Mild NSFW warning: this post mentions sexual side effects of medication.

SSRIs are the most common type of antidepressant (examples are Prozac/fluoxetine, Zoloft/sertraline, Paxil/paroxetine).

If you have experience with them, do you think they’re a good idea?

I came across a paper about side effects which I haven’t heard discussed before. Many people know that SSRIs have sexual effects, but apparently they also affect fertility.

This paper describes SSRIs as “gonadotoxic”, leading to effects like “decreased sperm concentration and motility, increased [DNA] fragmentation, and decreased reproductive organ weights”.

The paper does say “this effect does seem to be reversible”, so if you stop SSRIs, your sex organs should apparently go back to normal. But still, some people are on SSRIs for long periods of time, right?

I would be interested to hear others’ thoughts, if you have any.

Edit: Thanks for the replies to this post, they’re interesting.

  • @johannesvanderwhalesEnglish
    3•14 hours ago

    A major factor with antidepressants, even with ones in the same class of drugs, is that different people respond differently to different drugs. You really need to work closely with a prescribing doctor until you find what’s right for you, which is often a lengthy process. I literally can’t think of a worse place to rely on anecdotal evidence.