Zoloft and Sexual Dysfunction: What Users Say (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• January 25, 2010

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "It really helped me years ago when I took it for about 16 months. It was a nice break from my OCD, which is pretty moderate. I had to take 200 mg a day for it to be fully effective. I did gain a few pounds and took longer to orgasm. But it all worked fine. The sad part is you do have a trade-off when you take these things. The good news is you can stop taking it for a couple of days, and then orgasm is normal, as it has a short half-life. Then go right back to normal on dosage. It quit working for me after about 16 months, and nothing else worked, so I decided to just be without it. I would try it if you need to."

• Nad...
• December 29, 2020

For Depression "Just started college recently, so I decided to start on Zoloft in order to manage my depression and anxiety in time for school. The first two weeks were hard as I was very nauseous while adjusting from 25 mg to 50 mg, but that went away after my body adjusted. Shortly after, I started experiencing emotional blunting and numbness, which is something that I don't like because I am a very emotional person, and I need to let a good cry out sometimes, but on the medication, I felt very numb. I also started experiencing extreme sexual side effects, which is VERY common for Zoloft, so I decided to switch medications. Ultimately, the side effects were not worth it."

• let...
• December 20, 2016

For Depression "I was recently given this in addition to Wellbutrin to help with anxiety and depression. I was to take 25 mg a day for 4 days, then move up to 50. Right off the bat, I noticed that this made me tired, but when I took the 50 mg dose, my stomach got upset and I threw up about an hour later. Slept a long time. I woke up and felt some of the worst depression I had felt in months. I felt extremely tired, no appetite, angry, no drive, foggy-headed. I've never had any success with basic SSRIs. I was prescribed this medication over 10 years ago. It was a failure then, and it is a failure now. The only AD I can seem to tolerate is Wellbutrin. I don't see the doc for a while, until then, I will be using other tools to combat my depression."

• Anonymous
• June 14, 2011

For Depression "I hadn't found an anti-depressant that worked until my OB put me on Zoloft towards the end of my pregnancy. All others made me suicidal, and I am already diagnosed as a manic depressive. Zoloft is amazing, with the exception of the yawns and difficulty having an orgasm. But it's all worth it to have a medicine that actually works."

• Anonymous
• December 3, 2012

For Depression "The first time I took Zoloft, it was a lifesaver, it dragged me out of a deep depression and alleviated most of my anxiety, allowing me to get out of the house and get a job and live a normal life, with no real noticeable side effects. At higher doses, it became difficult to orgasm, but I just didn't take as much, and I was fine. Twelve years later, I tried it again after falling back into severe depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia. It did help, but this time, not nearly as much. It lifted my mood and helped me have fewer mood swings. It barely touched my anxiety and agoraphobia, plus this time around, the sexual side effects were devastating. The effort it took to have an orgasm was unbelievable, even at a dose of only 50 mg."

• Anonymous
• December 3, 2012

For Depression "The first time I took Zoloft, it was a lifesaver, it dragged me out of a deep depression and alleviated most of my anxiety, allowing me to get out of the house and get a job and live a normal life, with no real noticeable side effects. At higher doses, it became difficult to orgasm, but I just didn't take as much, and I was fine. Twelve years later, I tried it again after falling back into severe depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia. It did help, but this time, not nearly as much. It lifted my mood and helped me have fewer mood swings. It barely touched my anxiety and agoraphobia, plus this time around, the sexual side effects were devastating. The effort it took to have an orgasm was unbelievable, even at a dose of only 50 mg."

• Anonymous
• October 17, 2011

For Anxiety and Stress "I was prescribed Zoloft 50 mg/day for anxiety/stress. I had previously taken Prozac and felt it didn't do a thing for me except decrease my sex drive tremendously. I've only been taking the Zoloft for 4 days and was told to take it at night as it might cause drowsiness. First night, my heart raced slightly, felt jittery, couldn't sleep and had to move my legs constantly, also found my hands shaking some during the day. Second night, no heart racing, but still can't sleep and have to move legs and feel slightly jittery, but feel fatigued during the day. Third night, just restless legs and not sleepy... feel tired during the day. I'm going to start taking it in the mornings and see if that will help. I need sleep. No other side effects so far."

• cge...
• November 29, 2016

For Depression "Ugh - Taking this medicine was a big mistake. My doctor's recommendation turned out to be a bad one. I'm currently 60 days in and feel more anxious than before beginning Zoloft. There were some days where I didn't obsess over stressful things in my life, but the bad very much outweighed the good. All day long at work, I have been feeling like a nervous wreck. Also, know that it will destroy your sex life. My libido is nonexistent as of now. This created even more anxiety and stress with the vicious circle of failure. This medicine just made me a frustrated mess. I'm going to look into Wellbutrin and try to be hopeful. Don't waste your time."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 29, 2019

For Depression "Have not had a good experience with SNRIs and SSRIs. I will say Zoloft is the most tolerable SSRI I've tried, but I still get really bad sexual side effects, and I'm only at 10 mg. Would have to say benzos are better for my anxiety and depression than this class of drug, but that's me."

