Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 17594

Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

celexa question

Posted by Frank on December 27, 1999, at 16:34:03

I have been on Celexa for about 3 weeks and have had anorgasma the whole time. This is no good for my sex life and I was wondering if drug holidays were a possibility with this drug. I would ask my doc. but he's on vacation till the middle of Jan. Any input would be much appreciated. thanx in advance. =)

 

Re: celexa question

Posted by JohnL on December 28, 1999, at 14:42:32

In reply to celexa question, posted by Frank on December 27, 1999, at 16:34:03

> I have been on Celexa for about 3 weeks and have had anorgasma the whole time. This is no good for my sex life and I was wondering if drug holidays were a possibility with this drug. I would ask my doc. but he's on vacation till the middle of Jan. Any input would be much appreciated. thanx in advance. =)

Frank, in my own experience I found drug holidays to be useless. They can be risky in terms of experiencing possible withdrawal side effects or flirting with depression. I found anorgasmia from Paxil or Zoloft or Celexa to take almost a week or more to clear up. And if the problem was lack of interest, that took about a month to clear up.

Since you are early in treatment and Celexa is already giving you problems that are of concern to your lifestyle, I would suggest switching to a different one. There's no way you'll be able to stay with Celexa long term with problems like this so early. It will wear you down. Sexual side effects do not usually clear up in time until the drug is withdrawn or changed. Adding things like Wellbutrin or Buspar are sometimes helpful, but more often than not a switch is the answer.

Just because one SSRI gives you this side effect doesn't mean they all will. They might, but they might not. For example, I had sexual problems on Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Effexor. But to my surprise I actually have enhanced sex on Prozac. We all respond differently, but I tend to think that in general Prozac is the most friendly to males, while Paxil and then Zoloft are the worst. Definitely share your concerns with the doctor. Don't be shy. :) You can switch to another one easily without a washout period. My personal choice would be Prozac. But like I said, we're all different. JohnL

 

Re: celexa question

Posted by Cindy W on December 29, 1999, at 11:04:11

In reply to Re: celexa question, posted by JohnL on December 28, 1999, at 14:42:32

> > I have been on Celexa for about 3 weeks and have had anorgasma the whole time. This is no good for my sex life and I was wondering if drug holidays were a possibility with this drug. I would ask my doc. but he's on vacation till the middle of Jan. Any input would be much appreciated. thanx in advance. =)
>
> Frank, in my own experience I found drug holidays to be useless. They can be risky in terms of experiencing possible withdrawal side effects or flirting with depression. I found anorgasmia from Paxil or Zoloft or Celexa to take almost a week or more to clear up. And if the problem was lack of interest, that took about a month to clear up.
>
> Since you are early in treatment and Celexa is already giving you problems that are of concern to your lifestyle, I would suggest switching to a different one. There's no way you'll be able to stay with Celexa long term with problems like this so early. It will wear you down. Sexual side effects do not usually clear up in time until the drug is withdrawn or changed. Adding things like Wellbutrin or Buspar are sometimes helpful, but more often than not a switch is the answer.
>
> Just because one SSRI gives you this side effect doesn't mean they all will. They might, but they might not. For example, I had sexual problems on Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Effexor. But to my surprise I actually have enhanced sex on Prozac. We all respond differently, but I tend to think that in general Prozac is the most friendly to males, while Paxil and then Zoloft are the worst. Definitely share your concerns with the doctor. Don't be shy. :) You can switch to another one easily without a washout period. My personal choice would be Prozac. But like I said, we're all different. JohnL

Frank, I agree with JohnL that you may need to switch meds. I had anorgasmia from Prozac, Luvox, and Zoloft, but not from Serzone or Effexor-XR. SSRI's are infamous for sexual side effects and they don't seem to go away, with increased time on the drug or with decreased dosage. Good luck--Cindy W

 

Re: celexa question

Posted by Frank on December 29, 1999, at 16:14:37

In reply to Re: celexa question, posted by Cindy W on December 29, 1999, at 11:04:11

Well guys, thanx for the input. I have been on welbutrin for a while now, but it never did anything for me so my doc. added celexa. Celexa is working o.k., but I wouldn't mind trying something else. Zoloft was the best so far, but the sexual side effects were even worse than they are with celexa, so I had to stop. Could you guys give me any info. on serzone? I was thinking about switching to that. I was on remeron and I felt like crap cuz I was so tired and out of it, so I switched. Is serzone the same?

 

Re: celexa question

Posted by Cindy W on December 30, 1999, at 11:04:18

In reply to Re: celexa question, posted by Frank on December 29, 1999, at 16:14:37

> Well guys, thanx for the input. I have been on welbutrin for a while now, but it never did anything for me so my doc. added celexa. Celexa is working o.k., but I wouldn't mind trying something else. Zoloft was the best so far, but the sexual side effects were even worse than they are with celexa, so I had to stop. Could you guys give me any info. on serzone? I was thinking about switching to that. I was on remeron and I felt like crap cuz I was so tired and out of it, so I switched. Is serzone the same?

Frank, Serzone is not an SSRI. It didn't have any sexual side effects. I didn't feel tired when taking it except at the very first. Mostly what was weird was that the first two weeks, I felt irritable and unaccountably ANGRY for no reason. This went away after two weeks. At a high dose (450 mg/day), I also had some strange visual effects (at night, I saw "trails" when I would get up to pee and moved my hands in the air). Other than that, I really liked Serzone and would still be taking it if it helped OCD. Effexor-XR is also not an SSRI and seems to have fewer/no sexual side effects (what I'm taking now).--Cindy W

 

Re: celexa question

Posted by JohnL on December 30, 1999, at 17:32:08

In reply to Re: celexa question, posted by Cindy W on December 30, 1999, at 11:04:18

Unlike Cindy, Serzone was real "zombifying" with me. Actually as long as I was moving and active I was fine. But when I stopped for a break, or had a weekend off or whatever, I was a blob of jello. I could only do what I had to do, and had no energy to do anything more. But I did have great sex and good sleep. JohnL


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