Each white tablet contains: 50mg or 100mg sertraline (as hydrochloride)

Other ingredients: calcium hydrogen phosphate, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polysorbate-80, sodium starch glycollate, and titanium dioxide (non-azo dye E171).

Each pack contains 28 tablets.

This medicine is an antidepressant It is one of a group of antidepressants called the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRls)?.

Lustral is an antidepressant The tablets are not sleeping tablets or tranquillisers. Your doctor has decided that this medicine is suitable for treating your depression. Your doctor may also have given you this medicine to stop your depression coming back or to stop you getting depressed in the future.

Depression is a clinical illness. If you have been feeling sad, tearful or unable to enjoy life as you used to, Lustral may help you to feel better. It may also help treat the anxiety which accompanies your depression. If you are not sure why you are on these tablets, ask your doctor.

If the answer is YES to either of the questions below - DO NOT TAKE Lustral

• Have you ever had an allergic reaction to Lustral?
• Do you have liver problems?

If the answer is YES to any of the following questions - tell your doctor immediately.

• Are you pregnant or think you might be pregnant?
• Are you breast feeding?
• Do you have kidney problems?
• Have you ever had an epileptic fit?
• Are you a child under i6 years old?
• Are you being treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)?
• Do you intend to drink alcohol when taking this medicine?
• Do you intend to drive or use machinery whilst taking this medicine?
• Are you being treated with any other medication for your illness, e.g. a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), lithium, another SSRI?
• Are you taking tryptophan, sumatriptan, fenfluramine, warfarin, diazepam, tolbutamide or cimetidine? Your doctor may want you to have blood tests if you are taking lithium or warfarin.

Your medicine should only be taken by mouth.

The usual dose of Lustral is 50mg taken once a day.

Doctors sometimes prescribe a higher dose, up to a maximum of 200mg daily. Doses of 150mg or more should not be used for longer than 8 weeks. The label on the pack will tell you what dose you should take. If you are still not sure, ask your doctor or pharmacist

• Swallow your tablets whole with a drink of water.
• It is best to take them at the same time each day, with or without a meal.
• Do not crush or chew your tablet.
• Keep taking your tablets every day. The day is written on the pack to help you remember.

Too many tablets at once can be dangerous. If you take too many tablets tell your doctor. If you cannot tell your doctor go to your local hospital casualty department at once.

Do not worry. If you forget to take a tablet, do not take that tablet. Just take the next tablet at the right time.

Do not take more tablets at once than your doctor told you.

Tell your doctor if -

• you have taken all your tablets and you still feel unwell: or
• you feel worse

Your medicine may cause some undesirable effects. The most common are:

• Dry mouth
• Feeling sick
• Upset stomach
• Diarrhoea
• Shaky feeling (tremor)
• Sweating
• Change in sex drive or function e.g. ejaculatory delay
• Dizziness
• Not being able to sleep
• Excessive sleepiness
• Indigestion

These undesirable effects are usually mild and tend to wear off as you take the tablets for longer.

• A vague feeling of being unwell.
• Allergic reactions such as:
• Wheezing, breathing problems or a tight chest
• Swollen eyelids, face or lips.
• Skin lumps or itchy red spots.
• Itching all over your body.
• Convulsions.
• Uncontrollable twitching, jerking or
• writhing movements.
• Mania/hypomania.
• Abnormalities in liver function tests.
• Lower sodium content of the blood.

Tell your doctor straight away if you get any of these effects, or any other discomfort you do not understand.

This treatment is for YOU. Do not give to others. It may not suit them.

Do not take this medicine after the date stamped on the pack.

• Keep your medicine in a cool, dry place, below 30°C.
• Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.

This leaflet does not contain ail the information about this medicine. If you have any questions or are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

The information in this leaflet is about Lustral only.

Date Lustral Leaflet United Kingdom

last revised - November 1994