Loss of libido plus other withdrawal symptoms of common antidepressant drug - anyone here suffer this?

[MisterM]

Yesterday afternoon I saw a psychiatrist for the first time and he wrote me a script for a common anti depressant medication  my GAD/Social anxiety and mild depression. Reluctantly and with great apprehension I went to the pharmacy and purchased this drug. My psychiatrist assured me this is a well tolerated drug and I shouldn't be concerned.

However after reading an article on this drug I am worried, especially this claim: "discontinuation, particularly abruptly, may cause certain withdrawal symptoms such as "electric shock" sensations[39] (also known as "brain shivers" or "brain zaps"), dizziness, acute depressions and irritability, as well as heightened senses of akathisia." Electric shock symptoms what the?

I have also read last night on many mental health forums online where many people posted to say they have no libido whilst on this particular anti depressant as well as delayed orgasm, no orgasm, and painful erections which causes relationship issues.
What alarmed me was many people posting online claiming to never have gotten their libido back after a long period after withdrawing from the drug.

I get the idea that this appears to be a permanent irreversible outcome from using this drug.

I spoke to my pharmacist this morning and she  assured me that the libido thing is very rare at about 5% of users having those issues but not being irreversible, and that this is a common drug they supply to patients without anyone raising issues.

I will need to call my psychiatrist today to ask him these questions.
I was meant to take my first ever dose this morning but will hold for now.

Unfortunately I cannot return the medication and get a refund, should have thought about it more, but then again I need to sneak the medication into my room as I am hiding this from my parents and yesterday was my chance to do so as they were out of the house.

Has anyone here had these libido and electric shock sensation side effects that I mentioned above? And also what if any other side effects?

Guys, any of you have erectile dysfunction or loss of sensation downstairs?

[Beltane]

Ok anxiety over medication is very common. It's kinda cruel that our anxiety allows us to get anxious over the drug to treat the anxiety....

im not sure what other treatments you are going to try as well. You mentioned you have a psychiatrist. Is he doing therapy with you or is he just dealing with the medication kind of things?

you are eligible to 10 visits to a psychologist under Medicare- so they won't cost you much, a psychologist can use a therapy such as CBT, ACT and/ or exposure therapy as well as other therapies (Google the ones I mentioned If you want more info). Good therapy is absolutely gold for anxiety and depression. if you find yourself not liking the therapist/ therapy style, just try a different one.

yes medication can be really helpful to many, and your concerns aren't entirely unjustified. But you are perhaps being a little bit catastrophic, 

for a start, never ever ever research a med. I know you're thinking you want to know what others think, but it's irrelevant and damaging, only people who don't like the med post about it because they want to complain, so you only get a heavily biased opinion. People, who find it works rarely post, why? Because they're too busy enjoying feeling better to complain on forums. 

well look, side effects can happen. while I've never had the sexual dysfunction, I have had other side effects. Having said that, the side effects always stopped within 24-48 hours of stopping the drug. And interestingly, I only had side effects because I have a genetic problem with my liver AND I was misdiagnosed. 

also I've been on meds that caused no issues at all. My current med is one that made me nervous as its one of the bipolar meds that have the list of potential side effects that sound freaky. But I've not got a single side effect in the 3 months I've been on it, and boy has it made my life just so so so much better.

as for brain zaps and that. I've has thm before only when trying to withdraw from a medication too quickly- as in i tried to stop it over a few days. but I returned immediately to my regular dose, the zaps and other withdrawal symptoms immediately stopped, and then I withdreww from the drug slower over 4-6 weeks. I didn't get any issues. 

Slow and steady wins the race 🙂

for me, my med makes my life and illness a lot better, so it's very mcuh worth it for me.  You could try therapy first and see how you go, then maybe start the med at a low dose of you think it's worth trying 

[Steven1]

Hi Mister M. I am a 30 year old male who has been taking an antidepressant for about 6 months now. As soon as I saw your post I felt compelled to reply straight away as I am currently having some issues with sex drive (libido).

I am on an SSRI and was told by my GP that it can have some side effects but normally they go away.

