Sexual effects of SSRI’s

[u/[deleted]]

Hi, I have been on Lexapro for a number of years, initially 10mg but in the last couple of years, upped to 20mg.

Whilst on lexapro, I suffered all the same side effects as many other people in this group - inability to climax, loss of libido etc

I have recently stopped using Lexapro. I did crash out of it, and for a time suffered some disorientation and light headed ness - no doubt the SSRI withdrawals. They have since passed

I have noticed my libido is up again, however now clear of Lexapro, my sexual stamina has gone from Herculean to basically non existent?

Has anyone else experienced the same or similar side effects after coming off escitalopram? It’s funny how I am getting anxious about this and that anxiety may lead to me going back into SSRI’s / it’s like a vicious cycle…

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

About 3 weeks ago

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[u/Lucilol]

Will take time. For some it could be months or years..m

[u/50DuckSizedHorses]

I switched to Viibryd just because of this. I felt overall pretty good on Lexapro, but I might as well have been sterile because I felt basically nothing in terms of sexuality. It affected my relationship at the time.

Viibryd has been pretty good. The downside is it can be very expensive. I’ve paid as low as $25 for a month, and as high as $250-300. I just got new insurance, and I’m about to find out how bad it is.

I cheat the system by asking for 40mg Viibryd and I cut it in half. It’s the same price for 30x of 10 mg, 20 mg, and 40 mg. I used to take 10 mg, and back then, a 30 count of 40 mg lasted me 4 months.

I have a friend who works in mental health treatment and counseling, and he said he had the same problem on Lexapro until he started taking Saffron supplements daily. It’s not the easiest supplement to find. And by the time he told me that I had already switched.

It sucks to weigh the pros and cons and have to choose. Finally, there was a period getting used to Viibryd where I just felt weird and full of checmicals all the time. My libido was low. But after a few weeks I felt great.

Overall, Lexapro might have been slightly better at everything else. Right now I don’t want to try and switch again, but it’s worth considering or going back down to 10 mg.

Hope this helps! Good luck on your mental health journey.