Genital numbness: could a medicine be why?

Genital numbness has several causes, and some need a doctor quickly. It’s also reported with SSRI antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin, whose UK leaflets warn that sexual problems have continued after stopping. These are called post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-Accutane syndrome (PAS).

The NHS side-effect pages for sertraline, finasteride and isotretinoin list problems with sex drive or erections. None mentions numbness, so it’s easy to miss the link to a medicine you take, or took.

Francis was a nurse when he was prescribed sertraline for depression. A couple of months in, something changed during sex.

Play video: Francis on going numb while taking sertraline (extract)

“I just lost, absolutely lost the feeling,” he says. He could still get an erection, “but then I was numb”. At first he didn’t connect it to the tablets. When he did, he stopped them. Nine years later, he says, “I’ve never been the same.”

What can cause genital numbness?

A numb penis, vulva or clitoris can start with a nerve. The NHS page on pudendal neuralgia, which affects a main nerve in the pelvis, lists numbness in the genitals. Possible causes include an injury, surgery, giving birth, and pressure from cycling or sitting for a long time.

Diabetes is another. Over time, high blood sugar can damage the nerves that supply the genitals and dull the feeling there, says Diabetes UK (men, women).

Which medicines are linked to genital numbness?

Three kinds of medicine carry a UK leaflet warning about sexual problems that continued after stopping. Only the isotretinoin leaflet names genital numbness.

• SSRI antidepressants, such as sertraline. The leaflet says that in some cases sexual problems “have continued after stopping treatment”.
• Finasteride, the hair-loss tablet. Its leaflet lists erection, sex drive and ejaculation problems that persisted after stopping.
• Isotretinoin, the acne capsule sold as Roaccutane, or Accutane in the US. Its leaflet lists “reduced sensation in the genitals”, and reports of long-lasting sexual problems that “continued despite stopping treatment”.

Isotretinoin’s leaflet names numbness because of reports. In 2023 a UK expert review found seven reports of reduced genital feeling in Yellow Card, the UK’s side-effect reporting scheme. The data were limited, it said, but enough to add the symptom to the leaflet.

With SSRIs and finasteride, numbness is something patients report. Researchers collected 300 reports of lasting sexual problems after all three kinds of medicine, and about half mentioned genital numbness. People chose to send them in, so they can’t show how often it happens.

Diagnostic criteria published by researchers in 2022 make a lasting change in genital feeling the one symptom PSSD must have. They list reduced genital feeling for finasteride and isotretinoin too. Matt, who took finasteride, describes it in his own words.

Dr Kenneth Peters, a urologist in Michigan, describes four young patients who came to him within two weeks with almost the same complaints, numbness among them. One had taken finasteride, he says, one had PSSD and two had taken isotretinoin.

Play video: Dr Kenneth Peters on four young patients (extract)

Can numbness from a medicine last after stopping?

It can. For some people it has lasted years after stopping. Nobody knows yet who will be affected, or whether it will ease.

Benjamin took duloxetine, a related antidepressant (an SNRI), for a month. Half an hour after the first dose, he says, “it felt like my genitals were missing”.

Play video: Benjamin on what changed over the years (extract)

The numbness lifted after about three years, he says. Touch came back, but it “just feels like a finger”. He still reaches orgasm but feels nothing when it happens.

It doesn’t always start straight away. With SSRIs, say the researchers behind the 300 reports, numbing can start within half an hour of the first dose. With finasteride and isotretinoin it more often showed up later, or after stopping.

The 2022 criteria ask whether the problem is still there three months after the last dose. Nobody has counted how often that happens yet. That’s why reports matter.

What can I do?

Tell a GP about new numbness, whatever you think the cause is. Nerves and blood sugar can be checked. The 2022 criteria ask that no other condition explains the symptoms.

These medicines help many people. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber. Don’t stop an antidepressant suddenly. For finasteride and isotretinoin, follow what the leaflet says.

1

What you feel

“My penis feels numb”, “I can't feel my clitoris”, “touch feels like touch anywhere else”.

2

When it started

“Overnight, in March”, or “slowly, since the summer”.

3

Your medicines, with dates

“Sertraline 50 mg from January 2023, last tablet March 2024.” Include ones you've stopped.

4

How it was before

“No problems before 2023.”

If your erections have changed too, see erection problems that last.

Many people say it took time to be taken seriously. Bring the leaflet line on sexual problems that continued after stopping. You can report it without a doctor agreeing.

Report it: it helps everyone

A doctor’s note helps you. A report to the medicines regulator helps everyone else: it is how patterns get noticed.

