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Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

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Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#21

Post by lewispollard »

wayoutthere wrote: post #9

Ugh. Yes. Not meaning to be crude here and I’m incredibly sympathetic to the men I date, but as a woman in her late 30s it’s hard to find a man my age who doesn’t have problems getting / keeping it up. Most of them link back to antidepressant use. What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants? Is that something we should be willing to give up? It hasn’t always been this way, has…

> What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants? Is that something we should be willing to give up? It hasn’t always been this way, has it?

GPs have very limited amounts of time for individual patients. Therapists, counsellors and psychiatrists are expensive and have mixed results, and require a significant time investment from the patient and the professional. It may be a long time before any kind of talk therapy has results. For many people who go into a doctor's office complaining of depression symptoms, it will go away within a reasonable timeframe. In many countries, there are waiting lists for any kind of further treatment.

The whole situation adds up to handing out SSRIs as a first line treatment when anyone comes to a GP reporting depressive symptoms; it's cheap, it buys time, it gives the patient a feeling that they're doing something to work on their issue, and gives them time to sign up for further support and get through their waiting list. As far as the GP knows, in most cases, side effects are rare. For many people coming in with mild depressive symptoms, there is some temporary life factor that will go away within the first course of treatment, and with it the symptoms, and that is a "success" for the SSRI stats.

Of course, anyone who's been on SSRIs of various types for any longer length of time knows that's bullshit, and they're quite serious substances with prolonged side effects and withdrawals. I really hope the situation changes.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#22

Post by Jaruzel »

My personal anecdote: I'm on Venlafaxine which is an SNRI (also cited in the article), and I definitely suffer some of those side-effects. It sucks. At times it makes me want to shy away from sex completely. Other times I think I'm doing OK, only to find out I can't finish, or I finish weakly with no adrenalin rush.

So my choices are, come off the pills, and emotionally go down a dark well I may not come out of, or keep taking the pills and live with sexual dysfunction. So not a choice at all really.

Thankfully I have an understanding partner, who has seen me at my emotional worst and has no desire for that to happen again, so we work around the issues and find new ways to enjoy each other. I think it also helps that I'm staring down the barrel of my 50th birthday, so it's not like I'm a youngster who would have uncontrollable desires anyway ;)

As you probably worked out, I'm fairly open about this, and will tell anyone who asks, as I believe it's an important issue that people should be aware of.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#23

Post by Tade0 »

wayoutthere wrote: post #9

Ugh. Yes. Not meaning to be crude here and I’m incredibly sympathetic to the men I date, but as a woman in her late 30s it’s hard to find a man my age who doesn’t have problems getting / keeping it up. Most of them link back to antidepressant use. What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants? Is that something we should be willing to give up? It hasn’t always been this way, has…

> It hasn’t always been this way, has it?

As a man in his 30s growing up I witnessed a shift in attitudes from "just man up" to "seek help", so there's that.

If anything I would suggest humanity to give up dating apps. They're essentially making people feel inadequate and pay for the dubious privilege.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#24

Post by mmastrac »

Interesting flip-side: the anti-depressant Tradazone can cause Priapism.

I don't think we understand nearly enough about these systems, though I'd argue that anti-depressants are still a big net positive.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#25

Post by n4r9 »

wayoutthere wrote: post #9

Ugh. Yes. Not meaning to be crude here and I’m incredibly sympathetic to the men I date, but as a woman in her late 30s it’s hard to find a man my age who doesn’t have problems getting / keeping it up. Most of them link back to antidepressant use. What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants? Is that something we should be willing to give up? It hasn’t always been this way, has…

> What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants?

There's little space for compassion and sociability. Most people in the West spend 8 hours a day working through an endlessly growing backlog of demands, all the while justifying each hour to clients and managers, then go home to drink and watch TV or scroll through news feeds. Our brains are not suited to constantly worrying over the demands of others while being so disengaged from social face to face contact.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#26

Post by kortex »

PSSD seems to be in part mediated by desensitization of 5HTP1A receptors. Psychedelics are known to modulate 5HTP1A and increase plasticity of serotonin neurons. This would logically be another research avenue for psychedelics.

I could not find anything substantial on this specific avenue in a brief literature search, but the mechanism is there, and anecdotally people have reported success.

We need to de-schedule these drugs. At the absolute minimum, we need to get rid of the vile Schd 1 "no medical uses" to allow their research to be more politically/financially palatable.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#27

Post by chilmers »

slowmotiony wrote: post #20
chilmers wrote: post #16

I took SSRIs for a year in my late twenties. They had no effect on my depression, but resulted in permanent sexual dysfunction. My own fault for not properly researching the potential long-term side effects, I suppose, but it certainly wasn't raised as an issue by the prescribing doctor either. I hope someday there will be cure of some kind.

Have you tested your hormone profile (blood test)? Testosterone, Free T, Estradiol, Prolactin, Progesterone, SHBG - you could check if all of those are in range because that might be the root cause of your issue. There were studies done where use of SSRIs was causing elevated levels of serum prolactin.

Interesting, thanks. I did do a basic consumer blood test which reported my testosterone as "normal" (whatever that means), but I should probably do a more in-depth one and check these things.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#28

Post by revolvingocelot »

chilmers wrote: post #16

I took SSRIs for a year in my late twenties. They had no effect on my depression, but resulted in permanent sexual dysfunction. My own fault for not properly researching the potential long-term side effects, I suppose, but it certainly wasn't raised as an issue by the prescribing doctor either. I hope someday there will be cure of some kind.

A close friend took an SSRI, citalopram, for a year in his early twenties and he got that too. It wasn't permanent, though ("full") recovery took almost a decade! Keeping in mind varying-milage and a sample size of one, he's vaguely suggested that his recovery was speeded by working out muscles in his hips. Perhaps a combination of our Western sedentary lifestyle, our proclivity to sit in computer chairs all day, and the effect of the SSRI? Far be it from me to dispense medical advice, but working to open one's hips and doing some squats probably can't hurt, even if it doesn't actively help.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#29

Post by xattt »

selexin wrote: post #11

I don’t usually post here, especially on such personal topics, but feel I should. I’ve been on SSRIs and SNRIs for some time now (Pristiq, and now Zolof), and can definitely attest to the some of the changes described in the article. I clearly remember reading the documentation in full that came with both drugs before starting each, and the mentioned side effects were only mentioned in passing, along with possibly ev…

Sertraline (Zoloft) often causes more sexual side effects in males than it does in females. I have seen this used at the max dose to control hypersexual behaviour in a patient with dementia.

Re: Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

#30

Post by 1_player »

ralusek wrote: post #18
wayoutthere wrote: post #9

Ugh. Yes. Not meaning to be crude here and I’m incredibly sympathetic to the men I date, but as a woman in her late 30s it’s hard to find a man my age who doesn’t have problems getting / keeping it up. Most of them link back to antidepressant use. What about modern society drives the need for such widespread use of antidepressants? Is that something we should be willing to give up? It hasn’t always been this way, has…

Trouble in that department is also heavily impacted by men just generally being more sedentary, having poorer diets, and due to those reasons and more, having lower testosterone. Also, consuming pornography in much greater amounts than previously available to people is known to cause serious problems here.

Yes, changing diets, better sleep and giving up porn works wonder in my case. I'm in my mid 30s and never had any sexual dysfunction, but relatively small changes cause major changes in my perceived feelings of "potency", if you will.

Fatty meats, cholesterol heavy foods (butter, eggs), vitamin D have the biggest effect on me, still less than just simply giving up porn.

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