Effexor XR sexual side effects

[bearfan]

The first couple of days when I was taking Effexor XR (37.5 mg), when I went out with my gf I was totally not in the mood to do anything, and wasn't even enjoying kissing etc. Is this a temporarily side effect or will this go away?

[Kablume]

I had the side effect the whole time I was on Effexor. Am having it on Cymbalta now. That's the downside to some of these SSRI meds. So I understand where you are coming from.

[Bernard]

I lost all interest in sex for the first year of being on Effexor XR but eventually this subsided. My husbands thinks it went away with the higher dose (300mg) but I wasn't paying enough attention to know for certain.

I feel for you you. I cried a lot saying stupid things like, 'How am I supposed to be not depressed when my capacity to orgasm and enjoy SEX has gone." I get extreme like that.

But hang in there, if Effexor is working on your depression it is worth the loss of sex-drive. You can make up for it later on

Bern

[remote_swimmer]

It definitely waxes and wanes. I'd say on the whole that my sex drive is lower on Effexor than not on meds. Also, it can take longer to reach orgasm, but I actually think of that as a plus--for me anyways. In terms of getting better over time? It's hard to say because when I was depressed I had zero interest in sex. As I've improved on Effexor, I can say that my interest has returned but in a more subdued manner. At this point, I've accepted having a lower sex drive as a trade-off for not being depressed all the time. It's not perfect, but in the scheme of things it's tolerable.

Do you have reduced interest in sex because you are still depressed, or is it definitely the meds, or both? If it is the meds, there are several options (in increasing level of difficulty): 1. try to live with it, 2. talk to your doctor about a smaller dose, 3. talk to your doctor about augmenting with another med to increase sex drive (wellbutrin seems to be popular for that), or 4. switch to another med.

Good luck!