Antidepressants and climax.....

[lagaffe]

Two weeks ago, I started to take antidepressants (not because I wanted to, trust me!!!). However, according to the list of side effects:

- impotence, orgasm inhibition

They should have told me before!!!!! Normally, I have quite a strong sexual drive, but this drug totally prevents orgasm for me! Completely! Gone! I also read on the internet that this was very common with many types of antidepressants.

Anybody experiencing the same situation? Any solutions to this??? The worst is that it does help with my depression, but I can't see myself on this drug for months! Might as well become a priest!

This is depressing.......

 

[Fat Happy Buddha]

Can you name the antidepressant(s) you are taking? This may help others with some experience or medical knowledge to give you practical advice.

Also, you said that you are unable to reach orgasm. Are we to understand that you are able to maintain an erection?

 

[lagaffe]

Dr. Serpicio, the problem is that once you're in depresion mode (chicken or egg, whathever!), you don't have the mental health to fix your life! It's gone! So long! Byebye! Told ya, I'm not taking this medication for fun...

I take Citalopram and for the one asking if I get a normal hard-on, I do. But it never climaxes!!! No matter how long. After a while I get sick of it (or my partner does!). NOT fun...

Frustrating!

 

[naughtylady]

I hate Tom Cruise. I think he is a moron. A bit shamed that he is Canadian, makes me wonder who the fuck told him to become an actor, he sucks gross temps. But, I agree with him on what he and scientologists say about antidepressants. All antidepressants do is mask the problem of depression. Common logic says find the cause and eliminate it. Yes, it takes effort, courage etc etc, but... it makes sense.

Of course there are mental disorders that require medication for immediate treatment to avoid danger and most often these disorders are caused by chemical imbalances. However in the long run what came first, the chicken (life's problems) or the egg (depression), is the question to ask.

Depending on how severe one's depression is, a person cannot work on learning new life skills to deal with the cause of the depression without being on medication to get the emotions to a manageable level, to be able to function at basic living in the first place. I am saying this from personal experience.

Remember depression is a deadly disease. Not to be taken lightly. It took me years to get well and I would not wish that hell on my worst enemy. When I say I survived depression I am being very serious, because I had lost the will to live and I am lucky that I had friends and professionals who were there for me.

Speak with your doctor. While all medications have side effects, not everybody gets the same side effects. You might do better with a different medication. Don't turn your back on medication completely. If you need them then so be it. I went through 4 antidepressants before I found one I could live with.

In my case, I doubt I would be alive today (and getting my B.A. this year) if it were not for antidepressant meds. I kept slipping downwards until I finally said I was ready to try drug therapy (I did not believe in drug therapy for depression until I was so desperate I would have tried horse piss pills if you told me they would help).

Fell free to contact me if you feel the need to talk to someone who has been there.

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[lagaffe]

They should have told me before!!!!!

I guess this is the part that upsets me the most! I found that out by myself on the internet and it is widely published as a side effect. So why do I have to find this out like that! Is it that embarasment to talk about sexuality again? Aren't we beyond that in 2006?!

For now anyways, having accepted that I would be on drugs at this point, I have no objection in taking another drug to counter the sexual side-effects, but what?

I know anorgasmia is a sexual disorder (not only a side effect) that can be treated. Anybody had success with anything out there? (and yes I know there will be some other side effects to that drug too.... as long as it's not premature ejac!!!) As Confuscius would have said "in medio stat virtu"....

 

[Grey]

I had no idea what depression was until I forced myself to see a Doctor because I was feeling miserable for a very long time and it was getting worse.

Depression is very serious and indeed, using the word suffer to describe its effects is no exaggeration. I was prescribed anti-depressants and had the same sexual side effects you noted.

On the plus side they kept my mood very even. It eliminated the extreme lows and kept my mood stable. I am usually a driven competitive person and it diminished my drive (work, sexual etc.).

While helpful, I really didn’t like the overall effect. It was like I wasn’t completely “me” any more. It was as though I was “me-lite”.

