Antidepressants Do Cause Permanent Sexual Dysfunction

[MultiLeroy22]

is citalopram on this list?

[OddityDK]

Was on anti depressants for about 4 months in 2003. Almost 10 years later my sexlife is still ruined. My libido is fine and I have no problems performing, but my genitals feel numbed and my orgasms, although I have them, are reduced to almost nothing. I never feel "released" or "satisfied" after sex. I'm frustrated about this, since I vividly remember how it felt to have a real orgasm and all I have now is like a slight tingle in my body. It also goes beyond sexuality, I feel numb in general.

[survivingads]

Absolutely agree -- a strong warning about sexual dysfunction should be on these drugs. Prescription of these hormonal disrupters to children (or anyone) should be a crime.

I am lucky. I took Paxil for about 3 years, when I was in my 50s. After quitting 7 years ago (tapering much too fast), much of my sexual functioning came back in about 3 years, but it's still not normal. Menopause may be a factor.

I still have other prolonged withdrawal symptoms, though.

[CatGirl12311]

I was on prozac 20mg & 40mg for about 10 years until it stopped working. Then I went on zoloft for a year before I realized what these drugs were doing to my sex drive, among other things. I thought it was just my traumatic sexual past that was doing it, but it turns out it's actually the drugs. No doctor will ever admit it though. I'm married now and this loss of sex drive is becoming a real problem...wishing I never got put on prozac as a 14 year old child.

[Tenken89]

that needle is scary

[Classyandsuperb]

I've taken anti-depressants on and off for nearly 15 years and I have PSSD. I'm hoping it's not permanent. I'm devasted. I'm so angry at the bogus psychiatrist industry. I feel really betrayed by the medical profession and the government. I have a whole other host of seemingly permanent side effects.

[llVIU]

Thank you sir, very much for telling me this, I appreciate it and I support you

[monty565]

As this is a 'post' disorder, what happens if you go back on meds?

[ballesteroes]

I wonder if this happened to me. I always had a gut feeling that medications were bad, but, at age 13, I wound up in a psych hospital and took them for a month or 2. Ever since then, I have had no sexual drive whatsoever. I think I remember having it when I was 11 or 12.

[m10690d]

not you by the way man Peure genius for this video! respect bro!!!!

[dilwich123]

Atleast two thirds of men wont even come forward or go to the Doctor over this problem so i would imagine the problem is alot Bigger than we know.

[datzfast]

sounds like chemical castration.

[Nomasain]

Thanks for the heads up my friend, I quit Paxil immediatly after a week and I am recovering slowly.

Since SSRI are as good as fakes/placebo's in fighting depressions, sexual dysfunction isn't a side effect: it is the MAIN effect.

Describing it the other way around means only one thing: corruption.

[taurusfaerie]

I appreciate this video b/c I didn't know there was a possibility of long term libido lost. Thank you for sharing. Its frightening and I really want off these pills now but the it takes forever to reduce the dosage cause of the horrible withdrawals.

I have trouble orgasming and I never want to have sex. I am on Luvox CR and I was also on lamotrigine but I am not on that anymore. I appreciate you sharing.

[emotobot]

Thank you so much for having the courage to speak up about this issue. Despite the denial of of drug companies and the medical community, post -antidepressant sexual dysfunction is a real and devastating problem. I took ssris for a week to help combat anxiety related to university exams. Five months later I am still completely unable to enjoy sex, and no doctor can tell me why or whether the condition will ever improve.

[meaning1]

@emotobot

Why on earth would you take antidepressants for exam-related anxiety?! It really is true that doctors are just handing them out on a whim. These are powerful drugs, designed for people with chronic problems...people need to stop taking medication for general stress!

[xplodetrain]

the aftermath of 2 months of ssris has literally destroyed my life, one of the many ways it did this is lessened libido which contributed to ending my relationship. Im 18 and it feels like its all over.

[rubberjohnny84]

i have almost complete ed since taking anti-depressants for about 2 years. I'm 24 and in all honesty i question very much whether or not I wish to live out a life like this.

[8888Connie]

I used antidepressants for less than 1 yr when I was in college and my sex drive went to almost zero when I stopped the drug and has not returned after many yrs. Although my sex drive was somewhat less while on the drug , the dramatic decrease came when i stopped taking it so I never connected the drug to sexual dysfunction . Dr Kessler, former head of theFDA says that <1% of side effects are reported .

