this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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Mental Health

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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.

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[โ€“] treefrog@lemm.ee 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (9 children)

I don't have any issues with the drugs themselves. That said, there's serious consent issues around these medications, at least in the U.S.

Such as being overprescribed for conditions that they don't treat well (CPTSD and PTSD for instance), having the positive effects overstated (they're okay for mild to moderate depression, and not great for off label uses such as those just mentioned), and having the side effects downplayed (addictive is addictive, we don't need new words like discontinuation syndrome, when withdrawal communicates clearly). SSRIs aren't even the worst offenders on the market when it comes to this. SNRIs often have a very short half life, and a single missed dose can cause crippling withdrawal.

But how many of us have been prescribed these off label? With no indication of their addictive nature and potential withdrawal, not to mention sexual dysfunction? And for conditions that they don't treat well to begin with? That's not informed consent.

[โ€“] wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 weeks ago (5 children)
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