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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by stressedout04 on January 23, 2004, at 8:20:55
Started on lex 10 days ago. I have very mild ocd/anxiety. I could probably live with no meds.
However it seems to have made me more patient with my wife and kids,and thats important to me. The down side is I have been waking up the last few mornings with a knot in my stomach. The other MAJOR problem is the problem of no orgasm thats a biggie. Do these side effects ever go away without the addition of other meds. I would love to hear that there are some of you (especially males) that things have improved for.Thanks
Posted by Wildman on January 23, 2004, at 10:30:21
In reply to when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP, posted by stressedout04 on January 23, 2004, at 8:20:55
I'm in week 6 of Lex, and so far the biggest benefit for me is the patience issue, which you have experienced also. That in itself has been a huge blessing for me.
I've also got the "O" problem, and I'm hoping that goes away. I suppose with more "practice" (heh) I can figure out my way around this. Usually I am so tired at night that I don't even care if I have an "O", I just want to sleep, as I've been dealing with insomnia occasionally and on those nights that actually am sleepy, the sleep beats the "O" everytime, which is a drag but a reality that I must deal with.
Hang in there with the Lex. You are in probably one of the toughest times with that med, other than the first few days after you go to 10mg/day.
What time do you take the Lex? I've had success taking it early in the morning.
Posted by stressedout04 on January 23, 2004, at 10:51:46
In reply to Re: when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP, posted by Wildman on January 23, 2004, at 10:30:21
I take it in the morning and sleep just fine in fact my wife complains I have been snoring louder than usual. Do you take any other meds? 6 weeks seems like a long time to wait for me. I wonder if there are other meds that could acomplish the same thing without the sexual se's
Posted by sip on January 24, 2004, at 2:54:58
In reply to when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP, posted by stressedout04 on January 23, 2004, at 8:20:55
Hey, SSRIs are notorious for screwing with libido and sexual function. I'm not a guy but I do have a male friend who was on Celexa (from which lex is derived) and he couldn't orgasm for the first month. This went away, and he's totally fine now. But I think this is more uncommon.
What I've heard (and I'm no expert) is that some people take Lexapro with Wellbutrin to offset the sexual s/e's. I doubt you could just take Wellbutrin (since it can increase anxiety) but maybe you could ask about taking it in conjunction with the Lex? Some men have reported some success with Viagra and also some take an herb called gingko biloba (available at health food stores/vitamin stores etc) which is supposed to increase circulation. But really you should talk to your doctor and you're on day 10 which is still early. I've been on Lex for about 8 wks now and while I'm female I can say that the first few weeks orgasms were hard, but now while they take longer and are a little weaker, my body did adjust somewhat. Some people really do struggle with this though. Good luck, and there are probably other folks on this board with a lot more experience and knowledge with this subject than I am but it's important to me and I get angry that there's not more help and info for people who want to keep their sex lives intact while on meds!
Posted by theo on January 24, 2004, at 9:45:08
In reply to Re: when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP, posted by sip on January 24, 2004, at 2:54:58
I hate to tell you this but the chances of sexual side effects improving with time are slim to none. It's not like the med quits affecting serotonin, they usually get worse with time. When I used to drink and was taking AD's I thought people were nuts when they talked about sexual side effects, but that was just the alchohol overriding them. I'm in recovery and haven't had a drink in about 9 months now and SSRI's are almost impossible for me to take now because of the sexual side effects. I wouldn't suggest alchohol at all but that was the only way I've known to override the side effects for lost libido.
Posted by sip on January 24, 2004, at 19:04:26
In reply to Re: when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP » sip, posted by theo on January 24, 2004, at 9:45:08
I certainly did not mean to convey that everyone's sexual s/e's get better with time on SSRIs. I thought I made it clear that my male friend's case (of returning to normal after a month on Celexa) was "uncommon." And my personal experience after 2 months has been that I am better in this department than the first few weeks. I'm sorry about your plight. Everyone's body is different and apparently some people have worse sexual s/e's with some SSRIs and less with others. But of course there are many many people who struggle with this and have tried lots of different meds and combos (like adding Wellbutrin or Viagra or Gingko Biloba) with little or no success unfortunately. There are a lucky minority who apparently aren't affected sexually at all.
I am sure I have no powers to predict my own future with sexual s/e's and Lex as I continue taking the med; nor could I predict yours or the orginal poster's (who had only been on Lex for a week I believe and deserves to hear the dominant experience and the exceptions). Of course it could get worst, it could also stay the same or get better. Since taking Lex I've been much less inclined toward the negative so I'm simply remaining open and will see what happens and what I can do should sexual s/e's worsen. Good luck to you.
Posted by bobbiedobbs on January 25, 2004, at 12:45:49
In reply to Re: when so the sexual SE'sanxiety go away??HELP » sip, posted by theo on January 24, 2004, at 9:45:08
try taking a holiday - a day off of lexapro during, say, the weekend. If you only take lexapro once daily (like I do) you can effectively go almost 48 hours without a pill (36 hours if you take take it 2x day). My doctor says this is safe and OK and I know others who are doing the same under the guidance of their therapists. It is not a miracle cure for the orgasm problem but it can help somewhat. Phil
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