Antidepressants Please Help!!!

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Holly

I have been on a few antidepressants, and have had the same side affect. I sympothize with you. It can cause strain on yor relationship, plus no one really wants to go through that. I talked with my doctor about the side affect, and he tried a few other medications until we found one that didn't decrease my sex drive,and helped with the origonal reason I was on it. I hope I was able to help.

S.~~ single mother of three boys.

A few years ago I was put on Welbutrin and one of it's selling points to me was that the sexual side effects were minimal. Maybe see if your doctor will switch you to something else. I know how hard it is to talk about stuff like this but it's good that you can feel open to ask. I would ask your doctor about it. Your sex life is pretty important when it comes to depression. I hope this helps.

I never took Lexapro, but am on Effexor and have been for about 6 months after taking Zoloft. The Zoloft definitely affected my sex drive; so much so that my hubby noticed a HUGE difference when I switched to Effexor.

When taking antidepressants, you should really be careful not to stop taking them cold turkey as there can be very serious and sometimes fatal consequences. Always talk to a doctor first and let him or her help you wean off one while starting a new drug. It's sometimes hard and frustrating to find the right antidepressant, but when you do, stick with it as long as it works.

Hi A.! Please don't be ashamed that you are taking antidepresants. There is NOTHING wrong with it. I have been on Paxil for about 7 years and it supposed to be the worst sex drive killer around but I will tell you this, it comes and goes. If it didn't, I would have stopped taking it long ago!

As for Lexapro, due to the chemical compound it is not sposed to affect your sex drive. There were so many complaints about Celexa and the sex drive factor, that they altered it into Lexapro which is sposed to be better without that side affect. (and without the weight gain!)

Also if you JUST started it, give it some time. Your body needs like 6-8 weeks to adjust. Good luck! If you need to talk, I'm here.

I am anti depressants and I have gone through several of them to find the right one I take Zoloft and really have no side affects at all. It does get better. I agree with Dont be afraid to say that you don't like what you are taking.

A. my mom has been on anti-depressants for as long as I can remember. She has been on just about everything her opinion on your concern was to head back to the drawing board and tell your doctor that this med is causing one of it's side affects and that you may need to try something else. She said not to be afraid to say I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE. You need to have a normal life and meds should not stop that even if your doctor tells you it's going to happen. My thought was to look up online and see what the med sites say about it.
Lots of luck!

A.,
I am a former single mother of an 8year old little girl, and I am 27 years old.... I started seeing a therapist and she put me on Lexapro for anxiety. I can tell you that those side affects are unavoidable!!!! (which sucks) But the Lexapro truly helped with the anxiety. I went to the Dr. with my concerns about the side affects, and she slowly tapered me off of the Lexapro, while starting a drug called Well-butrin. I'm sure you've heard of it. But of course, everyone's needs are different. I would recommend talking to your Dr., about your concerns, because there are other alternatives to Lexapro that allow you to still have "feeling" in bed... haha. But, I must worn you, coming off of the Lexapro really sucks!!! You get these tremors, that are more annoying and uncomfortable than anything. So make sure you do it slowly.

Hi A.,

I have never been on that one, but I have tried wellbutrin, prozac and zoloft. They didn't help. I am on effexor xr, and believe me there in NO problem with my sex drive. If anything I think it has gotten better. As with all medications, they do need a few weeks to adjust to your system. Most side effect go away after 6-8 weeks. I would talk to your doctor and see if there is something better for you. They have a lot of medications for depression on the market. Good luck and I hope you find something that helps.

T.

I had the same problem with Paxil. I hated it! I eventually just stopped taking it. Then after I had a miscarriage, I felt I needed them again. I went to see my Doctor and explained the problem to him. It was as you said "kinda difficult to talk about" but he gave me Wellbutrin which did not have the side effects and is even safe to take while being pregnant and while nursing. I took them for about a year, and they worked great! I would highly recommend speaking to your Dr about Wellbutrin, also, they have the generic, which is good too. That's what I used, it's a big difference with the copay.

