How can I Manage Sexual Side Effects of Antidepressants?

Managing the unwanted sexual side effects of antidepressants is a very important part of treating depression. The consequences of some of these side effects, which may include erectile dysfunction, a decreased sex drive, lack of satisfaction from sex, or any number of other issues, often lead the patient to discontinue taking the medication or change the dosage without consulting a doctor, which can potentially cause a major rebound in the depression or other problems such as withdrawal symptoms. Some of the options for patients experiencing sexual side effects of antidepressants include switching to a new medication or adding another medication to counteract the side effects. Additionally, the patient's doctor may choose to lower the dosage of the medication if the patient seems to be able to cope with a lower dose.

Occasionally, patients report that the sexual side effects of antidepressants come and go intermittently, or even decrease over time and eventually go away. These patients may choose to avoid adjusting either medications or dosage, choosing instead to wait out the problem. This is a good option for those people whose depression may be aggravated by adjusting medications.

Some classes of antidepressant medications are known to cause more sexual side effects than others. Different medications act on different brain chemicals or areas in the brain, some of which are less likely to cause sexual side effects. Sometimes, patients may opt to switch medications to see if the problem resolves. Patients who have experienced success in treating depression with the current medication may be able to, with a doctor's supervision, reduce the dosage and add a medication from another class of antidepressants, instead of eliminating the original medication entirely. This may help prevent the depression from reoccurring.

Sometimes, patients wish to keep taking the current medication and avoid adding another. These patients may be seeking other options to directly treat the sexual side effects of antidepressants, such as obtaining a prescription for an erectile dysfunction medication. In these cases, it is important for patients to remember to make sure to ask the doctor if there are any medication interactions that may be harmful. It is also advisable to avoid taking any over-the-counter sexual remedies without consulting the doctor, because these may cause dangerous interactions as well. Some doctors may also recommend therapy to determine whether the sexual problems are truly stemming from the medication, or whether they might actually be a symptom of the depression itself.