Antidepressant taken by millions is being dished out to men struggling with ... trends now
Depending on who you ask, sertraline will either 'save your life' or morph you into something resembling a sexless zombie.
And it's precisely that side effect sparking alarm among psychiatrists.
In fact, men battling premature ejaculation are now even getting the powerful anti-depressant, taking advantage of the libido-killer in pursuit of lasting longer in bed.
University College London's Professor Joanna Moncrieff, a world-renowned voice in her field, wants the medical community to urgently 'rethink' how selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline are dished out due to its consequential effects on the sex lives of millions.
Concern is growing that an overdependence on SSRIs to treat depression may leave some users low on libido even years after they stop taking the daily pills.
Data, from an NHS England-funded database run by Oxford University called OpenPrescribing, shows there were 2million sertraline prescriptions in March this year alone, the highest number in five years
Sertraline was recently thrust into the spotlight by singer Lewis Capaldi who said he struggled to get an erection while on the libido-dampening medication
Sertraline, a common antidepressant is of a group of drugs known as SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
In online forums some former antidepressant users shared heartbreaking stories about how the loss of their sex lives even years after they had stopped taking the medication had left them feeling suicidal
Explaining her point extremely bluntly, Professor Moncrieff told MailOnline: 'I do not think anyone should go anywhere near them.'
Brits with mental health problems are increasingly being prescribed the drug, which works by altering the brain's internal chemistry, to help them function in their day-to-day lives.
Official data show over 2million Brits have taken them over the past five years.
The drug, branded as Lustral, was recently thrust into the spotlight by the Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.
In a bare-all Netflix documentary, he spoke about taking it to help treat his anxiety and grimly commented on the knock-on effect it had on his sexual health.
'They're not really doing anything except I can't get a f****** hard-on to save my life', he said.
TikTok users have also flooded the social media platform with their own tales of their libido evaporating or being left emotionally numb while on the medication.
Others shared jokes about how they had to come off it, with the price of having to give up physical pleasure too much to pay.
However, other people who have used sertraline have described it as a quite literal life-saver.
Jane Hoskyn from Southampton wrote on Twitter about her experience of sertraline: 'I'll take this chance to say that SSRIs saved my life 25 years ago, and they might have saved my 20s if they'd been available to me sooner. Happy to be on them forever.'
The NHS lists loss of libido as a 'common' SSRI side effect and warns that, although problems should 'improve over time', they can stubbornly 'persist'.
A lack or loss of sex drive from the drugs takes different forms for men and women.
Men can suffer problems maintaining an erection, whereas women can get vaginal dryness. Both sexes describe 'genital numbness'
SSRIs libido-dampening effects are so powerful that the drugs, including sertraline, have even been trialled on sex offenders in the past to help curb their urges.
In October last year, the Mail on Sunday was contacted by Brits who had taken SSRIs and experienced sexual problems both while taking them and, more worryingly, after they had stopped.
They described experiencing the 'genital numbness' and anorgasmia, or difficulty in reaching orgasm. If climax did occur, it is generally weak or without pleasure, users claimed.
One woman even described it as being akin to being 'chemically castrated'.
Former users are also sharing their experience in online chatrooms, dubbing it 'Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction', with some former patients ironically describing how the problem has now left them suicidal.
One user on the Our Bodies Ourselves Today website, who said she said been living with condition for three years, said: 'It is so frustrating that sometimes I’m suicidal and have lost all excitement when it comes to sex. Please can anyone help me. I’m tired of living like this.'
Prescriptions for antidepressants among teens have risen by a quarter in England in 2020 compared to 2016. The greatest growth was seen among 13 and 19-year-olds where prescription rates rose by about a third
Young adults, who are often leaving home for the first time and starting their careers also saw antidepressant prescription rates boom by about 40 per cent
But for some men suffering from the opposite problem, premature ejaculation (PE), sertraline is being touted as a potential cure because of the same chemical reaction.
Male sexual wellness clinics and health businesses are offering so-called 'off-label' prescriptions, luring men in by bragging about its performance-enhancing abilities.
One business, called hims, which advertises sertraline to British men suffering from PE claimed the drug can help extend time to climax during sex by 400 per cent.
'We offer sertraline online, following a consultation with a licensed healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate,' their website reads.
However, when contacted by MailOnline a spokesperson said they do not offer it in the UK, and the relevant webpage was deleted.
