OK, let's see how this comes out, along with the other Sex/Meds poll.

Lexapro blodgered my libido, so original.

However, bizarrely enough, my libido came back as soon as I finally quit taking Wellbutrin, which failed to help my sex drive! And I'm still on Lexapro.

Only Paxil so far for me. Totally killed the ability to achieve O. Paxil is the anti Viagra for me.

Tom

Seroquel, Lamictal, and Effexor. My libido and ability to orgasm was fine until I started the Effexor. Now, my libido is blunted, and an orgasm is almost impossible to have--and when I do have one after much "work", it is also "blunted".

On the other hand, I haven't felt this good in months, so I'll live with it.

Effexor, Lamictal, Wellbutrin, and Abilify. One or more of them are interfering with my sex life. Sometimes cannot get an erection and sometimes experience anorgasmia.

Tommy

Edited to add: My libido is still strong, just that problems start after that

I take WB (not in the SSRI class), Zyprexa, and Lamictal right now. I'm not too sure if Lamictal tampers wtih my sex drive, but Z is a culprit. WB saves the day!

I just came off lamictal after developing a blistering rash. While on it, I felt better my sex drive was through the roof, but I didn't get wet. an uncomfortable bummer....

There are lubricants you can use like supositories (sp?) in the vagina that will disintegrate and make it wet enough to allow for enjoyable sex. there are also a lot of lubricants (Wet, KY, AquaLube...) that can help with that. Give it a go. You're not doomed to scary sex forever!

And as for wanting sex, if you masturbate regularly (like at least every week or twice a week), research shows that you'll actually increase your sex drive.

So you can do it through these methods if you want.

Hope this helps! I was in a similar situation when I was on SSRIs and no WB. Adding WB has enhanced my sex life once again.

EDIT- now with my new med line-up, which still includes WB, i have totally no desire. i don't know if it is because i'm upset with my boyfriend or if it is my meds. i need to take my own advice with the lube- and i mean with gallons of it. maybe getting my mind in that place will help- too bad it doesn't even care about going there! lol

I am so jealous of all the American people who get Wellbutrin for their lost sex drives

Effexor has killed my sex drive and my ability to *ahem*reach the goal. My poor husband is being so understanding but I still hate it.

Bern

my current cocktail of meds has obliterated any sex drive or orgasmic potential. menopause is probably a contributing factor. even smoking pot doesn't help anymore and it used to be a good way to heighten sexual arousal. now all i get is the munchies. so celibacy is the name of the game for me these days. but hey, i am not in five point restraints anymore, so i am willing to trade in this weird barter that is my lot. i have lots of memories of hot sex and they will do. although i cannot really recall why i ever cared as much as i did, since when i was hypomanic or manic so much of the time, i cared a LOT about sex. my first screen name online was "kinkytantra"! heh. *sigh* at least i have no spouse to worry about. my Domestic Partner is my Cat Poe.

minxie

Lamictal + Geodon.

I'm immune to sexual side effects. But I'm a teenager.

I just take Zoloft....It has killed my sex drive.....I asked my doctors to switch me and they just ignore me!!!....So no more Zoloft for me.....I have been of it for two months now....I quit cold turkey....And I have never felt better....Have everything back that I need and then some!

Just wondering.... if you're not on any meds, and you're doing great, why are you here? Hell, if I were doing great, I wouldn't have found this place.

well, i'll write again, now that my cocktail and therefore situation has changed, lol...

now i take risperdal, and for whatever reason, it seems to have killed even the desire to HAVE desire. i want to have desire to the extent that it puts a strain on my relationship that i feel like i'm obligated to have sex (and i do, with tons of lube), but i still can't muster even wanting it for myself. it would be nice, it is a nice thought, but achieving it? where did my desire to HAVE desire go?

i talked to my pdoc about it, and since the other meds in my cocktail are sex-drive neutral, we're blaming either risperdal, psychological factors, or both. maybe i just don't want to have sex wtih HIM, and so i'm not responding to it.

in any case, not even the wellbutrin is helping anymore. i have no desire to even masturbate. i feel doomed to a no sex-drive life. i haven't felt this good in a long time so i'll take what i can get, even if it means not wanting to have sex, but i'd rather if i felt differently of course.

we were thinking of taking a break from the risperdal as an experiment to see if my sex drive comes back and it is the drug or find out of it is psychological- i'm very interested in this and may try it at my next appointment.

Sounds like a good idea to take a break from Risperdal to see if it improves things. Just make sure you wean yourself off the drug very slowly. I tried to stop taking it cold turkey and i felt like shit.

Tom

Okay here goes:

The evillist offenders of them all: Effexor, Paxil and Zoloft

Other notorious offenders: Fluvoxamine, Lexapro

Less evil offenders: Dipiperone (metabolite of haloperidol - AP), Seroquel, Klonopin

Not so bad offenders: Elavil, Zyban, Ativan, Valium, Prozac (well, I've you've got an hour to spare...)


And not to forget, the best of 'm all:

Is the only truly and mighty: Remeron!
In fact, it increased my sex drive about 5 fold (and my weight by about 5 pounds every week, never mind, that's off topic here).

Maria

I thought I would reply to Analize because I have hope for you on the Effexor thing. I just went back on it 3 mos. ago after being off it for 5 or 6 years. I stopped taking it when DH died, thinking my meds were failing; however, in retrospect no pill can touch that kind of nightmare, so I said, after a failure with prozac and cymbalta, "let's try Effexor again."

