Posted by King Vultan on September 8, 2004, at 19:28:16
In reply to Why don't I have an interest in sex??, posted by PhoenixGirl on September 8, 2004, at 16:50:29
I have had similar issues in the past and to some extent in the present. Wellbutrin is known for not causing sexual side effects, but it is not necessarily a super powerful sexual aid, either. I think its efficacy as an antidepressant is probably also only okay. What dosage are you taking? If you aren't taking at least 300 mg/day, I would certainly try increasing it to that level first, as my own experience with the med was that dosages below that just didn't seem to do very much.
The problem with this stuff is that it has a relatively narrow therapeutic range--probably 200 mg is the bare minimum for antidepressant effects, but the maximum dosage is only 450 mg/day. This is in contrast to an SSRI like Zoloft, where the maximum dosage (200 mg/day) is 4x greater than the generally accepted bottom of the range (50 mg/day). I've personally even experienced noticeable AD effects on Zoloft at only 25 mg/day, not that I am trying to recommend it for your particular situation.
If you're interested in something much more powerful--but also with some significant drawbacks--you might consider the MAOI Parnate, which has some stimulant properties on top of the strong antidepressant effects associated with being an MAO inhibitor. Like Wellbutrin, it is also relatively dopaminergic, which tends to minimize sexual side effects while possibly having pro-sexual effects for some people. The big drawback to Parnate is the dietary restrictions, which are overstated on many of the lists, but there are certain items that do have to be absolutely avoided.
Another drug that might be worth trying is Provigil, which is an expensive but relatively innocuous stimulant that is also dopaminergic, and you might also want to consider one of the drugs in the dopamine agonist class, such as bromocriptine or Mirapex. Some of these have shown some efficacy in treating female hypoactive sexual desire. The problem with these is that they tend to have bad nausea and sleepiness side effects, but they do seem to be more tolerable at lower dosages.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:388209
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040904/msgs/388314.html