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Is this a side effect of Prozac?

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by MtnFr3sh, Jun 10, 2013.

  1. MtnFr3sh

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    I used to have a huge masturbation drive, several times, sometimes over ten in one day. But recently, since I started Prozac, a few weeks ago, it's been a lot lower, sown to, maybe once a day, or maybe every other day sometimes.

    So, is a lower masturbation drive a side effect of Prozac? or could it be something else?

    It used to be when I felt like shit sometimes I just fap and I'd feel a lot better and at peace. Maybe since I started Prozac I've had a less of a drive to since I don't feel depressed as much
     
  2. Femmeme

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    Decreased libido is a well known and common size effect of Prozac. I personally know several people that switched meds specifically because of that particular side effect.
     
  3. BMC77

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    One side effect of Prozac is possibly reduced sex drive. Thus, I think it could easily account for your loss of interest in masturbation.
     
  4. MtnFr3sh

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    I think I'm going to ask for a lower dosage, there's another side effect I dislike, a lot. Spontaneous diarrhea. Embarrassing to even type it on here.

    But with a lower sex drive, I do get aroused about the same, maybe a tad less, but when I masturbate, it usually ends with Me quitting in the middle because of lack of desire to continue...
     
  5. Tightrope

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    Prozac is a SSRI, of which there are several. I have been prescribed a different SSRI, and I don't think it did much at all to diminish my sex drive.

    What it did do is sort of put me on a cloud, with less highs and less lows. For example, if the lights were flashing me behind me to pull me over for a ticket, I used to get all wigged out. After starting on SSRIs, if I was about to get pulled over, I was sort of "eh." I don't get pulled over all that often! I talked to my doctor and he mentioned that this is called "emotional blunting." I didn't care for it that much because it also made me flat to situations where I previously showed more emotion, such as if a person in someone's family had died.

    There is a list of all the side effects of a medication listed in the info sheet the pharmacy gave you. If you don't have it handy, you can find it on line. And, you shouldn't self diagnose. If you are concerned, talk it over with your doctor and I hope you and your doctor have a good relationship. I've had some doctors who are just clocking 15 or 20 minute intervals to see the next patient.
     
  6. BryanM

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    As a friend of a Prozac user, they have told me that it does decrease their libido and sex drive. I think that's the case with most (if not all) antidepressants as well.
     
  7. Chip

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    Slightly off-topic rant:

    One of my big problems with SSRIs is, most of the studies of most of the SSRIs show they are only slightly (maybe 10-20% if I'm remembering the studies I read correctly) better than placebo, and placebo was *substantially* better than no treatment at all.

    So much of the effect of most SSRIs is placebo for most people. There are exceptions, of course, but antidepressants and, in fact, *most* psychotropic medications are *grossly* overprescribed in this country according to many studies and reputable sources.

    Additionally, the very cases in which SSRIs might be most useful -- extreme, deep depression -- are the very conditions for which they were not tested during their drug approval phase. Read the studies and the PDR datasheet on Prozac; it pretty much says that its effectiveness has only been tested with "mild to moderate" depression, and... many people with "mild to moderate" depression would likely respond just as well to something else.

    So when you add up the side effects of these SSRIs (of which the sexual ones are very common), the limited effectiveness, the expense, and the other factors... it's hard to make a strong case for their use at all, in most cases.

    I'm not suggesting you go off of Prozac, but you might consider discussing with your therapist (NOT your psychiatrist) whether or not you really need it or not.
     
  8. Femmeme

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    It would be really cool if people could mention being on an antidepressant without someone feeling the need to tell them they don't need it.

    Would you do the same for a mention of blood pressure medication?

    Your statement about SSRIs being mostly a placebo makes some illogical leaps. It's true that placebos are helpful for treating depression, because the symbolic act of trying to be better by taking a pill every single day is powerful thing. However to say the effects of SSRIs is mostly placebo is a nonscientific assumption.

    Oh, and do you know how to destroy the effects of a placebo? Tell someone they're taking a placebo.

    Do you have any idea how many times the average person with clinical depression hears this EXACT rant? Literally hundreds... At my age thousands. When I was younger even let people like you shame me into quitting my medication. Yes SHAME, because being told that the medication that makes you functional is a placebo that you don't really need is shameful.

    Then I spend years hiding or lying about my depression and its treatment to avoid that judgment.

    Now I'm just sick of it. Antidepressants may be over prescribed, but some of us REALLY do need medication and it's not you or anyone elses place (save our personal medical professionals) to tell us we don't or that it isn't helping us UNLESS WE SPECIFICALLY ASK.


    The OP did not, therefore your rant is far more harmful than it is helpful.
     
