A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:just a quick question. my girlfriend is on zoloft for depression and it's really effecting her sex drive. before the medication, our sex was incredible. it was all the time and extremely good! now she's not interested in sex, and when we have it, she says it just doesn't feel the same. she hardly has any sensation and i can tell she's not into it like she used to.anybody ever experience this, on either side of the coin, and have any solutions they discovered worked? we both want our sex life to return to normal. thanks.
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female
reader, Caring Aunty A  +, writes (19 July 2013):
 We do not know her specific depression or its origin; Manic, Bi-polar or work stress related...?As I see it a prescribed medication for Depression is not the end of treatment; the condition still needs to be managed in how to cope when anxiety attacks occur, mood swings alter and so forth. There’s no (magic) pill that fixes all things concerned. The mind and body may well be numb and relaxed, but live continues to throw out its challenges does it not?Here you seem eager on retrieving your once extremely good sex life at your ages, and why wouldn’t you be? :) However antidepressants KILL that very sensor, and of course you can always take another pill to counteract these side-effects. Nonetheless, I’d like too suggest she try Group Therapy that deals with her particular depression; unless she wishes to sit back and remain dependent on medications doing all the work? I believe one can greatly benefit with ‘a combination’ of treatments, not just from drugs alone.I am also not suggesting anyone go off their prescribed meds…Take Care – CAA
A
female
reader, largentsgirl89 +, writes (19 July 2013):
 There are a lot of different depression medications out there. Has she considered talking to her doctor about trying a different prescription? One that won't reduce her sex drive? If you go to google and type in "side effects of Zoloft" go the the WebMD link, right there at the bottom it states, "decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm."
At this point she should consult her doctor about trying a new medication.
Good luck!
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (19 July 2013): The answers you are seeking should be directed to the doctor who is prescribing her medication. S/he may be able to make some accommodating adjustments in her dosage, or give you more details on the long-term side-effects of the medication. That's what doctors are for.
I'm afraid proper treatment of her depression may have higher priority than your sex-life. If this is more than you are able to handle for an extended period, than you will have to decide how important sex is in your relationship. This could take months.
You are very young, but you will have to exercise quite a bit of patience while she is in recovery. You can't cause her to have any anxiety over the fact she is unable to please you sexually at the moment.
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female
reader, Euphoric29  +, writes (18 July 2013):
Dear OP,
I used to take zoloft for over a year. I think the ssri can affect sex drive (it says so on the package), but so can depression. So it could either be that the ssri is causing the low sex drive, or the depressive symptoms are still there to some degree. For me, zoloft was rather good for my sex drive, because when I was depressed, I wouldn't feel much sexual desire, I'd rather wanted to be dead or just sleep. Or I'd have sex but then cry and feel even more lonely and needy afterwards.
Anyway, as far as I can remember, the side effects that I had slowly got less over the first weeks. Depending on how long she' s taking zoloft, the body might still be adjusting to the medication.
Maybe your sex life won't completely return to normal as long as she's on this medication. It's hard to say in advance.
I just wanted to add my experience and say it's not like this ssri is causing the same lasting problems in everybody. Maybe you need some more time to find out whether the side effects will disappear or she can adjust her daily dose.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 July 2013):
I'm a British RMN ( mental health nurse) and like all SSRI Though these antidepressant medications sever a majorly purpose to make the individual cope with their every day life's, they also have side effects
SSRI are the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medication today ,often have sexual side effects. These include the Inability to orgasm, delayed orgasm, losing sensation in your genitals, and a lack of sex drive are all possible side effects of these common medications. I think foremost you need to ask your gf does the above describe her..?
Also you need to be extremely understanding here, your gf cannot just stop taking this medication ( they are weaned) so advise :-
Show support. Tell her though sex is important it isn't everything keeping her physically mentally healthy is..
Offer to Attend her local doctor with her..
She need to be to explain to the doctor, the medication though effective enough regarding her mental health is affecting her sexual relationship .
Now the doctor may come back with ' well you have to accept that by gaining your mental health that there may be side effects, horses for courses'
Tell him, no !! You want the medication reviewed and an alternative med provided.. Every medication effects everyone diffidently and she willing to try a few or combinations to get her holistically whole .
Hope this helps .
Take care x
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female
reader, person12345 +, writes (18 July 2013):
 To clarify, Wellbutrin is often used in addition to her Zoloft, rather than instead of.
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female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (18 July 2013):
 there are no ways to counteract it... it is what it is..
if she does not wish to switch and you do not either, than the sex life you have now is what you get.
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reader, anonymous, writes (18 July 2013): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThank you so much for your responses. I will be sure to mention wellbutrin to her.
She's tried other ssri's and Zoloft is the one that by far works best for her as far as her depression goes. Others made her have thoughts of suicide, etc. She said she's not wanting to switch medications, as it takes months sometimes to wean off of one and for the other to start kicking in. And honestly, when she's adjusting to one drug, until it starts working, that span of time she is so depressed, that she's extremely unstable. She's not willing to go through that. Lol and honestly neither am I. So switching is off the table for her. Right now, we are just trying to figure out a way to counteract the effects.
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female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (18 July 2013):
she needs to go to the doctor and let the doc know zoloft is not going to work...
some anti-depressants really affect either drive or worse NOT drive but the ability to orgasm... very frustrating
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female
reader, person12345 +, writes (18 July 2013):
I know quite a few people on that who take Wellbutrin to counteract it. They've all had good results and she should talk to her doctor about that and other options. Most of the people I talked to didn't have good luck switching to another SSRI.
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