![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 20:21:25
O.K D-day is coming....I have to decide by tommorrow morning which drug to take. I am going to let you guys decide for me because I am so pathetic. My doc wants me on a low dose or prozac, zoloft or luvox because of depression and some mild ocd. I am curently taking xanax for panic and he feels the depression and ocd are comrbid with the panic....Now my wife she is gorgeous and we are in our early 40's. We have enjoyed a wonderfull sex life despite my neurotic tendecies.....Do I choose door number one skip the meds stay on xanax and remain a porn star or do I choose one of the ssri's and hope I can still be her knight in shining condoms....er I mean armor. I need to know by 10a.m. tommorrow morning. I am leaning toward low dose prozac....I heard about Luvox being less inhibitng orgasm wise but nobody supports that here in the real world. Of course there is also zoloft with its dopamine inhibition could it shoot me into the annals of porno stardom......LOL any input would be nice so I can blame you for making the wrong choice rather than blame myself which I think is a fairly self preserving healthy attitude.
Standing at attention......without bullets
Gil
Posted by sl on May 30, 2001, at 20:36:35
In reply to I leave my sex life in your hands, posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 20:21:25
Um. You could also combine Prozac with something known to BOOST sex-drive, I think I heard Wellbutrin could do that. :)
sl
Posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 21:04:08
In reply to Re: I leave my sex life in your hands, posted by sl on May 30, 2001, at 20:36:35
> Um. You could also combine Prozac with something known to BOOST sex-drive, I think I heard Wellbutrin could do that. :)
>
> slthanks but the wellbutrin gives me tachycardia or i would do the combo thing...i aslo tried ginko and buspar in the past no luck....
gil
Posted by sl on May 30, 2001, at 22:32:48
In reply to Re: I leave my sex life in your hands, posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 21:04:08
> thanks but the wellbutrin gives me tachycardia or i would do the combo thing...i aslo tried ginko and buspar in the past no luck....
Well that was just an idea. I guess I really just want you to consider ADDING something rather than giving up the Prozac...I remember reading a post a few days ago about someone who stopped taking the SSRIs cuz of loss of sex drive and was talking about suicide! That creeped me out bigtime. :/
sl
Posted by kid47 on May 30, 2001, at 22:40:05
In reply to I leave my sex life in your hands, posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 20:21:25
Hi. If the AD you decide on does result in undesirable sexual side effects, there are a number of drugs that will combat this. Take Care
> O.K D-day is coming....I have to decide by tommorrow morning which drug to take. I am going to let you guys decide for me because I am so pathetic. My doc wants me on a low dose or prozac, zoloft or luvox because of depression and some mild ocd. I am curently taking xanax for panic and he feels the depression and ocd are comrbid with the panic....Now my wife she is gorgeous and we are in our early 40's. We have enjoyed a wonderfull sex life despite my neurotic tendecies.....Do I choose door number one skip the meds stay on xanax and remain a porn star or do I choose one of the ssri's and hope I can still be her knight in shining condoms....er I mean armor. I need to know by 10a.m. tommorrow morning. I am leaning toward low dose prozac....I heard about Luvox being less inhibitng orgasm wise but nobody supports that here in the real world. Of course there is also zoloft with its dopamine inhibition could it shoot me into the annals of porno stardom......LOL any input would be nice so I can blame you for making the wrong choice rather than blame myself which I think is a fairly self preserving healthy attitude.
>
> Standing at attention......without bullets
>
> Gil
Posted by kid47 on May 30, 2001, at 22:43:48
In reply to Re: I leave my sex life in your hands » gilbert, posted by kid47 on May 30, 2001, at 22:40:05
I was on Effexor Xr for about a year & my sex life actually improved.
Posted by Rach on May 31, 2001, at 6:07:49
In reply to Re: I leave my sex life in your hands PS, posted by kid47 on May 30, 2001, at 22:43:48
For me, zoloft definately decreased sexual pleasure. I suppose you have to weigh up how important it is for you to orgasm with how unwell you believe you are.
Viagra could also be an option if you do find you have problems.
Posted by jimmygold70 on May 31, 2001, at 6:30:17
In reply to I leave my sex life in your hands, posted by gilbert on May 30, 2001, at 20:21:25
Adding some Remeron to any SSRIs solves the sexual side effects. Period.
