SSRI side effects---I hope??? (Full Version)

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Aneirin -> SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 4:45:13 PM)

Ok,since I am making a point of being honest in my profile, I will be honest here. I am being honest as I am seriously worried,( more worried than you know D.).

Before starting these things,citalopram, an SSRI, I was motivated by sex, being a scorpio that seemed about right.I have been on them about six months now and things have improved a great deal from the first week, but I still have zero interest in things that used to light ny fire.

I am worried, opportunities of relationships present themselves, but I seem scared, and do my best to appear not interested which only chews me up later.

My thoughts are,is this the meds or is there something else amiss.

Many here I know post of their problems, including the often maligned psychological problems, problems I think people are brave to admit, but being honest, I have a problem I am unhappy with and hope others here can shine a light, if not at least give me some reassurance?



angelikaJ -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 4:55:06 PM)

If your moods (and/or any other issues) are better, then there is a very good chance that it is a side effect of the SSRI.
It never hurts to run it by your medical professional for their take on your situation.

Best of luck

aJ



MsSophie -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:12:56 PM)

I'm probably just tired, but I am a litte unsure of what, exactly, it is that worries you. Is it a lack of interest in sex?
That is a rather common side effect of Citalopram, and maybe you'd want to change to a related SSRI.
My partner completely lost interest in sex whilst on Citalopram, this was solved by swtiching to Escitalopram, which is a more modern version of this drug. Slightly different, but much faster working and you can usually lower the dosage. Talk to your GP about it!

Good luck!
Sophie



servantheart -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:20:33 PM)

Side effects of SSRIs include decreased libido and ejaculatory delay.  Some are worse than others and we all react differently to any given medication.  I agree that you should bring it to your doctor's attention and of course do not suddenly stop taking your medication. 
 
Good luck,
 
Taryn
 



norarc -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:36:06 PM)

I understand your concerns, Aneirin -- I'm on citalopram as well, and let me tell you, after reading the eight-page long package on potential side-effects (most of which are so rare as to be nonexistent -- aspirin's brief is twelve pages long, after all), the one that really, really worried me was the potential for a decreased libido, and anorgasmia (delayed/muted orgasm).  It just seemed ridiculous to do all this work and take medication in order to become mentally functional and conquer depression and discover that I wouldn't be, well, functional, if you take my meaning.  Looking at that first pill, I still remember feeling very much like I was nose-to-nose with a live scorpion.  But my own mental illness is severe, chronic and long-term enough that I was willing to do whatever it took to get myself well -- I figured at that point I'd be better equipped to deal with questions of changing medication and side-effects and whatnot.

Fortunately in my own case, I find that my libido hasn't decreased at all -- if anything it's increased.  Sounds fun, but I still need a nice little subbie to help me out with that one... ahem, sorry, back to the topic.  If you are truly concerned with the side-effects of citalopram, and it's seriously cutting into your quality of life, my suggestion would be to talk to your doctor and see if there aren't any other meds that might do the trick for you.  There are a huge variety of antidepressants out there: SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, tricyclics, tetracyclics, Novels, the list goes on and on.  If citalopram reacts badly with your body, another SSRI might not (I saw an earlier post mention escitalopram), and if that doesn't work, perhaps another class of medication will agree with you better.  Don't give up or despair because one particular medication isn't for you; yes, playing "musical pills" is a pain, but it's better than reducing your options to choosing between living with sexual side-effects or living with depression.

If you need an example of problems with medication, I was once on a different medication myself -- Serzone (nefazodone), and it definitely didn't agree with me.  I started having anxiety attacks and serious thoughts of suicide while using it, and ditched it on my own.  Probably the best thing to do, but being frightened and refusing to go back for help for my condition probably lengthened my depression by three or four years.  Of course, I'm gratified to see that nefazodone has been pulled from the Canadian market over concerns of liver damage, but even still, I shouldn't have given up on medication after one bad experience.

So the best advice I can give you is just keep a close eye on yourself, give your body time to adjust to your medication and any dosage adjustments (I had a few side-effects from citalopram at the beginning, but they seem to have cleared up entirely), and if you see any long-term side-effects that don't disappear, talk to your doctor about other medication options.  And finally, don't give up.

Best of luck.



nyrisa -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:38:54 PM)

I would think the new medication is the most likely explanation. It is a common side effect. While the SSRIs do wonders for depression, they do alter sexual function quite a bit.