  9. ScatteredEarth

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    Ouch damn.. 10 times a day? At most I have done it 3 times a day.. But even if I wanted to do it more than that I have like no time during the day to do so because I usually like to give myself a 2 hour break inbetween (AKA 4 hours of sleep) As for getting tired of doing so halfway through, I actually have to admire your endurance.. Because once I get myself going, I'm done in about 2 minutes or less if I dont delay myself. I just wonder how the poor readers are thinking seeing masturbation schedules from 15 year olds lmao.

    On topic: I had taken Prozac for exactly one week, and I had noticed that I had no urge to do anything and never had the urge to even masturbate once, albeit the week after it was a pretty intense few nights with myself.. So I'd believe it if they said that a side effect was a decreased sex drive and sexual urges.
     
  10. Ettina

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    Actually, weirdly enough, that doesn't destroy the impact of a placebo. I read a study once that said if you discuss the placebo effect with patients and tell them how placebos can help, knowing they're taking a placebo doesn't make it any less effective.
     
  11. BMC77

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    First...I respect the fact that many find anti-depressants helpful. Indeed, I know one person who has found they are absolutely necessary for herself.

    That said...I think Chip's rant is potentially helpful. He does not, to my eyes, urge the dumping of Prozac. He encourages questioning it, and gives some reasons. (I will leave the debate over the validity of those reasons for those more qualified. But Chip clearly has a solid background to take a position, even if that position is debatable. Indeed, many things in life are debatable with no clear answer.)

    And perhaps MtnFr3sh should be questioning it, even if he hasn't thought to do so before now. Let us be honest. The first reaction for depression is now a prescription for a drug. Indeed, as someone who has issues with depression, I can say that is the immediate reaction. Add to that the fact that MtnFr3sh is 15, and there may be little or no discussion.

    Even if it turns out that a drug is necessary, MtnFr3sh could learn and benefit from such a discussion.

    Incidentally, I would take the same attitude towards any other drug. No, I don't encourage dumping blood pressure medicine, to use a sample cited above. But in a case where there is an alternative, it may be worth exploring, at least as a support. I have people in my family who are forced to use blood pressure medicine. But the fact that they consciously live healthfully does seem to help their condition, and they are able to get by with a weaker drug than they would if they ate 3 meals a day a McDonalds, and viewed exercise as picking up the remote to change TV channels.
     
  12. chrisV

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    yep, anti-depressants can do that. but it's really not that big a deal in your case, since 10 times a day is a bit much, and probably would interfere with other stuff that's going on. once a day is actually pretty normal, so don't worry about it.

    Edit: holy shit! gay furry, 15, out to 2 friends, on anti-depressants. that's me right there
     
    #12 chrisV, Jun 11, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2013
  13. ScatteredEarth

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    Sorry to kinda derail the conversation a bit, but I must know where that furry character is from. It's adorable and I must see more of him! (Again sorry :confused: )
     
  14. Chip

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    Actually, yes, because a substantial portion of people with hypertension can reduce their blood pressure to normal levels simply by changing their diet and dramatically reducing sodium intake. I wouldn't ever recommend going off the hypertension medication, but I would strongly advocate talking to one's doctor about non-drug alternatives. When there is a realistic, viable, proven alternative, the non-drug approach to any sort of problem is often safer, cheaper, and doesn't carry the side effects the drugs do. Same with SSRIs.

    It turns out, if you read the data and studies on Prozac specifically (can't speak for the others), there's a lot of evidence that it's only slightly better than placebo. And yes, placebos can be really effective in helping someone with virtually any medical problem. But, using your argument, if you're after the healing, why take a powerful drug that has a list of side effects a mile long when you could simply take a placebo (or do something else) that will have the same benefit?

    I don't know where you got, in the post above, that I was shaming anyone (since shaming would be saying someone is a bad person and nowhere did I say or imply anything of the sort.) Nor did I suggest that the OP should go off of his meds, and I'm sorry if what I said felt shaming to you, because it wasn't intended to be.

    Depression is real, it is an illness no different than any other illness, and people who suffer from it can't just "feel better." I know that, and anyone with any mental health background (and most anyone else who has any experience with it) knows it as well. And, as with all illnesses, there are many different ways to treat depression.

    SSRIs have become the first choice, go-to solution in the US (and, increasingly, in other countries) because the psychiatrist can crank through a lot more patients writing prescriptions than doing therapy. And Prozac for a month is way less expensive than three or four hours a month of a therapist's time. It's an unfortunate byproduct of a for-profit healthcare system.

    There's no question that there are people who need antidepressants. If you've read through my other threads, in some cases, I strongly recommend them when someone is completely unable to function, or is extremely down, or has tried other solutions that haven't worked. At the same time, I also encourage people to become educated consumers about their medical care, ask questions, do their own research, explore alternatives, and be their own best advocate. Because in our current health care system, your doctor certainly isn't going to be your strongest advocate, and your health insurance provider is, for the most part, going to be doing everything they can to pay as little as possible, without regard to what is in your best interest.

