---
title: Is taking sertraline every day or just before your period better for PMDD?
description: Taking sertraline every day is better tolerated than taking it only before your period. However, many women in both groups stopped the medication due to side
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/intermittent-versus-continuous-sertraline-therapy-in-the-treatment-of-2001/
---

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- Is taking sertraline every day or just before your period better for PMDD?

Study, 2001

# Is taking sertraline every day or just before your period better for PMDD?

Taking sertraline every day is better tolerated than taking it only before your period. However, many women in both groups stopped the medication due to side effects.

 Early or limited evidence

267 women with suspected PMDD at a gynecology clinic (162 confirmed positive)

## What they did

267 women attending a gynecology clinic filled out forms about PMDD. Of the 162 women with PMDD, 94 agreed to take sertraline: 71 took it every day and 23 took it only during the phase before their period. Researchers followed them for 6 months to see who continued the medication.

## What they found

60.7% of the 267 women had PMDD. Of the 162 with PMDD, 133 agreed to have a psychiatric interview, and 36 of those women (27%) had depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, or related disorders. In the continuous group, 44 out of 71 women (62%) stopped due to side effects. In the intermittent group, 22 out of 23 women (96%) stopped due to side effects. At 6 months, continuous use was better tolerated than intermittent use.

## What it means for you

If you have PMDD, taking sertraline every day may work better than taking it only before your period. However, many women in both groups stopped because of side effects, which matters when deciding with your doctor. The main limit is this was not a randomized controlled study, so the groups may have differed at the start.

60.7%

of 267 women with PMDD

27%

of those interviewed with depression or anxiety disorders

62%

of continuous group stopping due to side effects

## About the study

Original title Intermittent versus continuous sertraline therapy in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorders Authors Alpay FB, Turhan NO Journal International journal of fertility and women's medicine Year 2001 Study design Study Participants 267 Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11563834/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11563834/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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