• No proof needed. A suspicion is enough, even years after stopping.
• Where: the Yellow Card scheme in the UK, MedWatch in the US.
• Use the right words. If symptoms continued after stopping, write Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (MedDRA 10086208) for an SSRI or SNRI, or Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA 10082430) for finasteride. For isotretinoin there’s no term yet, so write “genital numbness” and say it continued after stopping.

Our reporting guide walks you through it

What else do people ask?

Can anxiety or depression cause genital numbness? The researchers behind the 300 reports say it isn’t a feature of either. A low sex drive is different: the NHS lists stress, anxiety and depression among its causes. Genital numbness after SSRIs goes further.

Can women get genital numbness from a medicine? Yes. More than half of the women in the 300 reports mentioned it. Katie describes “physically numb sexual sensation” after Prozac, an SSRI, and says it took her years to link it to the medicine. PSSD in women has more.

Is there a test for genital numbness? For touch, sometimes. Where it’s available, the 2022 criteria say, a test of how well the penis senses vibration, warmth and cold may help. There are no tests for sexual feeling, they add. Our pages on PSSD, PFS and PAS set out what else is known.

Francis didn’t connect his numbness to a tablet at first. If yours began on a medicine, or after one, write down the dates and report it.

Sources

1. NHS, Back pain, page last reviewed 5 March 2026. Under “Call 999 or go to A&E if: You have back pain and”, the list includes “a loss of feeling around your genitals or anus”. It also includes “changes in your bladder or bowels, such as difficulty peeing, or peeing or pooing yourself”. A further item is “changes in how your penis or vagina feels during sex, not being able to get or keep an erection, or not being able to orgasm”. The NHS pages on slipped disc (reviewed 24 April 2024) and sciatica (reviewed 3 December 2024) give the same route for numbness around the genitals or bottom.
2. NHS, Pudendal neuralgia, page last reviewed 18 January 2024. The main symptom is nerve pain “or numbness” in the genitals, bottom and anus, perineum or pelvis. Possible causes: an injury, damage from surgery, giving birth, a growth that puts pressure on the nerve, and infections such as genital herpes. Also “activities that put pressure on the nerve such as cycling, horse riding or sitting for a long time”. The page adds: “Sometimes it’s not clear what causes it”.
3. Diabetes UK, Diabetes and sexual problems in men and in women, content last reviewed 6 March 2025. Men: high blood sugar over a prolonged period “can damage your blood vessels and nerves, including the ones that supply your penis”. This “may cause some loss of sensation or feeling”. Women: nerve damage “may mean loss of some feeling or sensation and difficulty getting aroused”.
4. NHS, side effects of sertraline (reviewed 8 September 2025), finasteride (reviewed 2 August 2023) and isotretinoin capsules (reviewed 26 June 2026). The sertraline page lists low sex drive. The finasteride page lists erection problems and less interest in sex. The isotretinoin page lists erectile dysfunction and low sex drive. None mentions numbness or reduced genital feeling. NHS, Low sex drive (loss of libido), reviewed 26 May 2026: causes include “stress, anxiety or depression”.
5. Lustral (sertraline) 50 mg and 100 mg film-coated tablets, patient leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 2835), last revised December 2025. Section 2, “Sexual problems”: “Medicines like Lustral (so called SSRIs) may cause symptoms of sexual dysfunction (see section 4). In some cases, these symptoms have continued after stopping treatment”. The leaflet does not name genital numbness. Its only “numbness” entries are general: “numbness and tingling”, a common side effect, and numbness among the symptoms of stopping. The wording follows the EU regulator’s 2019 text (EMA/PRAC/265221/2019). That text covers every SSRI and SNRI, including duloxetine, and also names no individual symptom.
6. Propecia (finasteride) 1 mg film-coated tablets, patient leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 2194), last revised May 2026. Section 4, frequency unknown: “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment”. The same wording is used for sex drive and for ejaculation. The leaflet does not mention numbness or genital sensation. Nor do the UK regulator’s finasteride documents we checked. These were the MHRA Drug Safety Update of 29 April 2024, its Public Assessment Report of April 2024 and the update of 11 May 2026.
7. Roaccutane (isotretinoin) 10 mg and 20 mg soft capsules, patient leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 100633), last revised April 2026. Section 2: “Isotretinoin has been associated with sexual problems. These include problems getting or maintaining an erection, lower libido, vaginal dryness, orgasm difficulties and reduced sensation in the genitals. There have been reports of long-lasting sexual problems where the symptoms have continued despite stopping treatment with isotretinoin”. Section 4, unknown frequency: “Reduced sensation in the genitals”. The Summary of Product Characteristics, revised 27 April 2026, lists “genital hypoaesthesia” in section 4.8.