[hiya192]

omg.

I was talking to my friend today who's 17 and is on Zoloft. She told me that she's lost her drive, and I just cannot believe that it can have permanent effects. This is truly pathetic as far as medicine goes, these are things that really can affect someone socially. Anti-depressants? I think not.

[psychawareness]

I was on SSRI/SNRI agents from 14 to 22 years of age. I have many PSSD symptoms. Been a year since discontinuance.

[kataridragon]

Wow. I met this girl in my home town and things went swimmingly in our relationship but she seemed to have problems with affection both physical and mental. In short she didn't seem to have a sense of sexuality or sex drive. I knew she took anti-depressants and I didn't realize that the anti depressants she took might actually be the problem. Thanks for making this video.

[stevosteebs]

you helped me bro, in understanding the problems im having with cipralex(anti-di) im getting the same thing and we are trying for a baby..cant thank you enough! x

[Raedor]

Very brave and very well put. Its just such a shame thatas of now we do not have an answer to this problem.

Sometimes I feel as if I am getting back to normality, yet, like many, 6 months of Prozac some 7 years ago destroyed my libido and it has never recovered.

I feel that though Prozac is great for depression the side effects far outweigh any benefits.

[Totothemonkey]

Thank you for putting this video up, I thought it was just me, I feel like I have been chemically castrated.... I wondered what was going on, again thank you for your honesty.

Michael

AUSTRALIA

[muddy2]

Absolute respect for putting this up. I was on fluoxetine for only 6 months about 5 years ago and to this day my libido is almost non-existent whereas previously it was very very high. I put this down completely to the fluoxetine. I hope that people suffering from depression seek alternatives to pharmaceuticals as they are riddled with side effects that the pharmaceutical companies are aware of, yet do not fully inform people of.

[jadegray]

thankyou for putting this video up

I was put on Zoloft when I was six, I'm now almost sixteen. I'm still forced to take Zoloft. This drug has ruined me. None of my friends or peers feel this way and I have nobody to talk with that can understand, but I hope that these efforts can prevent this from happening to somone else.

[chinbopper69]

can u sue

[RandyTheRebel]

Fucking stupid doctors don't really know the truth about these awful drugs. I am going to die soon because of these so called "good" drugs as my doctor called them. I am on nine different medications and now I am waiting for my time to come. It's awful and I would warn everyone if I could to not take any medications that mess with your mind.

[Viktor711]

Sorry about what happen bro. Its cases like this that made me change my major away from psychiatry.

[ByeByeBelly]

Thanks for being honest, good video

[GordonsAllSeeingEye]

Doctors Serve As Middleman Pushers by Evelyn J. Pringle

[BothanSpy321]

This is terrible and it's all true. I started 50mg zoloft when i was 19, I took them for about a year and reached 200mg... I noticed the problem, read about it on the internet, and stopped cold turkey. I believe I have improved, but not nearly to where i was before. Oral sex is terrible, i have to stop the girl. It's ridicules.

[blarson12]

That must be every guys worst nightmare. Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil truly are cock killers.

[wiccamelissa]

iama woman who could never orgasm because i was forced on antidepressants at age 12

[darkstranger2]

Its been 5 years since i quite ssri's, i still cannot maintain an erection, i can hardly ever ejaculate during oral or sex. I have PSSD and it sucks. DONT TAKE SSRI'S!!!!!!!!

[shasanni]

o my goodness.....

[0428733]

I had 11 days of fluoxetin a month ago, my sex drive wnt down, my erections lost power... I don't know if I will make it they have not returned. I really hope they do

I try to masturbate daily so not de-acostume

[madfrit]

It sickens me that doctors who do actually know the side-effects will deny it has anything to do with the drugs they prescribe. "He who does not know truth, is a fool, but he who knows truth and calls it a lie, is a CRIMINAL"

I am not a scientologist, just someone who needed help and got shafted. I lost my libido, my relationship, my confidence and my faith in a medical system which is meant to be about 'caring for patients to the best of [my] ability. hippocratic oath. Psychs are but frauds.

