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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Vornan19 on February 3, 2005, at 21:51:25
Has anybody suffered from long-term sexual side effects after quitting SSRIs? You are not alone. It appears as though for some people the sexual side effects DO NOT GO AWAY AFTER QUITTING THE DRUGS, and can last for quite some time. There is a new discussion group on Yahoo focused on solving this problem. We would like to discover the reason for this persistent sexual dysfunction and find a cure. if this applies to you, please join so that we can solve this problem together. Here is a link to the board.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ssrisex/
Posted by lars1 on February 4, 2005, at 6:12:42
In reply to Long-term sexual side effects after quitting SSRIs, posted by Vornan19 on February 3, 2005, at 21:51:25
Hi Vornan,
My yahoo ID is the same as my full name, so I can't easily join that group without losing anonymity, and in any case I'm too impatient to wait for a moderator to approve membership. Anyway, here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head:
1. In another thread, someone (you?) hypothesized that SSRI's may reduce dopamine/norepinephrine long-term. If so, the solution might be a drug that boosts DA/NE, such as Wellbutrin, perhaps on an as-needed basis. Even if the hypothesis about DA/NE turned out to be wrong, Wellbutrin has been shown to have pro-sexual effects and might still work.
2. SSRI's can make it difficult to have an erection, and even if you do manage to keep it up, you may not have an orgasm. This is no fun, and over time, it conditions you to expect that sex will be no fun. You may then lose interest in sex (this happened to me, BTW), and stopping the SSRI will not automatically undo this conditioning. Also, concern about your performance can itself cause erection problems, so that they may become self-perpetuating. In this case, the solution might be short-term use of Viagra (or Levitra or Cialis) to break the vicious cycle. Once you were functioning OK, you could gradually taper the dose of Viagra.
Well, if it were really that easy, there probably wouldn't need to be a whole board devoted to the subject. But there it is.
Lars
Posted by Vornan19 on February 4, 2005, at 17:27:30
In reply to Re: Long-term sexual side effects after quitting SSRIs » Vornan19, posted by lars1 on February 4, 2005, at 6:12:42
I'm the moderator, so if you want to join I'll approve you immediately.
Basically, I can get an erection, but my libido is much lower than it was pre-celexa and orgasms are duller. Ever had SSRI sexual sides yourself? If so, it's like that but they didn't go away when I quit.
I agree that dopamine could have something to do with it, but it wasn't my theory. I've heard good things about Wellbutrins pro-sexual effects but I'm a bit scraed to try it because my problems are with anxiety, and I've heard WB can make that worse.> Hi Vornan,
>
> My yahoo ID is the same as my full name, so I can't easily join that group without losing anonymity, and in any case I'm too impatient to wait for a moderator to approve membership. Anyway, here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head:
>
> 1. In another thread, someone (you?) hypothesized that SSRI's may reduce dopamine/norepinephrine long-term. If so, the solution might be a drug that boosts DA/NE, such as Wellbutrin, perhaps on an as-needed basis. Even if the hypothesis about DA/NE turned out to be wrong, Wellbutrin has been shown to have pro-sexual effects and might still work.
>
> 2. SSRI's can make it difficult to have an erection, and even if you do manage to keep it up, you may not have an orgasm. This is no fun, and over time, it conditions you to expect that sex will be no fun. You may then lose interest in sex (this happened to me, BTW), and stopping the SSRI will not automatically undo this conditioning. Also, concern about your performance can itself cause erection problems, so that they may become self-perpetuating. In this case, the solution might be short-term use of Viagra (or Levitra or Cialis) to break the vicious cycle. Once you were functioning OK, you could gradually taper the dose of Viagra.
>
> Well, if it were really that easy, there probably wouldn't need to be a whole board devoted to the subject. But there it is.
>
> Lars
Posted by lars1 on February 4, 2005, at 22:46:36
In reply to Re: Long-term sexual side effects after quitting SSRIs, posted by Vornan19 on February 4, 2005, at 17:27:30
> I'm the moderator, so if you want to join I'll approve you immediately.
Thanks, but I'd prefer to post where others on the board can see. Lots of us here have sex problems too!
> Basically, I can get an erection, but my libido is much lower than it was pre-celexa and orgasms are duller. Ever had SSRI sexual sides yourself?I did. Once I started using Viagra and was confident that I could get an erection and keep it long enough to finish, I found that I enjoyed sex a lot more, and I didn't really mind if it took a long time to finish. Actually, I kind of enjoyed that. But, apparently your problem is not so much with erections, so that might not work for you.
> I've heard good things about Wellbutrins pro-sexual effects but I'm a bit scraed to try it because my problems are with anxiety, and I've heard WB can make that worse.
It's possible that it would make your anxiety worse, but some people find that stims (and I would consider Wellbutrin a stim) actually calm them down. Why not give it a try and see how it affects you personally? FWIW, I use it and haven't found it to be anxiety-provoking, except when I first started it. If it did give you persistent anxiety, maybe you could use it just as-needed and/or with a benzo or, um, ethanol. (I haven't tried those last things, but maybe someone else has and could tell us how it worked?)
Ritalin might be a shorter-acting alternative. I have heard of it being used for SSRI sexual dysfunction. Amphetamines are also known to be pro-sexual, although I'm not sure if you would have luck getting them prescribed for that. For occasional as-needed use, a very low dose (like 5 mg) would probably be adequate, so maybe the pdoc would be OK with that. They can sometimes (not always) cause erection problems (i.e., increased desire but reduced ability, like alcohol), but you could treat those with Viagra.
Best wishes,
Lars
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