Holle Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 hello. ok.....here is my issue. i want to know how many of you have this same problem. i see my pdoc this coming wednesday and i am thinking of telling him i want off effexor despite the scary side effects. for as long as i have been on effexor, i have not had a satisfying orgasm. this is despite my libido or how good the build up may be. i get to the point of orgasm and it either never comes or it is a total let down....a big eh. and right now, i am going through a lot of crap in my life, a lot of stress, and i want a spectacular orgasm! i don't want to strain and kill myself for barely nothing. i need the release! the reason i am blaming effexor for this is because i know two other people (one man, one woman) who also shares the same problem and who take effexor. i know we are only three people, but we are all people who were VERY sexually healthy and active and rather libidinousness. as soon as we go on effexor, our sexual sensitivity goes numb. so, i want to know, how many others have noticed this problem? i want to be able to go to my pdoc and point out that more than three people are expereinceing this. and, for those wondering, i don't know how well effexor is helping my mood. i still have a lot of depression symptoms despite taking 225mg. i could easily be on something else that may help better. and i also want to point out that my orgasms were fine before taking effexor....regardless of the drug or my level of depression. thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar27xc Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 The serotonin system is one of the ways the body regulates sexual functioning. Anything that alters the transmission of serotonin in the body, like Efexor, can cause delayed or absent orgasm, diminished arousal, and other sexual dysfunctions. Depression can also affect sexual functioning. The best thing to do is talk to your psychiatrist or GP. If it is the drugs, you could change doses; change to another SNRI, or a different class of antidepressant; or take another drug to overcome the side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holle Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 The serotonin system is one of the ways the body regulates sexual functioning. Anything that alters the transmission of serotonin in the body, like Efexor, can cause delayed or absent orgasm, diminished arousal, and other sexual dysfunctions. Depression can also affect sexual functioning. The best thing to do is talk to your psychiatrist or GP. If it is the drugs, you could change doses; change to another SNRI, or a different class of antidepressant; or take another drug to overcome the side effects. that is what i am going to have to do. i mean, yes, controlling the depression is important to me, but, dammit, i want to be sexually satisfied too. i am never going to be " not depressed" if i can't have an orgasm. the lack of one is depressing me more. like i said, right now in my life, i need the release. i need the spinning of my chakras. the cleansing. a great orgasm is worth a session in therapy....if not more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celestia Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 You're not the only one. I had a long run on Effexor years ago. I recall the longer I was on it, the less of a problem it was. But still, there are others, i.e., Wellbutrin that are not libido killers. I'm on a mix of Lexapro (Libido killing) and Wellbutrin. It's better than when I was on Effexor, I think. But it's hard to remember. Both Effexor and Lexapro have been pretty good to me in terms of the anti-depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetle Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 hello. ok.....here is my issue. i want to know how many of you have this same problem. i see my pdoc this coming wednesday and i am thinking of telling him i want off effexor despite the scary side effects. for as long as i have been on effexor, i have not had a satisfying orgasm. this is despite my libido or how good the build up may be. i get to the point of orgasm and it either never comes or it is a total let down....a big eh. and right now, i am going through a lot of crap in my life, a lot of stress, and i want a spectacular orgasm! i don't want to strain and kill myself for barely nothing. i need the release! the reason i am blaming effexor for this is because i know two other people (one man, one woman) who also shares the same problem and who take effexor. i know we are only three people, but we are all people who were VERY sexually healthy and active and rather libidinousness. as soon as we go on effexor, our sexual sensitivity goes numb. so, i want to know, how many others have noticed this problem? i want to be able to go to my pdoc and point out that more than three people are expereinceing this. and, for those wondering, i don't know how well effexor is helping my mood. i still have a lot of depression symptoms despite taking 225mg. i could easily be on something else that may help better. and i also want to point out that my orgasms were fine before taking effexor....regardless of the drug or my level of depression. thanks guys. Nope, you're not alone. Many people, including myself have this side effect from effexor. Many people get anorgasmia from any of the SSRIs or SNRIs. But some lucky folks can find the one that doesn't cause this side effect. I'm not one of them. Even though effexor killed my orgasms, I stayed on it for over a year because it broke my depression. Then after awhile, I did start wanting to have orgasms again. Pdoc added welbutrin. Libido went through the roof but still.... no orgasms. Which was even more frustrating. But for some people adding wellbutrin to an SSRI or SNRI can help. It might be worth a try for you. I'm no longer on effexor but I am seriously thinking about going back on it, even though I know it will cause anorgasmia for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holle Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 i might need to mention welbutrin to my pdoc. lexapro didn't seem to have this effect on me, but i don't remember that well (side effect of years on anti-depressants...no memory). the thing is that my libido has been fine (though it has decreased a little since i went from 150mg to 225mg). and that is what is frustrating.....being really horny and then have nothing happen. it makes me want to scream....and not in the good way!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anelize Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Effexor wiped out my sex drive, my ability to have an orgasm, and any urge to even have an orgasm. It sucks. But so far, it's the only thing that seems to work on my bipolar depression without switching me into mania, so I'm stuck with it. Staying alive vs orgasm, I'll take staying alive. But it still sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duelist Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Paxil did this to me and I just HAD to get off it after eight months, I couldn't enjoy sex at all, was starting to need aivtan again even with the increased dose of paxil. I couldn't take it, I needed to enjoy sex again. It's stressful on your relationship to have your partner work their ass off for no pay off and it makes THEM feel bad and that was simply unacceptable. Wellbutrin has been good for me and thankfully abilify doesn't interfere with my ability to orgasm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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