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 31, 2001, at 7:13:21
In reply to Re: I leave my sex life in your hands » gilbert, posted by jimmygold70 on May 31, 2001, at 6:30:17
Dosage of Remeron according to Am Journ Psychiatry as augmentation:
Mirtazapine †
- 15-45 mg/d
- For SSRIs, venlafaxine
- Restores Orgasm only--not potence or libido necessarily.Koutouvidis N, Pratikakis M, Fotiadou A, Istikoglou C. The use of mirtazapine in a group of 11 patients following poor compliance to SSRI treatment due to sexual dysfunction[abstract]. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 1997;7[suppl 2]:S156
and
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Mirtazapine-for-SSRI-ADRs.html
Posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 8:59:09
In reply to all I have to say is.... REMERON! » jimmygold70, posted by SalArmy4me on May 31, 2001, at 7:13:21
I wish I could advise, but all I can say is that I have now chucked all SSRIs out the window because to various degrees they made me horny/numb/unable to ___. Sorry to be crude; I just didn't want to try adding anything else in; that's just my situation though, and there is a different solution for each person.
I am just tapering off the last little bit of Paxil and taking only clonazepam .125 mg three times a day and believe it or not, that keeps me feeling great.
Pardon my saying so, but Gil, you just don't sound depressed. I have often felt that a diagnosis of depression was ascribed to me because doctors feel it is just too handy to throw it in with panic disorder and OCD. My OCD symptoms are just thought patterns, not behaviors, and they seem to be "fixed" by the clonazepam almost as well as they were fixed by the SSRIs. Are you sure you are depressed enough to need an SSRI?
Posted by roo on May 31, 2001, at 11:21:40
In reply to Just a thought from your female counterpart, posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 8:59:09
Just curious, what's clonazepam ?
Posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 11:25:23
In reply to Re: Just a thought--Grapebubblegum, posted by roo on May 31, 2001, at 11:21:40
Klonopin, a benzodiazepine (I think?) that is used as an anti-convulsant in higher doses.
Posted by gilbert on May 31, 2001, at 13:23:15
In reply to Re: Just a thought--Grapebubblegum, posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 11:25:23
I am not sure an ssri is going to do me any favors either and depression does not seem to be my biggest problem. I am diagnosed with panic and ocd....the Xanax has been a miracle for me for panic and agoraphobia I am am no longer limited in travel or driving or anything I used to have trouble with. The only thing left for me to conquer is flying.....I have never been on a plane. The Xanax does not however seem to put a dent in the OCD. I don't have as much compulsive behavior as I do Ruminations and obsessive thought patterns. They just occupy too much of my day. I tried the clomimpramine route before and don't want to do that again. My pdoc seems to think a smaller does of an ssri may break through this. I am only taking form .5 to 1 gram of xanax daily and he said we may have to up the dosage to alleviate the anxiety causing the ruminations...but honestly I don't feel any anxiety so I am kind of thinking it is neurochemical by nature. I remember thinking this way as kid too. It's not like I am washing my hands every 2 minutes or anything like that but it is definitely some obssesive behavior getting in the way of having a quality life. I may need to do CBT on it..... anyways hoping a pill will help....almost living what Cam was trying to say....maybe the work left for me does not come in the shape of a pill....but I am kind of hoping for the short cut thanks everyone for your help. I am already back from the pdocs and he gave me 2 scripts to try over the summer luvox and good ol prozac......The luvox really really scares me I just have not read anyone on this board who has had good luck with it so maybe I will try that first. Oh by the way I have tried that rmeron cure and for some reason just did not click for me.....I even had anorgasmia on serzone so I must be hypersensitive to some drugs.
Gil
Posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 14:26:12
In reply to Re: Just a thought--Grapebubblegum..thanks Gil, posted by gilbert on May 31, 2001, at 13:23:15
My question is: why do they keep giving you xanax? I've had it in the past but they seem to favor clonazepam (klonopin) because it is longer acting and has less of a withdrawal problem. You and I do seem like we are cut from the same cloth. I have gotten on airplanes armed with klonopin or even ativan (that was given to me in an E.R. once and I think it is regarded as a "bad guy" by pdocs, kind of like a stronger form of xanax... "bad" only because it works so well but is more problematic upon withdrawal.)
Maybe Prozac is a good idea. I took it about 11 years ago and I don't remember any problems, but of course that was a long time ago. Luvox, I tried for a short time and I will spare you the horror story. It probably had to do with my circumstances but it seemed to plunge me into a horrible depression in which I was calling my doc on the phone blubbering, "Why should I even try anymore?" etc. which is not like me. Besides that it was VERY sedating. I guess I just don't like extremely sedating meds; they seem to depress me even when they are made to be antidepressants.
I also have had the OCD thought patterns and I must say that the SSRIs knocked those right out of the scene. I hope as I forge ahead into SSRI-free territory (wish me luck) I can keep those thought patterns under control.
