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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:06:43
Alright, what gives? Lamictal is supposed to be relatively neutral with respect to sexual function. (I've even found references to it being pro-sexual.)
BUT, I'm now at 50 mg of Lamictal for a couple of days (plus 7.5 mg BuSpar) and I feel like the works have been turned off. It's this weird feeling. Kind of like the tendons/muscles around my groin are pulling a bit tighter, somehow cutting off the blood flow to the old member. (I'm male.) I don't exactly remember, but this seems similar to my reaction to Celexa. I haven't had complete ED yet, but feel like I'm heading that way.
And this, of course, happens to be right when I'm actually feeling alright again on the higher Lamictal dose. I'm starting to worry that my lot in life is either to feel good or to have my sexual function. (The two neutral or pro-sexual ADs I've tried made my psychic state worse.)
Has anyone else (particularly males) had sexual dysfunction on Lamictal? Can I expect this to last a while, or is there a chance that it's going to be transient?
Thanks,
cache-monkey
Posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:18:35
In reply to Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:06:43
Oh, I added the following supplements to my regimen a couple of weeks ago:
* calcium/magnesium/phosphorous (1000mg/500mg/500mg) supplement at night
* DHEA (25 mg) in morning
* fish oil (1 g) t.i.d.
... and also started light therapy in mornings.Could any of these be the culprits? (I think it's acutally the Lamictal, but want to rule out other possibilities.)
Thanks,
cache-monkey> Alright, what gives? Lamictal is supposed to be relatively neutral with respect to sexual function. (I've even found references to it being pro-sexual.)
>
> BUT, I'm now at 50 mg of Lamictal for a couple of days (plus 7.5 mg BuSpar) and I feel like the works have been turned off. It's this weird feeling. Kind of like the tendons/muscles around my groin are pulling a bit tighter, somehow cutting off the blood flow to the old member. (I'm male.) I don't exactly remember, but this seems similar to my reaction to Celexa. I haven't had complete ED yet, but feel like I'm heading that way.
>
> And this, of course, happens to be right when I'm actually feeling alright again on the higher Lamictal dose. I'm starting to worry that my lot in life is either to feel good or to have my sexual function. (The two neutral or pro-sexual ADs I've tried made my psychic state worse.)
>
> Has anyone else (particularly males) had sexual dysfunction on Lamictal? Can I expect this to last a while, or is there a chance that it's going to be transient?
>
> Thanks,
> cache-monkey
Posted by Piquet on December 31, 2004, at 3:42:55
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:18:35
> Oh, I added the following supplements to my regimen a couple of weeks ago:
> * calcium/magnesium/phosphorous (1000mg/500mg/500mg) supplement at night
> * DHEA (25 mg) in morning
> * fish oil (1 g) t.i.d.
> ... and also started light therapy in mornings.
>
> Could any of these be the culprits? (I think it's acutally the Lamictal, but want to rule out other possibilities.)
>
> Thanks,
> cache-monkey
>
> > Alright, what gives? Lamictal is supposed to be relatively neutral with respect to sexual function. (I've even found references to it being pro-sexual.)
> >
> > BUT, I'm now at 50 mg of Lamictal for a couple of days (plus 7.5 mg BuSpar) and I feel like the works have been turned off. It's this weird feeling. Kind of like the tendons/muscles around my groin are pulling a bit tighter, somehow cutting off the blood flow to the old member. (I'm male.) I don't exactly remember, but this seems similar to my reaction to Celexa. I haven't had complete ED yet, but feel like I'm heading that way.
> >
> > And this, of course, happens to be right when I'm actually feeling alright again on the higher Lamictal dose. I'm starting to worry that my lot in life is either to feel good or to have my sexual function. (The two neutral or pro-sexual ADs I've tried made my psychic state worse.)
