Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction

Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction is the SSRI-induced drastic and permanent reduction of a person's capacity for physical sexual pleasure. Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction may be abbreviated as PSSD. PSSD occurs in a small fraction of the people that take SSRIs. A higher dosage-to-bodyweight ratio increases the probability of PSSD occurring.

Most of the SSRI chemicals are fluorinated or chlorinated, which means that the enzymes within the human body cannot break them down. That allows SSRIs to accumulate in the body at a high concentration, which is in large part responsible for PSSD. Fluoxetine and paroxetine are fluorinated, whereas sertraline is chlorinated.

PSSD is caused by the permanent epigenetic switch-off of the 5-ht1a receptors in the raphe nuclei, due to the over-stimulation and desensitization of said receptors. The raphe nuclei project serotoninergic axons into the basal ganglia and the nucleus accumbens. The nucleus accumbens is the brain's pleasure center. It is the D1 dopamine receptors of the nucleus accumbens that are responsible for the sensation of pleasure. Sexual pleasure depends not only upon the nucleus accumbens, but also upon the raphe nuclei projections thereto. When the raphe nuclei lack 5-ht1a receptors, the raphe nuclei projections to the nucleus accumbens do not allow the dopamine production that is necessary to create sexual pleasure.

Eli Lily learned of this effect early in the drug testing, but covered it up, and the other pharmaceutical companies followed suit. The absence of any mention of this effect on the warning label constitutes fraud.