Since being on my tablets I have lost my sex drive completely. I am still able to get erections and there hasn't been any pain or changes down there, but I am just not interested in sex at all. This has been bothering me and I certainly don't want it to get worse or develop into a problem where I have erectile dysfunction or the like. I told my GP about the problem and she made a good point. She suggested that people are quick to blame their medication (me included), however a lower sex drive or loss of libido is also a symptom of depression. I am not sure what to believe now but am going to stay on my tablet for the time being as I have some stressors coming up in the next few months and it might not be the best time to come off them.

Ultimately everyone is different so there is really no way of knowing how you will respond to antidepressants.

[MisterM]

Hi Beltane,

Thank you for your reply.

Yesterday was my first visit to this psychiatrist.
He just asked me about my life and what brought me to see him and said I have depression/anxiety/social anxiety.
I have one more visit (both bulk billed) and then he will write to my GP for ongoing monitoring/treatment.

I had the 10 visit plan for my psychologist that I used to see.
So hard to afford to see anyone with my financial situation.
My psychologist I was seeing for over a year, it was mainly talk therapy and CBT techniques.
It wasn't working for me so I stopped seeing him about a year ago.

Since starting this thread I spoke to my psychiatrist and he said what my pharmacist told me this morning which is that these sites are skewed as only those with bad experiences post.
I was assured this is a good drug and to try it. I am still apprehensive, first dose tomorrow morning.

I don't feel that bad I need it right now, I have bouts, anxiety and depressed mood and negative  thoughts come and go therefore I don't know if I need medication right now. When I went to see my GP I was in a bout of depression with anxiety, both mild. I picked myself up and started walking and jogging which helped. I told my psychiatrist I am feeling better but he still recommended the medication.
Probably because these bouts of good and bad moods have been ongoing for years.

May I ask, do the brain zaps hurt? Sounds scary to me.
I asked my psychiatrist he said I would ease off the medication slowly to avoid this.

[MisterM]

Thank you for replying.
I was prescribed an SSRI as well.
I will give it a go, my psychiatrist told me once I stop using it if any libido is lost then it will come back.
He and my pharmacist said only 5% of people have these side effects.
My psychiatrist said he has not yet had a patient tell him he/she has lost their libido on this SSRI.
What is confusing and frustrating is that my mood has improved in the last week, I don't even feel I need to take any medication but my psychiatrist strongly recommended it and wants me to take them for a month then see him for a follow up appointment.
Confused what to do.
I was meant to have my first dose today but will start tomorrow morning unless I chicken out.

[Neil_1]

Hi there MisterM

The thing with these kinds of medications is from the time you commence taking them, it is generally a period of around 3-4 weeks before they really begin to work and do what they’re supposed to do.  I hope that has already been explained to you.

You’ve said in your latest response that you’re still confused.   However, you’ve been speaking to pretty much all the right professional folk (who’ve all pretty much given you the green light to use the medication), you’ve sought out advice from this site and have received again advice that is perhaps a lot more positive than negative.  But it is the advice that you sought from the negative aspects to medications that still seems to be haunting you.

Now, none of us can tell you which way to go with this, the end decision is totally your call.  But it has been highly recommended by your treating psychiatrist.  I guess I’ve got a question back to you though – in that, if you’re still living under the roof of your folks, is this miniscule chance of downstairs dysfunction going to be all that much of a problem at this current time?  I’m just curious?

And if you do start taking them, and your psyche wants to see you in one months time – there’s nothing to stop you from seeing him earlier, if you feel the need too (see him, that is).

I’ve had funny sensations before, when I forgot to take my meds, and received some, um, weird kind of head feelings during the latter part of the afternoon.  I wouldn’t call them brain zaps at all and it’s just a weird sensation in your head – nothing hurts at all.   But back on the meds and all is then fine and cruisey.

Cheers

Neil

[MisterM]

Hi Neil1,

Thank you for your reply.

To answer your question:

"I guess I’ve got a question back to you though – in that, if you’re still living under the roof of your folks, is this miniscule chance of downstairs dysfunction going to be all that much of a problem at this current time?  I’m just curious?"

