How Do You Avoid The Sexual Side Effects Of Psychotropic Medications?
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, such as Prozac and Zoloft) are the safest and most widely prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications available and a real boon to millions of patients worldwide. They are highly effective, non-addictive, and they save lives. Unfortunately, among the most common of side effects induced by these medications are those that typically prove to be among the most recalcitrant: sexual dysfunction, in the form of 1) a relative inability to climax (delayed orgasm or complete anorgasmia) and/or 2) decreased sexual arousal, including in a minority of males, erectile dysfunction. While other side effects caused by these medications, such as queasiness, headaches and diarrhea, resolve rapidly and, for all intents and purposes, completely with continued use, sexual dysfunction is one of those side effects that can persist for many months, or even indefinitely, with little or no improvement (like weight gain, temperature dysregulation and