For many people, side effects go away after a couple months of use. It is often a better option to give a medication a fair test of time to see if the benefit outweighs the drawbacks, before changing medication.

Too often, a medication is stopped too soon, and then considered to be a failure, when it might have ended up being just the right thing, after the transition period. A rapid changing of several medications is the worst idea, because then you have no idea what works, and what does not. But discuss this with your doctor, certainly.



Aneirin -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:39:40 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: servantheart

Side effects of SSRIs include decreased libido and ejaculatory delay.  Some are worse than others and we all react differently to any given medication.  I agree that you should bring it to your doctor's attention and of course do not suddenly stop taking your medication. 
 
Good luck,
 
Taryn
 



Yes,not taking medication by forgetting it has some interesting effects,I feel alive for a while till I remember I forgot to take the meds.

The start back on them is always arduous.I find memory loss a problem with the meds, I was so good before them.



Aswad -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:51:14 PM)

Aneirin,

As others have pointed out, sexual disturbances is a common side-effect of all SSRIs. Further, most of them tend to reduce drives in general, and apathy isn't exactly unheard of. It's also been my experience that they tend to give some memory troubles with long-term use, especially forgetting names and not finding the word you are searching for. If my pdoc at the time did the paperwork, there should be four cases of that reported out of the five people I know who have used citalopram. Supposedly, this is not a problem with S-citalopram, but I have not observed people taking that on a long-term basis.

If mood and/or drive are the primary problems for you, and you don't take other meds or herbs, I would suggest talking to your doctor about Manerix (moclobemide), which does not generally have any sexual side effects, although it does interact with several other drugs, making it imperative to consult your primary care physician before using any herbs or drugs (whether OTC or prescription). Taking it thrice daily, rather than twice, is ideal.

Barring that, you could ask the doc to supplement it with cabergoline, pramiprexole, or some similar drug (i.e. dopamine agonists). That will raise your testosterone levels a bit, and will also counteract the downregulation of the dopamine system caused by SSRIs. It can also speed up the antidepressant action in some cases, particularly anergic states.

Consult your doctor about the side-effects that may arise, as usual.

Hope some of this helps.

Health,
al-Aswad.



servantheart -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:53:21 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin


quote:

ORIGINAL: servantheart

Side effects of SSRIs include decreased libido and ejaculatory delay.  Some are worse than others and we all react differently to any given medication.  I agree that you should bring it to your doctor's attention and of course do not suddenly stop taking your medication. 
 
Good luck,
 
Taryn
 



Yes,not taking medication by forgetting it has some interesting effects,I feel alive for a while till I remember I forgot to take the meds.

The start back on them is always arduous.I find memory loss a problem with the meds, I was so good before them.


Sounds like a discussion with your doctor is definitely in order.  Is this the first antidepressant you've ever taken?  Have you mentioned these problems to him/her at all?  You didn't mention how long you'd been without your meds when you forgot to take them, but citalopram (aka Celexa) has a half-life of 35 hrs.  There are other medications for depression out there that have less sexual side effects, such as Wellbutrin. 
 
Taryn

 
 



Aneirin -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 5:53:58 PM)

I am at college now studying for a honours degree in applied art, I am the only male left on the course with about thirty females, I given my age have become a sort of figure everyone refers to, along with a great deal of interest.True I am interested in some, but am scared and so push them away.Scared of myself, they have sort of got the idea I am into kink for the things I have made and seem happy,but I cannot take anything further because of me, I will not discuss nor form close friendships, I remain apart. This is not me and it worries.



Aswad -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 6:02:52 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin

I find memory loss a problem with the meds, I was so good before them.


Seems you beat me to it. This side-effect will not reverse while you are on the drug, in my experience, and may grow worse. In one case that I know of is bad enough that I briefly wondered if it was some kind of early-onset dementia. That said, it will reverse over the course of a few months after tapering off the drug. Memory loss is also often one of the effects of the depression itself, in which case it will reverse within months to a couple of years after the depression is gone. If it started after taking the drugs, though, it's fairly reasonable to assume it's related to that instead.

