Medicines with sexual side effects: 8 kinds

Many medicines can cause sexual side effects while you take them, including antidepressants, beta blockers and some painkillers. For SSRIs, finasteride and isotretinoin, UK leaflets also warn the problems can last after stopping, known as post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-Accutane syndrome (PAS).

The US National Library of Medicine has a list of medicines that may cause erection problems. It doesn’t say what happens after you stop taking one. That’s worth knowing before you start, and worth reporting if you’ve stopped and sex still feels different.

Elliott Brown, a London comedian, read the leaflet that came with his antidepressants. He expected headaches. “Further down there was failed ejaculation,” he told BBC News, “and below that was delayed ejaculation.”

Play video: Antidepressants: Should we talk about side-effects? (BBC News, extract)

Elliott says it’s worth it: “I don’t think I’d be here without them.” Connor, whose name the BBC changed, had stopped sertraline almost twelve months earlier. “I still have numbness in my genitals,” he says.

Which medicines can cause sexual side effects?

Quite a few. Here are eight kinds of medicine whose NHS page or UK leaflet names a sexual side effect. They’re in alphabetical order, and the order means nothing.

• Antidepressants, including SSRIs such as sertraline. The NHS lists low sex drive, difficulty reaching orgasm, vaginal dryness and erection problems.
• Antipsychotics, such as olanzapine. The NHS mentions a lower sex drive and erection problems.
• Beta blockers, for the heart and blood pressure. The NHS lists erection problems.
• Finasteride, for hair loss or the prostate. The NHS lists erection problems, less interest in sex and problems ejaculating.
• Gabapentin and pregabalin, for epilepsy and nerve pain. The NHS lists erection problems for gabapentin and pregabalin.
• Isotretinoin, the acne capsule. The NHS lists erectile dysfunction and low sex drive.
• Opioid painkillers, such as morphine. The Zomorph leaflet lists impotence and a lower sex drive.
• Tamsulosin, a prostate medicine. The NHS lists problems ejaculating.

It isn’t a full list, and being on it doesn’t say how often a problem happens. A medicine isn’t the only possible cause either. Our articles on low libido in your 20s and erectile dysfunction at 20 go through the others.

Can sexual side effects last after stopping the medicine?

For some people, yes. Three on that list have a UK leaflet that says so.

• Finasteride. The Propecia leaflet lists “persistent difficulty having an erection after discontinuation of treatment”. Patients call this post-finasteride syndrome, or PFS. The leaflet for dutasteride, a similar prostate medicine, has a line like it.
• Isotretinoin. The Roaccutane leaflet says there have been reports of “long-lasting sexual problems where the symptoms have continued despite stopping treatment”. This is known as post-Accutane syndrome, or PAS.
• SSRI and SNRI antidepressants. The sertraline leaflet says: “In some cases, these symptoms have continued after stopping treatment.” The leaflet for venlafaxine, an SNRI, says the same. When they last, it’s called post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, or PSSD. Our article on antidepressant sexual problems has more.

That’s the only difference we’re pointing to: what the documents say. The pages we read for the other five don’t mention sexual side effects after stopping, one way or the other.

Medicines regulators have written about all three.

Three warnings, three dated documents

2019

SSRIs and SNRIsThe EU medicines regulator asks for a leaflet warning on every one.

2023

IsotretinoinThe UK regulator says new warnings on sexual side effects are in the leaflet.

2024

FinasterideThe UK regulator reminds doctors, and announces a card for every pack.

Nobody has counted how often it happens, say the authors of the 2022 diagnostic criteria for the three conditions. For some people it has lasted years after stopping. Nobody knows yet who will be affected, or whether it will ease.

Our article on side effects after stopping explains when a side effect counts as lasting.

Where do I find the warning?

Often it isn’t in the list of side effects. UK leaflets have numbered sections, and the list is section 4. That’s where the BBC’s reporter finds “ejaculation failure”.

On the sertraline leaflet, the line about stopping comes earlier: in section 2, on what you need to know before you take it, under “Sexual problems”. The isotretinoin leaflet puts it in section 2 as well, and the finasteride leaflet has it low down in section 4. If you only read down the list, you can miss it.

