SNRI sexual side effects

I have anxiety and have been on at least three different SSRIs and all of them caused sexual side effects for me. You might want to talk to your doc about trying a different one as each individual responds differently. Also, you might have your doc, if he/she will, supplement your med with Wellbutrin, which is an antidepressant that actually increases sex drive. I have taken Wellbutrin for depression by itself and it is in fact a helpful drug for mood/depression and helping with motivation and fatigue but it does not help anxiety, in fact it can make it worse due to the stimulating effects (kind of similar effects as drinking coffee).
Best of luck in finding a plan that works. It will be helpful if you're comfortable and open with your doctor; unfortunately, I always was too "afraid" to talk about my sex drive with my doc.

 

I've had the same problem with SSRI...
Yes, the effects kick in pretty quick, so it probably isn't your imagination (although placebo is always a possibility). Your doctor will probably recommend trying other similar drugs. Sometimes you find one that doesn't have the side effects. I never found one... and ended up just putting up with it for the year I was on the meds, because the drug was working very well for everything else. I would recommend trying a few others to see if they don't have the effects, because I kind of lost all sex drive after having those effects for a year... If you can't find one that doesn't have the side effects, you need to way up the costs and benefits (like, putting up with the side effects for the positive effects of the drug).

I hope that was helpful somewhat

 

Hi Austin,

I can certainly relate with you about any little thing making you feel anxious. I have similar issues that I've dealt with most of my life. What's odd, is that I don't really have too much social anxiety, but an overall feeling of anxiety. I tend to worry about the future a great deal, and things going wrong. Some of this is situational; my job doesn't pay a whole lot, so I have a lot of anxiety rooted in the reality of being able to afford things, from car repairs, to medical care, and at times, even things like rent/basic needs. But these, I think, are driven by that basic need to survive, and are perhaps not so unusual, but more or less normal fears.

On the other hand, I've always been the type who is highly sensitive to certain stimuli. Sounds, for instance. Motorcycles, sudden noises make me jump; bright lights are difficult for me; my sense of touch is very keen, and I have a very low pain threshold...it's kind of like all of the stimuli coming into my brain are amplified, like my senses were turned up by a huge volume knob. There's a term for this, Sensory Processing Dysfunction, and I think I may in fact be prone to this, or at least, I tend to be highly reactive to stimuli. I notice a lot of things in my environment others seem oblivious of; smells, sounds, things in the visual landscape. It's like I some how 'feel' and sense more, and it can be jarring at times, and can make it hard to focus.

So I think this plays into my own anxiety, as it influences things on an ongoing basis, as I take in the world around me. I've found talk therapy, exercise and other ways to relax/decompress have helped; ways to take time to isolate myself, and find a safe, comfortable place. I try to meditate, too, but that's been hard...I feel like I get distracted. Still working on that!

I had similar results with SSRIs and SNRIs...it really messed with me sex drive, and sexual sensation overall, and I decided it made me feel too detached from some vital part of myself. With Wellbutrin, I found it made me a lot more anxious, and also had the not uncommon side effect of making things taste and smell funny. This drug has been used as an agent to stop smoking, and I'm told that changes in taste/smell are related to how it works. It made me feel anxious, but at the same time, numb and detached from reality, which sounds paradoxical, and was not at all a pleasant thing.

There are some other drugs out there that are not SSRI/SNRI based used for anxiety you might discuss with your doctor. One is Remeron, a tetra-cyclic, another is Buspar, which is in a class of its own. The latter did seem to have some benefit, when I tried it for a while. Sometimes, certain antihistamines are even used, such as hydroxine (Atarax). And I don't think any of these have any addiction potential.

There's also the benzodiazepine class, such as Xanax, Valium and Klonopin, but these are usually used for short periods because they do have the potential to be habit forming and must be used cautiously. I've taken the latter two at points to relieve the effects of TMJ (clenching and grinding of the teeth/jaw, leading to muscle spasms and pain) and they certainly did help, and lower my anxiety, but I felt like I had to be careful not to take them too long. But they didn't have sexual side effects for me, and if anything, seemed to make me less inhibited. Again, though, it's a quality of life issue, and you have to measure the benefits with the potential for habituation/potential abuse. And you should definitely NOT drink with these, as they make 1 drink feel like 10.

There's also certain herbal routes to consider...teas made from Valerian, Chamomile, and certain mints.

Well, I feel like I've babbled on, but I hope this helps. Maybe ask your Dr. about non-SSRI/SNRI options, just to see what he has to say. I'm by no means a medical expert, and don't mean my own story to be taken as perscriptive advice. We're all different, and what works well for one person might not work well for the next.

Oh, on a side note: One thing that did seem to help was acupuncture. I had this for TMJ, and the acupuncturist also treated me for anxiety. Now, I have a huge fear of needles, but it didn't hurt, and I found it very calming. Plus, it didn't involve any medications, or side effects.

Good luck, and hope things get better,

H. Pup

 

I'm a psych major and when they taught us about meds in my psych class, one of the first things they mentioned is that SSRI's and SNRI's have annoying sexual side effects, and I can say from experience that that's true. The only one that doesn't, that I know of, (in my experience and from what I've read) is Wellbutrin. I'm on it & didn't have any problems until my doctor gave me Lexapro on top of it, and then bam, no more sex drive, hahaha. It's frustrating for sure. Even though the medicines do make you feel a lot happier if they do their job, it sucks that you have to sacrifice your sex drive in order to have that. Maybe ask your doctor about trying a different class of medications if it gets to be too much for you. Good luck!

 

Ultimately, no, I ended up giving up on the SSRI class and doubt I will go back on them (the sexual side effects were so severe that I was unable to obtain an erection, so complete impotence, even after trying them for several months each to see if the side effects would go away); right now I take herbals and am in counseling.

You seriously might want to ask about Wellbutrin if you have issues with depression and lack of motivation. You might want to try it by itself and see if it makes your anxiety worse or you and your doc might want to use a combo of the SSRI/SNRI class and supplement with Wellbutrin and see if it helps the sexual side effects. Fortunately, my doc is very laid back and willing to experiment with lots of different options and combos, so I felt fortunate in that regard as I have friends who have very rigid docs who really are not open to certain options.

AND, I completely forgot about benzos (HuskyPup just reminded me). If you're anxiety is situational, something like xanax can be taken for excellent short acting relief. Since I have social anxiety, I take xanax prior to a situation that I think my anxiety will be too great or that I might have a panic attack. However, benzo class are all very short acting (usually the effects are gone after about 3 hours for me), so the effects are not sustained like you might get from a SSRI. Xanax is the only perscription drug I will use, the rest are herbals (kind of like what HuskyPup mentions in terms of the teas, but you have to consider that buying herbals is expensive as you're not using insurance).