ABSTRACT
In 1992, a 30-year-old man visited me at my outpatient office and asked me to treat him for premature ejaculation. After taking his medical and sexual history, I told him about the usual treatment for premature or rapid ejaculation. This treatment consisted of the socalled squeeze technique, a behavioral treatment in which a man learns how to delay his ejaculation using masturbation exercises. The technique requires the cooperation of a female partner, but this young man became extremely upset by this requirement. He was sure that his girlfriend never would agree to it. He told me that he thought she was the woman of his life. They had known each other now for 6 months, but the relationship was threatened. She was very angry with him because he always ejaculated so quickly that she had no chance to get sexually aroused herself. She warned him that she would leave him if he did not seek help. He refused the behavioral therapy and insisted that I look for medication to treat him. At that time I had heard that some depressed patients were experiencing a delayed ejaculation or even an absence of ejaculation after being treated with the new antidepressant paroxetine. After some consideration, I told this despairing man about the phenomenon, and that it was worth trying this new antidepressant to see whether it could also delay his ejaculation. He agreed. After 3 weeks he came back to see me. But now he was cheerful, very happy, and very grateful to me for prescribing this drug. To his and also to my own amazement, his ejaculations became very retarded. His girlfriend was also very satisfied with the change that had come about within only a few weeks. Their relationship did not break down after all, and 6 months later they invited me to their wedding.
