zoloft kills sex drive?

[LiLStar]

i keep hearing that zoloft is a sex drive killer. Mine's already low enough! Its hard to make an effort for dh's sake but i still try because its so important to him. during times when my sex drive has been sub zero to where I can't even tolerate anything remotely close to it (like in some parts of pregnancy) dh does not take it even close to gracefully. He becomes miserable and spiteful and makes me feel horrible. if it lowers my sex drive to THAT level.. i just cant see how its worth it. It would create more problems than it would solve. If it just kept my drive where its at (could take it or leave it, prefer to leave it but can make an effort if i have to) we could live with that. What are the chances?

[Whistler]

I took it for five years and yeah, it really killed mine, which is naturally low anyway. You might talk to your doc... there are anti-depressants available that don't kill it, or even boost it, if I remember right.

[LiLStar]

i just thought zoloft was the safest one, and safest for breastfeeding?

[mom0810]

Yes, zoloft is the safest for nursing, and I'll share my experience with you.

I was very depressed when I started taking it, and depression goes along with no sex drive. So I had none. None at all.

Then I started zoloft, and for the first few months, I had a TON of sex drive and my hubby was so happy. In fact, I got pregnant with my younger son during that time. It was wonderful. I would even joke about sex and talk about it during the day, which of course my husband loved.

The lower sex drive thing CAN happen, and it did to me, later on. But that was after I had been taking it for a while. I don't know, I think that the benefits of taking it outweighed the negative for me. I was in need of something, and zoloft really helped me.

You can work through the lower sex drive, especially once you are on meds and in a place where you can work on things. If you are depressed, it's never going to get better and taking the meds +therapy is a great way to get better. Who knows? Things can possibly even improve. :

[mom02crzykids]

i've been on zoloft for just about two years and have experienced the highs and lows with my sex drive.

i do agree though that the benefits of having a sound mind out weigh the low sex drive.

now i'm curious how to get off the zoloft, or should i? anyone have suggestions?

[FatherTryingToHelp]

I can't say for Zoloft specifically, but my experience says PPD kills sex-drive in general.

However, I'll third, or fourth any opinion that says that getting better is worth any loss of sex-drive.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by LiLStar

during times when my sex drive has been sub zero to where I can't even tolerate anything remotely close to it (like in some parts of pregnancy) dh does not take it even close to gracefully. He becomes miserable and spiteful and makes me feel horrible.

well...gently, this sounds like more of a problem with your DH than with any particular course of treatment you might choose for PPD

but for me, no, zoloft didn't affect my sex drive. at least i don't think so. it was low before zoloft and remains low. i attribute it to breastfeeding/childrearing, since i never had sex drive issues prior to DD's birth, but have had a much lower drive since she was born.

back in the day when i took lexapro, it definitely affected my sexual functioning. not the drive, but the, er...climaxing part. i have not had that issue with zoloft.

[mom0810]

Originally Posted by mom02crzykids

i've been on zoloft for just about two years and have experienced the highs and lows with my sex drive.

i do agree though that the benefits of having a sound mind out weigh the low sex drive.

now i'm curious how to get off the zoloft, or should i? anyone have suggestions?

As far as getting off the zoloft, you would need to talk to your doctor. What dose are you on? You go off if it VERRRRRY slowly. Very slow. Like take months to get off of it or you will have really bad withdrawals, or you could have them.

If you want to PM me I can give you more advice.

[momtolivy]

I took zoloft several years ago, not for ppd, but it absolutely, totally killed my sex drive. That's why I went off it and would never consider it again.

[mediumcrunch]

TMI.

I rarely, if ever, orgasm when taking an SSRI. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make, at least for a while, although it can be very frustrating :P

[estercita]

I agree with others that lower sex drive is worth having my life back. I certainly don't like it, but it's not like we're all that frisky & energetic with a toddler & both working full-time. My sex drive returned back to normal after tapering off Zoloft earlier this year. However, I'm back on Z now and back to lower libido. What I have been trying is a "drug holiday," which was recommended by a psychiatrist to help people on SSRIs deal with this problem. The idea is that you take the med Monday through Thurs. & skip it Fri. - Sun. (or whatever 3-day time frame works for you). Because Z has a very short half-life, you should notice some improvement on the days you skip it. A study showed that the majority of people had improvement without any increase in depressive symptoms (see below).

The 2 times I've done the drug holiday, I have seen definite improvement (although not back to pre-Zoloft levels) and noticed no withdrawal side effects whatsoever. In fact, I slept 9 hours one of the nights with no Zoloft (insomnia & anxiety are my main problems).

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced sexual dysfunction: efficacy of a drug holiday

AJ Rothschild
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1514-1516

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether weekend drug holidays would improve sexual functioning in recovered depressed patients with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)-induced sexual dysfunction. METHOD: Thirty outpatients who reported worsening of sexual functioning during SSRI treatment were instructed to discontinue their SSRIs after the Thursday morning dose and to restart the SSRIs (at their previous dosage) on Sunday at 12:00 noon for four weekends. RESULTS: Significant improvement in sexual functioning was reported by the patients taking sertraline [Zoloft] and paroxetine but not by those taking fluoxetine. There were no statistically significant increases in mean Hamilton depression scores after discontinuation of the SSRIs; two patients had increases in scores from the 4-8 range to the 10-14 range. CONCLUSIONS: For some patients taking sertraline and paroxetine who experience sexual dysfunction side effects, brief drug holidays may allow for significant improvement in sexual functioning without a significant return of depressive symptoms.