What is Dapoxetine?
Dapoxetine is an extremely short acting SSRI which is used for the treatment of premature ejaculation in men. It is the only drug which has been approved for this use, but currently that approval has only been gained in a handful of European countries, including Germany, Italy and Portugal. It is currently awaiting assessment in other European countries and in the US. Other SSRIs have been used for treatment of premature ejaculation in the past but they have been unsuitable because most of them take days to reach peak plasma level. Dapoxetine, because of its rapid absorption will begin to be effective within sixty minutes, making it suitable to be taken as required. Dapoxetine was originally developed by Eli Lilly and company as an antidepressant before being sold to Johnson and Johnson who submitted it to the FDA for approval in 2004.
How does Dapoxetine work?
Because dapoxetine has a much shorter half-life than other SSRIs, it quickly clears from the body, allowing normal emotional and mental functioning. Dapoxetine is cleared from the body within hours, as compared to days with other antidepressants. Dapoxetine is rapidly absorbed and will begin to take effect within sixty minutes. Peak plasma concentration occurs between 85 and 120 minutes and the effect will usually last between two and four hours.
How effective is dapoxetine for premature ejaculation?
Some studies have shown that dapoxetine can provide significantly prolonged sexual intercourse for men with moderate or severe premature ejaculation. However, like all SSRIs, dapoxetine users run the risk of rare but potentially dangerous side effects. These include suicidal ideation and an increase in violent behavior among long-term SSRI users. Dapoxetine has yet to undergo extensive clinical trials, but some experts express considerable doubt as to whether the effectiveness of the drug for some men outweighs the attendant risks. To date the US Food and Drugs Administration has declined to clear dapoxetine for sale because it is not convinced of the positive effect. Two clinical trials involving a total of 2,614 men with an average time of one minute from penetration to ejaculation, showed an average time of 2.78 minutes after taking 30 mg of Dapoxetine and an average time of 3.32 minutes after taking 60 mg of Dapoxetine.
What does Dapoxetine look like?
Dapoxetine is available as a round blue tablet in strengths of 30 or 60 mg with the strength in milligrams imprinted.
Dapoxetine dosing and administration
The usual starting dosage of Dapoxetine is 30 mg in a single dose taken an hour before sex is planned. If this dose is inadequate, your doctor may incrementally increase the dosage up to a maximum of 60 mg until the desired effect is obtained.
Common adverse effects from Dapoxetine
Dapoxetine may cause the same range of side effects as all SSRIs however, because it is effective for premature ejaculation at relatively low dosages, these side effects are rarely serious. As with all SSRIs any symptoms of serotonin syndrome should be reported to your doctor immediately.