Posted by hopko on March 31, 2001, at 10:51:52
In reply to Newbie with question about sexual side effects, posted by Jennie W. on March 29, 2001, at 20:41:05
Jennie, when I was on effexor xr I lost my ability to have an orgasm (but not my desire to try!) Before saying anything else, I will say my dose was very low (75mg) compared to what many people take. Actually, my orgasms stopped at 37.5 mg within 3 days of starting this med! Anyway, I do not have the study to back up what I am going to tell you (maybe someone else does) but here is what my psychiatrist told me (about the only good thing he did for me!). He says that there was a study that proved that ginkgo biloba helped restore sexual function in over 50% of people that had sexual dysfunction as a result of the use of AD. To try this approach, the starting dose was 60mg in the morning and 60 at night and that it can take up to 4 weeks to be effective. After 4 weeks if this dose is not working it can be doubled and then doubled again.
I started with this regime but found that taking 60mg of ginkgo at night was too stimulating and bothered my sleep (I have sever insomnia) so I took 120 in the morning. Sure enough, after 4 weeks, I was able to achieve orgasm again.
This seems to be a simple thing to try and perhaps safer than adding more meds to your body. I do know that ginkgo can interact with other meds and is contraindicated with some medical conditions, so it would probably be prudent to ask someone (like a pharmacist) before you try this.If anyone out there has more concrete information about this, I am sure it would be appreciated but I do know it worked for me.
poster:hopko
thread:57998
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/58208.html