Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 269657

Shown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? or..

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 11:37:52

or lamictal?
or klonopin?

Or is it just that I am depressed as hell?

I am successfully off of lexapro, so I can no longer blame the ssri thing....

Diane

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by cybercafe on October 15, 2003, at 12:06:54

In reply to Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? or.., posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 11:37:52

> or lamictal?
> or klonopin?
>
> Or is it just that I am depressed as hell?
>
> I am successfully off of lexapro, so I can no longer blame the ssri thing....
>
> Diane


i'd say lamictal, klonopin, neurontin do not kill the libido....... i just got off celexa, and that DEFINATELY killed my libido (i can usually tell best what kills libido by whether or not i get a strong rebound libido effect when i quit the med... like paxil, celexa etc)

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by Sebastian on October 15, 2003, at 12:14:38

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by cybercafe on October 15, 2003, at 12:06:54

Or how bout zyprexa?

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 12:28:49

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by cybercafe on October 15, 2003, at 12:06:54

Never took zyprexa.....sorry I can't help

I defintely had the rebound effect cybercafe mentioned, but now...nothing....

I guess I am just depressed again......

Well, lexapro stopped working a long time ago.
I am terrified of maois and tricyclics....adn then there is thyroid.....

Of course then there is always just accept that it is always going to be this way and just friggin give up....it sure would be a lot cheaper

Diane

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 13:06:24

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 12:28:49

Hi Diane,

I am just curious as to why you are terrified to try tricyclics and MAOI's? Maybe I havn't really heard enough of the horror stories, although I did have a pretty bad (but probably rare) experience with Elavil (a tricyclic). Thanks

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? » john1022

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 13:17:25

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 13:06:24

I dont know......
fear of the unknown?
fear that I am going to get anxiety from them?

Dietary restrictions?
I have heard them called "dirty drugs" because they effect so much of the brain rather than just one specific area? (Not like the serotonin area alone has done much here).....

Maybe I should research...

Diane
PS what happened to you on elavil?

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 16:02:39

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? » john1022, posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 13:17:25

I don't want to scare you...but this is what happened. It obviously is not a common reaction...

I had just a mild depression along with tinnitus, and my sleep was absolutely not triggering. This all came out of know where almost over night and has happened before (once fixed by Effexor)

My pdoc was going to try Trazadone, but then said "let's try Amitriptyline to see if it cures the tinnitus" which I guess it has been known to do (it has also been known to make it worse)

Well it made the tinnitus worse, also caused extreme pressure in my ears, my jaws were cracking because of it causing incredible anxiety in me (which isn't part of my depression). It gave me ear aches like I had an ear infection and hypercausis (extreme sensitivity to hearing) where I was hearing and am still hearing buzzing in tv's and computers and even people's voices are too loud to listen too.

Which I guess can happen with almost all SSRI's if you have tinnitus to begin with (it is listed as side effects of a lot of SSRI's on the RXlist website which lists more side affects experienced by users, that the companies themselves don't share.)

It sent me from having mild depression into SEVERE, non-functional depression and giving me serious suicidal thoughts when I have NEVER had these before. The 2 weeks I was on it I thought about it A LOT, which has subsided though as the medication is leaving my system and I am thinking "what was I thinking?"

Extreme anxiety and made sleeping much worse (it is supposed to be sedating). It gave me severe nightmares every night and extremely weird, vivid dreams that I have never had before.

It also has completely screwed up my cognitive process for the last 3 weeks (stopped taking it 2 weeks ago). I couldn't concentrate and the worst part was I kept having different songs playing in my head 24/7 all day long and could not control them. I would wake up to a song blarring in my head in the morning and in the middle of the night.

They would continue all day long. Couldn't even sit down to watch tv or read a book my mind was so out of it with absolutely no concentration. I cannot imagine having to deal with that the rest of my life.

Almost 3 weeks later I seem to be getting better by the day and the songs in the head have slowly stopped since 2 days ago. It also made one of my pupils extremely dilated and traces of it still in my system still seem to be kicking back in after I exercise or take a walk. Yesterday I took a walk and had extreme blurry vision (which is a side effect)

It is a drug that stays in your system (long half-life) for 2-3 weeks so I am still feeling the affects of it. Obviously I am a very rare case, but the last 2 weeks have freaked me out. Effexor caused some of the problems mentioned above but lucky I stopped it quick and it had a fast half-life and after a week most of the side affects went away.

I have no idea why I am reacting this way to these meds. I seem to think it has something to do with the SSRI action as St. John's Wort made me feel much worse (but not to this degree) and Wellbutrin didn't do anything.

I took a couple of pills of 5HTP when I was feeling the worst after a week of taking Elavil and felt a significant decrease in anxiety and depression hours after taking it. It seems to counteract all the bad feelings the Elavil made me have. I seriously went from just having a very mild depression to almost being hospitalized (I had to quit my job) in a matter of one week after starting Elavil. It has been 18 days, and although I am feeling slightly better by the day, I still feel it in my system.

I have no idea where to go from here. I am affraid to try another SSRI and have it do the same thing that Effexor and Elavil did to me for the past month. But obviously I have to keep trying something because I can't sleep. Thankfully my doctor has taken mercy on me and has given me some Ativan for the next few weeks which puts me to sleep. He says he wants to wait a while and see what happens before putting me on something else.

