Posted by Iansf on January 20, 2005, at 18:02:10
In reply to Re: Which neurostransmitters affect social phobia?, posted by sabre on January 20, 2005, at 2:11:57
> John, did you take Prozac, Cymbalta and Luvox specifically for social anxiety or for fatigue and a lack of motivation? How would you rate them for social anxiety?
>
> sabreI took them for a combination of depression and social phobia, though frankly I think the social phobia is the more critical issue. Prozac and Luvox both worked well in that regard. I felt more confident around strangers, was able to initiate conversations, deal with people in authority, etc. And just as important, people would approach me, seek me out even, where they had rarely done that before. But the most interesting aspect was what I call the "magic" quality--good things just seemed to happen, even things at a distance where my personality didn't come into play. Nothing spectacular, just small things like winning a drawing, being offered an assignment (I'm a journalist) by someone I'd never met who had never talked to anyone I'd ever worked with, dialing the number for an apartment I wanted at exactly the right moment. Life just flowed better. It's odd, but it did.
The reasons I quit Prozac and Luvox were the usual ones. With Prozac I couldn't stay awake past 10 and had to sleep at least 9 or 10 hours to not be too groggy to function, my sex life was greatly diminished and I didn't like the emotional apathy--I was content, but I felt kind of heartless. With Luvox, I had no sexual feelings whatsoever--no ability, no desire, not even phsycial sensation. In fact, the idea of sex was almost abhorrent. Given that one of my goals in overcoming social phobia was to try to meet someone to have a relationship with, it was somewhat self-defeating. I could relate better and meet people, but who wants to get involved with someone who not only can't have sex but actively dislikes it?
Cymbalta, unfortunately, isn't helping with social phobia., after a bit more than two months. It seemed to be helping for a brief period, then nothing. It cheers me up some and makes it easier to focus, but I'm still as shy as ever with strangers.
John
poster:Iansf
thread:442780
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050119/msgs/444804.html