Guest Dan Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Hi everyone, I'm a 23 year old male, diagnosed with type 1 bipolar (or whichever is the more severe kind) when I was much younger. However, now that I've grown older I've begun to doubt this a bit, and have attributed the problem more to family issues, childhood experiences, etc., and decided to come off some of my meds. I've been slowly weaning myself off my antipsychotics over the past year or so. About a year ago, I was on 5 mg of Risperdal and 100 (maybe 150...I don't remember) mg of Seroquel. Now, I'm off antipsychotics completely. I feel loads better - have much more energy, am much less foggy, and my appetite, which used to be horrendous (I gained a ton of weight) has been dramatically reduced. I came off the meds slowly, so I experienced hardly any withdrawal symptoms. I'm still on anti-depressants though: Wellbutrin/Budeprion (300mg once a day) and Lamictal (200mg twice a day). I'm gonna wait a little while before I decide what to do with those. But anyways, my question is this: I've experienced no negative effects per se coming off the antipsychs. I have noticed, however, that I think about sex a LOT more, and get aroused more easily, than I did before I stopped them. Granted, I still thought about it a fair amount on the antipsychs (as most people, particularly men, do), but there is a VERY noticeable increase in the frequency and intensity of the thoughts now that I'm off them. It's not debilitating to the point where I can't function; I can go to school, restaurants, visit friends, etc., without it being a problem, there's no negative feelings (guilt, shame, anger, etc.) associated with the thoughts, and I'm not impulsively flirting with strangers or trying to hook up with random people or anything like that (that was never really my thing to begin with, but I digress). But it has become much more of a preoccupation in my spare time at home than it used to be, and as with any obsessive thoughts I have, sexual or non-sexual, it concerns me a bit. Has anybody else had this experience coming off anti-psychotic meds? If so, do you know if it lasts long? If not, does anybody have some knowledge on something like this being typical? Or am I just experiencing what a normal 23-year-old male does, not knowing because I've been on these meds since 3rd grade? Any feedback, or links to information about it on this site or others, would be appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkiemarie Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 It's possible that the meds were actually supressing your libido to a certain extent and you're now back to normal. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuttlefish Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Antipsychotics are noted for having sexual side effects, not as common as say SSRI's mind you, but still somewhat frequent. Risperdal and it's relative Invega were the worst offenders for me in that department. All antipsychotics carried some sexual dysfunction for me though. I too recently came off all antipsychotics, and, lo and behold, I'm having more erections, able to perform whenever I want, and waking up ready more often. I don't think that it's hypersexuality if it isn't impairing your life or relationships, but I think that it's that you are having complete functioning back, and you aren't used to it because you've been on medication for a while. Just my humble opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspired_Neurosis Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Meds cause sexual side effects, and depressed states(due to either internal or external issues) cause a loss of interest in sex. You don't sound hypersexual to the point of any real disruption. Maybe your libido is finally activated and you weren't used to it. By the way, I totally feel you on the mood disorder diagnosis and "doubt" thing...best of luck, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 It could be that you are experiencing a hypomania. Lamictal is not really known as a first-line mania treatment, it's more known for it's anti-depressant qualities. At least, that's what I remember from the two times I took the med (and got the rash both times, but not THE rash)... I had to be on lithium the whole time. Or it could just be that your body is happy from not taking an AAP anymore. Who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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