ANTIDEPRESSANTS ROB SEXUALITY

Report #7123

Most people who take the popular serotonin-reuptake-inhibitor antidepressants: Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, lose interest in making love (1). An article in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics shows that another antidepressant called Wellbutrin increases sexual desire (2).

Many people feel so depressed when they get up in the morning that they have difficulty facing the world and want to stay in bed. Doctors can treat depression effectively with antidepressants, and the most used and highly effective antidepressants are called Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. They raise brain levels of a specific chemical called serotonin that helps to make people feel good. However, high brain levels of serotonin often reduce sexual desire. On the other hand, Wellbutron does not raise brain levels of serotonin significantly, does not reduce sexual desire and may even increase desire.

This recent study shows that 73% of the Paxil-Prozac-Zoloft-treated patients had reduced sexual desire; while 14% of patients treated with Wellbutron (bupropion) had this effect. Patients who need to stay on the serotonin-reuptake-inhibitor antidepressants, but want to maintain interest in making love can take the shorter-acting Paxil or Zoloft safely four days a week from Monday to Thursday and not take them from Friday to Sunday. Taking Prozac intermittently does not prevent loss of libido because it is a long-acting antidepressant.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News