Posted by Karen44 on December 22, 2006, at 23:05:10
In reply to Can't stay on my antidepressant--help!!!, posted by DannaB on December 16, 2006, at 20:54:07
Your doctor sounds like a smart person and someone to listen to. Sounds like you may do better on Celexa, in part, because you can avoid sex--maybe ambivalent about it all??? Sounds like staying on Celexa and exploring in therapy what it means for you now to have or not have sex. What are the negative and positives of both--to have sex and to not have sex.
Karen44
> I've had a long history of therapy and have been taking medications for years. My symptoms are basically depression as well as intense anxiety. I have tried a number of different drugs (Effexor, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, etc.). The only drug that makes me feel like "myself" is Celexa.
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> When I am on Celexa, I feel calm. I have no temper to speak of. With Celexa, I'm just "me" and I'm able to laugh things off and not let them get to me. I feel like I'm a nicer person to be around when I'm on the medication. I like myself, and this helps my self esteem. I don't worry nearly as much and am more confident. Therefore, my relationships are much better.
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> Problem is, I cannot tolerate the sexual side effects I experience with this medication. Basically, I feel completely numb down there and orgasm is an impossibility. THIS side effect has a negative effect on my relationships. What this means is that I don't stay on the drug. I have tried to add Wellbutrin or ginko biloba or L-tryptophan, and nothing helps relieve this side effect. My doctor has tried to wean me off Celexa and try other meds, like Wellbutrin, but every time I start to feel the scary bad feelings and I run back to Celexa. Then I have the side effect and feel the need to go off it.
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> I guess my question is this. What medications are most similar to Celexa and would therefore be most likely to work? Might there be an anti-anxiety or mood stabilizing med that would give me the calm, relaxed feeling I have on Celexa? Lastly, has anyone dealt successfully with a situation like the one I'm describing?
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> My doctor is very confident in my ability to get better through therapy. He seems to believe that drugs are not the answer to my depression, since we have not been able to find a drug that works without intolerable side effects. He also thinks that I run back to Celexa in order to "protect" myself from being close to someone sexually, since it makes me lose interest in sex. There may be some truth to this, but the drug also seems to be the only thing that makes me feel happy and relaxed. I'm starting to feel that I'll never get out of this pit of despair.
poster:Karen44
thread:714396
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061217/msgs/715803.html