[916bigAl]

google ssri corkcrew axons. these drugs will damagage your brain.

[LindaKay1948]

What about permanant sexual dysfunction from major tranquilizers such as Haldol, which I was forced to take years ago? Even though I've been off these kind of drugs for over 25 years ('found my breakdowns were due to sleep deprivation) I still suffer from genital anesthesia, complete loss of sexual urge, and urinary problems due to not being able to tell when I need to use the restroom til the pressure in my abdomen becomes uncomfortable. It is hard to find info on this sort of thing.

[916bigAl]

Kay these drugs mess up your autonomic nervous system.

[soulfulpisces]

I lost a relationship due to losing my sex drive due to antidepressants. I haven't had a real relationship throughout my 30's due to this.

Finally I broke down and pleaded with my psychiatrist that it wasn't normal for a person to not even want to masturbate, let alone not want sex. So he broke down and prescribed me Amantadine. I know it's not for everyone.

(from wiki)" Amantadine has been shown to relieve SSRI-induced anorgasmia in some people, though not in all people."

[19andrew80]

I almost freaked out when I could not ejaculate while taking Paxil.... I told my doctor and he took me off from it. Put on Prozac... made my mind worse.. Taken off from that as well after a month.

For the record I feel great and am doing well from being off medication pills... oh, about 12 years now.

[thingy139]

Thank you SO much, I thought I was going mad and imagining it all - at least that's what my doctor and specialist wanted me to think! The more noise we all make the greater the chance of the useful poisons industry having to put right what they've messed up. Let's start now, Graham

[Gumpy333]

[No1] Thanks for posting. I started taking antidepressants when I was 16 and stopped just before I was eighteen, and not only my sexual abilities but my mental capacity was savaged by it; where once I was flooring school I recently failed and dropped out. My situation seems to be slowly getting better but I am terrified of never being the same and remaining damaged for the rest of my life: I'm nineteen. One fell swoop and it's all over.

[u2546149]

Firstly, I admire your bravery in putting this up. I took Zoloft from 16 to 19 and had severe sexual side effects for a long time after I stopped. I am a gay man and as a result I had to 'receive' rather than penetrate (as I much prefer) as it was all I was able to do. I was in great dispair because sex was like a chore and my relationship suffered. After about 2 years it did slowly get better. I feel so sorry for you and really hope yours improves too and thanks lots for raising awareness.

[teajay74]

It must have required a lot of courage to speak about this publicly, so I applaud your bravery. I hope that your condition can somehow be reversed in the near future.

Good luck.

[janbebe42]

PAXIL killled my relationship and sex drive for 5 years. It has now been 10 years and I cant have orgasm (unless I masturbate). The drs try to tell me its from stress!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its not! Paxil should be sued!!!!!!!!!!!! They ruined my chances for marriage and a relationship..........

[realliquidmetal]

Propecia and Avodart (finasteride and dutasteride) are said to do the same thing.

[anymonus777]

Yes i have also heard about that. Drug regulation is simply a mess these days. The reason why permanent sexual side effects with Propecia aren't reported could be the same reasons why they aren't reported with antidepressants. They test the drug in short term clinical trials and don't take into consideration, effects from long term use or effects after you quit taking the drug.

[m0dernchemistry]

Great on you for posting this. Is there any chance your condition will improve in time?

Take care

[ManFromUk2007]

Hi and thanks.Well I only wish I knew and I try to stay positive about recovering one day but too little is understood about PSSD and we need extensive follow-up studies done for ex-SSRI users.

[Gameguru667]

This enrages me.. I took Prozac from 10 to a few years ago when I switched to Celexa.. I am able to go hard but half of the time forced.. I am only able to ejaculate through masturbation, and never actually completely did through intercourse or oral. It makes me wonder just how normal this is.. I'm trembling with rage right now thinking about this!

[danger0usknowledge]

The info that came with my SSRI 20 yrs ago

said there was a 3% chance of sexual

dysfunction. The actual figure was way over 30%. I found myself thinking about sex more but being able to do it less. When I stopped taking SSRI's I then became hypersexual.

What a freaking mess! To anyone who is depressed, & has sexual dysfunction get your ADRENAL HORMONES CHECKED & treated by a CCN

& save yourself a lot of grief & money with p-docs & talk therapy.