(I said I'd spare you the horror story and I didn't - sorry.)
On an off topic note, many of you people are fun to talk to, and there is only so much I can say everyday about psychopharmacology. If you have a good sense of humor and are not afraid of some juvenile online behavior, please visit me at my bustling message board. I am the board owner and I am "grapeswhizzzz" there. Introduce yourself if you decide to stop by, I'll be glad to see you! http://pub66.ezboard.com/bbeckoranythingelsechatterhostedbygrapes
Posted by Dr. Bob on May 31, 2001, at 22:53:40
In reply to xanax vs. clonazepam; my message board, posted by grapebubblegum on May 31, 2001, at 14:26:12
> many of you people are fun to talk to, and there is only so much I can say everyday about psychopharmacology. If you have a good sense of humor and are not afraid of some juvenile online behavior, please visit me at my bustling message board.
And of course there's Psycho-Social-Babble, too. Where you don't have to worry about juvenile online behavior. :-)
Bob
Posted by Cam W. on June 1, 2001, at 10:18:52
In reply to Re: my message board, posted by Dr. Bob on May 31, 2001, at 22:53:40
And of course there's Psycho-Social-Babble, too. Where you don't have to worry about juvenile online behavior. :-)
>
> BobDr.B - Is that a challenge? ;^P
- Cam
Posted by gilbert on June 1, 2001, at 10:47:51
In reply to Re: my message board » Dr. Bob, posted by Cam W. on June 1, 2001, at 10:18:52
GBG<
I have taken 2 dose of Luvox......AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Talk about making me run for the xanax bottle. The most bizarre thing it is very panic inducing and stimulating. I am much more laid back on Prozac then this. I will try it little longer but you know that feeling you get when you first start to try a med and deep down you know it isn't gonna work....That is where I am at. Oh well I have my little peach pills to bring me back out of panic mode. After this little experiment with these I will be done with the ssri's for sure unless by some miracle the prozac sets me straight. I am willing to put up with a little ocd versus full time panic.
Gil
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 11:16:11
In reply to Re: my message board, posted by Dr. Bob on May 31, 2001, at 22:53:40
> And of course there's Psycho-Social-Babble, too. Where you don't have to worry about juvenile online behavior. :-)
>
> Bob;o) Good point, Dr. Bob. I'm flattered that you read anything I write. I was afraid it was going to be a chastisement, i.e. "do not advertise your board on my board!" heh heh, silly me.
I'll go check out the social-babble. :oD
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 11:29:16
In reply to Re: grapebubblegum Luvox is yuccckkkky!, posted by gilbert on June 1, 2001, at 10:47:51
Yes, I didn't want to scare you or anyone for whom Luvox might be a life-saver, but (to quote Morrissey "I can smile about it now but at the time it was terrible") I was actually walking around freaking Disney World crying to my husband that I was going to leave him and then 2 minutes later changing my mind and changing it back every two minutes. Now, who cries at Disney World? Then I got that creeping panic-attack-coming-on feeling in the evening and couldn't eat. Then I fell asleep in the car in between waking up and crying and thinking (only thinking, mind you) about cutting my wrists, not because I'm self-destructive but because I felt I needed someone to see how miserable I was. Then I called the doc blubbering and moaning and she (smartly, of course) discontined the Luvox and I've never felt anywhere near that bad before or since, on or off any med, in my life.
Sorry; maybe I shouldn't scare people because Luvox apparently works great for many people. I'm just apparently not chemically similar to those people.
Then again, maybe that was part of the two-week adjustment period people are supposed to wait through? Not worth waiting through in my opinion. Never had problems like that on any of the other "big four" SSRIs, (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil.)
Posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 11:41:51
In reply to Re: grapebubblegum Luvox is yuccckkkky!, posted by grapebubblegum on June 1, 2001, at 11:29:16
I hate posting horror stories, so to be fair I feel compelled to add that my pdoc thought that the cause of that debacle could have been a too-rapid withdrawal of zoloft while phasing in the luvox, and another factor was some significant relationship problems that needed resolution, so it's not like the drug itself made me crumble. However, my reactions were defitely not on the scale of how I would normally react even totally unmedicated to life or relationship problems.
I went back on the Zoloft and I have to say, since I've been badmouthing those friends/foes the SSRI's, that to its credit I think my everyday anxiety and unproductive thought patterns were reduced enough that I was able to deal with the life situation and do what had to be done, which I might never have done without the zoloft therapy. So there; I've dissed Luvox and given zoloft some credit, but the major point remains that each one works a little differently for each person but whatever helps is what is important.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.