I began clinical practice as a community OB/GYN in 2007. After several years, providing care to

patients with sexual dysfunction or vulvovaginal health conditions became the primary focus of

my work. In 2019, I left community practice to work full-time at the BC Centre for Vulvar Health

at Vancouver General Hospital.

For decades, SSRIs have been prescribed for anxiety and depression. In my experience, patients

are now more aware that these medications can have an impact on the sexual response cycle,

such as desire and arousal. However, the expectation is that these side effects are reversible,

meaning that sexual response will improve once the medication is stopped. Well for some

people that’s not the case. What is less well known, amongst physicians and patients, is that

these side effects may not resolve and may in fact may worsen. And some people develop

sexual side effects only after stopping the SSRI. This has become known as Post SSRI Sexual

Dysfunction.

Knowledge about PSSD is in its infancy. We don’t know what causes it. We don’t know how to

treat it. We don’t even know how common it is. What we do know is how debilitating it is for

those who have it. Over the years I have seen several women suffering from genital and sexual

numbness, and sometimes even emotional numbness, after discontinuing SSRIs. The impact on

quality of life is devastating. Navigating the healthcare system, trying to find answers and help,

only adds to the frustration.

There is so much work that needs to be done in this area. We need more knowledge about the

long-term side effects of antidepressant medication. We need more awareness amongst

physicians and the public about side effects of antidepressants. We need to get the word out

about PSSD – the symptoms as well as an understanding of the psychosexual impact. Having a

patient advocacy and support group working alongside medical professionals and the research

community is a great place to start.