Your experience with hypersexuality.

I noticed zoloft was able to lower my drive by quite a bit, but now it seems to be increasing it. Has anyone successfully muted their sex drive without taking hormones?

slither wrote:I noticed zoloft was able to lower my drive by quite a bit, but now it seems to be increasing it. Has anyone successfully muted their sex drive without taking hormones?

The drug combo that I take (which is here below) really turned me into someone that cares very little about sex.

When I was starting to date a girl and noticed an erectile dysfunction (I was 24 and, was really attracted to her and was "in the mood for the thing", so the dysfunction was clearly something physically-based), my psychiatrist said it was because of the Topiramate, and agreed to cut down the doses for me to function beter. Unfortunately the dating didn't last long, so I can't tell how the Topiramate cutdown would increase my performance.

My doctor didn't say that Topiramate that affected sex drive itself (he said that it lowers all impulses though), but I deduce that if a drug can make me sexually dysfunctional, it was obviously the main drug that lowered my libido.

Hahahaha last spring I got drunk but I was already manic at the time. I had sex with a guy who I met whilst I was out and about. He was also very drunk too. And we went to my house and had sex. I still ###$ around with him once in a blue moon. And after that incident I keep having unprotected sex with a bunch of other guys. And since last fall I have slowed down.

Psychotherapy helped me with all my symptoms including the hypersexuality. That was driving me nuts, by the way. No matter what I tried, relief lasted at most only a few minutes. Fortunately I had the good sense not to act out with anyone except my husband.

My hypersexuality mentioned earlier went for two weeks and I was so EXHAUSTED. Lamictal makes me sane enough to dislike it, but not enough to stop. Full-time compulsion. Husby started complaining that he can't take any more at one point, actually. But FOURTEEN people cancelled on me and I think the crazy was leaking out through messages. Now that it's been done for a few weeks I am actually relieved about all the cancellations, but in those two weeks I really wasn't at all.

Thing is most people who never experienced it either think it's great fun or, if their own libido is low, say they are envious. No. Really. There is nothing to be envious about. For two weeks I haven't accomplished anything but NOT eating (too manic), hardly sleeping and only wanting one thing. And as mentioned, actually climaxing did nothing. Like, five minute break, I am ready again. I had enough brains to dislike myself like that; I mean, not myself as a person, because by now I finally understood why it's called mental illness and not mental decision, but the way I was acting. Because that's not who I am.

Hugs everyone. Non-creepy ones.

Saving grace for me. I have good impulse control. Even when manic. I have a glimmer of rationality.

But i have been working on it in therapy.

I am extremely and very noticeably flirtatious. I seek out sex and don't think twice about the consequences. I've never known that that was probably one reason I was so promiscuous in my youth. Maybe not the entire reason.

I am horribly flirtatious. I never knew why either.

My hypersexuality got me into trouble with the law (no one was hurt), and I got into a lot of trouble because of it (but it could have been much, much worse). I actually sought out a sex addiction therapist, partially because I felt I needed it, but also because the court made me, and after a few appointments, he told me that it was just hyper sexuality due to my bipolar stuff, and I went and worked it out with my regular therapist.

TRIGGER WARNING

If you're wondering what I did, I was 18 and talked sexually with a 15 year old. We knew one another for months before it got sexual, and I felt like he honestly cared about me, and I related to him because he had bipolar issues, too. I just had probation and had to pay a fine.

END

So yeah, after the therapy, the hypersexuality went down. The medication I'm on really doesn't have any effect on it. I have a boyfriend now, and I thought back then "man, if I get a boyfriend, we're doing it every day, all day!" but no, it's not like that at all. I think another part of it could have been that I was just young. I dunno, maybe.

I'm not sure where to start but it's fair to say that hyper sexuality is one of the major symptoms of my manic and mixed episodes. When going into hypomania, it starts off with me feeling extremely attractive, and as if everyone is looking at me, checking me out. Others begin to look unusually attractive to me, and by 'others', I mean both sexes. As others have said, I get quite flirtatious at this stage and it seems as if people are genuinely more attracted to me- I've started all my relationships bar one when in some kind of high (hypomania, mania or a mixed episode).

*TW*

Some of my more extreme hyper sexual behaviour is also some of my most embarrassing/shame-inducing, like stripping off when in hospital for mania, and another time, going around every room on the ward looking for the one hot guy there, ready to jump in bed with him. Luckily he was too depressed to do anything with me! I've also made out with a guy when in hospital, in the room reserved for TV watching or game playing (thankfully we were alone).

Other risky things I've done include going home with a guy I'd only known for a couple of hours on a night out. (Luckily he turned out to be a nice person and we went out together for about three months). I also came on to a female friend of mine, when drunk, and was unceremoniously rebuffed. Probably my most 'shameful' behaviour, though, came in the form of dating, and therefore sleeping with, three different guys at once- all separately, haha- but yeah, that gave me a lot of shame about going behind their backs and essentially cheating on them, even though I know I was in a mixed episode and that was the root cause of it.

*TW* ends

Needless to say, most of this behaviour isn't something I'd even consider when 'stable'; in fact, I'd say I'm too reserved and unwilling to start relationships when on an even keel, probably due to my anxiety issues. Anyway, that was just a rundown of some of my hyper sexual behaviour and thinking over the years.