Consider Stablon (tianeptine) or Manerix (moclobemide) and talk to your doc about it.
Trying another SSRI will work, but will probably give similar problems with libido.
Both tianeptine and moclobemide are neutral in that regard, at lower dosages.
At high doses, they can sometimes increase libido, or (rarely) decrease it.
Manerix is the more activating of the two, and the more rapidly acting.
The side-effects for both tend to be very well tolerated for most.

Health,
al-Aswad.



wandersalone -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/18/2007 11:45:39 PM)

Hi Aneirin

The worry may also be related to the medication that you are on as some can increase feelings of anxiety and worry so I would add that to the list of things to discuss with your doctor. 

Worry can also become part of an awful cycle ...I am worried about my decreased libido, this leads to me being hesitant to pursue relationships with people, I worry about having a relationship or isolating myself from others, self esteem/mood drop, isolate myself even more or put one a 'happy' face when in public and collapse when alone, spend more and more of my time when alone worrying about how crap I am feeling and about how much I am worrying about things....and it all begins again.  I use mindfullness (mindful meditation) whenever I find that my mind is working overtime and stopping me from being actively involved in life, not sure if that is something you have tried, it may help with some of the thoughts running around your head.

All the best



Petronius -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/19/2007 3:44:51 PM)

Consider Welbutrin, which is more related to dopamine and has far fewer reported sexual side effects, and even a few positive ones.



Phin -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/19/2007 6:58:09 PM)

talk with your doctor about what is going on. address your concerns. let the doctor make the desions on switching meds. that is what they get paid the big bucks for.



MistresssAria -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/22/2007 6:31:00 PM)

(without reading the above posts) I'm on citalopram (brand name Celexa)........and I've been on a sleu of anti-depressants that didn't work for me before that as well.  They have ALL killed my drive.  My dad's a psychiatrist........and, unfortunately, the majority of anti-depressants do this to people to at least some extent.  Most herbal remedies for depression end up dissolving in your liver.  I could go on and on (and feel free to write me)...........but I would say your best bets would be Viagra, testosterone, or grass.



MuscleCuteClever -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/25/2007 2:59:29 AM)

The FDA is owned by drug companies.



MuscleCuteClever -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/25/2007 3:07:16 AM)

Hopefully when the whole of America is nearly dead from gun shot wound at the hands of Columbine style shootings they might twig on and start to realize whats really going on.

http://www.ssristories.com/index.php



MuscleCuteClever -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/25/2007 3:19:29 AM)

As far as all the advice about taking drugs and going onto different ones etc I would say that the medicalization of the human condition to make profit has obviously worked.  You may not have a great life off them either but who said life was all bells and whistles?  Look at it in proportion.

Your best off without them you know, in 3rd world countries where your average day is spent walking your cow across dirt track the recovery rate for mentall illness is much better, then again those people cant afford drugs fortunately.



Celeste43 -> RE: SSRI side effects---I hope??? (10/25/2007 12:55:58 PM)

The least mentioned side effect of any medication by a doctor to a patient is sexual dysfunction. Having asked in exasperation years ago why he didn't mention it, the answer was that if you warned people it might happen, you get much higher rates of it. The effect of the mind on the body is remarkable.



camille65 -> RE: *revived* SSRI side effects---I hope??? (11/19/2007 3:07:20 AM)

I am reviving this thread because it is the very topic I want to bring up. For over 5 years I have been on a high dosage of Zoloft and one of the side effects is a completely DEAD libido. Not just dead but not even there. I cannot orgasm to save my life, arousal is more of a curiosity than reality. Two weeks ago I began to phase off Zoloft and onto Wellbutrin and I have only noticed one change. I enjoy food again lol. Now I am worried that my sex drive got so low that it won't come back [&:] My dom visits me December 2 and I am so hopeful that by then it would have changed but so far it hasn't. Sigh. I want to fully and physically react to him. I need to.. but I'm freakin scared. I spoke to my physician and he didn't really get what I was trying to say, heh he kept telling me to wait for love etc. Sweet but not what I wanted to hear. The transition itself was rough (still is rough actually). Okies now down to the question.Has anyone else gone from long term Zoloft to Wellbutrin? If so, did the dead & buried libido claw its way out of the grave? How long did it take? I am so very glad I have a place to ask my weird questions without getting weird looks from people! 
quote:

ORIGINAL: Petronius

Consider Welbutrin, which is more related to dopamine and has far fewer reported sexual side effects, and even a few positive ones.



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