SSRIs and Sexual Problems...

I struggle to find where to put this and get answers/help...I talk to my pdoc only a few times a year now as for the most part, as emotionally, I've been much better.

So a brief history: I've been on Psych Drugs for the past 12 years as a result of Panic Disorder. I am now 34 year old male. I'm in good health, work full-time, am active in sports, exercise.

About 5 years ago I had a bit of a depression episode which landed me in the psych ward for a few weeks. In there the doctor put me on Effexor XR, and I slowly went from 75mg to 300 mg over the course of a year. Well Effexor XR helped greatly, it seemed to hit the spot for all the issues I've had OCD, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Disorder. I felt even more energized on Effexor, yet oddly I also felt sleepy. (weird I know) The biggest problem for me personally, was that all the ADs I've ever tried suppressed my sex drive to some extent. Paxil, Lexapro, and now Effexor XR.

I've come a long way from where I was. At one point I took Effexor XR 300mg 100 mg seroquel 1 mg ativan nightly. Now I'm on Effexor XR 75mg Seroquel 25 mg and functional. Which for me is a lot of progress as I've always tried to achieve feeling good at lowest dosages of psych meds.

I do feel good overall today . =)

However the drugs have wreaked havoc on my sex drive/life/libido. Strangely enough my libido and sex drive seemed to resurface early on this year...It felt good and I felt like I was finally set to start coming down thinking my sex drive would be better than ever...So over the course of 2016 I went from 300 mg effexor XR to 75 mg where I stand today. Now I assumed my sex drive would be better, but that hasnt been the case. In fact, since I went down from 150mg to 75 mg I've flatlined almost completely...

So now i'm at a real loss for what to do with myself. Part of me wants to stay where I'm at and see if things get better, another part of me thinks going up on Effexor to 150mg or so may bring back my sex drive, and another part of me says just ditch the drugs all together which is the most unlikely. I'm really in a strange and unfair spot. Ya, I guess life just isn't fair and I feel like a preteen saying that but this sucks.

Worst of all i feel like I'm on the "front line" if you will, as I imagine that decades + of AD users is relatively a new phenomenon...so who's going to understand? Effexor XR really saved me depression-wise, but if I could back now I wish I could try something other than the SSRIs as I feel like they've ruined my sex drive and life. So now I've been toying around with herbal remedies, and all kinds of sex drive boosters, etc...hoping something will work, but I'm feeling doubtful as I believe the problem is physically within my brain at this point.

So I guess if anyone has any experience with this or just solid advice I would greatly appreciate it, thanks for time reading this.


TLDR: Effexor XR helped my moods, destroyed sex drive

Hi, I am a female, and suffered a stroke when I was 38 yo. I was sentenced to using Effexor for nearly a year until I read that it can cause weakened muscles, so I weaned myself off it quick smart. Since the stroke and subsequent SSRI use, I have never had a real orgasm, regardless what I try. We two are not the only ones who have suffered from the sexual side effects of SSRIs. The pages of this site and many others are littered with complaints from patients having taken them, and now suffering anhedonia. I personally am unable to feel any sort of intense pleasure, from an endorphin rush from exercise, to emotional love between myself and the man who was unlucky enough to have been with me at the time I had the stroke. My old dog felt the lack of love too, shortly after she met me again after the stroke, she waited 8 years for me to come back and love her again, but I never came back.
Regardless, the relationship between myself and my partner has deteriorated so that every day I wonder if I am going to hear the dreaded words "we need to talk" and I feel if the sex was better, we might be able to improve our relationship.
Currently I have an appointment in 2 weeks time to see a hormone specialist to see if she can offer any help, not just with oestrogen, but also oxytocin, adrenalin, and testosterone.

A Google search shows a lot of information about this. Everyone's side-effects are different and there are alternative treatments listed for those that don't tolerate a particular med well. This affects some people and not others.
Best of luck at your upcoming appointment. Come prepared when you discuss this with the doctor. Let them know your history and be open to suggestions.
I have mentioned side-effects to the doctor (swelling, itching) and he took me off the med right away and called another, different med into the pharmacy. The new med is working side-effect free so far.
Sometimes side-effects like dry-mouth get better as the body adjusts. I always carry my water bottle with me also.

Thanks Wally58. I got not a lot of help from the specialist, but she was, at least, prepared to listen, and not just write it all off to the stroke with "nothing you can do about it, it's the stroke" which is what I normally get. And, really, I think, this time, is correct. I got sent away with a heap of referrals for path tests, and see her, again, in 4 weeks time