> >
> > Has anyone else (particularly males) had sexual dysfunction on Lamictal? Can I expect this to last a while, or is there a chance that it's going to be transient?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > cache-monkey
>
Hi cache-monkey,In reference to your other post, I haven't got the muscle/tendon thing (not yet, anyhow), but I got a light attack of delhi-belly and a couple of mild headaches. It's my guess that apart from a 'standard' set of SEs, there will be individual SEs to cope with as well, due to the complexity of our body chemistry. We also have to take into account the fact that there might be interactions with the other meds we take. Regarding the sexual SEs, well, I've noticed some decline in libido, but I'm used to that waxing and waning with introduction of new medications or titration of current ones. I'd like to add that I don't think that the start-up and titration phase of a new medication is a good time to draw conclusions as to its longer term therapeutic benefits or SEs, although I can understand that you are very concerned about these things. My pdoc has told me that it's quite possible that my 'final' dose might be around 200 mg per day, and that taking into account titration to that level at a fortnight per increase and then the delay before experiencing the therapeutic effect for that level of medication, I would quite likely be looking at a timeframe of around three months before things settled down. So I started in on this knowing that I would need some patience -- well, a lot of patience. Hopefully, the end result -- for both of us -- will be worth the wait. There's also the possibility that it won't be the right augmentation for me: from what I've read, after considerable time on Lamictal some people swear by it and others swear *at* it.
Piquet.
Posted by rod on December 31, 2004, at 6:50:58
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:18:35
> Oh, I added the following supplements to my regimen a couple of weeks ago:
...
> * DHEA (25 mg) in morning
...
> Could any of these be the culprits? (I think it's acutally the Lamictal, but want to rule out other possibilities.)Well, for me, DHEA makes me quite impotent after some days (also 25mg in the morning). If its "ordinary", not the 7-Keto DHEA, it will also get turned into sex hormones, including female ones.
Your reaction may vary..
just my 2 centsRoland
Posted by Optimist on December 31, 2004, at 9:08:57
In reply to Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 1:06:43
> Alright, what gives? Lamictal is supposed to be relatively neutral with respect to sexual function. (I've even found references to it being pro-sexual.)
>
> BUT, I'm now at 50 mg of Lamictal for a couple of days (plus 7.5 mg BuSpar) and I feel like the works have been turned off. It's this weird feeling. Kind of like the tendons/muscles around my groin are pulling a bit tighter, somehow cutting off the blood flow to the old member. (I'm male.) I don't exactly remember, but this seems similar to my reaction to Celexa. I haven't had complete ED yet, but feel like I'm heading that way.
>
> And this, of course, happens to be right when I'm actually feeling alright again on the higher Lamictal dose. I'm starting to worry that my lot in life is either to feel good or to have my sexual function. (The two neutral or pro-sexual ADs I've tried made my psychic state worse.)
>
> Has anyone else (particularly males) had sexual dysfunction on Lamictal? Can I expect this to last a while, or is there a chance that it's going to be transient?
>
> Thanks,
> cache-monkey
I took 100mg of Lamictal per day for a few months and noticed no sexual dysfunction what so ever. If anything maybe it may have been better for sexual function.I did notice frequent headaches, and cognitive impairments(memory and foggy headedness) though. Not everyone seems to get that though so I wouldn't necessarily be worried about it.
Good luck!
Brian
Posted by theo on December 31, 2004, at 16:59:22
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?! » cache-monkey, posted by Optimist on December 31, 2004, at 9:08:57
Just curious, why did you stop taking it?
Posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 17:37:24
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by Piquet on December 31, 2004, at 3:42:55
" In reference to your other post, I haven't got the muscle/tendon thing (not yet, anyhow),"
Yeah, that seems to be actually doing a bit better at a higher dose, oddly enough...
"Regarding the sexual SEs, well, I've noticed some decline in libido, but I'm used to that waxing and waning with introduction of new medications or titration of current ones."
That's actually a good point. I think this has happened before even on meds that were eventually pro-sexual (Serzone and Wellbutrin) during the start-up phase. But, I got really put off by my experience with Celexa, where it turned toward complete libido/function loss.