Hi! Although I dont take any, I am in the profession of giving them to people and there are other drugs you can take to counteract the side affects. My other half was on zoloft and he had all the symptoms you do and he went on wellbutrin to ease the side affects and it worked great! Hope it helps, I know it is no fun, but if it helps, 80% of the side affects go away after the first 2 or 3 weeks of starting the medication so hang in there, it may get better :)

I used to take prozac and I didnt have any side effect but you must remember that everyone reacts differently, talk to your doctor and tell them honestly and maybe they can recommend something else- D.

Okay, I am on Lexapro too and well have the same type of problem but worse, but also have some other circumstances.

Anyway, give it some time and well, try some creams or other types of things. They make so much too help us, that I think this might help Ever been to a Slumber Party. Try it.

Ask you dr. about Cymbalta 30mgs, It worked great. no side effects are known, I havent had any.
I was on Lexapro. Ya it helped me for a while but it was no good after my body got used to it.
I switched to Cymbalta 30mgs , It is great.
Good luck. S.

Hi A. -

I am on Lexapro as well and unfortunately these are common side effects. Lexapro is actually one of the antidepresents that is NOT supposed to be as bad for decrease in sex drive so I'm not sure if there is anything else out there that is. If your Dr. informs you differently -- Let me know :)

Hi A.,

My Name is L., I have been on Lexapro, rest assured that is a VERY common side effect of that medicine. I did not stay on it, due to the other side effects I was having. That is a drug that is usually prescribed for someone who is experiencing anxiety and depression. I'm not sure which is affecting you but there are a number of "new" drugs out there to help in these situations, if that one isn't working ask your Doc to try something different. Wellbutrin XL is an option for depression. Maybe if the symptoms you are experiencing on not too severe you can try other things besides medicine like meditation, look at your diet, stress levels, lifestyle etc. MY heart goes out to ya sister, the doc's gave me medicine about 3 yrs ago and honestly I needed it. I was going through a very rough time, and needed that extra help to get through. The good news is, it's temporary for some ...........if you work on other areas of your life sometimes you'll find when the stress calms down, so does the anxiety and depression. PRAY......I do and it's always worked wonders for me. Good luck, hope this helps.

Hi,

I work in a psychiatric daytreatemnt program and have many clients on lexapro as well as other SSRIs. Since you just started it it could take 4 to 6 weeks for the side effects to diminish. They don't always diminish and at that point you may want to talk with your MD about switching meds. Unfortunately sexual side effects is a common problem with antidepressants. Many people have to weigh the benefits and risks of being on the medications, living with some of the side effects. I don't know the level of your depression when you are not on medications however if you are not yet seeing a therapist, perhaps you'd want to try that and then at some point wean off the medications. A therapist would be able to help you with exploring your depression and learning to manage it without meds if it is not too severe. This my be very possible if your derpession is situational rather than clinical.
Hope this helps!
J.

Hi A., sorry to hear about the delima you're going through. I also have had the same problem. I am currently on the anti-depressant Zoloft and is aware of the awful side affects that go with it. Zoloft has the same decreased sex drive; and yes it can be very though on one's relationship. The thing that I have tried is depending on when you and your partner are the most active, for instant; if you guys are the most intimate at nightime, try to take your medicine first thing in the morning. This way you are still taking your recommended dose and are able to reach your intimate pleasure with your partner. Yes you will probably feel a little more fatique during day time hours, but I found that keeping myself active along with squeezing in a little cat nap, helped resolve some of the problems contained with intimacy. So try this for a while and see if this works, if not there are other antidepressants that won't affect sex drives. Some of these are Wellbutrin,Paxil,or Seraquil. I hope this works,keep us informed.

yeah lexapro did the dame thing to me. i ended up on effexor and wellbutrin. there are tons of other just tell your doctor you dont believe its the right one for you.

Your situation sounds very familiar to me. I started taking antidepressants, (when my daughter was 1 1/2) and was faced with the same thing. I lost all interst in sex. It caused a real big strain on my relationship. There were two options that I was told about; welbutran is another form of anitdepressant that my doctor prescribed me. It is not suppose to supress the sex drive. Besides the doctors recommendation a friend started taking it and had the same reaction. The other option that helped me the most and allowed me to stop taking the meds was seeing a therapist. I know therapy is not for everyone, but having someone else to talked to really helped me. I hope I helped in some way.