GETTING OFF SSRI'S AND DEALING WITH PREMATURE EJACULATION

Hi and welcome.

Are you following your doctor's weaning schedule completely? If so, I think I would ask him/her to taper you off more gradually if this continues to be a problem.

I would have to say that all of your weaning symptoms should go away, allowing things to get back to normal eventually, but everyone is different as far as schedules go, so it's difficult to say when...

I hope that you can get your meds resolved, and into to a more steady routine soon. (it's bad enough to have the issue that requires the med in the first place...then side effects just add insult to injury!!!) I also hope that your new Rx works well for you!

Post with us anytime.

Scaredy Cat

How do we explain the growing tendency of doctors to recommend SSRI antidepressants to treat P.E.? Why are they doing this with increasing frequency even though they are aware of the many potential side-effects associated with these preparations?

The answer sadly is that they do not have the time to impart the information men need to deal with the problem naturally. When the options are half an hour of discussion or five minutes to write a prescription, the choice is easy. Even if some were willing to spend the time, most patients would choose the significantly lower cost for the shorter consultation.

There are many possible side-effects of SSRIs. The commonest are fairly innocuous yet hardly desirable as part of a sexual experience. Nausea, headaches, diarrhea, rash, dry mouth, nervousness or agitation, weight gain and decreased sexual desire, But there is one that is far more serious. It is for this reason that the FDA requires that these potent medications carry a warning that young adults may be at increased risk of suicide. This, by the way, is the very population that most requests these drugs.

In addition a study recently published has reported a decreased sperm count in men taking SSRIs. With infertility becoming a more frequent issue for couples trying to start a family, they do not need to add anything that will increase the odds against conception.

What choice do doctors have if they want to help their patients? The answer is to follow the guidelines of The American Association of Family Physicians which states:: “Behavioral methods are helpful for more than 95 percent of men who have premature ejaculation”

For the past 35years, following the pioneering work of Masters and Johnson, thousands of men have learned to control ejaculation using behavioral techniques they learn from books.. Books like “Lasting Longer: The Treatment Program for Premature Ejaculation” which has been available since1978. Written by: Dr. Sy Silverberg M.D., it is a virtual do-it-yourself manuals for overcoming P.E. Doctors can write a prescription for such a manual in the same time they write one for SSRIs that may have significant side-effects. And there is no ongoing cost beyond the ten bucks for the book.

Resorting to these products remains an option for the small percentage of men who do not respond to the behavioural approach. In this way physicians can fulfill their mandate to, “First do no harm”. This is one of the principal precepts of medical ethics that all medical students are taught in medical school and is a fundamental principle for emergency medical services around the world. Another way to state it is that "given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good. (Definition from Wikipedia).