How do antidepressants affect sexual function?

Antidepressant drugs generally have obvious side effects, which is also a topic that many patients often talk about, especially for men. Taking antidepressants often causes sexual dysfunction, leading to decreased libido, impotence, premature ejaculation, etc. For women, it is also easy to cause decreased libido. However, these side effects are generally reversible. After stopping the drug for a period of time, the patient's heart function will generally recover gradually.

Adherence to medication comes at the expense of sexual function, gastrointestinal function, etc.;

If you don't take medication, you may be stuck in the quagmire of depression and unable to extricate yourself. How should patients make their choice? In this regard, Director Fan Changhe of the Institute of Mental Health of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital expressed his views.

Because depression itself can cause sexual dysfunction, and the sexual dysfunction caused by depression is not just a lack of sexual desire, but actually includes multiple sexual dysfunctions, such as erectile dysfunction, orgasm disorder, etc. Therefore, before discussing sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressant treatment, we should first rule out whether the sexual dysfunction is caused by the disease itself. If the sexual dysfunction is caused by the disease itself, then after reasonable antidepressant treatment, when the symptoms of depression are relieved, the sexual dysfunction caused by depression will also be relieved.

Most current antidepressants may cause sexual dysfunction

Therefore, many patients stop taking antidepressant drugs or fail to comply due to sexual dysfunction. However, since the characteristics of depression require long-term use of antidepressants, helping patients correctly understand and face this side effect is very important in antidepressant treatment.

The side reaction is reversible

Regarding sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants, the first thing to note is that this side effect is reversible, that is, once the antidepressants are discontinued, the sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants will automatically improve. Therefore, it is unnecessary for patients to worry about whether this side effect will persist.

Secondly, the sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants is time-sensitive. Sexual dysfunction that occurs in the early stages of taking antidepressants will naturally improve in some patients as the medication period increases. Therefore, when sexual dysfunction occurs during antidepressant treatment, do not rush to change or stop the medication. It is necessary to give appropriate time for observation (about 1 to 3 months).

At the same time, you can also closely observe the condition and cautiously reduce the dosage of antidepressants to achieve the minimum effective dose while ensuring that the treatment is effective. Studies have found (Nemeth et al., 1993) that sexual dysfunction caused by serotonergic antidepressants can be alleviated by temporarily reducing the drug dosage without interrupting treatment.