---
title: Does taking sertraline only when PMDD symptoms start, instead of every day, help?
description: Yes, taking sertraline just during the symptomatic days of the cycle improved mood and irritability more than placebo, though the main symptom scale did not q
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/symptom-onset-dosing-of-sertraline-for-the-treatment-of-premenstrual-dysphoric-2015/
---

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- Does taking sertraline only when PMDD symptoms start, instead of every day, help?

Randomised trial, 2015

# Does taking sertraline only when PMDD symptoms start, instead of every day, help?

Yes, taking sertraline just during the symptomatic days of the cycle improved mood and irritability more than placebo, though the main symptom scale did not quite reach statistical significance.

 Strong study design

252 women with PMDD treated at 3 US university medical centers

## What they did

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at 3 university medical centers. 252 women with PMDD took either sertraline (50 to 100 mg/d) or placebo, starting at symptom onset and stopping a few days into their period, for 6 menstrual cycles.

## What they found

On the main symptom scale (PMTS), sertraline and placebo both improved, with a group difference of 1.88 points that was not quite significant (P = .06). On other measures sertraline did better: depression scores (IDS-C) improved more by 5.14 points (P = .02), overall daily symptom scores (DRSP) improved by 1.09 points (P = .02), and anger/irritability improved by 1.22 points (P < .01). 67.0% of sertraline users responded to treatment.

## What it means for you

This suggests that only taking sertraline during the bad days of the cycle, rather than every day, can still ease PMDD symptoms, especially irritability and low mood, though the benefit on the primary measure was borderline.

252

women in the trial

67.0%

responded to sertraline

P = .06

main symptom scale, not quite significant

## About the study

Original title Symptom-Onset Dosing of Sertraline for the Treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial Authors Yonkers KA, Kornstein SG, Gueorguieva R et al. Journal JAMA psychiatry Year 2015 Study design Randomised trial Participants 252 What was tested Sertraline (50-100 mg/day) taken only from symptom onset until the start of the period, compared with placebo, over 6 cycles Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1472](https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1472)

## 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/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

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Does paroxetine work better if taken daily or just during your luteal phase for PMDD?

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