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Pickle Therapy Lady 
I Ish A Duckie!
Group: Members
Posts: 302
Joined: Jul. 2001
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,00:34 |
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Anyone around here who's ever had to take antidepressants knows what some of the side effects can be. Primarily, sexual side effects, which sucks (or doesn't depending on how you read into that). Well, when you're having serious problems upstairs, you don't tend to worry so much about sex anyway so who cares. The problem is when you start stablizing and start MISSING sex.
That's where I am now. That's why I'm back in a shrink's office. So between me and the quack, we decide to start backing me off my antidepressant (Serzone). Alone. In other words, not starting on a different med as I'm coming off the current one. That's great for the obvious clarity of results, but it sucks for the side effects.
It's hard to keep a smile on my face when I have panic attacks and continuously worry about work. When I feel like I'd rather be alone and NOT like putting forth the effort to explain myself to my confused husband. Hell, when I don't even feel like I can explain myself TO myself. When I catch thoughts of how incompetent I am drifting through my head and feelings of wanting to just get out of everything I'm involved in.
I hate work. Even more so, I think I hate putting on a fake happy face for those who I work WITH. I just can't take trying to explain myself to these people over and over and OVER again.
It's too bad that it took meds to get me thinking and feeling for the most part, like a normal person and NOT depressed and stressed all the damned time. I just want to be able to feel that way w/out relying on a pill once, twice, eight hundred fifty-two times a damned day. I guess that's why I'm tormenting myself by backing off my current meds. Even if there might be a light at the end of this hellacious tunnel, the process I have to go through to get there doesn't make it very easy to be optimistic. Woah is me. Bleh.
[/mindless rambling]. I rarely post topics anyway. I just needed to unload. You can move along now. Thanks for the "ear" if you read all this crap and sorry to have added more crying to the long list of issues we've all been seeming to have lately. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. 
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I thank you for your infinite wisdom. I shall lick you now!
*LICK*
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| Post Number: 2
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Jimi
Caffene powered rant machine
Group: Members
Posts: 354
Joined: Oct. 2001
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,00:46 |
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First of all I read it all and I feel for you, if it makes you feel better somebody once said to me that it's always the clever thinkers who it gets to, so at least you are clever.
I have been there, I used to analise everything. I always used to be thinking about really quite deep issues and knowing I couldn't do anything about it made me go a bit off on one. I started drinking heavily to combat it, I would very rarely not be drunk. I neglected my friends and I owe a lot to the only one person who noticed something was wrong, he knows who he is.
Also I know a girl at college, she is and can only be descirbed as a thinker. I really don't know alot about what is going on with her at the minute as I haven't seen her in quite a while but last time I saw her she didn't seem to sharp.
It's all part of life and if you need to just rant to someone ever feel free to e-mail me, I will happily read them all as I have too much time now anyway. I'm happy to listen/Read
carlmattock@bigfoot.com
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OK, but if we run out of maltesers i'm gonna go all crazy on your ass.
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ic0n0
I have become Death, Destroyer of Worlds
Group: Members
Posts: 1352
Joined: Sep. 2000
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,01:01 |
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I know when I was using antidepressants for 3 years I had no sex drive at all. I was in the middle of my teenage (15-17) years the time when you are supposed to be full of hormones and be completely well for a lack of a better word horny. Even now after being off for two years I still have almost no sex drive, so I don’t know what this means but hopefully you will get back to normal after some time.
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"I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time." (Isaac Asimov)
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| Post Number: 4
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damien_s_lucifer
Emperor of Detnet
Group: Members
Posts: 33
Joined: Jan. 1970
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,01:59 |
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I feel for you PTL. I have to take Paxil for dysthymia (chronic, low-grade, reoccurring depression) and I know about the sexual side effects.
Here's what has helped :
1. medication holidays. I know with Paxil, I can skip a day and not really feel any worse.
2. Adding a small dose of Welbutrin (buproprion) to an SSRI like Serzone has helped a *lot* of people in the sex dept. while still maintaing the benefit of an SSRI. Welbutrin is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and an orgasm is basically a dopamine flood 
3. Switch medications. All the SSRI's have some sexual side effects, but they vary. On Prozac I couldn't get it up. Paxil, on the other hand, gives me rock-hard ragers, it's just hard to finish what I started sometimes 
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Pickle Therapy Lady
I Ish A Duckie!
Group: Members
Posts: 302
Joined: Jul. 2001
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,02:18 |
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| Quote (damien_s_lucifer @ 31 Jan. 2002,00:59) | I feel for you PTL. I have to take Paxil for dysthymia (chronic, low-grade, reoccurring depression) and I know about the sexual side effects.
Here's what has helped :
1. medication holidays. I know with Paxil, I can skip a day and not really feel any worse.
2. Adding a small dose of Welbutrin (buproprion) to an SSRI like Serzone has helped a *lot* of people in the sex dept. while still maintaing the benefit of an SSRI. Welbutrin is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and an orgasm is basically a dopamine flood
3. Switch medications. All the SSRI's have some sexual side effects, but they vary. On Prozac I couldn't get it up. Paxil, on the other hand, gives me rock-hard ragers, it's just hard to finish what I started sometimes |
DSL...Thanks for the suggestions.
