Sexual Dysfunction after quiting

[Zor25]

Hello people,
I know there are number of threads about this issue, but I am very frustrated and worried, also I have specific question so I decided to start a new thread.

I am suffering from number of social phobias, sometimes have periods of depression. one of the therapists I visited recommended Rexetine. (it is Paroxetine, like paxil)

I was taking as little as 10 mg per day, only for 20 days. when I consumed all pills in the box, I decided to not continue because my sex drive was really low. when you suffer from social awkwardness you don't get laid every other day, but occasional chance turned into failure, so I quit in rage.

I didn't consult therapist about quitting, because I don't visit him any more.

I'm off rexetine for 4 weeks now. I experienced dizziness and nausea, which was really bad and also some other symptoms, but all of that passed now.

only sexual dysfunction remains.

I can get erection, but I can't get really hard and it is almost impossible to maintain it. I lose erection DURING sex, If I can achieve orgasm it is not intense and sperm is like water.

I read experience of other people and panicked, because it seems those symptoms may remain for a long time and in some cases not go away at all.

Doctor who prescribed Rexetine described side effect as "late ejaculation" I can live with that, but he didn't mention anything about Anorgasmia or impotency! I would never take a single pil of this crap if I'd know the risk.

If there is anyone who had similar problems please share experience, how did you fight this condition, if you could recover etc.

And the specific question I mentioned in the beginning is about Wellbutrin. On those boards I found threads that claim that it can help with post ssri dysfunction. has anyone tried it? have positive experience?

I am doing to wait few weeks, during which i'll exercise, eat healthy food and take vitamins. if those natural methods don't help i'll get Wellbutrin. if it does not help either I really don't know what to do.

[Bilo76]

Originally Posted by Zor25

Doctor who prescribed Rexetine described side effect as "late ejaculation" I can live with that, but he didn't mention anything about Anorgasmia or impotency! I would never take a single pil of this crap if I'd know the risk.

Well in that case, let me warn you this time upfront:

Based on these studies, the most common side effects of Wellbutrin include:


Agitation -- up to 31.9 percent of people
Weight loss -- up to 28 percent of people
Dry mouth -- up to 27.6 percent of people
Constipation -- up to 26 percent of people
Headaches -- up to 25.7 percent of people
Nausea or vomiting -- up to 22.9 percent of people
Dizziness -- up to 22.3 percent of people
Increased sweating -- up to 22.3 percent of people
Shakiness (tremors) -- up to 21.1 percent of people
Insomnia -- up to 18.6 percent of people
Appetite loss -- up to 18.3 percent of people
Blurred vision -- up to 14.6 percent of people
A rapid heart rate (tachycardia) -- up to 10.8 percent of people
Confusion -- up to 8.4 percent of people
Hostility -- up to 5.6 percent of people
Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) -- up to 5.3 percent of people
Hearing changes -- up to 5.3 percent of people.

Personally my friend,..i shouldnt worry to much. Indeed give it some time and live healthy,..you havent been ont he drug long. It will pass.
But i can tell you now;..sexual dysfunction is mostly based on social anxiety and wrong anticipation. So try to stop worrying now. Cause i can tell you now;..every time you have sex and 2 hrs upfront and during you worry about it;..the problem will remain. Just try to get an attitutude like "it will get better, i will heal;,..but in my own time"

[Zor25]

Originally Posted by Bilo76

Well in that case, let me warn you this time upfront:

Based on these studies, the most common side effects of Wellbutrin include:


Agitation -- up to 31.9 percent of people
Weight loss -- up to 28 percent of people
Dry mouth -- up to 27.6 percent of people
Constipation -- up to 26 percent of people
Headaches -- up to 25.7 percent of people
Nausea or vomiting -- up to 22.9 percent of people
Dizziness -- up to 22.3 percent of people
Increased sweating -- up to 22.3 percent of people
Shakiness (tremors) -- up to 21.1 percent of people
Insomnia -- up to 18.6 percent of people
Appetite loss -- up to 18.3 percent of people
Blurred vision -- up to 14.6 percent of people
A rapid heart rate (tachycardia) -- up to 10.8 percent of people
Confusion -- up to 8.4 percent of people
Hostility -- up to 5.6 percent of people
Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) -- up to 5.3 percent of people
Hearing changes -- up to 5.3 percent of people.

