Posted by Marc Boucher on March 25, 2007, at 11:43:36
In reply to run to see a psychologist, posted by Franz on March 25, 2007, at 8:40:36
> Why do you ask for advice if then you do not follow it?.
>
> You wasted thousands with Braverman and did not take the medications?, especially Paxil which could have helped with obsessions?.
>
> I would say with Racer that you really need to see a psychologist, a real one, not stupid counselling.
>
> I wish you find help because I see your relationship is at risk.
>
> Maybe you have a little chemical problem but for me you amplify it to an extreme degree. the problem is in your mind.
>
> Have you ever consulted a psychologist?. The longer you take, the worse.
>
> Good luck.I have this propensity to magnify things many folds, that is true about me. I also have obsessions, but again, I'm so much more at peace when I have a healthy libido. My obession over libido while not the reason it is low, over time, has probably played into making it lower. Like I said, we humans are very complex in nature. The obsession issue is one I feel confident I can work out on my own--in fact I've already made considerable progress about it.
Now onto the reason why I haven't followed Dr. Braverman's advice :
I knew someone was going to bring this up, as it is obvious that I should have followed his advice, especially considering how dear a bill I payed to consult with him. Let me reiterate that my main concern when I decided to make an appointment with his office, was because of a very low sex drive--that really was and is what is having the largest negative impact on me. It may or may not be an obsession, because when you lose a function, and a pleasurably one at that, won't you try to recover that lost function ? It's analogous to those with low thyroid functions--most patients will consult in order to have this fixed as it's a matter of health/quality of life. A function that is lost, whatever it is, prompts anyone to find help so as to get it back. The same is true physiologically speaking : homeostasis, where the body tries to make up or recover the lost functionality.
One could say : your sex drive is low *because* you're overfocusing on it, and if you released your mental grip on it, it would make a healthy return. It could be true of someone who's lost his sex drive as a result of paying way too much attention to it. However this wasn't my case back then. Yes, I rank sex as very important in my life, but so do a lot of folks out there--some willingly admit it, while others don't--but humans beings being what they are, I know that most people whatever they say value sex as having an important place in their lives.
I haven't lost my sex drive as a result of paying too much attention to it, but likely because another obsession (the one told in my initial post) caused it to spiraled out of control. However it stil has to do with obsession, definately, which I know is a huge stress both physiologically and physically speaking. Which might explain the low cortisol.
although it is in and of itself an obession, sex drive is a legitimate one despite all of what has been said. Most people with low sex drive will tell you that this can ruin their quality of life, or at least considerably detract from it. So by losing libido, I (as well as others) lose an effective stress buster.
I haven't followed through with Dr. Braverman's recommendations because Paxil in all of the users I've talked to, have told me that it killed both their erection and sex drive--now if Paxil is going to make my core issue worse, then I'll look elsewhere. Admittedly on Paxil I'd lose my obsessions over recovering my sex drive, would become impotent and with an even lower sex drive--at least I haven't heard of anyone experiencing positive benefits in those areas from Paroxetine so far. In some, it may not affect sex drive that much though.
I know people on Paxil who have said that Paxil make them calm alright, but they lose all emotions--this is not what I need at all. I'm a very sane individual other than with the obsessions I have. Recovering my sex drive would make me a happier man.
However since I'm not close-minded, I may try Paxil or other SSRI's sometime. I simply think there's a better way of dealing with it, that will not cause any further sexual problems, and at the same time help with the obessions.
Also Dr. Braverman used the shotgun/kitchen sink approach to solving my issues. I would have liked him to be more specific. Dysthymia is a vague type of diagnosis, and like I said above, couldn't the Dysthymic disorder be the result of the low sex drive ? I'm not saying it is, I'm only wondering. There are a few school of thoughts about dysthymia you know.
Dysthymia can be the result of both hormone and neurotransmitters imbalances....it can stem from :
low dhea
low cortisol
low thyroid
low serotonin
low dopamine etc...I've asked a psychiatrist about it, and that's what he told me. Since I was down before low libido struck, I'm reluctant to stick to the DD diagnosis.
OCD ? Sure, I definately have some OCD--I think this would better fit me than Dysthymia, although the two often co-exists, as well as ADHD also co-exist with depression, be it low grade or not.
Hopefully, I won't come across as a close-minded individual, cause I'm not.
Best,
Marc
poster:Marc Boucher
thread:743613
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070320/msgs/744114.html