Checkout Dr Bellonzi @ psychtruth on YT.

[anymonus777]

The 3 % statistic is just a blatant lie. When doctors ask patients on SSRI's about sexual dysfunction they find that up to 60% of patients have sexual difficulties. Think about that, those are people who have to admit sexual difficulties to their doctor.The vast majority of the medical community doesn't even talk about sexual dysfunction after treatment which is probably the reason why most people have never heard about it.

[dander63]

I've been on a PLETHORA of antidepressants, about 18 i can remember. I Have also been on all 5 you mentioned so this worries me. I have gone from being an "early bloomer" sexually speaking to having no desire to engage in ANY sexual contact even in my relationship of 4 years now(which as you can imagine is suffering from this). How do you determine if this problem is in fact from the medications?

[anymonus777]

Part 1

You can check out the Wikipedia page on PSSD. The footnotes link to case reports where people have got sexual dysfunction after discontinuing SSRI's. There are also studies on rodents where rodents that are given SSRI's have less sexual activity after discontinuing SSRI's than rodent's that have never taken them.

[anymonus777]

Part 2

And then of course it's just the common sense approach: I used to have very strong sexual desires and function, when i started antidepressants they slowly faded away and when i discontinued they never came back. I am in my early twenties like you and i think sexual dysfunction should be the least of my problems at this age :-)

[ShwangShwing]

Is this kind of sexual disfunction present when still taking the drug or it appears after stopping?

[anymonus777]

It starts while on the drug and continues after stopping it.

[mark200457]

Want to commend you on your courage to post this testimonial---you opened my eyes to this whole subject which I didn't pay attention to whatsoever. Thank you for this!

[6Diego1Diego9]

thats really fucked up , really fucked up... i feel i found a cure to my anxity and now this! I cant take this crap (lexapro) if its going to do this! My girlfriend has been on wellbutrn for 3 years and she never said anything!

[orangestoneface]

google ssrisex, yahoo group about it

[dirosaga]

my doctor wants me to take ssri blcokers, but im considering it first right now, not chosen yet.

[Greenfir]

Yes,it's good you told the truth.You've done the right thing to do this video.

[liscar03]

I have been praying for someone to speak up on this important issue. I was coerced into taking SSRIs at age 21. I resisted, but no doctor would talk to me about any other way. Now I'm 48 and off SSRIs. The damage was not permanent but I can't get over what I lost. The professionals should be prepared to deal with the aftermath of taking SSRIs. They ruin lives.

[beerbrook]

they get some type of commission each time they prescribe a drug, they keep a record of each doctor's prescriptions so that is why they hate patients who refuse medication

[OliviaHadassah]

I applaud you for making people aware and you are 100% right, there is no need to be embarrassed. You are doing a great thing by helping others.

As a nurse I now refuse to medicate people and only accept jobs that don't involve pill pushing.

[indominatus]

Thanks for bringing out the message ManfromUK. Hope one day they'll be some form of cure for your condition. At one point in my life I got really depressed, even thought about suicide and decided to get some psychiatric help; after only 30 minutes they prescribed me some anti-depressants. I took it for 2 weeks and noticed I could not ejaculate no matter how long I doing it. thats when I told myself: fuck that, I'll deal with this on my own and stopped taking the meds. so glad I did

[nikkifromsaco]

Doctor's only know side effects that the drug companies want them to know about. Either they down play them or they completely omit them in their drug information sheets.

It amazes me that a med would be prescribed for depression, and would cause a depression far more serious than was originally there. Your condition is enough to drive anyone over the edge. Thanks for the info and help

[BearKlaw]

Oh wow...permanetly? Ok I was on paxil for 2 years 20 mg -then I went on effexor xr (lowest dose) for 2 years. So a total of 4 years with 2 different anti-depressents. I will try and get off of it. Would you say I have a bad chance of sexual dysfunction by now?

[ManFromUk2007]

Hi.Yes it does seem to be permanent as I have had sexual dysfunction for coming up to 12 years now.There`s no sure way of knowing what your chances are of having PSSD.If you have experienced sexual side effects whilst on SSRIs they may not reverse at all after discontinuing the drug or may not reverse fully.Any attempt to withdraw should be with the knowledge of your doctor.

