They stopped the antidepressant. The side effects stayed.
- Sex, feeling, memory and sleep can all go numb.
- It happens with SSRIs and SNRIs. Thousands of people report it.
- No ICD code. No treatment. Only partly recognised.
In 2019 the EMA agreed: the sexual side effects can last after you stop.EMA PRAC, 2019
32 years passed from the first reports to official recognition.Regulatory record
Over 60 million prescriptions a year. Almost no doctor is taught this exists.Prescribing data
PSSD has no ICD code of its own, so nobody counts the cases.ICD-10 F52.8
What is PSSD?
PSSD is when the side effects of an antidepressant do not go away after you stop taking it. Sex, feeling and thinking can all be affected. It can last weeks, months or years.
Nobody knows yet why it does not go away. One idea is that the drug changes how genes switch on and off.
The EMA recognised PSSD in 2019, and drug labels across Europe had to change. Most doctors who prescribe these drugs still do not know. There is no test and no approved treatment.
Symptoms that do not go away
They can start while you take the drug, or after you stop.
Sexual
5- Numb genitals, or much less feeling
- No sex drive at all
- Trouble getting an erection
- Orgasms feel weak, or feel like nothing
- Vaginal dryness
Mind and feelings
5- Emotional blunting (feelings go flat)
- Anhedonia (you cannot feel pleasure)
- Feeling unreal, or cut off from yourself
- Brain fog and memory problems
- Broken sleep, or no sleep
Physical
3- Tiredness that does not go away
- Less feeling in the skin
- Weak muscles
This is not the full list. These are the symptoms people report most often.
PSSD by the numbers
It took 32 years to be recognised
The FDA approves Prozac
Trials report sexual side effects in 2-16% of people. The maker is later accused of reporting too few cases.
GSK $3 billion settlement
GlaxoSmithKline pays the biggest healthcare fraud settlement in US history. It was partly about Study 329 and selling Paxil (paroxetine) to children.
The EMA recognises PSSD
The European Medicines Agency accepts that the sexual side effects can last after you stop. Labels change across Europe.
A MedDRA code exists, but it is buried
MedDRA adds the term “Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction” (code 10086208). But it sits under the wider term “Sexual dysfunction”, so reports get mixed into a general group. Regulators still do not count PSSD on its own.
The FDA turns down a petition
Public Citizen asks the FDA for stronger warnings. The FDA says no. US patients are left without that protection.
What the research says
Patients and independent researchers pay for this work. No drug company has publicly funded any of it.
Healy et al.
PSSD is a condition of its own. Sex, feelings and thinking are all affected, and it lasts.
Giatti et al. (2025)
In animals, paroxetine caused lasting changes to dopamine, a brain chemical.
Csoka & Szyf (2009)
SSRIs may change how genes switch on and off, and the change can last after the drug stops.
Rice et al. (2025)
Patients described what it did to their lives, and how hard it was to be believed.
The drugs involved
This is a whole drug class, not one drug. Paroxetine is named most often.
This is not the full list. These are the drugs reported most often. Any medicine that works on serotonin may carry the same risk, including ones given for other reasons.
Most cases never reach the data
Very few PSSD cases are ever reported. So the official numbers are far too low.
No dedicated ICD code
PSSD has no ICD code (the code a health system files an illness under). Orphanet maps it only to F52.8, a general “other sexual dysfunction” box, so no system counts it.
Patients do not make the connection
Many people are never told that an SSRI can do this. When it does not stop, they blame age, stress or their depression.
Doctors dismiss reports
Many doctors say it is the depression, not the drug. So the report is never made.
Under-reporting shapes the evidence itself
What gets reported becomes the evidence. A side effect that is rarely reported looks rarer than it is, so report it.
How to get help
You do not have to face this alone. Here is where to start.
WhatsApp support groups
Private, moderated groups with other people who have PSSD.
Join the patient registry
Add your case to the SIDEfxHUB registry. Your data stays anonymous and helps research.
Report your side effects
Tell your national regulator (FDA, MHRA, EMA). Few reports make a drug look safer than it is.
Support library
Research papers, patient stories, news and practical help in one place.
Sources & databases
Everything on this page comes from research papers and official databases.
PubMed - PSSD research
Search the published research on PSSD.
Search PubMed →EMA - PSSD recognition
The 2019 EMA decision that recognised PSSD.
View decision →FDA FAERS
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System. The main US database of drug safety reports.
Visit database →PSSD Network
A patient group that campaigns and funds PSSD research.
Visit website →RxISK - PSSD
Independent drug safety research, and PSSD help.
Visit website →WHO VigiBase
The WHO global database of single case safety reports.
Visit database →I think I have PSSD. What now?
If you recognise these symptoms, here are 5 steps you can take right now.
You are not imagining this
The EMA recognises PSSD, and it is in the research. Thousands of people have the same symptoms.
Connect with others
Join a WhatsApp support group and talk to people who know what this is like.
Report your side effects
Report it to your country's health regulator. Every report makes this harder to ignore.
Read about living with it
Our Support Library has guides on coping, talking to your doctor, and daily life.
Join the registry
Register your experience anonymously. Your data helps research, and helps show how many people this hits.
Help build the evidence base
Every entry is a data point researchers and regulators can act on. That is what won PSSD its EMA recognition in 2019. It takes about 3 minutes, and you can stay anonymous.