Despite the fact the medication was essential, initially, I didn’t appreciate the idea that I needed medication to live my life. It made me think that if I need medication to be normal, then my life must be out of balance.

I used to be very athletic and I let that slip for a few years. I worked tremendous hours including weekends for a number of years. While business was a great success I felt no happiness and other parts of my life suffered.

So my re-evaluation resulted in changing my lifestyle:

 I went back to the gym (60 minutes 4-6 times per week)
 Reduce my work load by identifying the essential things to be good at instead of trying to be perfect at every item.
 Reduced the meds slowly over a period of several weeks.
 When I felt tired I called it a day instead of pushing beyond the limit.
 I started taking Omega 3 supplements (not medically proven as effective for depression but serious studies are showing a link to this contributing to improved mental health. Do a google and you will see research at reputable medical universities on this)

Doing all this was not a stroll in the park. It took about 6 months to begin feeling better. When you have depression just motivating yourself to do something simple like pick up a newspaper is as difficult as motivating yourself to walk through hell barefoot.

In my case, the lifestyle change was very effective and I no longer use the medication. I think they were essential initially but it just didn’t seem right to use this to live.

I would not say that what worked for me would work for everyone so never drop your medication on the basis of what I wrote here.

I still feel the occasional mood swing come on but I see it more as a signal to me that I’m getting out of balance and need to make a little adjustment to my lifestyle.

 

[lagaffe]

Well... I'll tell you, it should do it for you!!! Verrrry effective!

 

[lagaffe]

Muchas Gracias Dee, very informative indeed, but the bottom line is that I'm dead in the water.... no real solutions to this...

 

[naughtylady]

lagaffe>>> see your doctor and try a different drug, like I said before, they don't all give the same side effects, evef if the known possible side effects are the same.

The other option is to take a "drug holiday" and if you feel yourself slipping back into depression, go back on the meds.

Once again good luck, may you find your inner serenity.

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[lagaffe]

Cant stand this anymore. I'm seeing my doc on Monday! I'll let you know what he recommends.

Thanks for everybody's empathy and contribution. I was feeling alone with this problem and am discovering it is actually very common with antidepressors. I sincerely hope that thread can help someone else too!

 

[naughtylady]

NEVER GO COLD TURKEY!

When I said to try a drug holiday this is something to discuss with your doctor.

I am glad you are going to discuss this with your doctor. Let us know what the results are (and yes you are helping others who are not posting on this thread)

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[lagaffe]

Hi Guys!

Saw the doc today. He switched medication to Wellbutrin. Good antidepressant, but may have anxiety and agitation as a side effect. Supposed to be neutral on libido (even a bit positive) and is being tested as a weight loss medication, so contrary to other antidepressant, it does not favor weight gain.

Sounds good. I will report.

 

[lagaffe]

Geez weight loss too.... i think they use this for people who want to stop smoking too

Yeah I know! Sounds too good to be true! The silver bullet of antidepressants! Will let you know!

 

[naughtylady]

weight loss... damn, makes me think about changing meds again... ok thought about it... wont do it, the risk is to great... it took me so long to find this balance, and so many drugs that I could not live with, I will stay where I am: happy (even if I am not a skinny-mini)

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[lagaffe]

Guys! It's already better. Still more difficult than usual to climax, but nothing compared to prior medication! There is hope! (and my GF has hopes too!!!)

On the weight loss side, well.... will report after the holliday seasons, but I'm not tooooo optimistic!

Good luck to all of you guys on antidepressants. This one has improved the sexual side effects for me, I hope it does for you too.

 

[naughtylady]

Some difficulty climaxing is not necessairly a bad thing your GF may even appreciate it! As long as you can still maintain wood.

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[lagaffe]

Guys,

I'm very pleased to report that with the current medication (Wellbutrin/Zyban), the sexual side effects are gone completely!

I have not experienced other side effects so far. This medication seems bang on for me.

Happy new year too all of you! Mine certainly looks happier so far!

 

[curly]

Great to see you're doing well! I'll certainly keep this in mind if I ever need that kind of medecine... Not fun!