A man who was first prescribed antidepressant medication at the age of nine claims the decision has had a devastating and permanent impact on his adult life, destroying his ability to form romantic relationships.
A Childhood Prescription with Adult Consequences
Daryl Brown, now 35 years old, was given a course of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) by a psychiatrist to help manage diagnoses of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Tourette's Syndrome. He recalls being told the pills would help his conditions and was reassured there would be no long-term effects.
"The tics I had at the time put me in a really bad state," Mr Brown explained. "I was exhausted with all the leg and arm movements. I was spinning round in circles endlessly and touching the stairs a million times. Doctors said that there was no permanent risk of harm."
He was initially put on Paroxetine and continued taking SSRIs for years, switching to Sertraline at age 17. He took this medication for four years but stopped at 21 because he began struggling with sexual side effects, including a loss of arousal, erectile dysfunction, and delayed ejaculation.
The Promise That Never Materialised
"I was absolutely petrified," Mr Brown said. "The psychiatrist told me 'it's probably the medication, everybody has that from the medication'. He said 'as soon as you come off them, it will go away' which I would have been fine with."
However, stopping the medication did not resolve his issues. Fourteen years after his final dose, he says his sex drive has never returned, leaving him traumatised and his romantic relationships in ruins.
"My genitals often feel like a dead piece of meat hanging down below instead of a sexual organ," he described. "When someone touches my penis, it just feels numb. I don't have sexual dreams anymore. It's affected the way my brain works and the way I look at women."
Campaigning for Recognition of a 'Controversial' Condition
Mr Brown believes he suffers from post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), a rare and contested condition not currently recognised by the NHS. He is part of a group demanding official recognition from healthcare professionals and more research into the long-term side effects of SSRIs.
A review in the journal European Psychiatry states there is 'growing evidence' that PSSD exists, despite limited study. An early investigation in Annals of General Psychiatry estimated that 1 in 216 patients have suffered erectile dysfunction after stopping SSRIs.
The PSSD Network lists common issues as genital numbness, erectile dysfunction, vaginal dryness, and a complete loss of libido. For Mr Brown, a former support worker, the impact has been profoundly personal.
"It really has destroyed a lot of the potential for relationships," he said. "It's destroyed romantic relationships and become a source of trauma instead. I mostly avoided relationships in my twenties. I otherwise love life and just want to live it to the fullest."
Medical Perspective and Rising Prescriptions
The NHS acknowledges that some people experience sexual side effects while taking SSRIs. Dr Donald Grant, a GP and Senior Clinical Advisor at The Independent Pharmacy, confirmed that while rare, long-term issues are possible.
"While it’s rare, these effects could persist even after the medication has been stopped," Dr Grant stated. "Typically, most sex-related symptoms... resolve once treatment finishes, but in some individuals, they can take longer to normalise."
He stressed that women can also be affected, experiencing reduced genital sensation or difficulty with arousal, and urged anyone with prolonged symptoms to seek medical advice.
Latest NHS statistics reveal a significant rise in antidepressant prescriptions for young people, with 286,799 people aged five to 19 prescribed them in 2024, compared to 242,629 in 2016. It is estimated that around 300,000 adults and children in the UK have Tourette's Syndrome, the condition for which Mr Brown was initially treated.