    Since antidepressants are working for you, and you're happy with them, I wouldn't suggest you do anything different. The OP is having a pretty severe and very common side effect of Prozac, and in that case, it is always worth exploring with one's therapist whether there might be a less invasive alternative (i.e., a non-drug option) than using a drug if the depression is mild to moderate.
     
  15. KaraBulut

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    This is slightly off-topic from the OP's original question but you've both hit upon why research gets misinterpreted.

    SSRIs are effective. The studies are clear that antidepressant medications work. The problems are that they are inappropriately prescribed for minor depression when there are other options that a practitioner could suggest before resorting to antidepressants. And when prescribing the drugs, practitioners fail to consider the side effects.

    What the studies show is that for mild depression, antidepressants may not be more effective than placebo.

    For profound depression, the studies show that the medications are effective.

    The high blood pressure analogy also points out something else about depression: we can quickly measure blood pressure but we can't easily measure depression. And as Chip commented, the problem is the same- it's easy to write a prescription for high blood pressure and it's easy to write a prescription for antidepressants. It takes a lot of time for a practitioner to get to the root cause of high blood pressure and similarly, it takes a lot of time to get to the cause of depression. Too often, they write the prescription instead of talking about exercise, lifestyle changes or trying to get to the root cause.


    So, back to the original question....

    In some ways, you've answered the question.

    There are some things like masturbation, indulging in comfort foods, drinking alcohol, etc that make a depressed person feel better.... at least temporarily. So, it's only logical that if you're feeling less depressed, you might be less compelled to masturbate if the masturbation was something you did to temporarily relieve your depression.

    But, we are finding that about 50% of men on SSRIs report some sort of change in libido. The interesting thing is that the meds seem to affect different guys in different ways. We hear a lot of guys on SSRIs say that they are horny, they get hard but they cannot come. It's often described as a feeling of detachment- like there's a disconnect between their dick and their brain. Other guys say that they have erection problems. Other guys say that they just feel so good on the meds that they just don't feel the need to have sex. A small number of guys have increased libido.

    It sounds like you may be one of those guys who falls into the "feel so good" category. If this bothers you, then talk to you doctor about either changing the med or reducing the dosage.
     
    #15 KaraBulut, Jun 11, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2013
  16. Eatyourbroccoli

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    Yeah I'm currently on 40mg of fluoxetine and i have a much lowered sex drive as well, I just started taking natural test increasers and now I'm back to normal but it still takes about 25 minutes to uh... Get the job done
     
  17. rick7

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    I was on prozac a couple months,(it was better than paxil, and less side effects) but my crazy inattentive doctor mixed it with an MAOI--- big no-no, and turned me into a zombie for a couple weeks. I found i had slightly less ability to get off, and slightly less ability to do so (inclination/ sex drive) but the worst part was an inability to achieve deep REM sleep, so you wake up feeling like you never went to sleep. I think I masturbated with about the same frequency. I did sweat an awful lot too, constantly, and tired easily, easily winded also. After trying a few things, I switched to St Johns Wort after a lot of others told me it worked better for them than prescriptions. This is my 1st post-- i came on here curious about the efficacy level of prozac / fluoxetine on a gay person: if it is less (or more)?
    I also knew someone I messed around with, a bi guy on prozac and ritalin and something else, i think it was wellbutrin. His sex drive was high but he had difficulty finishing even though he stayed hard a long time.
    Also my friend suffers from depression is going to start on something and just decided he was bi and i wanted to find out about side effects. Since he gets off also like 9 to 12 times per day, maybe this prozac would not be so bad if it reduced the number but it seems to have a lot of other side effects like anxiety, which he already has. So i am not sure. The scary part is that the reduced sexual sensation can be permanent from Prozac. Wow.
    P.S. (off-topic)
    EatYourBroccili's name reminded me of the fact that cruciferous vegetables like broccoli & cauliflower (especially broccoli) lower iodine and testosterone. I read that people with cancer or getting chemo should avoid them because they lower iodine and immunity.
     
    #17 rick7, Jul 31, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2013
  18. Maddy

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    I've been on Lexapro for about a year (for reference, it was prescribed after three months of therapy, and said therapy is still ongoing) and my sex drive was pretty much shot. For a while I wasn't able to orgasm at all, and even after this much time I'm still limited to maybe twice a week instead of five or six times a week.
     
  19. HCAchaz

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    Reduced libido is a side-effect of the SSRI family of anti-depressants. Paroxetine(Paxil) is the worst for sex drive. Prozac is in the middle. Celexa is supposed to have the fewest sexual side-effects.