Is this a sexual side effect of Lexapro or just my body being weird?

April 6, 2019 12:27 PM

Hi Metafilter, please help me with a question about sex and antidepressants! I’m a cisgender woman having what might be a very strange sexual side effect from Lexapro. I’ll put the details (which are pretty detailed) below the cut.

I’ve been taking Lexapro for a year and a half or so. I knew there were sexual side effects like difficulty having orgasms, but I don’t have a partner and have been too distraught to masturbate much until the last six months-ish, so that wasn’t that big a deal.

For my whole adult life I’ve been aware of female ejaculation and haven’t been able to get my body to do it. Okay. But since I started taking Lexapro, a) orgasms have been more difficult to get to/taken longer (expected) and b) almost every time I have an orgasm I experience ejaculation (NOT expected). This is decidedly unusual for me and I’m trying to figure out what’s up. Could this possibly be a sexual side effect of medication? Is my body just doing a new thing on its own for no good reason? Is there some other explanation? This is all without a partner and nothing else I’m doing is different. I’m baffled. Any insights? Anyone else had this experience? Thank you!

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

It's possible that the meds are effecting things, but I bet it's a combination of the pleasure building over the longer sessions, and you being more relaxed and happy in general
posted by Jacen at 12:52 PM on April 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

I would echo Jacen. It takes longer to get there, so the orgasm is more forceful. On SSRIs I can only have a G-spot or cervical orgasm.
posted by 8603 at 1:57 PM on April 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

It's not, per se, a known side-effect of Lexapro. But I agree with Jacen and 8603 that it's probably just the result of a more forceful orgasm. Honestly, with most SSRIs you're lucky if you get an orgasm at all. So enjoy. I have known several women who didn't think they could ejaculate, but of course it's not the sort of thing you know until it happens.
posted by ubiquity at 2:23 PM on April 6, 2019

Same experience with Lexapro here, it went away when i stopped taking the drug. Other SSRIs did not have the same affect.
posted by Feminazgul at 2:46 PM on April 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

Excessive sweating is definitely a known side effect of Lexapro. So it doesn't seem too crazy to think it might increase your body's production of other fluids as well.
posted by selfmedicating at 9:39 PM on April 6, 2019

I am a man, but depending on the medication that I'm on, I've experienced different things. Low libido n some. Difficulty orgasming on some. One of the meds that I was on a decade ago made my semen's consistency and color different.
posted by kbbbo at 11:07 AM on April 7, 2019

I can’t speak to B, but for SSRIs difficulty reaching orgasm is a very well known potential side effect for both genders.

I’ve known several men who considered delayed ejaculation to be a benefit. :-)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:24 PM on April 7, 2019