Personally my friend,..i shouldnt worry to much. Indeed give it some time and live healthy,..you havent been ont he drug long. It will pass.
But i can tell you now;..sexual dysfunction is mostly based on social anxiety and wrong anticipation. So try to stop worrying now. Cause i can tell you now;..every time you have sex and 2 hrs upfront and during you worry about it;..the problem will remain. Just try to get an attitutude like "it will get better, i will heal;,..but in my own time"

Thanks for response, I have also checked side effects of Wellbutrin and i'm not happy with them, but what choice do I have? let's suppose dysfunction doesn't go away, what to do then? live without sex rest of my life? I'm 25 now.
And I can't agree with your opinion aboud dysfunction being based on social anxiety, I have been sociophobic since early years, in fact as long as I remember, but I NEVER had sexual problems. I would agree with you if I had sort of panic attack when being with women, but this thing is physical. I literally can't get hard now, no matter what I try. and everything begun right after I started taking paxil...

[scotty]

Sexual dysfunction isn't corrected by further altering brain chemistry. Give it time and this usually resolves on it's own. Don't add more drugs to the mix.

[Bilo76]

Originally Posted by Zor25

Thanks for response, I have also checked side effects of Wellbutrin and i'm not happy with them, but what choice do I have? let's suppose dysfunction doesn't go away, what to do then? live without sex rest of my life? I'm 25 now.
And I can't agree with your opinion aboud dysfunction being based on social anxiety, I have been sociophobic since early years, in fact as long as I remember, but I NEVER had sexual problems. I would agree with you if I had sort of panic attack when being with women, but this thing is physical. I literally can't get hard now, no matter what I try. and everything begun right after I started taking paxil...

This is exactly wat i mend. This is anxiety speaking.
I mean lets look at the truth;....you are now of the drug for 4 weeks. Big chance that IT Will resolve on iets own. All experience and research points that way. You however play the what if game. What if i never can have sex again'...what if it doesnt go away.
All i am saying is that thats not helping. And the more tensed you are and the more worried and anticipating the worst.,,well it will prolong the problem. The biggest cause of sexual disfunction is not the physical part.
So worry less and give it time

[andy013]

I'm sorry to say that it sounds like you're in the same boat as a lot of us. If I were you I wouldn't take the wellbutrin till at least 2-3 years after you stopped the meds. I know this is a long time but that can be what it takes.

I myself am currently at 10 months off of citalopram and still have low sex drive. It is however better than it was before. Some days I feel horny and others I have almost no desire it is very up and down. For the first 5-6 months I had almost no feeling down there at all and it was very watery when I did climax. It has improved somewhat since then.

There was another user who posted his progress on here in a similar situation. He said that it took until about 16-18 months before he noticed any significant improvement but now after 24 months he is 100% better.

It sounds to me like your recovery time might be a bit shorter than that since you only took it for 4 weeks but who knows.

In my opinion there isn't a drug that can help you with psychological problems like depression and social anxiety. These are caused by a certain way of thinking, and just like there is no drug that can cure a fear of heights. These drugs are prescribed and we don't even understand what kind of effects they have on the brain. As you can see from reading here, many people have negative effects lasting for months and years afterwards.


I do know that from reading here it is very rare for these things to be permanent. Almost everyone who posts after 2-3 years of stopping the drugs has recovered.

[Bilo76]

Andy013.... He was on paxil for 20 days in total, it is not likely he will experiece problems 1 year from now. Let us not scare him. Most logic scenario is that it will be better in few weeks

[andy013]

Originally Posted by Bilo76

Andy013.... He was on paxil for 20 days in total, it is not likely he will experiece problems 1 year from now. Let us not scare him. Most logic scenario is that it will be better in few weeks

I didn't mean to scare him. I'm just trying to give him information on other peoples experiences. Even if he isn't better in a month or two it doesn't mean it is permanent. I hope he won't experience problems for very long though.

When I first found this site it was a relief to read about people who recovered fully (even after 2-3 years). I know that if I hadn't found this information then by this point I would be very worried that I have permanent sexual dysfunction. Now I know that many other people have been in my situation at 10 months off and have recovered fully.

[Kilpleztim]

I use to have this same problem, but after some time it did start to go back to normal. I used to worry about it so much that worrying was the problem. I would over think everything and couldn't perform at all. Now that I have been on paxcil for so many years, that part of the side effect has finaly past.
Give it some time and what ever you do Don't over think it...

[kcm26]

I was on Effexor and Luvox for about ten years. I stopped in November and have seen checkered improvement. Sometimes I'll have a few weeks were I'll get erections due to thoughts and have very sensational orgasms. Other times I'll have a few weeks where I can only get partial erections and there is not much feeling during orgasm. The bad windows are distressing, but the good windows are there.

