Posted by psychobot5000 on September 2, 2006, at 22:27:56
In reply to Re: Paxil - Sexual Side-Efffects, posted by free_electron on August 29, 2006, at 11:53:16
Hi,
Everyone has an individual reaction to the meds, so it's hard to predict. There are some tips here on dr Bob's site about managing the problem, but here are a few things I know.
1. It sometimes goes away in time (weeks, or 2 or three months maybe).
2. Paxil is slightly the worst of any antidepressant on this issue. Switching to another drug may help, but the other SSRIs (lexapro, celexa, prozac, zoloft, luvox) are usually almost as bad. However, just by chance, some people have a problem on one drug, but not another.
3. Reducing the dose could help, or clear up the problem entirely.
4. Changing to another antidepressant, like Remeron, is quite likely to help, but they each come with their side-effects. Remeron has a lot of good qualities, but it tends to make people feel drowsy, especially in the first few days of treatment. Wellbutrin is another that's pretty good for sexual side-effects, but has its own problems. Still, changing could work for you.
5. Over the counter herbs like ginseng, damiana, and others do help. However, many of them, like ginseng, are stimulants, so you need to be careful about whether they are upping your heart-rate or blood-pressure, or preventing you from sleeping. Dr Bob's tips say the prescription drug amantadine (and several others) are helpful. Amphetamine (dexedrine, adderall) is helpful, and usually ritalin to, but your doctor might be wary of prescribing those, and they have their own risks.
If I were you, I'd grab a little ginseng or horny goat weed, and see if that helped for the short term, and wait a few weeks to see if it goes away, or at least lessens a good bit. Still, switching from Paxil to something else might the thing to do. Hope it works out!
poster:psychobot5000
thread:680988
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060901/msgs/682513.html