Re: possible solutions?

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Thanks Dan, most thorough and helpful. VinnySubject: possible solutions?To: "SSRIsex " <SSRIsex >Date: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 5:04 PM

Hi y'allI'm also new here.nobody in this group has been able to overcome the Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction syndrome??any success stories at all??I'm tapering paxil 20mg. due to erection dysfunction and low sex drive. I'm a 32 years old guy that have been taking that medication since 2005 without any sexual side effect until they suddenly appeared a few months ago. I checked my testosterone level (359) my

doctor said it was normal. but i'm pretty sure he is wrong.Thanks for sharing your experiences.ernest De : À : SSRIsex Envoyé le : Samedi 18 février 2012 17h30 Objet : Re: My experience with SSRI - possible solutions?

This sounds very similar to me. After taking Zoloft, I started getting sleepy all the time, and I noticed that my endurance and strength started decreasing. My lifts in the gym went down, I lost a lot of muscle and lost my "grrr" if that makes sense. Also, couldn't jog more than 2-3 minutes without my legs aching and fatigued to the point I would feel like passing out or throwing up.

Also, I think my testosterone is a bit low for my age. Tested at 450 ng/dl 4 months ago. I'm 26 years old and I've read most people my age's testosterone is 650-750 ng/dl. Of course, Dr. says he is "quite pleased" with my testosterone.

I'm also on Bupropion XL and the first couple weeks it did increase my libido and sensation but now it's not really helping as I'm completely numb in my testicles and penis with low libido. My penis and testicles have also changed a bit in color and size as they are both pale and lifeless now. They both have shrunk in size.

I may be wrong, but I don't think my testicles aren't producing much testosterone because I never get that "full" feeling in my testicles anymore. I used to only be able to go 1-2 days without ejaculating and I would have raging erections and think about sex all day long. Now I can go a week and still not get the "full" feeling in testicles. I've thought about getting my hands on some Clomid and run it for a month or two to try to restart my HPTA and get my testicles to start producing some testosterone. I don't know what else to do. Dr. is of no help.

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> I've been following the SSRI group for awhile now and I haven't said much. I've seen a lot of emotions - anger, frustration, despair, among others - and I know how everyone feels. I'd like to share my experiences with the hope that perhaps it will help someone else out in some small shape or form.

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> I started taking antidepressants back in 2007. At first, they seemed to cure the depression, but soon the side effects became unbearable. My weight shot up to ~190 pounds (I'm six feet tall, normally around 170 pounds), I started feeling tired all the time, having vivid dreams, and my muscles started to ache severely. I run pretty frequently and my endurance dropped to the point where I couldn't run 100 yards without being fatigued - normally I can run two miles without breaking much of a sweat. On top of that, my sex life started to change dramatically. At first, it wasn't too bad. My orgasms started to get delayed, which was okay, but then finally I couldn't even have one. Around that time, probably a couple months after starting the medication (Lexapro) I lost all interest in sex, which eventually led to the demise of my once-good relationship. My doctor tried switching me to several other medications - Citalopram, Fluoxetine, and Zoloft. The doctor never had me wean off one medication before starting another and after experiencing the same side effects with all of them, I finally quit cold turkey thinking that the side effects would go away. In fact, things only got worse. I started to not care about anything; things that previously gave me joy had no effect. I had no sex drive - nothing. I was still tired all the time, and the extra weight stayed on. I tried to radically change my diet to nothing but healthy foods, but it didn't matter - it seemed as if my metabolism just died. Finally a few months later I went back and got a different doctor. He recommended Buproprion/Wellbutrin. I tried it for awhile; it made me extremely anxious, which was weird because I've never had social anxiety. It did help me lose a bit of the weight, but again, the side effects were horrible - a couple of times after getting drunk I actually blacked out (note: Wellbutrin and alcohol DO NOT mix!) so I

stopped taking it. I went about a year with no over the counter medications. I had the doctors do a number of tests on me; the only abnormal numbers were a mild vitamin D deficiency and a somewhat low (at least in my mind) testosterone number - around 400. I experimented with a number of supplements, and the only one I found to be of any use was Terrestris Tribulus. Tribulus had no side effects and would help my sore muscles so that I could at least work out regularly. It didn't do anything for my libido, though. In May of 2010 I met my now ex-girlfriend. I still had no sex drive, but I found that Yohimbine helped me get hard, stay hard, and be able to have sex. It had some weird side effects - I had to piss all the time, I would get really hot, and I wouldn't be able to sleep for awhile...but it was worth it.

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> A few months into the relationship (around sep 2010) I went back to the doctor. I was tired of Yohimbine, and the doc recommended I try Bupropion XL. It actually worked - my sex drive came back, I started losing the extra weight, and I got my energy back. My libido wasn't 100% back, probably more like 60%, but it worked. I still had low-grade anxiety, and I would get extremely dizzy, but looking back now, the biggest problem was that it changed my personality. I became extremely irritable and agitated easily...and eventually, it led to the downfall of that relationship. We broke up back in November and I immediately stopped the Wellbutrin. With no medications at all, my sex drive is probably 50%. I can masturbate, and I can get hard with girls, but usually the erection isn't strong and doesn't last. A month ago I started on Buspirone, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. One big find, though, is Viagra. I'm seeing a new girl now and I

gave Viagra a try...we had sex 4 times in 12 hours! It didn't necessarily increase my libido, but it was so easy to get and maintain an erection that I lost all my sexual anxiety, so I could just enjoy it more. Downside: my insurance doesn't cover viagra, and it's 10 bucks per pill. Still - totally worth it, and little to no side effects (just a slight headache).

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> So to sum things up, here is what I've tried to help fight the SSRI side effects:

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> Buproprion: +60% libido, could have sex, moderate side effects

> Buspirone: no change to libido, no side effects

> Yohimbine: +20% libido, +80% erections, could have sex, moderate/high side effects

> Viagra: +75% libido (or at least a loss of anxiety), +%100 erections, could have sex, little or no side effects

> Tribulus: +0% libido, no sex, increased physical effects

> Fish Oil: no noticeable effects

> Vitamin D: helps with muscle aches, no sexual effects

> Zinc: no noticeable effects

> Magnesium Malate: helped anxiety a bit, no sexual effects

> Maca: no noticeable effects

> ArginMax: no noticeable effects

>

> There might be a few other things I've tried, but that's all I can remember for now. Hopefully this info can help someone out; for me, even though Viagra works, I'm still looking for a long-term cure. I've been reading a lot and it seems that medications that influence the 5HT2A receptors might be the best shot. At this point, it's just guess and check. Sad, but true. If anyone has any more specific questions, feel free to ask.

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> - Dan

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