Posted by Marc Boucher on March 25, 2007, at 10:46:50
In reply to It doesn't sound as though it's neurochemical » Marc Boucher, posted by Racer on March 24, 2007, at 17:00:32
> Marc, it doesn't sound to me as though any neurotransmitter is at the root of your problem. It sounds to me as though what's happening is psychological, and not physical.
>
> First of all, you've said that you have low sex drive, but you're masturbating more than once a day, on average? Those two things really don't go together. I think what you're saying is that you have low interest in sex with your girlfriend, or with sex with a partner. That's different from low sex drive. "Low sex drive" would usually mean low interest in any form of sexual activity, alone or with a partner.
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> Secondly, you say pretty clearly that the problem began with your fear -- which I think you've described as "obsessive" -- that your girlfriend will be unfaithful to you. That's a good starting place for a psychological cause of your low interest in sex with her. Not only directly, but because you're so worried about your lack of desire, you're probably putting a lot of pressure on yourself about it, which just increases the block against it. Like performance anxiety of any sort.
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> While the actual treatment for what I think is going on would be psychotherapy, taking a prescription anti-depressant -- especially an SSRI -- would probably be very helpful as well. No, SSRIs do not directly increase sex drive, but that might not be your problem in the first place. What they will do, if they work, is treat the dysthymia/anxiety, which would likely improve your ability to work on the underlying issues. I suggest SSRIs because they are often most helpful for OCD, and it sounds as though there's some obsessiveness going on, as well as possibly some compulsiveness as well. I'm not a big fan of Paxil, but it's still a pretty good direction to explore.
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> The bottom line as far as neurochemistry is concerned is this: no one knows definitively what causes or cures what. There seems to be a rational relationship between the major neurotransmitters, so increasing one or another probably isn't the answer to much of anything. Normalizing the ratios between them is the goal. The best anyone can really do right now is say, "There's a strong correlation between these symptoms and getting relief from drugs that do this." A doctor can say, "Hm... A lot of my patients who have reported these symptoms have responded well to Drug X, so let's start there." That's about it, though.
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> I hope that helps. Good luck to you.
First I wish to thank you for commenting.However lenghty a post I write, I understand it's only normal that I'm somewhat misinterpreted, as humans are very involved creatures.
I want and have to point out that I'm not bored having sex with my girlfriend at all--Yes it seems very paradoxical that I still masterbate everyday, yet on the other hand complain of a low sex drive--I hear you. The reason I do not have much sex with my girlfriend is because I don't feel like it--now why don't I feel like it ? Because my drive is low to non-existent. Now again, you're going to wave the above instance where I mention daily masterbation, and reasonably so. Now let me explain to you that I do not get turned on more by other women, anymore than I am by my girlfriend, and here *turn on* is a very strong word considering the ongoing issue. Like I said, I do not get turned on much by other women, be it on the web or in real life situations.
Also, until very recently, morning woods were absent--morning woods are regulated by 2 things : amount of testosterone, and amount of REM sleep--there's no such thing as a *pee hard*. At least medically speaking. I know that my sleep is not what it used to be, so I'd tend to blame it more on poor sleep patterns, which in turn can cause lower Testosterone. Reason why I think morning erections have resumed is because I've used this CD at bedtime : http://www.immrama.org/insight/insight.html
With regards to your advice about going on one of the SSRI's drugs spectrum, I agree with you, and that is what Dr. Braverman thought too--however consider what I (the patient) want too. I'll tell you this : what if I tell you that when my sex drive is up (cause I have short-lived surges at times) nothing is the matter, all is fine with with the world ? Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying my only issue is with low sex drive, BUT it is the one that has affected my mood the most. One clear fact is this : there's been studies and surveys of sexually dysfunctional men, and they found those to be depressed to varying degrees. Having below par sexual functions is to most men very important. Now before I suffered from low sex drive, I had some personality issues too (but who doesn't anyway--we all can relate to some personality features that could use improving to some extent)but I'll tell you that having suffered low sex drive for the last 8 years (my young and often the most pleasurable years of life, are lost) in and of itself can bring about some low-grade depression, don't you think ? Of course, that likely has to do with how high one ranks sex in his/her life--I for one need sex in my life, because it is a way to release daily tensions, and what's more voiding the prostate has even been shown to decrease prostate cancer risk.
The other issues with personalities, I guarantee you I can deal on my own, because I'm capable of much introspection. However, this is something you cannot know from reading my initial post--I understand that you mean very well, and I'm grateful that such people as you exist. However I felt compelled to further expand on my issue, so you get more of whole picture, instead of a mere fragment of my life.
Another physical issue that's been found as a result of laboratory essays, is that my 24-hour urinary Cortisol is on the low side. Now too much Cortisol is definately not a good thing, just as too little isn't good either. Cortisol can raise brain dopamine, therefore low Cortisol can help with low sex drive. Also low Cortisol brings about low blood sugar, and low Cortisol makes one prone to anxiety too. I'll be getting a whole new set of labs in about a week from now, so I'll see what kind of new hormone patterns I have now--that is, if anything has changed at all.
I also have low Potassium. My baseline seems to be at 3.3, which is low. Not alarmingly low, but low nonetheless. Low Potassium can cause low Testosterone, but my concern over low K is with the heart muscle, and potential arrhythmias.
Kind regards,
Marc
poster:Marc Boucher
thread:743613
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070320/msgs/744106.html