• HBN...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 10, 2021

For Depression "I have always struggled with depression and anxiety, but I had a bit of depression that had left me in my bed for six months. I decided to go to my doctor. I had previously (2 years prior) taken Citalopram, I didn’t like the sexual dysfunction symptoms. I was given 50 mg Sertraline (Zoloft). I felt awfully fatigued and tired the first time I took it, as well as dizzy and spaced out (would recommend not driving!). This continued over the next few weeks, I constantly felt sick and didn’t want to eat, felt out with my body. I stuck with it, and by the 5th week, I was feeling fewer side effects but still felt it wasn’t touching my depression. I went to the doctor and got 100 mg. After about 2 months, I felt happy for the first time ever. It was a strange feeling, and my thoughts drifted to moments of almost ‘euphoria’ to be experienced for a few minutes. Would recommend starting on the lowest dose and building up. Still sexual dysfunction side effects, but worth it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 6, 2017

For Depression "I was prescribed Zoloft for depression, and I was on it for a month before I had to get off. After three weeks, I started noticing a lack of feeling, and it became difficult to orgasm, and once the fourth week came around, I was completely unable to orgasm. I want to give it zero stars because of how much that affected me personally, but it did help a lot with my depression, and I was starting to feel more like myself."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 6, 2017

For Depression "I was prescribed Zoloft for depression, and I was on it for a month before I had to get off. After three weeks, I started noticing a lack of feeling, and it became difficult to orgasm, and once the fourth week came around, I was completely unable to orgasm. I want to give it zero stars because of how much that affected me personally, but it did help a lot with my depression, and I was starting to feel more like myself."

• Jef...
• March 7, 2017

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "Tinnitus that is constant. Loud all the time and gets louder occasionally. It drives me crazy to the point of wanting to get off Zoloft. I ask every doctor I see if anything can be done for tinnitus. The answer is always no. Is it this medication? Anyone with tinnitus will understand. I also have various problems urinating and sexual issues. Thank you for giving me this forum."

• Ser...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 7, 2017

For Social Anxiety Disorder "I took it for 5 months under prescription because of work-related anxiety and developing sleeping disorder. The side effects: low mental capacity, low willpower, emotionally dead, no libido, and memory and concentration impairment, and really feeling down. My psychiatrist insisted that the side effects are actually manifestations of my anxiety. But my mental and emotional health were going down. 'It will work eventually,' he said at our last meeting. One day, I crashed my car against a wall. I stopped immediately the medication, went through one week or so of withdrawal hell. I quit my job, went on a holiday, and never took a pill again. It took me two years to restore my abilities, partly because of anxiety, but mostly because of Zoloft."

• Dav...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 19, 2020

For Social Anxiety Disorder "Zoloft didn't help much with my SAD and agoraphobia. Intensity of anxiety largely stayed the same. Some mild sexual dysfunction that went away after stopping the medication, but otherwise no negative side effects. Coming off it was very easy after about 6 months of use and using doses as high as 200 mg/day for the last 2 months."

• Ash...
• April 12, 2012

For Social Anxiety Disorder "Do these SSRIs actually work for anxiety? I have tried a few over the last year with little success and horrible side effects. I took Zoloft 100 mg for 3 months and noticed a very slight decrease in anxiety. As with all SSRIs, I had the standard intolerable side effects, including: loss of emotions, loss of sex drive, decreased motivation, etc. I don't think SSRIs should be the first line of medication, as personally, none of them worked for me and all had intolerable side effects."

• ECJ...
• March 3, 2016

For Social Anxiety Disorder "This med works for anxiety, but... I have been on so many meds. I need it more for anxiety than depression, and that is why I chose Zoloft. It does work for the anxiety only. Problem after taking it for a couple of years is my sleep is so disrupted. I clench my jaw so bad that when I wake up, I have headaches, as well as my body. I find myself all clenched up in a ball, and then my body is sore from being tense, and I feel foggy-headed. The newest problem is memory issues. I guess it is this med. The sex was affected some... no weight gain. Of course, when you start any medicine, you have the normal sweating, nausea, dry mouth, but those things go away. You have to give all medicines time to work! I am going to wean off and onto Cymbalta."

