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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4332998/Can-depression-pills-sabotage-love-life.html Barely a day goes by when I don't utter a prayer of gratitude that my experience with antidepressants didn't end in my death or permanent disablement. I'm one of the estimated 1 to 4 per cent of people who reacts badly to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants, which include Prozac, Seroxat, Cipramil and Lustral. By that, I don't mean feeling a bit dizzy or not quite myself: a small percentage of us become depressed and suicidal. My story, previously told in Good Health, started when I was prescribed the anti-depressant escitalopram for sleepless nights while going through a divorce. Within hours, I became dangerously psychotic, hallucinating that I'd killed my children. When I was taken to hospital, doctors failed to spot I was suffering an adverse drug reaction and gave me more pills. Over the course of a year, I became so ill I could barely leave the house. By a stroke of luck, I was taken to another hospital that took me off all five medications I was on — and within weeks I was better, back at work as a film-maker and training for a half marathon. That was four years ago, and apart from nightmares and flashbacks, I've come out unscathed and thankful to be alive. Recently, I've come across a group of people who have given me another reason to be grateful. That's because — as a result of taking SSRIs — they can't have sex and I can. It's not something many people, or doctors, will talk about, but sexual dysfunction is a known side-effect of SSRIs while you are taking them. Symptoms can include erectile dysfunction, inability to orgasm in women and genital numbness. Around five million people in the UK take SSRIs, and 58 per cent of them could be experiencing these kinds of sexual side-effects, according to one authoritative study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 2001. Regarded as one of the most thorough studies on the subject, this analysed the incidence of antidepressant-related sexual dysfunction in more than 1,000 outpatients, all of whom had normal sexual function before being treated. Researchers looked at some of the most popular SSRIs, including fluoxetine, better known by the brand name Prozac. .........................