Antidepressants Sex Side Effects and 5 Tips to Manage Them in 2022

by Natan Schleider, M.D. December 3rd 2022  TWO MINUTE READ

Antidepressant side effects are treatable with tadalafil (pictured here and commonly called Cialis) for pennies on the dollar. Most pharmacies WAY overcharge. Most insurance plans won’t cover them, why!?  Medicines used to treat sexual side effects like sildenafil and tadalafil SHOULD cost no more than 10 cents at a pharmacy, I offer it free, it so inexpensive.

Most antidepressants sex side effects can be treated. Did you start an antidepressant and now have: trouble orgasming, lower sex drive, and/or trouble obtaining or maintaining an erection?

It’s not you so don’t be discouraged because this can be beat by following these FIVE tips for treating antidepressant sexual side effects:

  1. Antidepressant sex side effects can be avoided by using an antidepressant that does NOT cause sexual side effects. SSRIs also called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors can ALL induce antidepressant caused side effects. Maybe you should titrate off the escitalopram (Lexapro) or fluoxetine (Prozac) or paroxetine (Paxil) or sertraline (Zoloft)? Then trial a different antidepressant? Just because one SSRI causes sexual side effects does not mean they all will!
  2. Try a Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor aka SNRI  like duloxetine aka Cymbalta. While these may cause antidepressant sexual side effects in my experience they do so less frequently.
  3. Make sure you have no underlying hormone or metabolic problem like a thyroid or testosterone or estrogen issue.
  4. Circling back to point one, buproprion aka Wellbutrin is one of my favorite antidepressants that should not cause sexual side effects. Mirtazapine aka Remeron is another (I use less frequently but still an oldie and goodie in the TCA family).
  5. Add sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis) to you regimen. These are NOT habit forming and need not be taken daily, only IF needed. They will not increase libido or sex drive. They WILL improve erections. Psychologically, this will boost confidence, increase chance of orgasm, and reduce chance of antidepressant cause side effects. 

Antidepressant sex side effects are very common and very treatable. Nobody wants to take ANOTHER medicine, I get it. Could the medicine treating antidepressant side effects have side effects of its own? Of course. if so, stop it and they will go away.

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