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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mr. Scott on February 10, 2002, at 17:02:46
Hello,Has anyone found relief from the SSRI/Effexor induced poor sexual performace by adding wellbutrin? I certainly hear a lot about it, but if anyone with a real example could post I'd appreciate it.
One of my meds in Effexor, and I'm thinking of switching to another AD, unless the addition of Wellbutrin might help.
Your response is appreciated.
Scott
Posted by JohnX2 on February 10, 2002, at 18:06:06
In reply to Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by Mr. Scott on February 10, 2002, at 17:02:46
>
> Hello,Generally the sexual dysfunction is thought to
be caused by the serotonin "5ht-2" receptor.
One approach is to add-on a medicine that blocks
this receptor. This would include of the
antidepressants Serzone & Remeron. For bipolar an
excellent choice is Zyprexa. There is also Geodon
etc. The anti-anxiety medicine Buspar is another
option.I haven't tried a Wellbutrin add on, but I have
heard of success stories.Regards,
John
>
> Has anyone found relief from the SSRI/Effexor induced poor sexual performace by adding wellbutrin? I certainly hear a lot about it, but if anyone with a real example could post I'd appreciate it.
>
> One of my meds in Effexor, and I'm thinking of switching to another AD, unless the addition of Wellbutrin might help.
>
> Your response is appreciated.
>
> Scott
Posted by ST on February 10, 2002, at 18:23:07
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects » Mr. Scott, posted by JohnX2 on February 10, 2002, at 18:06:06
Hi-
A lot of people feel that adding Wellbutrin to an SSRI does the trick. Well, here's my experience:
When I was just on Depakote and Wellbutrin, I was my normal highly sexual self. Big healthy appetite. Once I added Serzone it went out the window. Then I switched from Serzone to Celexa. Still out the window - maybe even LESS of a sex drive. Now I'm on Effexor XR and have been for about 7 weeks. The sex drive still has not improved...maybe it will. So for me, Wellbutrin with other SSRIs doesn't even make a difference. Wellbutrin alone is recommended if you want to retain sexuality. But The SSRIs are just too powerful of a damper on my sex life. Have you tried Wellbutrin while not taking SSRIs?
Sarah
Posted by BLPBart on February 10, 2002, at 19:54:20
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by ST on February 10, 2002, at 18:23:07
I originally was on prozac. One of my side effects from it was loss of libido as well as weight gain and fatigue. My pdoc added wb but it didn't really help. We then decided to have me quit the prozac and try the wb alone. That did the trick for me. I'm feeling much more energetic, no more muscle aches and pains and the libido has returned.
> Hi-
>
> A lot of people feel that adding Wellbutrin to an SSRI does the trick. Well, here's my experience:
>
> When I was just on Depakote and Wellbutrin, I was my normal highly sexual self. Big healthy appetite. Once I added Serzone it went out the window. Then I switched from Serzone to Celexa. Still out the window - maybe even LESS of a sex drive. Now I'm on Effexor XR and have been for about 7 weeks. The sex drive still has not improved...maybe it will. So for me, Wellbutrin with other SSRIs doesn't even make a difference. Wellbutrin alone is recommended if you want to retain sexuality. But The SSRIs are just too powerful of a damper on my sex life. Have you tried Wellbutrin while not taking SSRIs?
>
> Sarah
Posted by Bekka H. on February 10, 2002, at 20:05:02
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by ST on February 10, 2002, at 18:23:07
> Hi-
>
> A lot of people feel that adding Wellbutrin to an SSRI does the trick. Well, here's my experience:
>
> When I was just on Depakote and Wellbutrin, I was my normal highly sexual self. Big healthy appetite. Once I added Serzone it went out the window. Then I switched from Serzone to Celexa. Still out the window - maybe even LESS of a sex drive. Now I'm on Effexor XR and have been for about 7 weeks. The sex drive still has not improved...maybe it will. So for me, Wellbutrin with other SSRIs doesn't even make a difference. Wellbutrin alone is recommended if you want to retain sexuality. But The SSRIs are just too powerful of a damper on my sex life. Have you tried Wellbutrin while not taking SSRIs?
