Will my orgasm come back after stopping SSRIs??

[Beccah]

Hi

Sorry this is my first post, so if I am in the wrong area please let me know

Basically I am a 37 year old woman, I have suffered depression on and off for the past 12 years, and have been on multiple different antidepressants during this time. I am based in the UK also so I am not sure if that makes a difference with regards to names of medications. But I have tried Fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram and have been taking Duloxetine for the past 8 months. I have been consistently on antidepressants for the past 2 years, swapping from escitalopram to duloxetine 8 months ago. At that point I also started taking Progablin for anxiety.

Now I recently had sex for the first time in years, and could not orgasm or even feel a lot down there. Sorry for TMI, but even though I had managed to be thoroughly lubricated down there, I couldn?t really feel a lot, and when my orgasm felt like it was building, it would suddenly disappear. This happened over multiple attempts over a few weeks and was very frustrating for me and the guy who I was sleeping with.

My friend mentioned she had the same problem on ADs, which I had never linked together. Since then I have researched loads and found something called PSSD?? And I am reading loads of people saying it took years for them to get their libido back if at all.

I have now stopped taking my ADs and anxiety meds as I do not want to be irreparably damaged in this area.

Can any women who have experienced this, please let me know if they have managed to get their orgasms back after coming off SSRIs as I am worrying myself sick about it now!! I do not want to live an orgasmless life!! I must add though I can get there with a viberator.

Thank you in advance. ?

 

[Beccah]

Will my orgasm come back after stopping SSRIs

Hi

Sorry this is my first post, so if I am in the wrong area please let me know

Basically I am a 37 year old woman, I have suffered depression on and off for the past 12 years, and have been on multiple different antidepressants during this time. I am based in the UK also so I am not sure if that makes a difference with regards to names of medications. But I have tried Fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram and have been taking Duloxetine for the past 8 months. I have been consistently on antidepressants for the past 2 years, swapping from escitalopram to duloxetine 8 months ago. At that point I also started taking Progablin for anxiety.

Now I recently had sex for the first time in years, and could not orgasm or even feel a lot down there. Sorry for TMI, but even though I had managed to be thoroughly lubricated down there, I couldn?t really feel a lot, and when my orgasm felt like it was building, it would suddenly disappear. This happened over multiple attempts over a few weeks and was very frustrating for me and the guy who I was sleeping with.

My friend mentioned she had the same problem on ADs, which I had never linked together. Since then I have researched loads and found something called PSSD?? And I am reading loads of people saying it took years for them to get their libido back if at all.

I have now stopped taking my ADs and anxiety meds as I do not want to be irreparably damaged in this area.

Can any women who have experienced this, please let me know if they have managed to get their orgasms back after coming off SSRIs as I am worrying myself sick about it now!! I do not want to live an orgasmless life!! I must add though I can get there with a viberator.

Thank you in advance. ?

 

[aihfl]

I am a 44 YO male and I experienced this same issue after first being prescribed citalopram. It was very difficult to have an orgasm for many months (I would end up "faking it" when it became apparent it wasn't going to happen; just like you described) but I guess as tolerance built it became easier. Then I went on a four month drinking binge and was not good about consistently taking my meds and now that I'm back on my meds I just have absolutely no sex drive, but then I'm not sexually active anymore so the point is moot.

EDIT: Buspar is usually prescribed for people on SSRIs experiencing sexual dysfunction.

 

[llama112]

That is a common side effect of SSRIs unfortunately. Ugh I wish I had better advice - I tried SSRIs but wasn't on them for more than a couple months. I'm on pregabalin / Lyrica for anxiety - for me, no effect on my sex drive. But it doesn't help with depression, just anxiety. I believe Wellbutrin is the one that has less of a chance of that side effect. I'm not a medical professional so I'm not saying to switch to that but perhaps look into it and have your doctor look into it.
It may take a while to get it back but it'll come back. I mean, the "discontinuation symptoms" of SSRIs can last a while. I was on Zoloft for 3 months and had 3 months of "discontinuation symptoms" although I was heavily effected by all SSRIs so I feel like my case is extreme.
I'd also suggest looking into meds that can help with sexual dysfunction. I don't have experience with any of those meds, I just known that they exist.
(I'm female as well, just FYI)

 

[amnesiaseizure]

It's likely to be something you'll just have to wait out. Ive had the same issue with AD's and it went after stopping so hope is not lost. Just keep at it and let your GP know if the problem persists.

 

[Beccah]

Thank you for the replies guys. ? So all hope is not lost? Do you know if there?s anything you can do to speed it up? Any medications or anything that you have heard of? Or should I just check with my doctor?

 

[nuttynutskin]

I think sexual dysfunction is the number one side effect of any ssri's or snri's and why I basically refuse to try any of them even tho I suffer from clinical depression. Either way, you weren't on them for an extraordinary length of time so I think it shouldn't take too long to come back. Just be patient.

I couldn?t really feel a lot, and when my orgasm felt like it was building, it would suddenly disappear.

I basically had the male version of this on Prozac. Sucked because Prozac was probably the best drug I ever took for my depression but I wasn't willing to be in my 20's with ED. I was also worried about PSSD and even convinced myself I might have had it but things eventually went back to normal.

 

[Smakhnoukh]

Hellooooo! I?m a 39 year old woman who has been taking 20mg lexapro for the last 6 years. I noticed that a few years into it, my libido decreased and couldn?t achieve climax. For a while, it was hard even with a vibrator (or hot shower head in a pinch
I started taking Kratom, red strains, and it is such an aphrodisiac! You can use this while you taper off your ssri, as quitting cold turkey will produce nasty withdrawal type symptoms.
Good luck...and there is hope our orgasms live on!

 

[pofacedhoe]

yeah OP in time it will get better

nearly everyone who is on ssri's gets this side effect

when you are off them for a while it comes back