Back on point, I think you'll get better in time. In the meantime there is always Viagra. I can also tell you from experience that worrying about it gets you nowhere. Focus on other things and let your brain repair itself.

[andy013]

Originally Posted by kcm26

I was on Effexor and Luvox for about ten years. I stopped in November and have seen checkered improvement. Sometimes I'll have a few weeks were I'll get erections due to thoughts and have very sensational orgasms. Other times I'll have a few weeks where I can only get partial erections and there is not much feeling during orgasm. The bad windows are distressing, but the good windows are there.

Yes, this is exactly my experience so far. I have even had a few days here and there where it has been almost 100% normal. Those days give me hope that eventually things will get better.

[kcm26]

Originally Posted by andy013

Yes, this is exactly my experience so far. I have even had a few days here and there where it has been almost 100% normal. Those days give me hope that eventually things will get better.

It is very comforting to see other people having the same recovery experience. What keeps me hopeful is that the good days are clearly better than anything I had while on SSRIs.

[nicole55]

I agree , you weren't on the pill for very long and you are worrying which is normal, but can wreak havoc on your body.

Try not to worry by staying busy and not thinking about it as much as possible. Even low key activities anything to distract you, watching a marathon of your favorite show, reading a great book. Keep your mind busy and focused do you have any puzzles type things you like to do, sudoku, crossword. Even a board game, card game online. Something to give your mind something to do.
Exercise is great too, following a dvd, playing a sport.

Keep busy and keep the mind distracted, but also give yourself plenty of time for rest/long good sleep.

[Zor25]

Posting again for those who may find themselves in my position,
I didn't take any medication and seems that pssd is passed, I feel perfectly normal for last month or two. before that I had periods when I felt normal sometimes.

Also need to note that Paxil was actually helping with social anxiety, didn't take it long enough to confirm results, but I found it easier to communicate with people. so it's up to you to take risk...

[mayberry33]

Nice to know you are fine right now, I was going to repeat what scotty said about not taking anymore drugs since the problem will vanish after few days.

[Schwinn57]

I just wanted to say that recovery time is not a function of how long you were on the pill, unfortunately. It really is a random time. I was only on Paxil for 2 months but even after more than a year and a half I haven't seen any progress.

This doesn't mean that others will not recover much faster, however. Everyone takes their own time.

[markca]

Originally Posted by andy013

In my opinion there isn't a drug that can help you with psychological problems like depression and social anxiety. These are caused by a certain way of thinking, and just like there is no drug that can cure a fear of heights. These drugs are prescribed and we don't even understand what kind of effects they have on the brain. As you can see from reading here, many people have negative effects lasting for months and years afterwards.

This statement is absolutely profound . Exactly right.!
If only the medical profession could see this.
Andy you should be a doctor.

[andy013]

Originally Posted by Schwinn57

I just wanted to say that recovery time is not a function of how long you were on the pill, unfortunately. It really is a random time. I was only on Paxil for 2 months but even after more than a year and a half I haven't seen any progress.

That doesn't seem to be true. In your post history you mention having a good window where you can achieve an erection. That is progress believe it or not. A guy that took 5 years to fully recover posted on here and said that was exactly the pattern of recovery. At first just a small improvement and a good window and then the good windows very gradually getting better slowly until years later the good windows became permanent. Just wanted to give you some hope as I know how much it sucks to be sitting here in your early twenties and thinking you have permanent sexual dysfunction. Recovery is definitely possible, even if it takes a long time.

[Schwinn57]

Originally Posted by andy013

That doesn't seem to be true. In your post history you mention having a good window where you can achieve an erection. That is progress believe it or not. A guy that took 5 years to fully recover posted on here and said that was exactly the pattern of recovery. At first just a small improvement and a good window and then the good windows very gradually getting better slowly until years later the good windows became permanent. Just wanted to give you some hope as I know how much it sucks to be sitting here in your early twenties and thinking you have permanent sexual dysfunction. Recovery is definitely possible, even if it takes a long time.

I'm not trying to be combative or anything, but after that window, I never did experience that progress again. In fact, now, even after almost 2 years of PSSD, my symptoms have gotten worse. I never had a problem with orgasms - mine were pretty mindblowing up until a week ago. Now, however, I can barely feel them at all.

So, like I said earlier, the "progress", whatever that might mean is quite sporadic. At this point, I can't tell which way it's going.

Thanks for the encouragement, though. I think I've come to a point where I'm pretty much resigned to it so I don't really worry about it on a daily basis. And to be perfectly honest, even if I had the ability, it's not like I would suddenly start using it.

[Schwinn57]

Someone should delete my above post. It's very negative. Even I don't want to read it.