>
> Sarah
*************************************************Hello, Sarah. My experience is similar to yours. I had been on Wellbutrin for a long time. When Zoloft was added to it for the purpose of "augmenting the antidepressant effect" of Wellbutrin, I lost my sex drive completely and I also lost nearly all the other benefits that Wellbutrin had to offer (drive, motivation, focus, energy, etc). I stayed on the combination a while, trying all sorts of different proportions of Zoloft to Wellbutrin. No matter how low a dosage of Zoloft I took, and no matter how high I went on Wellbutrin (up to the maximum allowable amount, 450 mg for immediate release), the Zoloft apathy and sexual dysfunction overpowered -- and destroyed -- everything that was good about Wellbutrin.
Several years later, I was on Dexedrine. When Celexa was added, I ended up with the same exact problem. No matter how little Celexa I took or how much Dexedrine I took, the SSRI completely ruined what was good about Dexedrine. I believe the addition of the SSRI also hastened the tolerance that I developed to Dexedrine, because as soon as I started Celexa, I had to start increasing the Dexedrine dose. Prior to starting Celexa, I had been on only 15 mg of Dexedrine for months. Once I added the SSRI, all that was good about the stimulant disappeared.
If you read Josephn Glenmullen's Prozac Backlash, you will see that he cites several studies in which SSRIs were shown to lower dopamine levels by at least 50%. Perhaps that is part of the problem.
Posted by Mr. Scott on February 10, 2002, at 20:34:02
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by ST on February 10, 2002, at 18:23:07
> Hi-
>
> A lot of people feel that adding Wellbutrin to an SSRI does the trick. Well, here's my experience:
>
> When I was just on Depakote and Wellbutrin, I was my normal highly sexual self. Big healthy appetite. Once I added Serzone it went out the window. Then I switched from Serzone to Celexa. Still out the window - maybe even LESS of a sex drive. Now I'm on Effexor XR and have been for about 7 weeks. The sex drive still has not improved...maybe it will. So for me, Wellbutrin with other SSRIs doesn't even make a difference. Wellbutrin alone is recommended if you want to retain sexuality. But The SSRIs are just too powerful of a damper on my sex life. Have you tried Wellbutrin while not taking SSRIs?
>
> SarahHey Sarah,
Thanks for sharing.
"Have you tried Wellbutrin while not taking SSRIs?"
No but I'm might be heading in that direction if things don't improve. First I'm going to try and combine the two.Scott
Posted by Mr. Scott on February 10, 2002, at 20:35:59
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by BLPBart on February 10, 2002, at 19:54:20
> I originally was on prozac. One of my side effects from it was loss of libido as well as weight gain and fatigue. My pdoc added wb but it didn't really help. We then decided to have me quit the prozac and try the wb alone. That did the trick for me. I'm feeling much more energetic, no more muscle aches and pains and the libido has returned.
That sounds promising...Was it hard to make the transition? And also how about anxiety...did WB cause any anxiety or fail to alleviate any?
Scott
Posted by ST on February 11, 2002, at 4:41:45
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by Bekka H. on February 10, 2002, at 20:05:02
Hi Bekka,
What are you on now? And did you notice a weight gain with Celexa? I gained thirty pounds in less than three months on Celexa. Effexor XR
(225 mg) seems to be working well with the Depakote and Wellbutrin. But the sexual side effects still exist.Sarah
Posted by Bekka H. on February 11, 2002, at 23:27:47
In reply to What are you on now? » Bekka H., posted by ST on February 11, 2002, at 4:41:45
> Hi Bekka,
>
> What are you on now? And did you notice a weight gain with Celexa? I gained thirty pounds in less than three months on Celexa. Effexor XR
> (225 mg) seems to be working well with the Depakote and Wellbutrin. But the sexual side effects still exist.
