Have you ever taken antidepressant medication?

[jovvo]

A few years ago I tried an SSRI antidepressant for a little bit. I didn't really like the effects it had on me and decided to stop taking it. During the time I took it and since I stopped taking it my sex drive has been basically non-existent. Before I took the antidepressant I remember being a very sexual person, but these past few years I've felt asexual. I mean I don't mind sex, but I don't want it that much anymore.

I've been reading studies on antidepressants and many say that antidepressants, especially SSRIs, can reduce sex drive. Sometimes these sexual effects are reported to not go away after stopping the medication either. I wondering if there is a link between antidepressant use and asexuality.

So I was wondering how many people here have ever taken an antidepressant at any time in the past.

[poindexter]

Nope.

[Aisntllecxtual]

I never have. I have worked with many clients as a case manager that were taking antidepressants but the side-effects on sex drive regarding any of the medications they were taking were never discussed in the supervisory weekly meetings held.

[.lannah.]

I've taken antidepressants, including SSRI's (as well as antipsychotics and mood stabilisers) for a long period and during then my libido was non-existent as well. Before that I think I naturally had a high libido but I never really was interested in sex then anyway. I've stopped taking any sort of medication to treat my MDD since April and I'd say my libido came back within a month or two. I know a lot of people who have taken SSRI's and report the same effect on their libido or/and difficulty in achieving an orgasm. Its pretty common. But then again it would depend on the type, the dosage and the duration of the medication too.

[jovvo]

I've taken antidepressants, including SSRI's (as well as antipsychotics and mood stabilisers) for a long period and during then my libido was non-existent as well. Before that I think I naturally had a high libido but I never really was interested in sex then anyway. I've stopped taking any sort of medication to treat my MDD since April and I'd say my libido came back within a month or two. I know a lot of people who have taken SSRI's and report the same effect on their libido or/and difficulty in achieving an orgasm. Its pretty common. But then again it would depend on the type, the dosage and the duration of the medication too.

I think antipsychotics can have similar sexual effects like antidepressants. I've read in forums of people reporting that just single doses of an antidepressant or antipsychotic deleted their sex drive and they said it didn't come back.

[My alias]

Interesting results I have been down in the dungeons of my mind many times before by contemplating my own mortality...But I bounce back in a week to a month and find reasons to be happy again. I wonder if one day i won't make it out by myself.

[Artistofnoname]

I was on that stuff for many years when I was having problems with fibromyalgia (which I got at 18) and depression (came with the fibromyalgia). I have since gotten off them and been clean for 2 years. Getting off them cleared the depression and gave me more mental acuity then I'd ever had (cause off and on through out my life I was also on ADHD meds like Adderall). If you do so you need to get a doctors help don't do it alone its dangerous. Its only thanks be to God that I am hear to tell you this.

SSRI's really are more trouble then they are worth and make the problems worse or give you problems you didn't have before. The pharmaceutical industry doesn't care to create cures they only care to create customers.

Course I am an aromantic asexual so things like that didn't really occur to me in that sense nor did they matter before it got bad.

[jovvo]

Nope.

I never have. I have worked with many clients as a case manager that were taking antidepressants but the side-effects on sex drive regarding any of the medications they were taking were never discussed in the supervisory weekly meetings held.

Have either of you ever taken other medications like antipsychotics or mood stabilizers in the past?

[Tygrex]

I'm currently taking anti-depressants, my third type. Although I've been and felt asexual long before I started taking them. I've taken two different SSRI's and currently on a SNRI (So far, none have had any real effect on me whcih is annoying, but I'm pushing through hoping for one that will work) but all of them have stated in their long list of side effects that a loss or lack of sex drive is possible although I don't believe there is a connection between anti-depressants and asexuality as not everyone who is asexual takes anti-depressants.

What you're experiencing might just be a lingering effect of the medication you took and it's take a lot longer to disappear. Almost like a withdrawal symptom or something.

[.lannah.]

I've taken antidepressants, including SSRI's (as well as antipsychotics and mood stabilisers) for a long period and during then my libido was non-existent as well. Before that I think I naturally had a high libido but I never really was interested in sex then anyway. I've stopped taking any sort of medication to treat my MDD since April and I'd say my libido came back within a month or two. I know a lot of people who have taken SSRI's and report the same effect on their libido or/and difficulty in achieving an orgasm. Its pretty common. But then again it would depend on the type, the dosage and the duration of the medication too.

