Sexual Dysfunction

I was in my 20s when I started taking Prozac. Now I’m nearing 70 and still taking SSRIs, though the names have changed over the years.

When I was first diagnosed with depression (which was before I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 and anxiety), I understood it to be a lifelong condition. When my diagnosis changed, I still thought of it as a lifelong disorder requiring lifelong treatment. So far, that has proved to be true. I have been on antidepressants ever since and fully expect to stay on them forever, or at least until a cure is at last found.

Recently, however, the New York Times published an article that examined whether the received wisdom was still true. Did someone, once prescribed antidepressants, whether for depression, OCD, PTSD, or another mental illness, have to continue taking them for the rest of their life? The article noted that the FDA’s approval of the drugs was based on trials that lasted only a few months. Other “in-depth” studies lasted two years or fewer. The Times also noted, “Current clinical guidelines do not specify the optimal amount of time they should be taken for.”

Many people stop taking antidepressants on their own, based on side effects and a dislike of them, the fact that the drugs seem to stop working (either fairly quickly or over the long term), or simply because they dislike taking pills. According to the Times, however, “The answer depends on your symptoms, diagnosis, response to the medication, side effects, and other factors—all things to discuss with a medical professional.” In other words, cold turkey isn’t the way to go. With psychotropic drugs such as benzos, it’s positively dangerous, and quitting antidepressants brings the risk of falling back into the depression you and your doctor were trying to alleviate. Tapering off the drug with the help of your prescribing physician is recommended.

And about those side effects—some disappear over time as the body gets used to the medication, but others, particularly annoying ones like weight gain, sexual dysfunction, and possibly increased heart symptoms, linger. A doctor can prescribe a different drug in hopes that the side effects will not be so severe, but they may only be similar or worse. Patients generally don’t like tinkering with their medication and having to wait weeks until the effects appear and the side effects disappear. It’s a tedious and discouraging prospect.

What do the clinical guidelines say? Experts say that antidepressants, once they work, should be taken for four to nine months. Any quicker than that, relapse may occur. To maintain the positive effects, they should be taken for two to four years. Taking them for longer periods is sometimes advised, depending on how long the depression lasted and whether the patient has had several depressive episodes. Long-term use depends on whether the illness has continued for a long time and whether the depression is very severe, causing hospital stays and a loss of the ability to perform daily functions.

All in all, says Dr. Paul Nestadt, the medical director of the Center for Suicide Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “I’m still of the opinion that, in people who have real depression, the benefits outweigh the risk.”

So, continuing to take antidepressants is really up to me and my doctor. At this point in my life, I see my doctor quarterly for a med check. We sometimes tinker with the dosages, based on my symptoms at the time, but for the most part, we stick with what has been working. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And since it ain’t broke, I’m content to keep taking my antidepressant (and other medications) for the foreseeable future.

Note: This post is not medical advice and should not be taken as such. Discuss medical questions with your physician, especially before stopping a medication.

PSSD can set in during or after the use of an antidepressant. The absence of sexual feelings is the most common symptom, but this can be accompanied by dulled emotions, genital numbness, poor sleep and brain fog.

It really bothers me a lot that libido is part of what makes us US and yet the side effects could linger forever even when they had stopped taking the antidepressants.

It is really sad when they want to get rid of sadness in the first place, isn't it?

What do you think the patients should do if their physicians prescribe antidepressants for them for the maiden time? Should they consider CBT and digital therapeutic as a viable option too?

Where does suffering end and hell begins? When can we say with confidence that everything has gone out of hand?
It all began with an urge. My 'tools' weren't good enough to satisfy a girl but they were more than needed to quench my thirst.
And thus the avenue of online slut hunting began.
Camgirl sites, Cumtribute hunts and anonymous chatting websites became the norm of everyday and then came the Covid lockdown. All of these habits spiralled out of control. I started paying for the sites now. It almost cost me my relationship with the girl who accepts me with all my physical and mental flaws.
I stopped doing those things. But the urge is still there. Masturbation doesn't cut it anymore and damage to my self esteem and sense of being is irreparably shredded to pieces.

Not many of us know but antidepressants can cause sexual dysfunction. In fact the medicine prescribed most for depression, anxiety, OCD and related neuroses i.e. SSRIs are almost guaranteed to cause Sexual Dysfunction in men. Whether it is psychological, physiological or worse-the combination of both.
I was just 16 when I took my first SSRI. It was fluoxetine. But I didnt really feel its effects till I actually got laid l, and by then I was 21. At that time it happened occassionally and as it was the dawn of information age, I pinned it on other factors, like "not feeling like it" or lack of adequate exercise.
But as my age progressed, it became more and more evident, that this wasnt a fluke. The inability to perform started gaining consistency. All I could think was "Oh My Fucking God !! ITS ALL OVER !!"
I hope I could say I was over reacting. But I wasnt. It really was all over.
I gave up smoking, drinking, did everything Ayurvedic and Allopathic. But it was gone. I was 31 by then, and the sexual part of my life just vanished. Just like that.
But this wasnt the end. No, not in the way you are thinking. There is tragedy and then there is hell. The hell was opening up now.