Posted by twinleaf on October 11, 2007, at 21:39:08
In reply to Re: The truth about sexual side effects-Maria, posted by elanor roosevelt on October 11, 2007, at 21:12:22
I completely agree with the posters on this thread who have lost their sex drive, and are still suffering from that loss years after stopping the medications. No-one ever mentions this. For me, the SSRIs were the most damaging; it is three years since I've taken any, but it is only now that I am beginning to recover anything like the sex drive I previously had- and it's not nearly as strong as it was when I first got depressed! I am finding that all the neuroprotective things I can do- low dose lithium, enough Cytomel so that my TSH is below 1, fish oil, B-vitamins, phosphadatyl-serine. yoga and exercise are, I think, helping me slowly get back towards normal. I don't know if I'll ever get there, but I'm trying to count on my brain's plasticity and recovery powers!
It's interesting that one poster, above, said that tianeptine, which takes the serotonin out of the intercellular spaces and puts it back into neurons, helped his sex drive a lot, although it made him too anxious. I had exactly the same experience with it. I was so happy that my sexual desires were coming back, but it did make me very anxious, too.
I have come to believe that serotonin is the culprit. The SSRI's flood your brain with it, and something has to give. I think it's dopamine, which is vital for all kinds of feelings of pleasure and reward- including sexual ones.
poster:twinleaf
thread:787668
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071009/msgs/788612.html