As of October 2026, the NHS website says it for two of the three. Problems “may carry on after stopping antidepressants”, it says, and “can sometimes carry on even after you stop taking finasteride”. Its isotretinoin page lists problems with sex but not whether they last.

What can I do?

These medicines help many people. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber. Follow what your medicine’s leaflet says, and don’t stop an antidepressant suddenly.

Should men stop their blood pressure tablets over erection problems? In a film from the International Society for Sexual Medicine, the speaker gives a firm no.

Play video: Can blood pressure medications cause erectile dysfunction? (ISSM, extract)

If sex changed on a medicine, or hasn’t recovered since you stopped, tell your GP and give your dates: “Finasteride 1 mg from March 2024, last tablet June 2024.”

Many people say it took time to be taken seriously. Bring the leaflet line. 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 say the symptoms continued after stopping.

Our reporting guide walks you through it

What else do people ask?

Does this happen to women too? Yes. The NHS antidepressants page lists vaginal dryness and difficulty reaching orgasm, and the isotretinoin leaflet lists vaginal dryness and reduced feeling in the genitals. Our page on PSSD in women covers what’s known.

Why isn’t the contraceptive pill on the list? The NHS says two things. Its page on the combined pill says there’s no evidence it changes your sex drive. Its page on low sex drive names hormonal contraception as a possible cause, and says to see a GP if you think yours is affecting you.

Can the problems be permanent? None of the three leaflets uses that word about sexual problems. How many people recover has never been properly investigated, the 2022 paper says. Our article on permanent erectile dysfunction from medicine goes through what has been studied. Read more about PSSD, PFS and PAS.

Elliott found his side effect by reading down the leaflet. Look for the line about stopping on yours too. If it describes you, tell your prescriber and report it.

