Im suffering from every anxiety disorder in the book and have currently been on Paxil. It’s been working GREAT, only thing is I can’t climax .. At all. It’s horrible, because my libido is sadly extremely strong (which seems like it’d be a good thing, but trust me, it’s frustrating) and the paxil makes it so I still feel horny, but can’t ease it.. It’s not worth it.
So was just wondering if anyone knew the best SSRI with the least sexual dysfunction. Thanks so much.
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November 19th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Your problem is very common, so first of all- don’t let it upset you.
The common SSRIs all have high rates of sexual dysfunction. If you have that problem on one of them- then you will likely have that problem on all of them.
There are many things that I do not know about you. Your doctor is the only one who is qualified to make the appropriate decisions about your mediation therapy. So, be sure you listen to him/her. But, I want you to know about a therapy that you may not have considered.
The medication that I think would be worth considering is Effexor. Effexor works like all of the great antidepressants: it affects serotonin, dopamine, and serotonin. But, it affects them all at lower levels.
Plus, Effexor is FDA approved for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). So, it has been studied on thousands of people and it has been proven to be effective at controlling anxiety.
Most people who have anxiety, and do not want to get into the benzodiazepines, AND fail SSRIs because of side effects, end up starting on Effexor.
Effexor is a great medication with a proven track record of success. Make sure you talk to your doctor about it. Also, ask your doctor if he/she thinks it would be wise to gradually increase the dose over several weeks until you at a dose that works well for you and has a tolerable amount of side effects. Also, Effexor XR is more effective and has a more tolerable side effect profile than Effexor immediate release.
Good luck.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:29 am
I hear ya!
I took Paxil for awhile … and it worked pretty well for anxiety … but my husband threatened to join a monastery! (Or send ME to a convent).
I had wayyyyyy better luck with Lexapro. I had NO side effects whatsoever with Lexapro, and it worked as well as, if not better than, Paxil …. in fact, it took effect more quickly than Paxil. Also, no weight issues (don’t know if you’ve had weight fluctuations on Paxil … I did … but Lexapro is less likely to cause weight problems, too).
November 19th, 2009 at 2:29 am
I took Lexapro (called Cipralex in Canada) for about a year and had sexual dysfunction. My psychiatrist told me that it was the SSRI with the least side effects, but I still couldn’t orgasm – and the few times I could, it was underwhelming. It depends on the person, I suppose.
My doctor put me on Wellbutrin afterward & now I have no sexual side effects … because it’s not an SSRI. He told me that with SSRIs it’s just trial and error until you find one that works. I’d advise you to talk to your doctor – they can help you find what’s best for you.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Been there before, it sucks. I think most SSRI antidepressants do this but just because we are women & if our Doctor’s are male, they tend to not do much about it. You really have to get across to you Doctor this a big side effect for you. You can try Wellbutrin by its self or maybe throwing a little dose of it with your Paxil. Trust me, Wellbutrin has the opposite effect! Only thing it could make your anxiety worse. But, i personally don’t remember Zoloft being very bad with this & it’s a SSRI. Just gotta play trial & error.