Zoloft Not for Lovers

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The following study was financed by GSK

http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/zoloft-lovers.htm

Anti-Depressant Drug Zoloft Not For Lovers

In the first placebo-controlled comparison of these two drugs, patients

taking sertraline (marketed as Zoloft® by Pfizer, Inc.) reported greater

orgasm dysfunction than patients taking bupropion SR (marketed as Wellbutrin

® by Glaxo Wellcome Inc.) or a placebo.

A study in the current issue of the journal Clinical Therapeutics

demonstrates that while two commonly prescribed medications for depression

are equally effective in treating the symptoms of depression, Zoloft causes

a significantly higher rate of orgasm dysfunction (lack or delayed orgasm)

than either the other drug or placebo.

More patients taking sertraline reported orgasm dysfunction after only one

week of treatment compared with bupropion SR or placebo. At the end of the

study, 41 percent of patients taking Zoloft reported orgasm dysfunction.

There was no statistically significant difference between Wellburtin and the

placebo. Researchers suggest that the serotonin effect of SSRIs like Zoloft

may create sexual function problems. Wellbutrin is not an SSRI and has no

appreciable effect on serotoniin levels. The study was financed by the

makers of Wellbrutin.

" While doctors have known about the anti-sexual side effects of some

antidepressants, many don't realize the prevalence of the problem, " said R

Segraves, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Case Western

Reserve University School of Medicine and chair of the Department of

Psychiatry at MetroHealth Medical Center, and one of the study's

investigators.

In the study, 355 patients with moderate to severe clinical depression were

randomly selected to bupropion (Wellbutrin) or SR, sertraline (Zoloft) or a

placebo in this double-blind, placebo-controlled eight-week trial. Each of

the three treatment arms included similar numbers of men and women.

" One reason adverse sexual side effects have been under-reported is that

patients, unaware that the medication may be causing the problem, blame

themselves or their partner for the problem and they don't talk to their

doctor about it, " said a researcher on the project. " At the same time,

doctors may be reluctant to bring up sexual functioning with their patients.

Open communication about side effects is critical to successful

antidepressant treatment. "

Alternative medicine's answer to synthetic drugs like Zoloft and Wellbutrin

can be found in herbs like St. 's Wort with clinically proven

anti-depressant properties. These herbs and supplelements do not induce

impotence or create other negative side effects. For information on flower

essences that fight depression, see our feature on it in Prescribing for

Yourself

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