Sources

1. NHS, Antidepressants, page last reviewed 12 June 2025. Common side effects include “problems with sex, such as low sex drive, finding it difficult to orgasm, vaginal dryness or finding it difficult to get or keep an erection – for some people, these problems may carry on after stopping antidepressants”.
2. NHS, Side effects of olanzapine, page last reviewed 19 February 2025. “See your doctor if you have sexual problems such as lower libido in men or women, or problems getting an erection. These can be signs of hormone changes.” Olanzapine is the antipsychotic we checked on the NHS site. The UK leaflet for risperidone (EMC 101518, last revised August 2024) also lists decreased sexual drive and erectile dysfunction.
3. NHS, Beta blockers, page last reviewed 4 September 2026. Common side effects can include “problems getting or keeping an erection”.
4. NHS, Side effects of finasteride, page last reviewed 2 August 2023. “Problems getting an erection and less interest in having sex”; “Problems with ejaculating, such as little or no semen”. Of these side effects the page says “they can sometimes carry on even after you stop taking finasteride”.
5. NHS, Side effects of gabapentin, page last reviewed 19 February 2026, and Side effects of pregabalin, page last reviewed 20 January 2026. Each lists “Difficulty getting an erection”.
6. NHS, Isotretinoin: a medicine for severe acne, page last reviewed 26 June 2026. Side effects can include “problems with sex, such as erectile dysfunction (impotence) and low sex drive (loss of libido)”. The page does not say whether these can continue after stopping; its only lines about stopping are on contraception and pregnancy.
7. Zomorph (morphine sulfate) 10 mg capsules, patient leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 1420), last revised June 2025. Section 2: tell your doctor if you “have loss of libido, impotence, cessation of menstruation. This may be because of decreased sex hormone production.” Section 4: “Impotence, decreased sexual drive, absence of menstrual periods”. Morphine is the one opioid leaflet we checked.
8. NHS, Side effects of tamsulosin, page last reviewed 2 February 2023. “Problems ejaculating”.
9. 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.” Section 4, very common: “Insomnia, dizziness, sleepiness, headache, diarrhoea, feeling sick, dry mouth, ejaculation failure, fatigue”. Section 4 does not repeat the line about stopping. The word “permanent” does not appear in the leaflet. Efexor XL (venlafaxine) prolonged-release capsules, patient leaflet (EMC 5474), last revised October 2025, section 2, “Sexual problems”: “Medicines like Efexor XL (so called SNRIs) may cause symptoms of sexual dysfunction (see section 4). In some cases, these symptoms have continued after stopping treatment.”
10. 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”, “persistent decrease in sex drive after discontinuation of treatment”, “persistent problems with ejaculation after discontinuation of treatment”.
11. 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 lists the sexual problems under unknown frequency and does not repeat the line about stopping.
12. Avodart (dutasteride) 0.5 mg soft capsules, patient leaflet, Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC 6758), last revised March 2026. “not able to achieve or maintain an erection (impotence), this may continue after you stop taking Avodart”, with the same wording for sex drive and ejaculation.
13. European Medicines Agency, PRAC recommendations on signals adopted at the 13-16 May 2019 meeting (EMA/PRAC/265212/2019), section 1.3, adopted 16 May 2019. Companies making six SSRIs (citalopram, escitalopram, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline) and four SNRIs (duloxetine, venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine, milnacipran) were asked to add the warning. The package leaflet text goes in section 2.
14. MHRA, Isotretinoin (Roaccutane): introduction of new safety measures, Drug Safety Update, 31 October 2023. After the Commission on Human Medicines’ review, published in April 2023, the product information was updated, including “the addition of new warnings and precautions on potential mental health and sexual function side effects”. The update does not say on what date the line about stopping entered the leaflet.
15. MHRA, Finasteride: reminder of the risk psychiatric side effects and of sexual side effects (which may persist after discontinuation of treatment), Drug Safety Update, 29 April 2024. “Healthcare professionals are reminded to monitor patients for both psychiatric and sexual side effects.” It says “a patient card will be introduced in all finasteride packs”. The update notes that the product information already described persistent sexual side effects.
16. 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. “The incidence of these conditions is unknown.” The number of patients who regain their original sexual function after stopping these medicines “has never been properly investigated”. Each set of criteria includes a problem present for 3 months or more after stopping treatment. An expert consensus, not a follow-up study.
17. MedlinePlus, Drugs that may cause erection problems, US National Library of Medicine, review date 1 January 2025. The list includes sertraline, finasteride and dutasteride. Isotretinoin is not on it, and the page does not mention problems continuing after a medicine is stopped.
18. NHS, Low sex drive (loss of libido), page last reviewed 26 May 2026. The main causes listed include “using hormonal contraception like the pill, patch or implant”. The page says to see a GP if “you’re taking a medicine or using hormonal contraception and you think it may be affecting your sex drive”. NHS, Side effects and risks of the combined pill, page last reviewed 15 February 2024: “There is no evidence that taking the pill makes you put on weight or changes your sex drive.”
19. BBC News, Antidepressants: Should we talk about side-effects?, reported by Anton Ferrie, posted 11 August 2023 (12 minutes 30 seconds), embedded here as an extract from 3:04 to 6:57. The quotes are from the YouTube auto-captions. The reporter reads “insomnia, dizziness, sleepiness, headache, ejaculation failure, fatigue” (3:24 to 3:32). Elliott says there was “stuff I was expecting like headaches” (4:15), then “further down there was failed ejaculation and below that was delayed ejaculation” (4:18 to 4:21), and “I don’t think I’d be here without them” (5:21). Connor: “I stopped taking sertraline almost 12 months ago and I still have numbness in my genitals” (6:09 to 6:18). The BBC says Connor is not his real name. Elliott’s surname and home city are as given in BBC Mundo’s written version of the report, 18 August 2023 (“Elliott Brown, un comediante londinense”). An unnamed clinician in the extract gives two spoken figures; we have not traced them to a study, so they are not repeated in the text.
20. International Society for Sexual Medicine, Can blood pressure medications cause erectile dysfunction?, posted 5 May 2023 (82 seconds), embedded here as an extract that ends at 0:58. Paraphrased from the YouTube auto-captions at 0:53 to 0:57. The speaker is not named in the film’s description, which says the film gives the speaker’s opinions and not necessarily the society’s.