>
> Sarah
************************************************Hi Sarah. Sorry it took me so long to respond. You asked what I'm on now. Well, I'm in limbo. I spent a month trying Tianeptine. My doctor gave me a prescription for it and I got it from a reputable pharmacy in Europe. I didn't give it a long enough trial period because I'm under a lot of pressure in other areas of my life, and it was taking me too long to raise the dose high enough for it to "kick in." I will try it again in May or June, when I have more time.
Now my doctor is talking about giving me Lamictal plus dexedrine. I'm currently on a very low dose of dexedrine just to hold me over until I make a decision about the Lamictal. I have unipolar depression, so I'm wary about the Lamictal. I think it's primarily used for bipolar, but we've exhausted just about every other avenue.
The weight gain I had on Celexa wasn't bad (4-5 pounds), but I did gain 10 pounds on Zoloft. On Zoloft, I was swimming one mile every day and eating not more than 1500 calories per day, so it's possible I would have gained more weight if I hadn't exercised so much. How many milligrams of Celexa were you on?
Posted by Thrud on February 13, 2002, at 5:34:37
In reply to Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by Mr. Scott on February 10, 2002, at 17:02:46
>
> Hello,
>
> Has anyone found relief from the SSRI/Effexor induced poor sexual performace by adding wellbutrin? I certainly hear a lot about it, but if anyone with a real example could post I'd appreciate it.
>
> One of my meds in Effexor, and I'm thinking of switching to another AD, unless the addition of Wellbutrin might help.
>
> Your response is appreciated.
>
> ScottAnswer: It did not work for me.
In fact, it induced sexual side effects all by itself. I remember reading somewhere that ~22% of people taking Wellbutrin get sexual side effects. I cannot remember the reference, but I do remember that it was from a high quality journal.
It gave me painful orgasms. Pretty wierd huh?
I dumped it in less than two weeks.
Why do "in practice" rates of side effects always seem much higher than the "scientific" clinical FDA trials? I have had my hopes dashed by many meds claiming to be one thing and turning out to be a (worse) something else. Maybe it is just me?Thrud
Posted by Mr. Scott on February 13, 2002, at 20:45:10
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects, posted by Thrud on February 13, 2002, at 5:34:37
> "I have had my hopes dashed by many meds claiming to be one thing and turning out to be a (worse) something else. Maybe it is just me"
The story of my medicine life too!
Posted by wired on August 18, 2002, at 12:58:39
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects » Thrud, posted by Mr. Scott on February 13, 2002, at 20:45:10
> > "I have had my hopes dashed by many meds claiming to be one thing and turning out to be a (worse) something else. Maybe it is just me"
>
>
> The story of my medicine life too!
>
>
I started taking Wellbutrin seven weeks ago and I have had nothing but, sexual side effects.
It couldn't have been more than a week after I started 150mg twice daily that I noticed an increase in my sex drive. Now after seven weeks, it is almost too much to handle.
An increase in libido is one thing. This is getting downright uncomfortable.
I'd like to know if anyone else out there has had or is having the same problem with Wellbutrin.
This couldn't be normal.
Posted by Mr.Scott on August 19, 2002, at 1:06:38
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects » Mr. Scott, posted by wired on August 18, 2002, at 12:58:39
Like having to take care of business 4 times a day just to keep your restless mind at ease... I had it and I can't imagine it's normal, unless a bunch of others have experienced it too.. I figured it for anxiety/bipolar stuff.
Posted by andrew250cc on September 26, 2003, at 0:29:08
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and SSRI sexual side effects » Mr. Scott, posted by wired on August 18, 2002, at 12:58:39
I was wondering if anyone else that is or has taken wellbutrin has had the same sexual side effect that I do. I know with most depression meds the problem is not being interested or able to perform as well. I am somewhat interested on wellbutrin (better than celexa or effexor for sure) however I dont have much stamina whatsoever and I know it is because of the medication. Some of the other ones I was on had the opposite effect, this one seems to be equally if not more frustrating. I was just wondering if anyone else has had the same or similar problems.
thanks
Andrew
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