[wwwFamilyPrideOrg]

They Doctor's/Psychiatrist arguement is that "you are STILL ALIVE aren't you" medical script its what I have heard happens remember some people have to have their testicals removed because of testical cancer its luck of the draw in life or just Tough as they say

[OliviaHadassah]

It's ironic to say, "You're still alive, aren't you?" because the risk of suicide at least doubles in children when they take antidepressants, and most mass violence and school shootings involve a shooter on these pills.

[BlueSage07]

I wish you well friend.

Hopefully one day, these ill practices of Drug Companies will be exposed!...... It absolutely needs to be.

Effexor has been nothing short of a nightmare for me, a permanent bad-trip....

I feel unable to get off this rubbish!, because of the EXTREME side-effects

[wwwFamilyPrideOrg]

Effexor Nick Name is SideEffexor I am serious

[justana2]

And psychiatrists all over the world have the guts to look at the patient and say: "-No! My other patients do not have this kind of trouble." "-It is all in your head." "-You will get better." Teenagers are suicidal. How much money will they have to make? Bush father was at Elli-Lilly direction board when Prozac was launched. FDA and MHRA (UK) have enough evidence. But they still cover it up. I'm Brazilian. Fortunately I speak english. Nobody says anything about it in Brazil.

[bluebruisedmushrooms]

holy fuck!!!!! I just started taking celexa last week and I was at a party last night and I couldn't get it up... I'm gonna fucking kill my doctor, that was the most horrible thing ever!!!!! fucking shit dude I'm not taking that shit anymore...that's fucked up...it's criminal that they don't tell you this shit up front

[wwwFamilyPrideOrg]

They want you addicted and coming back for more.

[richardmoores]

I've suffered many of the same problems as you, I was/am on cytrolopram which basically covers over the emotional challenges I had at the expence of being able to gain a decent erection, have much interest in sex at all, and and basically means I can't come. In short, it makes me a crap shag! But with the incompetance of Doctors who dish this life ruining drugs out like lollipops, I can't believe you recommend talking to your doctor first! Fuck Psychiatry, it's a psudo science anyway!

[Seabrook78in]

Noooooooooo!!

[marcules]

what about cures?

[Ouroboros6]

Well done for making this.

[wiccamelissa]

I am a woman and my anti depressants have caused my libido to fully go away.

[pantheongaia]

Good job for getting word out about this condition! Shame on Big Pharma for covering up this and all the other long term damages from SSRIs!

[cowboybootstomp]

I'm on anti-depressants and i think ti's had a worse effect on me rather than an improvement!! I sleep all day and barely have the energy to get out of bed most days.

[psychpatient101]

thanks for posting this-  very informative and well done.

[psychetruth]

You rock for making this. Well Done!

[abahrick]

I want to thank this man for his bravery in being willing to put a face to a problem that is a cause of suffering to many. Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction is relatively unknown in part because the mostly industry-sponsored research related to SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction does not include any follow-up. It has simply been assumed that the side effects resolve once antidepressants are discontinued, however no original data supports this assumption.

[anymonus777]

Thank you so much for doing this. I took Celexa for a period of 3-4 years when i was 17 and now after being of them for 3 years i still have PSSD. This is perhaps one of the bravest things i have ever seen. It takes courage to do something like this.

[jmeditation]

Hello. I met you at the APA convention recently. Excellent job, you stuck to your word- in terms of making the video, and in terms of speaking at the conference. Drop me an email any time if you want to discuss PSSD and any other ways we can spread awareness or healing. And I'll be leaving you an email sometime soon as well. Well done.

Peace.

[Vornan]

Thanks for making this very important video. PSSD is a serious public health issue.

For more info Google "PSSD".

[Forestien]

With regards to PSSD, I believe there are varying degrees to which people are prone to it. I think the gentleman in the video said he only took the SSRI for 4 months. While that may seem like a short exposure for a drug to cause long term side effects, it can take much less time (as little as a few days depending on the sensitivity of the individual) for a person to experience PSSD. I know this because I am one of those individuals.

[Forestien]

Thanks for posting this video. Not many have the courage to come forth on this issue, but there are many people who suffer with PSSD every day.

[lars2002]

Great for you to go public with this.