Well, I am looking at moving out soon but then again if I get admitted into a uni course I am applying for I might not be able to afford to move out and work part time and study.
Regardless, I might meet a girl, never know, her place or elsewhere.....
Shamed to say I am still a virgin. My psychiatrist was surprised when I told him I have never had a girlfriend before (I am 30 years old). This I guess is due to me having no self esteem and social anxiety.
I just got very scared reading on an online forum where a guy posted to say after a year being off SSRI medication he has never regained the healthy libido and sensation downstairs that had before taking SSRI medication. I don't want to risk damaging my libido for good without having lost my virginity.
My psychiatrist and pharmacist nothing is irreversible so I don't know who to believe.
Don't know what is worse, living anxious/down most of the time or risking irreversible damage downstairs.

[Neil_1]

Hi there MisterM

Firstly, I do hope you get accepted for the Uni course that you’re after.

Secondly and probably most importantly is this.  Psychiatrists AND pharmacists have dealt with these things all their professional lives;  and they deal with hundreds upon hundreds of patients (and medications, etc) throughout their careers.  We’d be talking into thousands of people here and they’ve not come across an instance of this, nor have they any doubt that even if something like this did actually happen, that it would be reversible, etc.   You know, I’d be leaning (further than the tower of pisa) towards what the psyches and pharmacy guys are saying on this.

I think it was Beltane who wrote that it’s only the people with negative things to say are the ones who shout out and jump up and down.  And in this instance, it’s one guy;  possibly in a small hamlet just out of Nova scotia, who is the nay-sayer here;   and who’s to say what his side of the argument is anyway;   has he tried all the correct procedures and followed them in order to get back ‘up’.

So in summing up, I would be avoiding any online forum sites with such negative stories (because you can find them all over) – I was told at Primary School that if you drank orange juice, it’d make you impotent.   Now, I didn’t even know what impotent meant, but nevertheless, I didn’t drink oj for a long long time.

Go with your treating health professionals – listen to them and go from there.  

Neil

Ps:  absolutely no shame in having undamaged goods.

[Beltane]

Heya.

No brain zaps as ive had them dont hurt. They're kinda like a cold shiver i guess... like a very mild static zap. No big geal. Worht remembering always that if you get them while coming off a drug, simply return tot he previous dose you were on before the brain zaps started happening and they'll immediately stop. Then return to your doctor and he'll get you to withdraw slower in smaller increments.

Secondly, psych drugs are kind of grouped together. "SSRI's, "SNRI's", MAOIs, and others of other classes. If you get side effects from one drug that you are unhappy with, your doctor will first probably switch you to another drug in the same group. Often the transition over is quite smooth and the drug while acting in similar ways, will often have different side effects. So you might get sexual dysfunction on one, but then not another one.

If there are still problems, your doctor might switch you to a drug in another group.

Also, regarding the therapy. You get 10 visits per year. If you had your last sessions over a year ago, then return to your doctor as you are eligible for another 10 Medicare funded visits. Feel free to Google psychologists in your area- you can often wind websites with photos and descriptions of the person. You could find one that you like the look and sound of, and then ask your doctor to refer you to that one.
Next, you can swap therapists any time you like. While its not a good idea to just swap on a whim, you do need to trust your psych and feel they have worthy opinions and ideas on your troubles and can help you, so if you dont have that- swap.

I almost laughed out loud at my first psychologist- i couldnt believe her silly ideas. The nexy one was ok but didnt really help. The one i'm with now is AWESOME. Shes a genius- I feel she totally gets me, and i find her ideas and suggestions really really helpful. I can say shes really helped me.

But i can also say the medication too has really helped me. As well as other lifestyle changes- good sleep, good food, good exercise, good hobbies.

[MisterM]

Hi Beltrane,

Thank you for your reply.

What time of the day do you take your medication?

Would 11am to noon be too late in the day?

I still can't work up the courage to take my first dose and it's been almost a week since I bought the medication.