Will sex drive / sensation come back after stopping sertraline?

[ScaredAndHopelessAboutLife]

I’ve been on Sertraline for a few weeks but I am going to stop. I’m really worried as I have no sex drive since starting them and when I touch myself down there I feel nothing at all, my clitoris is smaller and completely numb. Will I start the feel sexual sensation once I stop this medication? I’m really worried.

You have been taking them nowhere near long enough yet. Sertraline takes a few months to start working properly and there are some unpleasant start up side effects which usually subside. You would be silly to put your sex life ahead of your mental health.

Give it 2 months at least.

I felt like this when I was on a lot of sertraline but my mental health was horrendous at the time. On a lesser dose it’s better. It’s worth noting it takes a few weeks for it to settle down. What is your dosage?

I’m on 50mg.

So am I but I'm going to half the dose cos I'm whizzing my head off here

Go back to your GP and try a different anti depressant.

I know someone on the same medication and it killed get sex life with her partner one of the things she really really enjoyed. So she came off it and went on to a different one and sex life came back. Both your mental health and your sexual health are important.

These symptoms can improve over time - I was on a different medication but felt similar - it took a couple of months to go away.

The main reason I’m excessively worried is I’ve read some people never experience sexual arousal or sensation again after antidepressants and I’m terrified beyond belief of this happening to me.

If u stop them it will come back yes. I had that side effect and it never went away. It sounds trivial to some but it really affected me in the end

I've stopped taking Sertraline about 4 years ago(my choice) after taking it for about 5 years. My sex drive is still non-existent...

Mine came back shortly after I stopped.

You have to put your mental health before this as it’s more important. Stop reading scaremongering stories on Google; it will come back! Even if it didn’t, it would be better to be mentally well than depressed, right? X

I had the same experience.

I’ve been off them since Sunday, my genitals still feel numb when I touch them, clitoris feels like nothing and has shrunk and I can’t get aroused - I used to have a massive sex drive so this is really depressing. I was literally only on them for 3 weeks - I have read online someone who never felt anything again after also being on them this long and this is horrifying to me - if I knew this was a possibility I would’ve never tried them in first place.

I took sertraline for years and sensation returned when I came off them but it isn’t instant

This is exactly what I was referring to OP about stopping reading Google! If you’re reading online about people whose sensations never came back, that’s going to make you anxious and how likely do you think that is going to be to help you out here? Not at all.

It will come back. Shut the laptop, get out and do things. Forget about it. Check back in a week or two. You will be fine.

all the best xxx

Hiya, I hope you’re well! It’s been a while but it would be amazing to hear how your symptoms went after your stopped taking it in the end please! Did the sensation come back etc? I’ve got a call with my doctor tomorrow about this :)

Just to say, if the impact on libido is affecting you badly (and Setraline in particular can have that effect-hence why they are using it in chemical castration in some places) you're all within your rights to go back to your GP and say it's not working for you, not sure what you w been on previously but there are many different ADs (not just SSRIs) you can potentially try that won't affect it as much.

It was in part why I changed from Setraline to Venaflaxine (but also just cos it wasn't working so well on the depressive symptoms after some time).

@Ktdub for me it took a few months after stopping, but then sensation returned to normal. I was on sertraline for about 8 months