I think antipsychotics can have similar sexual effects like antidepressants. I've read in forums of people reporting that just single doses of an antidepressant or antipsychotic deleted their sex drive and they said it didn't come back.

Well, Jovvo I've been on high doses of those medications. I was on all three (antidepressant, mood stabiliser and antipsychotic) all at once for a long period of time, actually just last year. So I'm surprised my libido came back to normal for me. But it wouldn't bother me if it didn't.

[RedPanda3]

Yes, I've taken antidepressants, anti-psychotics, benzos and mood stabilizer in the past. I can't say it created my asexuality though, as I wasn't interested in sex before taking all of it either. I've been off all the cocktails for... 2 years, I believe. I don't think they affected my asexuality.

When I was ON them though, they messed me up. I all of a sudden had problems and disorders that I never had before. The doctors simply told me that the AD's revealed latent disorders and put me on more drugs to treat my new disorders. Once I made the decision to get off all of them, I miraculously got cured of all those new disorders. And now I'm back to being my normal self with my original problem. I'll take my original problem with my normal mind over being drugged up with ten disorders and a crazy personality. Sorry, went off topic I know, I just don't like psychiatric drugs and distrust them now. You might get your libido back the longer you stay off the medications, I can't say. I know that losing your libido while on them does it to a lot of people.

[bonny]

I suffered anxiety and depression caused by workplace bullying. I was initially given Valium - that didn't work very well for me at all. Then my doctor tried an antidepressant (can't remember what kind it was), but that gave me bad stomach cramps so I couldn't continue taking it. Finally I was tried on a low-dose beta-blocker, which for me personally was very helpful.

I've always had a low libido, but I remember it disappeared completely while I was depressed. It returned to "normal" (i.e. what is usual for me) as I recovered from depression and anxiety.

[succulent]

I have experience with aonoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and anxiolytics.

I personally didn't feel any change regarding my sex drive, but the medical personnel of the psychiatric hospital often warned us about this. The meds made me feel messed up in general, though, and I stopped taking them a few months ago.

[skymessenger]

I have and I am. But I never felt sexual feelings, urges or whatever even before the medication.

[b88]

I did take anti-depressants years ago, in my teens. I don't think I ever experienced sexual attraction even before the meds, but I've always had a libido (it dropped significantly during my depressive period, as is often the case). I still have a pretty high libido, now, so I don't think depression or the meds had a lasting effect on my sexuality or sex drive.

I had loads of side effects including chronic fatigue, so I missed a lot of lessons in my A-Level year (equivalent to final year of high school in the US) because I'd just collapse and sleep during the day. My doctor wanted me to drop out but instead of that I took myself off the meds a few weeks before my exams and studied like mad, eventually passing all of my exams.

[Nightmare-Cat]

Yes... This was before I was diagnosed with Bipolar.

Bipolar person + Antidepressants = unstable manic state.

So, fun times...

[ranting ferret]

i've never really taken much of anything in the way of medications, apart from when i've had an infection or over-the-counter stuff for headaches and colds. but i do struggle with episodes of anxiety and depression. my counselor and i have talked about the possibility of using medications. i'm trying to avoid them.

so as for any sex drive, i've never noticed a difference. i mean, when i'm having depression, my drive for anything and everything goes way down, so i couldn't tell if sex drive is lower or not.

i am on a depo-provera shot ( a form of birth control, i get a shot every three months) and it seems to lessen the severity of depressive episodes for me...at least as far as i can tell. and i haven't noticed any change in sex drive. it's still pretty much not there as it's always seemed.

[kelico]

I have and still do. But I don't think taking them has made me asexual. I was like this before starting them (a few years ago). Maybe they've lessened the libido even more, but it was always pretty non-existent anyway? Lol. And libido doesn't equal orientation.

[SquirrelCat]

I was put on one a few years back but it turned out I was allergic and because of the reaction I had back then it has kinda put me off meds over all... I'm scared of having a reaction like last.

Because I was allergic I didn't really notice what effects, if any, it had on my sex drive. But I was asexual prior to meds and I’m still ace so it probably had no noticeable effects.

[Sally]

Low/non-existent sex drive (libido) isn't the same as asexuality. Asexuals can have libidos -- in fact, some asexuals have complained on AVEN about their high libidos. That doesn't make them want to have sex with other people. Anti-depressants (SSRIs especially) can mess with libido levels; they don't "cause" any particular orientation.

Yes, I've taken and am taking SSRIs, but I have been asexual all my life, no matter what medications I've taken.

