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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TommyIsland on November 14, 2004, at 3:36:56
Here's the bottom line when it comes down to sex on this medication. I've been on it for 5 years and have always had orgasmic problems. Yes I can achieve an erection but the sensitivity feels numb at best and achieving an orgasm is literally work and the pleasure is nill at best. I've never taken more than 150 MG. My question to anybody on the board is as follows:
Has anybody found a solution to overcoming lack of libido and anorgasma while taking Effexor? Has anybody combined Effexor with Remeron or any other medication to improve sex arousal? Lastly, has anybody found that the sex problems subsided for them at a much higer dose of Effexor?
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.........
Tommy!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Racer on November 14, 2004, at 8:31:52
In reply to Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR?, posted by TommyIsland on November 14, 2004, at 3:36:56
I was on 225mg for several years. Cyproheptidine worked for me on the anorgasmia, and a brand new partner helped a lot for the low libido :-D (That might not be the very best solution for everyone, though... Oh, and I married this one!)
Seriously, cyproheptidine can counter the sexual side effects of the serotonin affecting ADs. It blocks their action for a period of time. Now, here's the thing: if you're taking it every day, you'll lose the AD effects of the meds, as well as having side effects from the cyproheptidine itself. On the other hand, once or twice a week shouldn't be much of a problem. It will put you to sleep afterward, but that's not always a bad thing. It doesn't seem to work for everyone, but it's certainly worth a try.
Good luck.
Posted by TommyIsland on November 14, 2004, at 14:18:08
In reply to Re: Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR?, posted by Racer on November 14, 2004, at 8:31:52
So from what you know.........what actually causes this low libido and anorgasmia in the Effexor? Is it too much Serotonin that causes the lack of libido or what?
Tommy!!!!!!
Posted by Kimbersaur on November 14, 2004, at 17:09:12
In reply to Re: Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR?, posted by Racer on November 14, 2004, at 8:31:52
> I was on 225mg for several years. Cyproheptidine worked for me on the anorgasmia, and a brand new partner helped a lot for the low libido :-D (That might not be the very best solution for everyone, though... Oh, and I married this one!)
>
> Seriously, cyproheptidine can counter the sexual side effects of the serotonin affecting ADs. It blocks their action for a period of time. Now, here's the thing: if you're taking it every day, you'll lose the AD effects of the meds, as well as having side effects from the cyproheptidine itself. On the other hand, once or twice a week shouldn't be much of a problem. It will put you to sleep afterward, but that's not always a bad thing. It doesn't seem to work for everyone, but it's certainly worth a try.
>
> Good luck.What is cyproheptidine?
Posted by Racer on November 14, 2004, at 18:13:50
In reply to Re: Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR?, posted by Kimbersaur on November 14, 2004, at 17:09:12
Dunno why the SSRIs block orgasm, but they do. Something to do with the serotonin receptors, I think. Dunno. Maybe someone else does.
Cyproheptidine is an old anti-histimine. Can't say anything about how good it is as an anti-histimine, except that I slept peacefully with my face in a cat -- I'm allergic -- after great sex a time or three, but since I slept with my face in that same cat anyway, I'm not sure I"d have noticed any real difference. (For those of you who wonder about that, often you'll become immune to your own cats, once you adjust to them. There's usually a period every year, when pollen starts all the other allergies up, that I'll react to my cats, but the rest of the time it's only other people's cats that make me cry. Someday I'll learn, and stop petting other people's cats. For now, I just cuddle up indiscriminately and cry a lot...)
Hope that helps.
Posted by King Vultan on November 16, 2004, at 12:18:32
In reply to Re: Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR?, posted by TommyIsland on November 14, 2004, at 14:18:08
> So from what you know.........what actually causes this low libido and anorgasmia in the Effexor? Is it too much Serotonin that causes the lack of libido or what?
>
>
>
>
> Tommy!!!!!!
Stahl in "Essential Psychopharmacology" feels that the stimulation of serotonin-2A receptors in the brain's pleasure centers depletes dopamine, reducing libido. He also says that stimulation of serotonin-2A receptors in the spinal cord is responsible for the orgasm problems. What cyproheptadine and some other drugs, such as Remeron, do to counteract these negative sexual effects is to blockade these particular receptors. It's something that seems to work better in theory than in practice, however, as it seems to be very much hit and miss whether drugs like this wind up helping the problem for a particular individual.Todd
Posted by TommyIsland on November 18, 2004, at 0:43:48
In reply to Re: Any Hope For Sex Life With Effexor XR? » TommyIsland, posted by King Vultan on November 16, 2004, at 12:18:32
> > So from what you know.........what actually causes this low libido and anorgasmia in the Effexor? Is it too much Serotonin that causes the lack of libido or what?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Tommy!!!!!!
>
>
> Stahl in "Essential Psychopharmacology" feels that the stimulation of serotonin-2A receptors in the brain's pleasure centers depletes dopamine, reducing libido. He also says that stimulation of serotonin-2A receptors in the spinal cord is responsible for the orgasm problems. What cyproheptadine and some other drugs, such as Remeron, do to counteract these negative sexual effects is to blockade these particular receptors. It's something that seems to work better in theory than in practice, however, as it seems to be very much hit and miss whether drugs like this wind up helping the problem for a particular individual.
>
> ToddThanks Todd for the insight. Have you tried Remeron and if so has it helped you out at all? Also, by taking Remeron on a daily basis will it counteract the positive effects that the Effexor are having on counteracting depression?
Thanks,
Tommy!!!!!!!
This is the end of the thread.
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