will Seroxat ruin my sex life?

urion · #1 27th February 2008, 22:37

My doctor just prescribed me Paxil (Seroxat) but im not sure if im going to take it. He stated me at 10mg per day for SA. The thing is i heard it has a lot of sexual side effects, and frankly i love sex. Does anyone know how bad these sexual side effects usually are, considering im at such a low dose i though it might not be that bad. What do you think should i give it a go? Anyone had any experiances with it?

forgot to mention im a guy.

urion · #2 27th February 2008, 23:11

And another thing is i love drinking. not everyday or anything but at least once a week i like to get a bit drunk. Could i still have crazy friday nights?

Ben · #3 27th February 2008, 23:26

made me allmost completely impotent

However according to the patient insert that only happens in five percent of cases.

Holly · #4 27th February 2008, 23:31

Hi Urion,

I haven't taken Seroxat but I have been on PRozac (another SSRI - same type of anti-depressant) for a number of years. With me, the sex thing was not an issue for the first 4 years or so, but did slowly become a serious issue after that. So I'm thinking maybe it's cumulative?? But everyone's different and I'm afraid it's just trial and error as to which side effects you experience. You might not have any problems at all.

As for drinking, not a problem - though you might want to take it easy the first few times you drink as while your body adjusts to the meds, alcohol might affect you differently - eg. get you more p*ssed more quickly or cause you to behave out of character to your normal p*ssed self. A lot of people will advise you to steer clear of alcohol completely as alcohol is a depressant and might make you feel worse the following day - which of course it might! But if you love your weekend benders (as I do too), if you monitor your reactions and feel OK with this, why cut out something you get pleasure out of?? Good luck with it.

miaddiction · #5 28th February 2008, 08:53

i hate seroxat!
i was first put on it at 15, for my SA. and at first it lifted me, and i was a changed person in a few weeks.

but, after so long my dose kept getting upped, and i started going too confident :S

was always wanting to do risky things and had stupid urges which ive never had before, like to steal and hurt myself and i was really not myself. i would cause arguements with ppl and really get vicious.

also, if i drank with them and something upset me, i would be really suicidal/ self harm.

then one night i was at a friends, and we wer drinking straight vodka shots in between bottles of martini. and at tht age i wasnt used to drink at all. anyways, i got jealous over something silly.

and my mood dropped, got home, and just like that took a load of codeine phosphate with more vodka.

then docs took me off it.
but the withdrawal was horrendous.
i was sick, and even had hallucinations, and when i was walking it was like being in a fun house. everything was trippy.

anyways ive been on it twice, a few yrs later they stupidly gave me it again. and yet again i took an overdose in a drunken idiot mood.

same thing with prozac. makes me harm myself over nothing.

dont do anti- depressants anymore.

load of rubbish.

sex life is the least of yr worries on them bad boys!

but for me, it made me more sexually driven, but just hard to you know.

Pal · #6 28th February 2008, 12:24

Blimey i'm being put on Seroxat, odd the psychiatrist didn't mention any sexual side effects.

Blue Haze · #7 28th February 2008, 15:25

^ You should be ok on a low dose for depression. Just don't let the doc increase your dose, cos that's when all the problems start.

I've quit taking SSRI's altogether, all though I should be taking something for my OCD because it's getting bad, but there is no way i'm ever touching another SSRI.

urion · #8 28th February 2008, 23:19

actually, im not depressed at all. im just using it for anxiety, mainly social anxiety.

urion · #9 28th February 2008, 23:21

has anyone had any luck at all with this drug for SA?

thatcatthing · #10 29th February 2008, 17:47

If you love sex that much are you sure that you are really depressed, or just a little pissed off?

spyder774 · #11 29th February 2008, 20:27

I know everyones experience will be different but I was on this drug for about a year and I wouldn't touch it again EVER!
I had little, if any, benefit from it and the side effects were nasty. I had night sweats,sleep disturbance, bizarre head shocks, and nausea, as well as the sexual side effects already mentioned. I decided I wanted to stop taking it and I managed to reduce my dose to 5mg a day but every time I tried to stop it completely I had terrible withdrawal symptoms. In the end I managed to come off it when I was in hospital for a ruptured appendix. I explained to my doctors that I was having trouble getting off it so they just stopped it while I was in hospital. I was so out of it on pain relief in the few days after my surgery that the withdrawal effects didn't bother me at all.

thatcatthing · #12 29th February 2008, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by winterdavid

eh???

this makes no sense at all.

depression has hardly ever affected my love of sex,

im sure it may affect people in different ways, but im fairly certain that the majority of people with, even severe depression enjoy sex just as much as anyone else.

I know reduced sex drive is quite a common symptom of depression, but just because someone still enjoys sex does not automatically disqualify them from being classified as "depressed"

I agree Mr Winterdavid,

depression for me has allways gone with a loss of sex drive.

Do you fancy meeting up for a run in the Pennines?

PS I'm not gay, just laughing....

Grah08 · #13 29th February 2008, 21:49

I could be wrong but isn't Seroxat the 'dodgy' A.D? Theres one that was meant to increase suicidal feelings or something.

thatcatthing · #14 29th February 2008, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by winterdavid

if i was closer to the Pennines i probably still wouldn't as exercising is anathema to me :P

Well Mr Winterdavid, your profile notes you as a runner and camper. We're all waiting for you up here...