I am affraid as can be that these meds will give me some kind of permanent damage with my hearing (permanent sensitive hearing would be TERRIBLE) or having the songs constantly in my head which would be unbearable to deal with.

The funny thing is Effexor worked wonders for me twice in the past with this same depression with none of the mentioned side effects. I would get off and on ear screeing though, but not constant ringing which I have now. I can feel the minute my depression hits and this time it happened at the exact same hour as the ringing in my ears, so I know the ringing has to do with the depression and not hearing damage.

I am very scared because I just feel that most of these anti-depressants will cause the same reactions. And that for some reason my brain chemistry is completely different than what it used to be and I cannot use them any more.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks for listening

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? » john1022

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 16:26:09

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?, posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 16:02:39

I'm a little out of it, so you may have mentioned it, but have you seen a neurologist or an ear nose and throat specialist or had some kind of hearing evaluation? Could it be that the tinitus onset causes the depression and not the other way around?

Diane

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 16:38:51

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? » john1022, posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 16:26:09

Thanks Diane.

I saw a ENT doctor and he didn't have much to say really. The tinnitus and depression started at the exact same time I believe. I don't think I became depressed after finding out that I had tinnitus, meaning I don't think the depression was caused by me worrying or feeling down about having to live with tinnitus.

I have read on the Internet that seretonin depletion can cause tinnitus. Or it could be the other way around, but I forget which one.

I actually just woke up one morning feeling depressed and having tinnitus at the exact same time, as strange as it sounds.

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 19:02:29

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?, posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 16:38:51

God John,

I am so sorry......

That sounds like a really tough one for anyone to take,,,,
i wish i could help
i certainly hope your doc can

Diane

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? or.. » platinumbride

Posted by Rick on October 15, 2003, at 19:43:57

In reply to Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? or.., posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 11:37:52

> or lamictal?
> or klonopin?
>
> Or is it just that I am depressed as hell?
>
> I am successfully off of lexapro, so I can no longer blame the ssri thing....
>
> Diane

I've been taking Klonopin for four years with no effect whatsoever on libido or sexual function, although I have heard some people report both decreased -- and sometimes *enhanced* - sexual function.

Neurontin can definitely cause problems in this area in some cases, especialy at high doses. A few years ago I was taking about 4000 mg Neurontin with my Klonopin (God only knows why...), and was surprised to develop anorgasmia almost as bad as what I had experienced on Celexa.

Rick

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 19:50:12

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?, posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 19:02:29

Thanks for the kind words Diane.

I can deal with the slight ringing in the ears, sleep disorder and mild/moderate depression, but I cannot deal with the side effects the meds have been giving me (no concentration, constant songs in head, extreme depression, ear problems, bad thoughts and anxiety)

Luckily, the really bad side effects seem to be subsiding as the Elavil is leaving my system day by day. Tonight I actually feel a lot better than 3 days ago. But I am now very affraid to try any other AD's because of what this has done to me the past 3 weeks.

I am going to just stay strong and fight this one out. Improve my diet and excersise and let time run it's coarse. If there is no change, I will have to try another AD eventually I am sure. Nothing more I can do. I am sure a lot of people have it worse than I do both mentally or physically and for that I am sorry, but it helps me keep things in perspective. Thanks again

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 20:27:47

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?, posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 19:50:12

I don't mock your pain, but try listening to Mozart of Beethoven, et al........
songs like that in your head can help....I mean it

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by john1022 on October 15, 2003, at 20:56:05

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?, posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 20:27:47

I am pretty sure that side effect (songs in head) is leaving slowly and was just a side effect of the medication rather than a symptom of my depression. Thank God! One week ago it was VERY bad, not so bad today and yesterday. The music came and went today, whereas one week ago it was all day long without a minute going by without a song in my head (scary stuff, now you know why I am affraid to try AD's again, not a fun thing to deal with) It only happened when I started Elavil and I think it slightly started to happen when I started taking Effexor.

Interestly enough I honestly thought of the idea of thinking about classic music (I could easily change the song in my head just by thinking of a new one). Music without lyrics was much less disturbing for me, so it is funny you suggested classical music. I was definitely planning on going out and buying some classical music, but that side effect seems to be going away so luckily I might not have to.

Four days ago I kept intentionally changing the song in my head back to the Nutcracker symphony when the other songs were getting bad and that was definitely more tolerable, as funny as that might sound. Thanks again

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by cybercafe on October 16, 2003, at 1:12:29

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by Sebastian on October 15, 2003, at 12:14:38

> Or how bout zyprexa?

i'd say probably .... though some people (lostboy) mentioned it raised his libido

 

Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido?

Posted by cybercafe on October 16, 2003, at 1:14:13

In reply to Re: Do Neurontin or topamax kill anyone's libido? , posted by platinumbride on October 15, 2003, at 12:28:49

> Never took zyprexa.....sorry I can't help
>
> I defintely had the rebound effect cybercafe mentioned, but now...nothing....
>
> I guess I am just depressed again......
>
> Well, lexapro stopped working a long time ago.
> I am terrified of maois and tricyclics....adn then there is thyroid.....
>
> Of course then there is always just accept that it is always going to be this way and just friggin give up....it sure would be a lot cheaper
>
> Diane
>

no need to be terrified of maois .. the only thing to be terrified of is getting absent minded and taking something you shouldn't ..... but even if you do.... i think you can just pop an alpha-receptor antagoniser like largactil and stop the crisis


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