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Misc Anxiety medication and sex drive

B

Brainfucked

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Messages
82
Hello. I’m extremely anxious and have zero sex drive. I have gone into detail in my other posts. Instead of focusing on the libido problem I’m thinking it could be something to do with the anxiety. What medication is out there which helps anxiety and doesn’t mess up your libido?
Any replies will be greatly appreciated thank you
 
Without focusing on the libido too much and placing more focus on the anxiety, there are many options you have. SSRI's would be a first line treatment. They are known to decrease libido, but if the anxiety is the cause of this problem they could possibly help it. Another option would be buspirone, I dont think it has nearly the impact on sex drive that SSRIs do. If you want to go natural, kava and kratom can help anxiety significantly and dont mess with sex drive that much. Last resort meds would include benzodiazepines but only in the short term as many users have a lowered sex drive if taken for long periods of time.
 
SSRIs can definitely impact sexual desire and “performance,”. If the SSRI is helping you, Wellbutrin (Bupropion) can significantly help. Alcohol and bulimia is contraindicated as it can cause seizures.
 
Benzos have not impacted me sexually, I do take them regularly and as prescribed. However, I have been on them for a long time for anxiety...maybe there is an impact but none that I have noticed.
 
I was thinking about posting Wellbutrin as well, but I hesitated as it caused me a great deal of anxiety. But it does help many people OP, definitely worth looking into.
@MaggieV I was wondering if SSRIs might work if the loss of sex drive is caused by the anxiety itself as the OP had questioned? They are notorious for their tendencies to diminish libido though. It seems like a chicken or the egg scenario to me. But I suppose that while SSRIs might help at first, it could swing full circle back to having zero sex drive from them instead of zero sex drive from anxiety.
I have been on benzos for quite a while and have noticed a change in my sex drive though, so YMMV depending on the treatment given to you.
 
Even if ssris lower your sex drive that side effect can go away.
 
d1nach said:
Even if ssris lower your sex drive that side effect can go away.
Click to expand...
True. Not to mention that not everyone gets this side-effect even though it is somewhat common. A doctor will more than likely want to start off on an SSRI for anxiety disorders before considering other medications as well. They are first line treatments for GAD.
 
Brainfucked said:
Hello. I’m extremely anxious and have zero sex drive. I have gone into detail in my other posts. Instead of focusing on the libido problem I’m thinking it could be something to do with the anxiety. What medication is out there which helps anxiety and doesn’t mess up your libido?
Any replies will be greatly appreciated thank you
Click to expand...

Are you male or female?
 
I take an SSRI and have an addiction to pain medication and anti-anxiety medication and may as well be asexual a lot of the time.
But, honestly, I had extreme anxiety too and the sheer RELIEF from it on meds is better than any orgasm anyway.
SSRI's can cause inability to ejaculate in men and inability to orgasm (anorgasmia) in women. Alternate anxiety meds like benzodiazepines or pregabalin do not, they just reduce your desire, not your ability.
 
MaggieV said:
SSRIs can definitely impact sexual desire and “performance,”. If the SSRI is helping you, Wellbutrin (Bupropion) can significantly help. Alcohol and bulimia is contraindicated as it can cause seizures.
Click to expand...

This. I was bulimic for 17 years and alcoholic for 7 ((3 years without alcohol and 8 months without eating disorders now :D) and they refused me Burpropion for smoking cessation. Mostly due to me already having alcohol withdrawal seizures.
 
SSRI/SNRI's have been causing permanent sexual dysfunction in users for about a decade now, last month this was officially recognized and a warning was issued.

On the 11th of June 2019 the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency issued a new product information wording (Black Box) regarding persistent sexual dysfunction after SSRIs and SNRIs.[45]


SSRIs may permanently change the genome through gene methylation. The study provides evidence androgen receptors may be hit by this effect.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6083487/


Post-finasteride syndrome and post-SSRI sexual dysfunction appear to be caused by the same mechanism:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29675596
These conditions have been named post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) and post-finasteride syndrome (PFS). In particular, feeling of a lack of connection between the brain and penis, loss of libido and sex drive, difficulty in achieving an erection and genital paresthesia have been reported by patients of both conditions.
Click to expand...


This information is what unfortunately landed me on Klonopin. Obliterates anxiety and I researched as much as I could and found absolutely nothing regarding sexual side effects, and have also not experienced any.

There are very few anti-anxiety/depressants that are not benzos that don't also hit sexual systems, unfortunately. You can try atypicals, or Wellbutrin is one known to have no sexual side effect profile though I do think it makes anxiety worse due to the norepinephrine reuptake inhibition.
 
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Ssri's and such are notorious for hampering sex drive. Everyone reacts to medication differently though.
Benzos are last resort because they're addictive but hasn't bothered my sex drive at all
 
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As many have pointed out your best bet is benzodiazepines. Its not often I would recommend using them but in this particular case SSRI's are a BIG no no. Benzodiazepines will help with the anxiety without the very common SSRI libido side effects.
 
If the loss of libido is a direct consequence of the anxiety, and the anxiety happens to stem from a serotonin imbalance, wouldnt an SSRI possibly help the situation, at least in the short term? Benzos are not the best option IMO, you will probably get a prescription for 2 weeks worth and you will almost certainly be subjected to other medications before they are considered an option. The OP stated he did not know if the loss of sex drive was caused by anxiety or not. If not SSRIs, then another serotonin agent will be tried first before moving to a controlled substance, at least in the US.
 
Perhaps your anxiety is arising because of your fear of failure during sex, fear of not satisfying your partner, fear of abandonment after sex, etc. Medications are a good solution, but you also need to work with yourself to get rid of these feelings.

You may also consider to pay for professional sex, in this case the above-mentioned fears will probably not be there and you can build up your confidence.
 
During a part of my life, I was afraid of sex and the reason was my ego, my pride, which were telling me that I was not good enough, or that I could fail (I am a man).

It was hard to get over these kinds of thoughts. I had very embarrassing situations in which me and my penis were too shy to work, because of anxiety, especially when condoms were there among us. This was bad since I misunderstood the true causes of my anxieties and the poor condoms got the guilt. Consequently, I was having a lot of unprotected sex. This was like 10 years ago.

It took a lot of mental effort to get rid of my difficulties but now I have a normal sex life. The determinant point, which made me to cross the bridge, was that I simply gave a big fuck for life. I started to have sex with women, men, shemales, and all together, BDSM, doing enormous quantities of coke and alcohol.

So you need to find out your solution, because anxiety will fuck up your fucks.
 
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