No, just joking. I must admit that you are very hard on some of the people on this forum. You don't strike me as a real SA sufferer but someone who's just a bit pissed off. Maybe we've got some things in common?

thatcatthing · #15 1st March 2008, 00:32

I am very sorry if I have upset you and hope that you have not taken any of my comments to heart. I too am having a hard time at the moment: no job and very nearly no woman, flat.

I look forward to more discussions along similar lines.

BCingU.

Ben · #16 1st March 2008, 09:01

What a bizarre thing to say thatcatthing, especially out of the blue.

The not SA thing is always below the belt. I have (and I doubt any1 else apart from you has) never doubted winterDavids sincerity and genuineness for 1 second.

spyder774 · #17 1st March 2008, 11:53

Most people who know me don't have a clue about my SA, but they wouldn't know because I do a fairly good job of 'acting normal' as long as I'm in familiar surroundings and with familiar people. I've been in the same job and with the same people for 13 years so I'm pretty ok at work, but my social life is a tragedy because I'm terrified of meeting new people. To suggest that someone doesn't really have SA is ridiculous as well as insulting, it's hardly something anyone would pretend to have just for the fun of it!

Holly · #18 1st March 2008, 22:31

WinterDavid,

You come across as a top bloke, don't worry about that post..though, yeah, it was a tad odd.....

Holly · #19 1st March 2008, 22:38

Quote:

depression has hardly ever affected my love of sex,

And yeah. same here. In fact though I've only ever had one proper sexual relationship, I used to find that fantasising etc when v. low was a good way to escape the pit of despair I was feeling.

Only thing that erased my sex drive / functioning were SSRIs and now Clomipramine (trycyclic that works on serotonin transmitters in much the same way as a SSRI does.) It's crap!!!

Apparently, you get this crappy side effect because whilst raising levels of serotonin in your brain, levels of dopamine are lowered. And it's dopamine that relates to sexual functioning. Don't know why you can't then get a "dopamine pill" to then raise this chemical so we could all be happy and sexual...but obviously, if it were that simple I'm sure it would've been done by now.

I'm going to try to lower my already low dose of Clomipramine to a level whereby I might get some of the old feeling back...without going so low as to become a rocking, chainsmoking, suicidal crazy woman again!!!!!!!! Fun fun fun.

Ben · #20 2nd March 2008, 09:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holly

...Apparently, you get this crappy side effect because whilst raising levels of serotonin in your brain, levels of dopamine are lowered. And it's dopamine that relates to sexual functioning. Don't know why you can't then get a "dopamine pill" to then raise this chemical so we could all be happy and sexual...but obviously, if it were that simple I'm sure it would've been done by now.

I didnt know thats why they did that, ta for the info! A lot of doctors and researchers want to push the low dopamine theory as one of the major causes of depression. There is no desire from the drug companies to do that though, as anything that tinkers with your dopamine will be super scrutinised for any addictive properties, and they see it as a commercial non starter.

The best drug I have been on by orders of magnitude is a dopamine stimulator (a legal one). There are others which you are able to obtain.. ritalin, adderall, bromocriptine etc. I read in the paper a fortnight ago, ritalin is starting to gain a small acceptance (and prescriptions are way up for it) for depression in adults. Personally I think doctors should prescribe 4 or 5 diff ssris initially, then if they do not work in a patient, try a dopamine stimulator.

They tend to have a promoting effect on the libido as well.

Holly · #21 2nd March 2008, 16:40

A dopamine stimulator sounds like a nice idea - happiness and sex drive - woohoo!!!

I've been thinking about this issue A LOT in recent years, and lately have got to wondering whether I should switch to another tricyclic that doesn't increase serotonin levels as much...such as Amitryptaline. My mum takes this and has done really well on it - though admittedly, her problems are more depression based than anxiety.

Problem is though, I also have obsessive thoughts and increased serotonin is supposed to help treat this - hence SSRIs and the like being used to treat OCD. So I don't know really. Any views / info on any of this would be greatly appreciated!!

happy jimbob · #22 3rd March 2008, 13:42

I was on Seroxat, and now on Efexor (Venlafaxine). Seroxat saved my life, to be honest, as SA had pretty much closed off every option in life. The fact it was going to affect my sex life was irrelevant, as I wasn't going out anyway! Thankfully the affect wasn't so severe as to extinguish it - it was great to be able to last 30 minutes! Too much information?

The benefits to you life vs. the side effects are something you have to weigh up for yourself, but you won't know until you try them. I started on 20mg, and they had no effect on my SA (I suffer more from anxiety, and little from depression, I think), so I went up to 40mg, and the affect was miraculous. My life hasn't been the same.

But everyone's experiences are different, as is obvious from this forum, so you won't know how they affect you unless you try them. Me, I had nothing to lose, so it was a no-brainer. Some side effect stay, some reduce over time and most you never experience (hopefully), so it's a bit of a lottery which ones you'll get.

Anyway, good luck. It's all part of finding a solution.

All the best, jim