Posted by yznhymer on October 20, 2004, at 16:03:18
In reply to Re: Cymbalta -sexual side effects?, posted by awatts on October 20, 2004, at 6:42:10
> > Yes, that's a reasonable suggestion. I still may call him about it. At this point I haven't for 4 reasons:
> >
> > First, he recently decided he wanted me off a very low dose of ativan (.5 to 1 mg) that I've been taking as needed, mostly for sleep. His reasoning was that it could add to my depression. Frankly, this didn't make much sense to me. I've been on the same low dose of either klonopin or atiivan, as needed, for about a decade with no problems.
> >
> > Second, I tried taking 1mg ativan and it didn't put a dent in the anxiety but added to the sleepiness I was already feeling from the Cymbalta. I don't know how I'd manage to stay awake at doses that did help, though for a short time this might be tolerable.
> >
> > Third, even if the anxiety were controlled, I'm still left with the anorgasmia. The fact that it hasn't gotten better 3 days off the meds, as well as my own experience with other ADs, leads me to think that this particular side effect is not gonna go away with time. Does anorgasmia usually abate over time?
> >
> > Fourth, I'm not really comfortable with my pdoc. I started with him after moving here from across country. I often "feel" he doesn't believe my depression issues, though he's never said as much. So my generalized anxiety and avoidant personality get in the way of calling him under these circumstances.
> >
> > Still, your suggestion is a good one and it might be worthwhile to see what happens. Thanks for making it. At the very least its helping me sort through the issues here. I'd like to have some idea about where I want to go with this before calling him. :-)
> >
> > Mark
> >
> Two things:
>
> Ativan has not worked well for me. I take Klonopin 0.5 mg x 2 now.
>
> Anorgasmia from ADs almost NEVER goes away with time or augmentation with other drugs. You get it - you keep it, until you reduce or discontinue the drug.
>Thanks for the feedback, awatts, and others. I was on klonopin before (to stay asleep)but switched to ativan cuz the klonopin left me drowsy into the day. Otherwise it worked well and there were no dependency issues for me. I'd have no problem going back to it if I were gonna stay on Cymbalta and my pdoc went along with it.
However, the anorgasmia is a deal killer... at least for a long-term solution. Its never gone away on other ADs for me so I suspect the same here. My pdoc says it can go away in some cases but I don't think it will from what I'm experiencing. He also says augmentation to counteract anorgasmia doesn't work, though for erection issues viagra helps. My previous pdoc said the same thing.
Given that, lemme ask you this: would you throw in the towel now on Cymbalta in my case? I'm thinking why mess with the anxiety and other side effects if I know I won't stay on it with permanent anorgasmia? i.e., why put up with 6 more weeks of nastiness if I'm gonna end up ditching it anyway?
I guess I need some objective input since I don't trust the clarity of my own thinking so much these days. Thanks again,
Mark
poster:yznhymer
thread:400944
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041018/msgs/405229.html