"I'd like to add that I don't think that the start-up and titration phase of a new medication is a good time to draw conclusions as to its longer term therapeutic benefits or SEs, although I can understand that you are very concerned about these things. My pdoc has told me that it's quite possible that my 'final' dose might be around 200 mg per day, and that taking into account titration to that level at a fortnight per increase and then the delay before experiencing the therapeutic effect for that level of medication, I would quite likely be looking at a timeframe of around three months before things settled down. So I started in on this knowing that I would need some patience -- well, a lot of patience. Hopefully, the end result -- for both of us -- will be worth the wait."
Another excellent point. Patience is kind of hard for me to come by right now. Part of that is big life changes and decisions on the horizon. (Finishing grad school; looking for a job.) But I also think that I've gotten frustrated after being on a medication (Serzone) which made me fundamentally worse, mentally. The p-doc kept on wanting to wait and push the dose, but I kept getting worse and worse... for like nine months. But my experience with Lamictal so far is that, after an initial valley, I start to feel a little bit better than when I started. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and trying not to impatiently tap my foot, as much as that's possible for me.
"There's also the possibility that it won't be the right augmentation for me: from what I've read, after considerable time on Lamictal some people swear by it and others swear *at* it."
I've heard more good and neutral than truly bad. In any case, I do hope it works out for us both.
Best,
cache-monkey
Posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 17:40:45
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?!, posted by rod on December 31, 2004, at 6:50:58
" Well, for me, DHEA makes me quite impotent after some days (also 25mg in the morning). If its "ordinary", not the 7-Keto DHEA, it will also get turned into sex hormones, including female ones.
Your reaction may vary.."Thanks for the tip. I'll try cutting the DHEA out for a couple of days and see what happens.
Out of curiosity, why were you taking DHEA? I was taking it for adrenal support, since I think I might have fatigued my adrenal system after 5 months of stress and treating myself pretty bad. I'm going to try adding in ginseng instead.
Thanks again,
cache-monkey
Posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 17:44:28
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?! » cache-monkey, posted by Optimist on December 31, 2004, at 9:08:57
"I took 100mg of Lamictal per day for a few months and noticed no sexual dysfunction what so ever. If anything maybe it may have been better for sexual function."
Good to know. I've heard that it is generally considered pro-sexual or at least neutral in that regard. I'm feeling a little better today, so I'm hoping whether it was just a temporary WTF reaction by my body to the dose increase.
"I did notice frequent headaches, and cognitive impairments(memory and foggy headedness) though. Not everyone seems to get that though so I wouldn't necessarily be worried about it."Funny, I think both of those characterized my state before going on the Lamictal. Hopefully they won't get worse!
Thanks,
cache-monkey
Posted by rod on December 31, 2004, at 21:57:31
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?! » rod, posted by cache-monkey on December 31, 2004, at 17:40:45
> " Well, for me, DHEA makes me quite impotent after some days (also 25mg in the morning). If its "ordinary", not the 7-Keto DHEA, it will also get turned into sex hormones, including female ones.
> Your reaction may vary.."
>
> Thanks for the tip. I'll try cutting the DHEA out for a couple of days and see what happens.
>
> Out of curiosity, why were you taking DHEA? I was taking it for adrenal support, since I think I might have fatigued my adrenal system after 5 months of stress and treating myself pretty bad. I'm going to try adding in ginseng instead.
>
> Thanks again,
> cache-monkey
>
I took it to augment my Antidepressants. And I had some success, but it wasnt too good. The "side effects" were greater than the benefit and the advise of 2 docs (pdoc and endocrinologist) not to take it made me quit taking it.
Posted by Optimist on January 1, 2005, at 12:49:55
In reply to Re: Lamictal sexual dysfunction ?!?! » Optimist, posted by theo on December 31, 2004, at 16:59:22
> Just curious, why did you stop taking it?
The memory problems and foggy headedness were getting too severe. I didn't feel like I was getting any therapeutic benefit as well.
This is the end of the thread.
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