After antidepressants, a loss of sexuality

nytimes.com

24 points·johnnybzane··2 comments

This resonates with my experience. I’ve been taking setraline (Zoloft) for 5 months (along with undertaking psychological therapy) to treat depression. I’ve never felt more stable, balanced, calm and content. But I have indeed noticed in the last couple of months a decrease in libido and increasing difficulty achieving orgasm (and when I do, it’s not particularly pleasurable).

It definitely seems to be worthy of further study. I’d hate to think that this (or worse) may become my new normal.

I was prescribed duloxetine for about a year to treat chronic back pain and neuropathy from a congenital spinal disorder, sort of like carpal tunnel for my spinal nerves. It worked well and has given long lasting relief, with side effects.

I'm currently exploring treatment for PSSD. The pleasure center of my brain just... doesn't work anymore. I've played with controlled stimulation using some common recreational/therapeutic compounds, with some mild, temporary success. I feel like I'm a ghost, unaffected by a world I'm no longer firmly connected to. It's been a challenging adjustment.

To treat the bouts of (milder) neuropathy, I now take Tiger Milk mushroom. I wonder if I'd discovered it first, or whether opiates had been available, whether I could have avoided this.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com