Posted by CLK on August 11, 2001, at 8:15:07
Okay - this is going to sound whiney and wimpy... but here it goes anyway.
I keep hearing people say not to worry about the sexual side effects of the anti-depressant medications. "Deal with the depression first and then worry about your sex life."
How exactly do you do that? I mean the health of my marriage is directly related to my mental state. If things are not going well in my marriage this has a direct effect on my depression.
How the hell am I supposed to tell my husband that not only does he have to put up with me being a lunatic b*tch, moody, irritable, lethargic, tired, snappish, a terrible housekeeper, the side effects (if any) from the one or more medications I have to try, AND you're not likely to get any for 6 months, a year, two years...
Come on. Be realistic. My mom has been on a series of antidepressants for at least a decade. When she stops taking her meds you can TELL - even if she misses just one dose.
According to mom her libido has been practically non-existant for 8 years. EIGHT years. Okay she and dad have been married for almost 40 years - so maybe when you are 60 and have been married for forever it doesn't matter as much - but I'm only 32 and we've only been married for 6 years.
What exactly do I tell my spouse?
Not to mention - what about me? I happen to enjoy having a sex life. I, personally, believe that medication that either lowers my sex drive or interferes with my ability to have an or*asm would be a real 'downer'.
I don't mean to sound b*tchy, but really - how do you totally ignore the potential problems?
poster:CLK
thread:74596
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010809/msgs/74596.html