• NTa...
• March 12, 2020

"I started Zoloft 3 months postpartum. Not for postpartum depression, rather for anxiety and OCD. I experienced no side effects initially at 50 mg. I felt great the first month: annoying habits of my husband's didn't bother me as much, my thoughts didn't spiral into negativity like they tend to, and work issues didn't affect me much. I can't say it helped OCD at all - I saw no change. However, my experience declined steadily over the next 3 months due to side effects. I started grinding my teeth, causing the growth of mandibular tori (bony outgrowths in your mouth - permanent), absolutely zero sex drive, and weight gain (about 25-30 lbs). The latter was particularly upsetting because I had lost nearly all my baby weight before. My husband said I seem unhappy now that I've weaned off (been off about 2 weeks). However, this could be because I'm speaking up about his annoying habits again. My mood feels fine to me. 100% the benefits of this drug do not outweigh the negatives."

• U_F...
• January 12, 2010

For Depression "I was having very bad depression for the last 5 years, and this caused my digestive system to break. I am not able to eat anything, all tests were negative. My doctor said that this is only depression. I started taking Zoloft. The first week was bad for me as I was feeling stomach upset, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and sexual problems, however, the second week is now very good for me. I am able to control my depression and anxiety. I pray this lets my digestion become normal again. Thanks."

• KMa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 27, 2019

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "I have PTSD and concomitant major depressive disorder from being a paramedic. My Dr. prescribed sertraline, starting off with a 50 mg dose. No noticeable difference. My dose was increased to 100 mg, which worked well enough for a while. Decreased intrusive thoughts/images, almost no olfactory flashbacks, no panic attacks. However, like most other people, my libido was completely wiped out, insomnia hit me hard, and I became incredibly paranoid, believing my husband of 23 years was cheating on me (he wasn't and has never). Unfortunately, it seems that my body has adapted to it, and my symptoms are coming back. I would say for me, it's an okay short-term drug (6-12 months) but definitely not a long-term solution. Other than that, there were no contraindications with my other medications (ivabradine, propranolol, flecainide, Celebrex, aspirin, diazepam, paracetamol SR)."

• Cle...
• July 6, 2017

For Depression "I was on Zoloft for about 8 years for severe generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. I was eventually maxed out (200 mg), and I felt awful. I couldn't feel emotions at all, it was almost like depression but less hopeless. I felt like a zombie or a robot. I also had pretty severe sexual side effects as well. Got taken off, and I feel like a real human again. I'm on Wellbutrin now."

• vol...
• May 14, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I took Zoloft for 2 years at 100 mg daily for bipolar disorder type I. Zoloft is wonderful in that it made me significantly less anxious. However, it didn't succeed in making me any less depressed. Also, as with most antidepressants, I experienced a decreased sex drive."

• L C...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2021

For Panic Disorder "I'm on sertraline for severe anxiety. I might also have OCD or PTSD. (Either way, I experience compulsions, dissociation, panic, and intrusive thoughts.) I started on 25 mg and noticed an improvement right away. I was scared it would make me jumpier (I've read it can cause either stimulation or sleepiness), but luckily it knocks me right out. I actually had to start taking it at night instead because I was yawning so much my jaw started hurting. I went up to 50 mg when I was tolerating the side effects. I have been on it for about 2 months now. Side effects for me have included, and I will tag (R) if the symptoms have reduced or gone away as time has gone on: Nausea (R), lack of appetite (R), difficulty sleeping through the night (melatonin has greatly helped with this), earworms (R), difficulty reaching orgasm (but no reduced libido), increased hypnic jerks, reduced alcohol tolerance (cannabis tolerance is the same), HAVING MY LIFE BACK. (!!!!)"

• Big...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 5, 2022

For Social Anxiety Disorder "Started Zoloft in April last year for GAD. My dose went from 50mg, 75mg, to 100mg for a while, and then it increased to 125mg. Each upgrade I felt better and better. But I accept that the medication is not a cure for my anxiety. It’s the lifestyle changes that also help. Some days I feel completely normal, but some days I don’t. And I’m convinced that it’s not because of the meds, as I was experiencing the somatic symptoms on a much worse level without the meds. I might go up to 150mg, but I think that 125mg is a good dose, and if I can learn to manage my somatic symptoms I’ll be off them sooner rather than later. Side effects: decreased libido and sometimes nausea. It did suck in the first week but kept getting better and better afterwards with each increase."

• gra...
• December 11, 2009

For Anxiety and Stress "I took Zoloft for 1 year, the first antidepressant I ever was prescribed. I began with 50 mg daily, and within 3 days, I felt like a new person. The only major side effect was sexual, to the point that my doctor has now switched me to Effexor XR in the hopes that it will be better. But I can highly recommend the Zoloft anyway. Every person is different, and sometimes you and your doctor have to experiment to find the one that's right for you, but there is something out there for everyone."