[Arethusa]

I've been taking them for almost two years now. I did experience a drop in libido (by which I mean intensity of arousal-- just throwing that out there in case we're disagreeing on basic concepts and not realizing it) during this time, but I'm not sure how strong the association is. My libido started getting weaker more than a year before I started the antidepressants, and reached its current level (minimal, weak arousal perhaps once a month) before I reached the full dose or started on antipsychotics (which I've been on for a year now). The medication didn't cause me to turn asexual-- I was never sexually attracted to other people, before or after-- but it might have played a small role in suppressing my fetishes.

[WhenSummersGone]

I have taken two kinds but never noticed a difference. My libido stays the same and I still don't care about having sex. I may have depression that can't be treated easily though.

[Guest]

Yep. I've been on SSRI (citalopram) continously for the last seven years. Works so extremely well for me that my psych and socped have been joking to get me in contact with the pharmaceutical companies to become their poster kid. :lol:

That doesn't make them want to have sex with other people. Anti-depressants (SSRIs especially) can mess with libido levels; they don't "cause" any particular orientation.

They switched me from (hyper)romantic to effectively aro, though.

[jovvo]

I must say that the poll is surprising me. Its looking like many people here have taken an antidepressant at some point. Now of course I believe its possible for some people to be born asexual, but I'm starting to believe that psych meds like antidepressants can cause lasting sex drive changes in some and cause asexuality. I believe this because it happened to me.

It was very hard for me to finally realize that I was in fact made asexual. It took me a while to realize that I wasn't craving sex like I used to. I'm not really sexually attracted to anyone anymore. The only thing that I can say that could've caused this is the SSRI that I took a few years ago.

Here's something interesting. Back when I was in highschool, there was a guy in my classes who would go around telling people he was asexual. I remember he once said he was taking some kind of SSRI medication. At the time I thought nothing of it, but now it seems to be making more sense to me. My theory is the SSRI could've been what made him that way. He took it as a teen so his sexuality hadn't had time to fully develop so maybe he thinks he was born asexual when actually it could've been the SSRI that did it.

[yellow]

I've been on and off anti depressants and anti anxiety medications for roughly half my life. I've never noticed a change in my sexuality that seemed related to the medications. I have gone though different phases where I identified as being romantically attracted to just women, just men, both.... but not being sexually attracted to anyone has never changed. I didn't want to have sex with anyone when I was a teen and 2 decades later, I still don't.

[deltaX]

I just started taking an anti-depressant a few weeks ago. I didnt really have much of a sex drive before, and taking medications hasn't effected that at all.

[jovvo]

I just started taking an anti-depressant a few weeks ago. I didnt really have much of a sex drive before, and taking medications hasn't effected that at all.

Was this your first ever psych med?

[deltaX]

I just started taking an anti-depressant a few weeks ago. I didnt really have much of a sex drive before, and taking medications hasn't effected that at all.

Was this your first ever psych med?

Yep. I've suffered with anxiety and depression since my early teens, but up until now, doctors always suggested I hold off on meds until I was older because they said the side effects are sometime worse for young teenagers. I am 20 now.

[Angeliss]

I've been on meds for the past three years (fluoxetine/Prozac) and I had never been on meds before. I've been asexual since puberty; the only things the meds changed is the exact strength of my libido. *shrugs* I can live with that.

[LeeBree]

This reminds me of a topic I made asking a similar question http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/108606-did-you-take-anaphrodisiacs-as-a-preteen-or-teenager/#entry1060936842

It does make me wonder if drugging up people, especially young people, can change their brain chemistry for life, though there doesn't seem to be much of a link to asexuality so far. In my case, I took antidepressants as a preteen and teen (among a plethora of other drugs that also inhibit sex drive, which are called anaphrodisiacs). But on the other hand, I was always different than my peers and that's why I got drugged up in the first place. I think that maybe my orientation is one of those different things about me that would have came to be even without antidepressants and other anaphrodisiacs. Meh, hard to tell.

In the case of anaphrodisiacs permanently changing preteens or teenagers, whose brains aren't entirely developed yet, I could maybe see the medication altering its developmental course and thus affecting them for life. For adults though, their brains are hard-set and done developing… I guess medicine could still have permanent effects, but I think it'd be much more rare for it to actually physically and permanently change an already completed brain. I'd assume with adults, the brain would just go back to business as usual without meds messing with its neurones.

(But I'm also unqualified on everything medical so there's that to consider >.>)