Is the sexual dysfunction side effect of antidepressants an intentional...

[gurpleflip]

...way to eliminate bad genes? Last night I woke up at about 4 AM distressed, anxious, and unable to stay still. I have been taking lexapro, an SSRI antidepressant for 4 days, but I have been worried about the sexual dysfunction side effect it has. I tried to masturbate but couldn't maintain an erection and I got so worried I decided to quit taking the antidepressant. I really care about my sexual life, and I won't sacrifice it.

Then I thought about something interesting but scary at the same time. What if the drug companies / the government is engineering antidepressants to have an intentional side effect of causing sexual dysfunction so that those who are depressed cannot reproduce as effectively, thereby preventing their depressant genes from entering the population? Maybe we are entering the age of being controlled by the drugs we take?

[feelingbuzzy]

#1 Patients shouldn't just quit the SSRI -- taper yourself off slowly. You, though, have been on it a short enough time, so might get away with no withdrawl symptoms.

#2 Have you missed the news lately? Hear about all the residual psychotropics, anticonvulsants and antidepressants, entering via human urine & sanitation system into our urban water supply? Don't start thinking some paranoid conspiracy theory -- it's just an untoward, unregulated reality that we've been able to brush under the rug for decades (until now)

#3 I'm sorry, but that is the lamest theory I have ever heard. Almost as good as Rev Wright's HIV conspiracy theory.

[maleficent]

The reason some people have a side effect of not feeling as sexual as they normally do is because the medication gives a similar effect to the feeling U get after an orgasm. So, your body does not always feel the need to have an orgasm and the urge to have sex is lower than normal. Hope this helps!