Posted by Racer on July 5, 2007, at 1:25:48
In reply to Re: Please be civil, posted by Sigismund on July 4, 2007, at 23:49:40
While I was on Paxil, I experienced anorgasmia. Once I stopped it, the anorgasmia went away.
On Effexor, I experienced difficulty reaching orgasm. Cyproheptidine fixed it, and once I stopped the medication, I had no problems. (And it wasn't total anorgasmia, either time. It was possible, just very difficult and mostly unlikely.)
I've taken antidepressants for years. I have taken SSRIs and SNRIs for years, and have no problems with my sexuality. None of the difficulties I had one the drugs has lasted after reducing the drugs to taper off, let alone after stopping.
I take Prozac now. Trust me -- orgasm is not a problem for me.
What's more, I have taken SSRIs and SNRIs for most of the past two decades now. I feel -- honestly, I guess I feel unheard, or unheeded, when I read that something bad happens to "everyone" who takes one of these drugs. They have, several times, saved my life. If you'd like to say that that makes me an outlier, that's fine. You're welcome to say that my experience is totally unrepresentative of the whole. It probably is, since my diagnosis is now chronic depression, rather than garden variety, and I am also officially treatment resistant. But I have known many people who took SSRIs and SNRIs and experienced nothing but the benefits.
And I feel worried when I read posts saying that these medications cause permanent damage. I worry that, if I had seen this sort of thing before starting Paxil all those years ago, I wouldn't have taken it -- and my life might have ended at that point. Despite all the pain those years have had, I would have missed out on so much. I'm afraid that someone in a similar condition might read these posts, and refuse to take a medication which could save them so much misery, and possibly keep them alive.
So, personally, I am grateful that these drugs exist. I dislike their side effects, and I could certainly have lived without the sexual side effects and the weight gain, but you know what? I'm still grateful that these drugs existed, and that I was given them. I would have ended my life if I had not had the relief that these drugs brought.
And when we talk about how rotten some of these drugs are, how about remembering those who have had good results, or whose results were good enough to keep them alive or functional. It may be selfish of me, but I believe that our experiences deserve respect, too.
Racer, posting personally.
poster:Racer
thread:767665
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20070702/msgs/767785.html