I can't take holidays because Serzone is some crazy shit...it took nearly 3 months for me to get rid of the suicidal thoughts, headaches, and (to keep it non disgusting) stomach issues so I don't DARE cold turkey this stuff for even a day or dose.
The Welbutrin is a possiblity as well as changing meds. If lowering my dose of Serzone doesn't help (I'm backing off of it over 3-4 weeks time) then we're going to change me to something else.
The REALLY fucked up part about the sexual side effects is that they are the reason I'm on Serzone and not Effexor XR. That was why I switched to Serzone. It worked SURPRISINGLY well at first. As in, I wanted sex more than before I was ever on antidepressants and the orgasms were un-fucking-believable. BUT! I was still falling asleep at work and still occassionally depressed a bit so my dose got upped again. This time too high. That's where everything went to shit. Backing down on the dose didn't help at all...my sex drive just KEPT dropping off. Now I don't want sex EVER and the few times I've "convinced myself" that I did (for my husband's benefit) there was not even a glimmer of an orgasm in sight.
THAT is why I'm doing all this.
If getting off Serzone altogether doesn't leave me a depressed puddle of nerves and DOES leave me with a sex drive then I'll be happy. If I'm no better off, it's new meds here I come.
What a pain in the ass it all is. Really.
Thanks for the info about how Welbutrin works w/Serzone btw, that helped make it a bit clearer.
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I thank you for your infinite wisdom. I shall lick you now!
*LICK*
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Vigilante
Unrequited Lover
Group: Members
Posts: 719
Joined: May 2000
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,02:59 |
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Huh. I've been on effexor for months, and am as horny as ever (not that it does me any good... ). Added welbutrin recently (since the effexor wasn't doing anything else, either), and I'm still using up porn at an alarming rate.
I still don't have reason to put much stock in any of these, but I have to say to just hold on and give them a fair chance. I'd also say that switching off something as brutal as serzone is for you would be a worthwhile move.
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He says turn the other cheek, but that seems kind of weak
I just want to beat up, beat up the meek
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| Post Number: 7
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ic0n0
I have become Death, Destroyer of Worlds
Group: Members
Posts: 1352
Joined: Sep. 2000
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,03:53 |
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Efexor was the only drug that worked for i tried like 5 dif drugs, i had to stop not becasue i was better but becasue my liver is messed up. I was diagnosed with dysthymia and i still have it considering it doesn't go away. But i am doing alright.
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"I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time." (Isaac Asimov)
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| Post Number: 8
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damien_s_lucifer
Emperor of Detnet
Group: Members
Posts: 33
Joined: Jan. 1970
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,03:55 |
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Just about everyone I've met who's taken effexor says the same thing : it works for awhile, and then it gives up. The doctor tries increasing the dosage, which just makes the patienty shaky, sleepy, or both. Looking at its profile, I'd guess that it wouldn't do all that much good for anxiety/panic disorders, and could possibly make them worse. It increases both serotonin, which calms you, and norepinephrine which does the opposite. (Norepinephrine does much the same thing as epinephrine, which you probably know better as "adrenaline.")
I know a couple people who have been on Wellbutrin for many years, and they all say it still works. Wellbutrin's primary effect is on dopamine, which is involved in fine motor movement and seems to act as a feeling amplifier. It's probably great for depression without anxiety. Plus it's a phenethylamine... Alexander Shulgin, the God of Hallucinogens, wrote an entire book about them called Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved
The SSRI's Paxil and Prozac both seem to keep working for years. Serotonin is involved in a whole slew of things; one of them seems to be carrying a signal that says "all is well," which causes you to relax. That's why it's so effective for depression with or without anxiety; you're too relaxed to panic or be sad. The downside is that it can make you a little *too* relaxed. During sex, the nerves responsible for sexual pleasure and orgasm simply can't generate a strong enough signal to override the command to relax... that's where Wellbutrin comes in. It boosts your dopamine levels enough to allow some things to override the effect of the SSRI.
Several people I've spoken with have said that they found Paxil to have fewer sexual side effects than Prozac, but they still have them.
Finally - remember that antidepressants take their own sweet time to really work their magic. I've been taking Paxil for over a year now and am still improving... it takes a long time to get used to living outside of the prison that depression locks you in!
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| Post Number: 9
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Vlamor
FNG
Group: Members
Posts: 40
Joined: Jan. 2002
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,04:01 |
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Reading you all I sympathize, but on the other hand I'm very surprised so many people take meds. I've never took meds in my entire life. Well I did a lot of acids, but it doesn't count. Anyway I didn't know meds were so popular. Do you think it's the right way to go when you are depressed? I'm curious...
When I feel depressed or when I feel nobody understand me, I exercise. That way the pain in my muscles take over the pain in my head.
Edited by Vlamor on Jan. 01 1970,01:00
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| Post Number: 10
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Vigilante
Unrequited Lover
Group: Members
Posts: 719
Joined: May 2000
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Posted on: Jan. 31 2002,04:55 |
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What you mention, Vlamor, while never trivial, doesn't seem to be of the sort that is always present for almost a decade (and in a critical descent for three years). When it saps away all your internal motivation, only something external will make a difference. Antidepressants aren't the only means around, but are sometimes the only means available.
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He says turn the other cheek, but that seems kind of weak
I just want to beat up, beat up the meek
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