclonus;
• Hyperreflexion.

The drug does not cause a severe clinical picture, even if used in high doses. However, you should carefully consider the combination of this drug with other medicines. In some cases (for example, simultaneous reception of the drug with ethanol), symptoms of severe poisoning may appear. This condition can lead to death.

Specific antidotes to the drug does not exist. Therefore, treatment includes the following areas:

• Supportive intensive care;
• Control of vital functions;
• Taking tablets of activated charcoal (this is a more effective method than rinsing the stomach or causing vomiting);
• Support airway patency.

Since sertraline is distributed throughout the body in large volumes, dialysis, forced diuresis, hemoperfusion, and blood transfusion are unsuccessful.

special instructions

Before therapy with the drug "Asentra" it is important to familiarize yourself with certain features of the medicine:

• Controlled studies on the safety of drug use during pregnancy have not been conducted. Therefore, this tool is not recommended at all 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 lactemia, tablets of "Asentra" are categorically contraindicated, since sertraline is found in breast milk.
• Women of childbearing age should be treated with effective contraceptives during therapy with this drug.
• Clinically, it was found that the drug is safe and useful in the treatment of depressive conditions in patients with unstable angina or after myocardial infarction.
• Medication can be taken in patients who are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. For such a category of patients, the medicine is completely safe. This was confirmed by clinical studies.
• The drug "Asentra" is strictly forbidden to combine with alcohol!
• People who have depression are at risk for suicidal attempts. This inclination persists until a remission is reached. That is why patients experiencing depression need constant monitoring of doctors. This observation continues until the person reaches a normal psychological state.
• Is it possible to get behind the wheel during therapy? It is known that sertraline does not lead to impairment of psychomotor functions. But the combination of this drug with other medicines can provoke a violation of coordination, a decrease in attention. Therefore, it is better to refrain from responsible activities during treatment with Asentra medication.

Drug analogues

What to do if it is forbidden to take the preparation of "Asentra" instructions for use? Analogues of medicine 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 medications:

• "Stimuloton";
• Zoloft;
• "Serenata";
• Torin;
• "Sirleft";
• "Aleval."

Opinions of doctors about the drug

What do people think about this drug that prescribed the medicine? And how are doctors treated?

Doctors consider the medicine to be a sufficiently safe means. This allows you to recommend the tablet to most patients. Doctors, carefully watching the dynamics of therapy with the drug "Asentra", came to the conclusion that the drug is quite effective. It helps to cope with depression, eliminates psychosis, relieves the patient of increased anxiety.

Comparing it with such a common antidepressant, as "Zoloft", doctors agreed on the opinion that the product "Asentra" is more effective. The doctors' testimonies indicate that by the end of the second week the patients are beginning to react much more calmly to various stressful situations.

What do patients say?

And the patients' opinion about the medicine is not always so positive. Although, for the sake of justice, I must say that negative feedback is rare. Most often people say that the medicine helped them in a certain life situation.

Patients who take pills for a long time, fully confirm the opinion of doctors about the drug "Asentra". The patients' testimonies testify that the medicine perfectly relieves anxiety, fears and panic conditions. Effective means in the fight against psychosis. People argue that treatment with the drug can return a good mood, improve mood.

However, special attention is paid to the accumulative ability of the drug. After all, many people who started treatment with this medication say that the tablets of "Asentra" do not help. The patients, who felt the beneficial effect of the treatment, indicate that the first results were felt only after 2 weeks. And some people much later. After all, most often the question of increasing the dosage is decided after 2 weeks. This helps to avoid such an unpleasant condition as an overdose.

Speaking about this drug, one can not help but mention the side effects. Patients testify that undesirable manifestations may actually occur during therapy. What exactly are the side effects - it's hard to say. It depends on the body. But it should be made clear that unpleasant reactions may appear during therapy. Do not wait until all the symptoms indicated in the annotation are revealed. If you have the first negative signs, always consult a doctor.