BusPar, Zoloft - weight and orgasms?

[Violet87]

Hi thanks for reading 

 

I have struggled with anxiety and depression for years.  I am now 27 (today is my birthday lol)  I have been in IP once before for an anxiety attack that began a major depressive episode (lasted about a month).  I was put on Pristiq 50mg at that time and it worked well for a few years, but the withdrawal symptoms if I took a dose late were getting out of control, so I was weaned off of it.

 

Currently I take zoloft 100mg daily and Ativan .5 twice as needed daily. I take Provigil twice daily for fatigue (nap at least twice per day without it) for a total of 300mg.  Also, I was on birth control for 9 years and since i stopped it last June - I realized I also most likely have Premenstrual Exacerbation of my anxiety/depression symptoms.  My life is currently at the mercy of my symptoms and I feel like I am drowning.  

 

My Pdoc and Tdoc had a little chat this week... and decided they would like to put me on BuSpar.  My libido has been very low and I am afraid that the Zoloft and BuSpar could make it worse and or cause weight gain.

 

Thoughts? Experiences? Advice?  Thank you for your time

Edited June 26, 2014 by Violet87

[KillBytes]

BuSpar had no effect on me on any thing including weight gain and certainly no effect on anxiety. The Zoloft is very effective on a wide range of things for a lot of people with no serious weight gain. I was on it for awhile and once I got use to the side effects from it I was fine with it. Zoloft worked better on anxiety for me then BuSpar, but it waqs minimum at best, which beat buspar which had zero effecct. I think pdocs get brain washed from big pharm regarding buspar. In most clinicial tests it rates a tad bit better then the placebo. As for orgasms go, no issues with zoloft after the side effects go away in a couple of weeks.

Edited June 26, 2014 by KillBytes

[Stickler]

Buspar's supposed to help ameliorate the anti- libido effect of the sertraline, as well as boosting the antidepressant effect and adding an anti anxiety effect of its own.

I like it!

OTOH, without SSRI 's it is entirely possible my libido would escape to the forest and attack innocent woodland creatures...O.O

I have found the combo to be weight neutral,too.

Oh, happy birthday!

Edited June 26, 2014 by Stickler

[crtclms]

Killbytes, I remember reading (fairly recently, actually)  that while differences between placebo and buspar were not as spectacular as they had hoped, buspar is clearly more effective than a placebo.

 

On the other hand, it doesn't work for me, either.

 

Sorry if this is incoherent, I should go to bed.

[Violet87]

Thanks guys! The Buspar will be an add on to the Zoloft. The Zoloft has helped with my depression, but it has not really even put a dent into my anxiety. I believe the 2 medications work on different parts of the brain, so idk if the combination might make it more effective than either medication alone. I also have magnesium taurate that supposedly helps with anxiety... that doesn't seem to be helping lol.

[dianthus]

Doctors occasionally will use BuSpar to alleviate sexual side effects of SSRIs to varied success. 

 

I personally found it to be helpful with anxiety, but it's kinda hit or miss.

 

In terms of weight gain, you never know.  I'm on a drug notorious for weight gain, I gained a good 60 pounds, and because it made me really stable I was able to eat well and exercise to lose the weight.  For me, being on effective medication is more important that being on something that's weight neutral.

[Violet87]

That's a great point dianthus, thanks