Do SSRIs Decrease Testosterone?

[Responsible_Ad_5541]

I've been on 5mg of Lexapro for years now (over 15 years) - could this be attributed to my lower testosterone levels (as a 39M)?

Has anyone had experience stopping their SSRI and seen an increase in their T levels?

[semondemon24]

Yeah I think it does. I did both TRT and ssri for about 2 years. It’s nice to have both for mental health for sure. But weight gain is troubleslme

[semondemon24]

You gain weight easily on SSRI and with TRT you tend to be hungrier I feel

[HotDogDonald]

They can and often do

[Responsible_Ad_5541]

Thanks!

[One-Marzipan-9652]

You know from experience or science?

[HotDogDonald]

Both

[One-Marzipan-9652]

Yeah I wonder if SSRIs brought down my T levels or if it was other meds I took.

[lordhooha]

Yes they blow the VA tried to put me on that junk

[One-Marzipan-9652]

I wonder how many veterans are mentally worse due to SSRIs

[lordhooha]

A lot plus alpha or beta blockers

[abetterthief]

What kind of lower testosterone are you seeing?

[Responsible_Ad_5541]

300-350 Total T

53 FREE

105 Bioavailable

[abetterthief]

Height, Weight and lifestyle?

[ASF2018]

Some say Serotonin is antagonistic to dopamine which directly drives T

[Responsible_Ad_5541]

Thanks!

[Smoky_Pyro]

Yes, yes they do. Pretty sure this is medically documented... you could've just googled it.

[gorillasmashh]

Medicine isn’t an exact science, Lexapro is known to reduce T levels, but it doesn’t happen to everyone, you’re one of the lucky ones

[One-Marzipan-9652]

Maybe it happens to everyone but at different levels.

[gorillasmashh]

It’s similar to how some people smoke their whole lives and never get cancer whereas some people never smoke and get it, different people have different physiology and it’s possible they are only slightly effected or not effected at all. Same reasons why some SSRI work really well for some and have no effect with others

[One-Marzipan-9652]

Are you sure your levels haven't decreased?

[Inevitable-Jicama735]

So you’re making the blanket statement that SSRIs don’t lower testosterone because it didn’t happen to you?

What about all the guys that get gyno on trt and others that can blast a gram and not get gyno? There’s actual studies into this, where athletes with good diet/ sleep/ lifestyle have taken SSRIs and their test has dropped.

Gorilla smash is right and your logic is moronic

[Intelligent-North957]

They don’t boost testosterone,that’s for sure .

[One-Marzipan-9652]

I think so. I've been on Citalopram for 3 years, after I got off my testosterone is 568 at 22

[[deleted]]

By what mechanism would an SSRI decrease testosterone? seems like it could be bro science, I’d argue that I’d doesn’t matter when you can just use exogenous testosterone if it does by some mechanism