Effexor suppresses testosterone (?!)

[Guest guest]

Has anyone else had low testosterone levels that were caused by

Effexor? I was taking Effexor over a period of 18 months, during which

time I began to develop symptoms of low T (although at the time I

didn't know what was going on). It took me a long time to connect the

dots and to realize that the symptoms worsened as my doctor steadily

increased my dosage of Effexor. I topped out at the maximum dose of

Effexor and my symptoms were most severe during the four months I

maintained that dose. I talked to my GP (coincidentally just before I

stopped taking Effexor), and he couldn't say what was causing the low

T, but he agreed to try me on a trial of Testim. I felt better almost

immediately, but none of the doctors I saw could explain what was

behind my low testosterone level.

I stopped taking the Testim after a few months because I felt it was

treating the symptoms of an unknown problem and not getting to the

root cause. For the first few weeks, I felt awful: my T level dropped

to their lowest point ever. But then within a few weeks they shot up

to around 800. I was shocked. The endocrinologist I had just begun

seeing was shocked too. Then, out of the blue, it occurred to me that

I'd never told him I'd been taking Effexor when my troubles began. For

whatever reason, I suddenly realized it might be relevant. He replied

in a very matter-of-fact manner that Effexor has been known to

suppress testosterone.

Anyway, I thought my story might help others. I'm interested to hear

if anyone else has a similar story.