Any men on SSRI?

Wondering if others have found the same and this info may help?

My boyfriend went on Sertraline (Zoloft) for stress and anxiety a year ago and after a few months found he couldn’t orgasm and cum whether through sex or on his own. He went back to the doctor a few months later and they said it may change as things settle down so wait and see. Yesterday I went on his video meeting checkup with him and as there has been no change they said it probably won’t change back until he comes off the medication in the future.

As we are not trying to get pregnant and he’s said that he does not really get an urge to cum like before or sexually frustrated because he can’t, they view it as a common side effect and nothing, medically, to worry about.

Any other couples or men had a similar experience?

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It is very common for SSRI’s to affect libido, orgasm ect. Depo-Provera, SSRI's and a low libido - #5 by steph_mike

As the Dr’s have mentioned it more than likely will not change until he stops taking them.

Sadly we often get people asking about this, it seems to be an incredibly common side effect. if you search you’ll find many threads of other peoples experiences and tips.

Theres others on here who have or are taking SSRI’s with similar aide effects. So your not alone.
Im on a different hormonal med that also screws with my libido, but Hopefully someone else will jump on and give you some info, but if not having a search through past threads is a good plan

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I have suffered from this over the years. It’s an extremely common side effect sadly. There are a couple of meds I believe are better, I think someone mentioned one on another thread. That said I don’t fancy the change as that can be a nightmare in itself. Seems so unfair to me that a pill I need to function and make me ‘happy’ makes the best moment hard to achieve :persevere: that said Mrs H never goes short :laughing:

Yep, also on sertraline. Find I get very dry and takes me forever to orgasm. My partner has been very much on the journey with me; buying lubes and toys to increase my pleasure :pray: :relaxed:

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Mrstoysrus was put on this, and soon came off it for the very same reason, there are plenty of other options out there, speak to the doctor as it’s a very common side effect

Hubby has recently been put on these and now it takes AGES for him to cum, if he can at all.

For him, its worth it as he’s so much more level now. And like your situation, we don’t want more kids so it’s not a deal breaker. He can get frustrated if we are going for ages and nothing happens, though.

@WelshDragonette I don’t miss out at all as he can go as long as I need which is a great side effect for me :grinning: and I’m completely fine but I was surprised to find this is such a common side effect and it was reassuring in a way to find it was.

The doctor was very good and thorough at checking into things and suggesting other medications could be tried in future if the side effects become a big issue. As they are not for him, he has said it actually feels good now not feeling the need to cum so regularly and it actually may be a benefit. They said to continue for another 6 months before looking to taper off the medication so that is the current plan.

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Yeah I’m on Sertraline too and initially it didn’t really make too much of a difference, but then my dose was increased quite a bit and now there definitely is a noticeable difference! It can take me forever to finish sometimes and I won’t be in the mood to do stuff, as much as I was when I was off the medication.

I was previously on Fluoxetine (Prozac), which is another type of SSRI and the side effects weren’t as bad as Sertraline, with no effect on my libido, however Sertraline treats anxiety better than Fluoxetine in general, so your boyfriend’s doctor might not recommend it if you asked to switch to it.

Like @WelshDragonette’s hubby though, for me the positives far outweigh the negatives and it doesn’t bother me too much!

I’ve been on anti-deps before and yes lost the will to cum during sex and it’s v normal when I asked other people who I knew where on them too, I asked some of my partner’s at the time if it bothered them, hoping for a sympathy no but got a yes which affected me being able to get back to that point long after I stopped the medication

Yep I’m on the same meds and have exactly the same side effects too. Is all down to how the medication alters the serotonin levels in the brain to help minimise stress and depression but of course it effects everything else including hormone levels.

I’ve known many guys who’s come off the medication for those reasons and have found their sex drive comes flooding back a few weeks after, so in a lucky sense it’s nothing permanent.

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@AJSTAR It is reassuring to know that others have the same side effects and it seems just weird that this medication has good benefit but also such strange side effects.

As it is, he’s said everything is still as pleasurable as before and the lack of an actual ejaculation due to the medication is not something that bothers him at this point. I have to be honest that I quite like the lack of mess from this also, so if he is OK with this it’s something we can deal with.

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Yes all medication tends to have its pros and cons but as you said if it’s doing him more benefits at the moment then there’s defo no need to worry about the other sexual bits until he feels it becoming a problem.

How long has he been on them for?

It’s the one side effect that makes me want to come off my meds but I know if I do and things get dark again then I won’t actually have any libido so for me it’s a no brainer. I was once so bad and on the wrong medications (we’re making me worse) that I lost my libido completely for nearly a year. A dark and horrible time in my life so I’ll always stick with the meds. I’d rather be happy and wanting sex with the cum issues.

I have found ways around it, using toys prior to intercourse and luckily my partner is always happy to ‘finish me off’ if I can’t quite manage. I must admit though I’m not very good at not finishing at all :confused::laughing:

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He’s been on them just a year now and him not being able to cum seemed to be after about 3 months being on them.

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Sounds about right as takes a good few months to fully get them in the system. He may find after a few years or so all sexual urges will completely go unless he actively tries to get turned on… from my experience as I’ve been on mine for about 4years now I think and last year especially I felt a further dip in my sex drive where I could literally go months without any need or urges to have sex or masturbate. Quite a strange thing in all but it can be different for everyone in how their body adapts to the medication.