Posted by Jay_Bravest_Face on July 7, 2008, at 15:43:11
In reply to Re: Sexual Side-effects..*new* cutting-edge treatm, posted by aaaaalex on June 27, 2008, at 22:33:49
> "2)Dostinex: (generic Cabergoline) Is a prolactin inhibitor. This med will not only improve libido, it will make you lose weight. (Mostly if you are overweight, especially from many psych meds that increase prolactin levels.) It only has to be taken usually once a week. It is very expensive as well. There are some concerns around long term use and the med causing leaky heart valves."
>
> Yipe! Also some concerns with inhibiting neurogenesis. I tried a dose of it once (admittedly perhaps not enough of a chance), and found that it did nothing for my sex drive or ability (if anything, it decreased it). It also made me feel very odd indeed.
>
> After some research, I've come to the conclusion that the biopsychiatry.org camp isn't really correct about the central role of dopamine - increasing dopamine levels doesn't necessarily make you feel more pleasure or drive, just like increasing serotonin levels doesn't necessarily make you feel happy. Neurotransmitters just aren't that simple, and we're all wired differently to boot.
Yeah, it actually likely works best for those who a)have been on antipsychotics for a long time and b)possibly have low testosterone levels. The antipsychotics (many of them..not all) increase prolactin, which increases weight in men, increases anxiety, and also decreases sex drive.
I didn't get my research from biopsychiatry.org(or whatever it is), which, yes, does overplay the role of dopamine quite often. The idea with low testosterone, as explained by my endo, is that many men on psychiatric meds, in particular SSRI's and antipsychotics, develop low levels of testosterone. Like, with me, the "average" scale runs from something like 11-30 (of what measurement I don't know) When I first got tested, I was at *4*!!! I was barely producing any testosterone! The link here is that they have found elevated estrogen levels in men (yes, men have estrogen too, like ladies have testosterone) with low testosterone. Decreasing prolactin helps put all of the chemicals back in their place. That is why just testosterone supplementation doesn't work for some men.(Me included.)
Oh ya, and it takes a couple of weeks use of Dostinex to see *anything* just slightly change.YMMV, etc...
Jay
poster:Jay_Bravest_Face
thread:836074
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080706/msgs/838672.html