So here I am, 3 mos. into my 2nd use of Effexor (150mg.) and no libido distruptions and definitely the O is still in the Orgasm. But the first time I took it, like 10 years ago, it took me awhile for my libido to return to whatever the fuck normal is. But a range of normal that was acceptable to me as a trade off for not wanting to open my jugulars.

I have noticed especially with SSRI and SNRIs that the sexual flattening of the libido tends to go away after awhile. I had problems on Prozac, but eventually they went away and I could have a good time again with or without someone else. ;-)

2 cents.

am i the only person who has lost their sex drive taking lamictal/topamax? i have been taking this combo for a lonnnng time and have completely lost all ability to have/want any sexual contact. i will go months - and when the SO attempts i shake him off right away because i KNOW i/he will just be disappointed

although, sometimes i wonder if i just dont want to have sex with HIM because i can sometimes achieve O by myself... who knows. it could be a psychological factor as well because of the constant TRYING on his behalf and the frustration.

i do strongly believe that it has something to do with the meds...

meh.

since I only do seroquel prn since june and added wellbutrin things have definitely improved in the right direction. poor, poor hubby


lilie

Cymbalta and Concerta-- on 60 mg cymbalta orgasm delayed but libido and orgasm do happen eventually-- tht actually might be a good thing if my wife didnt think that marriage was somethign to "celibate" (how do I know about the delay if wifey is cold? Well no affairs so it must be something I handle on my own ;0)

When I added concerta 36 mg, everything below waist and between legs became useful for waste elimination only.

That's encouraging
Tommy

I did what turned out to be a little experiment, when starting prozac (having previously been on other SSRI's which killed any feeling and O-ability). (PS. Had been med free for several months prior to prozac.)

Things were fine until day 3. From day 4 - 5, libido/feeling was for the most part ok, O-ability vanished. Day 6 - 7 libido and any feeling vanished as well as the now impossible-O.

Needless to say I quit prozac on day 8. Several days later, libido returned, O-ability reappeared.

For me, I cannot and will not sacrifice just about the only pleasure I can still get in life (besides food).

Hoping a stint on Wellbutrin will help with my depression, pdoc says it's the only med available here that doesn't kill your libido/sex life.

pdoc first tried to tell me I wasn't on prozac long enough for it to be the cause of the sexual side effects, well my a$$, I know my own body.

After the first 3 days on prozac my depression was actually INCREASED as a direct result of O-inability. It just added to my feelings of loss in life... how in order to get better I had to be O-free, well I refused. I'd rather put up again with the side effects of Wellbutrin. This med actually increases the feeling of the big-O.

Better the devil that enhances your sex life, than the devil that ruins it.

Risperdal all but killed my sex drive at 1 mg.

At 2mg, it was really dead. About half the orgasms I had were pleasureless.

At 2.5mg, I'm having very annoying side effects, namely retrograde ejaculation and painful orgasm. It was a one time deal (the increase was recent), but if it happens again, I am going back down to 2mg. Fuck depression.

Zoloft killed my libido and my ability to orgasm. Both of them, totally dead. Both came back when I switched to celexa, although orgasm was delayed. Adding wellbutrin didn't seem to make a difference. I don't remember any sexual side effects on effexor or imipramine which probably means I didn't have any. On lexapro, orgasm is delayed, but not very much. I only realized the difference when I went off of lexapro and then I noticed how much more pleasurable stuff felt and how much quicker I could get there. Also, at the risk of oversharing, on lexapro, once is enough, but off of lexapro, I like to keep going.

I'm not noticing any sexual side effects on emsam so far *fingers crossed*

Most annoying statement from a psychiatrist: when I told him about total lack of libido and ability to orgasm on zoloft he replied, "It doesn't matter. You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

Coconut oil!!! Natural lubricant.

I mentioned this in another post, but I think it bears repeating...

My S/O is on Lexapro, which makes it nearly impossible for him to orgasm. His doctor prescribed cryproheptadine... 4 mg PRN. He takes it about an hour before and I can attest to the fact that it works like a charm. His doctor said it is typically used to treat congestion in children. Weird. A quick Google search turned up the brand name Periactin. In addition to being an antihistamine, it's also an "antiserotonergic agent." He's noticed no obvious side effects... other than it cancels out the anorgasmia side effect from the Lexapro.

Don't know if it works the same for women.

I started taking Zoloft before puberty and stopped roughly 7 years later. It's been a few months since I stopped, and I cannot orgasm. Not that I've ever been able to, for that matter (thanks, SSRI). Also, lubrication? Ha. Yeah right.
I'm twenty, and I don't even know what an orgasm feels like.

Don't you love it when people expect you to be happy while giving up your sex life (and, often, your love life)?

I also don't lubricate like I used to. I could be experiencing perimenopause, and because there's no way to prove whether it's the drugs and/or the possibility of perimenopause, no one takes my drug concerns seriously in regards to my sex drive and orgasmic intensity. People think sex isn't important. It really makes me angry.

Lexapro made me totally lose interest in sex. Gone. Totally. Plus it stoppd working on the depression side.

Effexor (a truly evil drug). I had interest, but couldn't finish what I started.

Lamictal: Works great so far and no real sexual side effects.

When my doctor asks if my sexual ability has changed I tell her that I can only do it 5 or 6 times a night...she still chuckles at that. This is also the same female doctor who jokingly asked me if I wanted any lube for my prostate exam...gotta love a hot female doctor with a sense of humor.

For me, I think Cymbalta is the culprit. So far it is the only med that seems to knock out my depression for the most part. I have been very stable for about a year now.

Back to the topic at hand (pun unintended). On the Cymbalta, I am able to ejaculate though it takes some serious time, but I do NOT have an orgasm or at least anything that feels like one.

Tommy