Antidepressants for PE (Zoloft/Sertraline)

[venom888]

Day 16. I saw a real difference today. Less sensitive. Did have to pause many times still, but in between any pauses I was able to be faster and more stimulating (using a fleshlight). I can't be sure yet that it was from the Zoloft, as it could be a fluke (a year ago I had one odd day where things were 10x better). I've also been doing the Thomas Stretch about 3x/day, so that could be helping, but since I've been doing daily stretches for a long time, I don't count on that. It could also be that I was just less aroused, as often lately I've been masturbating out of curiosity and not horniness.

I do notice a few other things:
1. it seems like it's a little harder for me to get aroused, mentally. Like porn is not as mentally/sexually stimulating/interesting to me. But I can't swear it's from the drug. Could be just from the routine
2. I notice when I ejaculate the velocity is way less. This seems like it'd be physical, not something the drug could do, but I still assume it's the drug
3. Side effects 98% are gone by this point. Sometimes I wake up at night feeling nauseous, and then I just go back to sleep. Very rare that I have any effects during the day. Also that weird numbness I had in my penis when I first started taking the 50mg, it went away after just a day or two.
4. I do feel calmer / less anxious. More content. But still get anxious over some dumb stuff.

[Couchdog]

50mg has my EQ fucked right now.

[venom888]

50mg has my EQ fucked right now.

How long have you been on it? Has it caused that problem the whole time?
If you're in the first few weeks it may get better

[venom888]

Another update:

The session from two days ago was not a fluke. I had another today and it also went really well. I actually was tiring myself with the fleshlight. 20 minutes. And I was fully turned on at the beginning. I did still have to take frequent pauses to not hit PONR, especially at the beginning, which remains frustrating (and would be problematic with a girl on top, in control), but only very short pauses, and in between those I was able to go fast and hard. What usually happens too is after getting really close to PONR a few times, I kinda hit my stride halfway through and then am less sensitive. This has always been the case, but now it really unlocks extra speed/roughness - tho the loss of feeling is actually kinda of negative now as well.

I'm hoping to see more improvement over the next few days, to maybe get rid of the need for frequent pauses, but if I don't see that in the short term, maybe I can still achieve it through continued stretches etc

Also I didn't do any stretches today, and not much yesterday either, so it was a good test today.

At this point I would be pretty confident going into sex. It'd be hit or miss at the beginning, but overall it'd be good. And not nearly as bad of a start as used to. Additionally, a FL might be even more stimulating, and with sex I'd have a condom on, so that'd help further.

If this holds, I'd call myself 80% cured. Tho I will still work on my APT and tightness. Some people will say that taking a pill is cheating or lazy, but I have no qualms about it. If the pill changes my serotonin levels, it very well could be that other people who don't have PreE issues just naturally have the same levels that I have post-pill. Even if not, I don't care. If it gives me a good sex life, whatever. I'll take the pill. For me personally, it also is making a difference in my mood and anxiety, so it's a win-win.

[PYT]

I'm back on the Zoloft to give it another try, I'm on 25mg and will move up to 50mg I think in a couple weeks gradually.

[PYT]

(BTW I'm taking it mainly for depression & anxiety so please leave me alone pegasus I'm not looking for a magic pill but if this helps with PE I'm much happier to risk taking it)

[venom888]

If the Zoloft causes you weird effects, there are other similar drugs you can try. I read that on average it takes people three SSRIs to find the right one. Zoloft seems right for me though.

[venom888]

I decided I'm only about 60-65% cured, not 80%, so I'm upping my dose from 50mg to 75. Mostly because of the sex thing, but also because I have some unnecessary anxiety still. Wasn't an easy decision because I want to take a minimally effective dose and 50 has helped a lot (with pe and anxiety). I don't want negative side effects or to numb myself emotionally. But I'll try 75 and see how it goes -- I can always go back to 50. And my dr wanted to do 100mg from the get-go, saying 50 was very low, so...

Will post updates later. Will probably take 2-3 weeks to see a difference. It may be that the remainder of my issues (the need to pause very frequently throughout ; ponr issues the first couple of minutes) are physical, not chemical.

I continue to work on the physical side of things with stretches and trying to fix my apt.

[peforever]

I decided I'm only about 60-65% cured, not 80%, so I'm upping my dose from 50mg to 75. Mostly because of the sex thing, but also because I have some unnecessary anxiety still. Wasn't an easy decision because I want to take a minimally effective dose and 50 has helped a lot (with pe and anxiety). I don't want negative side effects or to numb myself emotionally. But I'll try 75 and see how it goes -- I can always go back to 50. And my dr wanted to do 100mg from the get-go, saying 50 was very low, so...

Will post updates later. Will probably take 2-3 weeks to see a difference. It may be that the remainder of my issues (the need to pause very frequently throughout ; ponr issues the first couple of minutes) are physical, not chemical.

I continue to work on the physical side of things with stretches and trying to fix my apt.

I have pre-e as well and 5 years ago went to urologist and got Zoloft, but never tried it. I preferred drugs that were taken just before second than taking a medication all the time. Tramadol works great and even at 25 meg, I have great control. I believe all PRE-e is about keeping pelvic floor relaxed. These medication due the same, they make you relax and pelvic floor is relaxed when taking them. I have been doing yoga (lots of pelvic floor excercises), strengthening flutes and core and abs and also doing both normal Lajin and Y lajin stretch. Now, I have much better control specially in some positions, I can basically last long by holding light RK while in any standing position with my legs on the floor. I still need help in missionary but planks and core has helped with that as well. I would say the following really helps Hindi squats, child pose, glute bridge, plank , hanging knee raises, lots of hip stretches and lajin. Also breathing is very important, learn diaphragm breathing and Rk.

[venom888]

SSRIs can also be taken on-demand a few hours prior to sex, but I wouldn't recommend that because usually you get some rough side effects if your body is not adjusted to it yet.

I see physical vs mental being debated sometimes on this forum, and I think one thing not being considered is chemical -- something you have no control over or ways to fix without drugs. So I don't believe drugs to be a cop-out. Our bodies do a lot of things subconsciously via chemical reactions, to control our emotions and body functions. With my anxiety, it manifests in physical ways much stronger than it does in mental ways. Meaning, I don't consciously or logically worry or feel anxious about something more than just a tiny bit, yet it will cause my body to react to a high degree, eg diarrhea, sweating, increased heart rate, numbness, stumbling over my words, etc. And again this is without being consciously aware of anything but a small amount of nervousness. So I think with sex or even masturbation, the same thing can happen to us. Obviously it's related because the drug that treats anxiety also treats PreE... And some thoughts that cause a tiny bit of anxiety or other chemical release during sex (eg being a little self-conscious when trying out a new position, or thinking certain sexual thoughts) would always push me toward ponr. So I think it's an option people should consider without feeling like they're cheating.

I don't think the medicine has relaxed my pf muscles. That's not really how it works. I mean, not in a constant way (it's not a muscle relaxer). But during sex/masturbation, your chemistry is more level and so your body isn't reacting to spikes in chemicals that trigger those kinds of involuntary things such as tensing up, ejaculation, etc

As I say, definitely physical and mental can be factors, but brain chemistry also varies from person to person and can be the problem/solution.