sertraline sexual dysfunction

[u/jennnn123]

im only on day 2 of sertraline and already i cant finish. it’s horrible i feel everything till i don’t. its constant edging. the moment i think im gonna finish i just feel nothing and i try again and the same think happens. i haven’t finished since January bc i used to take fluoxetine till now and it’s so frustrating

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[u/uncomfortable_Peach1]

I had the same on Sertraline. Eventually I was able to finish but only using a vibrator and it wasn't as intense as before taking it. Even after coming off Sertraline I've never finished with the same intensity ever again.

[u/jennnn123 → u/uncomfortable_Peach1]

that’s terrible

[u/uncomfortable_Peach1 → u/jennnn123]

Yup. I'm glad I regained some function, but it sucks that I've had permanent change.

[u/whciral → u/uncomfortable_Peach1]

If you don't mind me asking how long have you been off it? Sorry to hear this.

[u/uncomfortable_Peach1 → u/whciral]

About 6 years. I have taken other antidepressants in that time, but in the periods off of medication, my functioning never returned to pre Sertraline level.

[u/stockingsandglitter]

After that stage, sertraline removed all interest in anything sexual for me.

[u/jennnn123 → u/stockingsandglitter]

right defo gonna ask to add bupropion with it bc that i can’t deal with

[u/Radiant_Nebulae → u/jennnn123]

Good luck trying to get bupropion on the nhs. Had the same issues and it lasted months after I stopped taking.

Mirtazapine was a bit better but I became really agitated and irritable on it and gained weight quickly

[u/LouisePoet]

If sexual dysfunction affects you, there are alternative meds. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR! There are alternatives. And docs are willing to change meds for this reason alone.

[u/HYPERPEACE- → u/LouisePoet]

I wish I could say the same, but GP's are useless in this context. It took me over 8 years to find the right medication, started one, stopped, waited years, finally took the challenge to try one again, Citalopram this time, day 7, throwing up everywhere and lost all sexual function. This isn't even going into the other issues I had like what we later found out was Ulcerative Colitis and mixed anxiety. Eventually landed on Mirtazapine and Quetiapine, and that helped mostly. Stopped my suicidal thoughts, until the pharmacy changes brands and tells me the change of brand gives no side effects (which it very much has, withdrawal from the other brand, and new side effects I had previously lost from being on it for so long). But on these I can safely say I haven't lost much function. It's less fun, but definitely a good compromise either way.

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[u/Benedictous]

I encountered the same issue at first, for me, it took 6 months into taking it for everything to return to normal, though I'm on the maximum Sertaline dose, so dosage might have an effect on the timescale.

[u/HYPERPEACE-]

I hate this side of medication, it's utterly pointless how it's supposed to solve one problem but gives you several others. If they were minor issues it wouldn't be so bad, if you went from 10 min non-dysfunction to 30 mins, that's not great but a far better compromise, but nope, it's hours, on top of sleepyness which doesn't help it in my experience.

Only thing I can recommend is forcing the GP to assess your mental health professionally if you haven't already (Did mine at an NHS Specialist Psychiatric Ward), where they can find out/give a clue as to what you have and what medications can treat it. They did for mine and it actually worked. Got put on Mirtazapine for my mixed anxiety and dysthymia. Took way too long to get that assessment though, something like 8 years.