# Help and Advice > Related Illness/medication/alternatives >  Need advice re AD side effects

## shoulderpet

Hi

Am hoping someone may be able to offer some advice, have been on antidepressants of varying types for around 20yrs and have come off a lot of them due to sexual dysfunction issues (inorgasmia).
Have been on Mirtazapine for about a year and a half and on the strongest dosage, Mirtazapine is great in that it has few side effects but it has started to poop out on me. Have been on fluoxetine, sertraline and citalopram and have come off these due to sexual dysfunction issues.
I have researched antidepressants without sexual side effects and have only found Mirtazapine, Wellbutrin (not available in the uk) and Moclobemide (was told by my gp they do not prescribe it due to drug interactions with that type of antidepressant) Any suggestions?
Thanks

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## rose

Hello, no one here is trained to give you medical advice so you will need to see your doctor.
What I can tell you from personal experience is that my AD meds have been augmented with anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medication.  This is often an effective strategy but you may need to be referred to a psychiatrist for this to happen.

Welcome to DWD  :(hi):

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## Paula

Hi and welcome  :(hi): . Rose is right, no one here is qualified to give you this sort of information.  You'll need to talk to your dr again I'm afraid....

It'd be great to get to know you better, so feel free to pop an intro post if you feel up to it

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## Jarre

I would think that nailing the causes of depression and getting through that is more imporatant than getting sex drive back, if its the ad's causing it you need to think of your priorities, have you spoken to your Dr about the issues on sex drive your AD's have produced?

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## rose

Something I've noticed with sex drive issues is that it can be an initial side effect which goes away in time.

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## Suzi

Hi and welcome to DWD. I have to agree with everyone before me. Have you spoken to your GP about these issues you are having?

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## Ovalbug

I can sympathise. I was on Fluoxetine for several years which was a great drug for my mood and well being, however I suffered the same sexual side effects which eventually started to make me miserable as the lack of sexual fulfilment in my marragie was causing me issues and promoting unhappiness. I switched to Mirtazapine and the side effects went away, however I feel it doesn't help my mood and I suspect I'm rather grumpy and generally lethargic on the mirtazapine. I've has my dose increased from 30mg to 45mg in the hope it will lift my mood. If it doesn't I might have to continue to look elsewhere.

It's such a shame that ADs have side effects and that it can often be the case of putting up with the lesser of evils.

I too went down the research road and also found that Wellbutrin was the one that seemed to hit the spot from a mood perspective and not carry sexual side effects. iIn the UK it is only prescribed as a smoking cessation aid and not off label for depression. A real shame as reports suggest it's a great drug for depression. I asked my Doctor about it but was told no chance, no way, now how would they prescribe it off label.

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