8. Commission on Human Medicines, Report of the Isotretinoin Expert Working Group, 26 April 2023. Section 5.3.4.3.2: “There were 7 Yellow Card reports (3 involving male and 4 involving female), reporting genital hypoaesthesia (reduced sensation in the genitals)”. Recommendations: “Although the data are limited, it is considered that there is sufficient evidence to justify adding orgasm difficulties and genital hypoaesthesia as possible side effects in the SmPC and PIL”. The MHRA’s Drug Safety Update of 31 October 2023 speaks of “sexual function side effects” and names no individual symptom.
9. Absorica and Absorica LD (isotretinoin), US prescribing information, revised August 2026. DailyMed, US National Library of Medicine. Section 6 lists “sexual dysfunction that may continue after discontinuation of treatment”. It names erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, decreased vaginal lubrication and vaginal dryness. The US label does not name numbness or reduced genital sensation, so the article cites only the UK leaflet for it. Our article on the 2026 US label change has the detail.
10. Healy D, Bahrick A, Bak M and colleagues. Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin. Int J Risk Saf Med 2022;33(1):65-76. An expert consensus. PSSD, necessary criteria: prior treatment with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and “an enduring change in somatic (tactile) or erogenous (sexual) genital sensation after treatment stops”. PFS and post-retinoid sexual dysfunction, the paper’s name for the isotretinoin condition, share additional criterion 5: “Enduring reduction in genital and orgasmic sensation”. For each: “The problem is present for ≥3 months after stopping treatment”. For each: “No current medical conditions that could account for the symptoms”. On tests: “quantitative sensory testing (QST) of the penis (vibration, warm and cold temperatures) may be helpful in assessing somatic sensation”. It adds: “Erogenous sensation is poorly understood and there are no available tests”. And: “The incidence of these conditions is unknown”.
11. Healy D, Le Noury J, Mangin D. Enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, 5α-reductase inhibitors and isotretinoin: 300 cases. Int J Risk Saf Med 2018;29(3-4):125-134. Reports sent to RxISK.org, a drug safety website set up by the authors and colleagues. Genital anaesthesia: 113 of 245 men and 33 of 55 women, 146 of 300 in all. On serotonin reuptake inhibitors: “Almost everyone who takes one will experience some degree of genital numbing, often within 30 minutes of taking the first dose”. With finasteride and isotretinoin the numbness “more often” became apparent “during later treatment or after stopping the drug”. The authors write that “neither genital anaesthesia nor pleasureless orgasm are features of depression or anxiety”. These are self-reports with no comparison group, so the study cannot give a rate or show cause.
12. Moral Medicine, Nurse Practitioner Speaks Out on PSSD, interview with Francis, August 2025 (70 minutes), embedded here as an extract from 5:00 to 6:15. From the YouTube auto-captions: a nurse at the time (4:43), and sertraline “for a couple months” (5:00). “I just lost, absolutely lost the feeling” (5:07). He didn’t piece it together at first (5:22). “I could have an erection… but then I was numb” (5:50). He stopped when he realised it might be the medicine (6:00). He says “it improved a little bit”, but that after nine years “I’ve never been the same” (6:06 to 6:13). His story on our site: Francis’s story: a nurse practitioner on PSSD.
13. SIDEfxHUB, Interview with Dr. Kenneth Peters, PFS / PAS / PSSD Summit 2026, April 2026 (15 minutes), embedded here as an extract from 2:56 to 5:06. Dr Peters is chair of urology at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Michigan. Paraphrased, not quoted, from the YouTube auto-captions at 3:00 to 4:50. He describes four young patients, men and women, who came within less than two weeks with almost identical complaints, including numbness. One came after finasteride, one had PSSD and two came after Accutane. The interview on our site: Dr. Kenneth Peters on the First PFS/PSSD/PAS Summit.
14. Moral Medicine, Benjamin’s 14-Year Battle with PSSD, interview with Benjamin, July 2024 (30 minutes), embedded here as an extract from 5:35 to 7:50. From the YouTube auto-captions: an antidepressant for a month (3:55). The captions garble its name, and Moral Medicine’s description gives it as Cymbalta (duloxetine). “It felt like my genitals were missing”, 30 minutes after the first pill (4:50). No trouble reaching climax, but “I don’t feel anything when it happens” (7:15). “The numbness dissipated after about 3 years” and “it just feels like a finger” (7:30). “The sexuality hasn’t returned at all” (7:45). His story on our site: Benjamin’s 14-Year Battle with PSSD.
15. Moral Medicine, I Lost My Sexual Identity After Prozac, interview with Katie, May 2026. From the YouTube auto-captions: fluoxetine from the age of 21 (0:40). “I only realised antidepressants were the cause of my symptoms last year” (0:52). “Physically numb sexual sensation” (1:02). Her story on our site: Katie’s story: 14 years after Prozac.