Effexor and loss of ability to have an orgasm.

[Rob2992]

My wife has situational depression, not severe clinical depression, and her doctor prescribed 75mg of effexor. Within a week she had lost her ability, we have tried numerous times. She was not warned of this possibility. We have had regular and good sex for 25 years and not once has she had a problem.before taking this she would typically have 3 or 4 in a row. Is this kind of total destruction common?  Is this really the right drug for temporary situational depression?  If she goes off will it come back? I am angry at her doctor and not just a little scared.  On it for 4 week total now.

[birdie0907]

Ask your pharmacist. They see many people on this drug so end up knowing a lot.

[Paxiled]

All anti-depressants can have this effect.  When you say her doctor put her on it, do you mean a psychiatrist or a general practitioner?  If just a doctor, and this is just my opinion, I'd have her go off it and soon, because this is a very hard drug to stop taking once it really takes effect.  If her depression isn't that debilitating, try therapy or natural modalities before turning to these very difficult drugs -- if they become necessary in the future they'll always be there.  There are anti-depressants that don't have the sexual side effects, including wellbutrin and usually Prozac.  To put someone on a difficult drug such as Effexor as a first drug doesn't sound like a cautious approach -- it sounds like that of someone who doesn't really know what he's doing.  Don't have her quit abruptly if she does decide to stop -- it should be done gradually.  And again, drugs should only be used as a last resort -- none of them comes without baggage.  Good luck.

[Rob2992]

Thanks for the feedback. Her therapist strongly recommended it (almost from the first visit) and her GP gave it to her after a 10 minute consultation.  I am sooo pissed off at  both of them I can hardly see straight. I wrote her GP a long letter explaining why it was a mistake and how poor her understanding of the drug was but of course by the time we figured this out it was last Thursday, no return calls from Rockwood clinic Friday, and now with the holidays its another week on this crap.  If she suffers bad withdrawal symptoms I am really going to be furious.  She is devastated,  she planned a really expensive get away together next week which is now a bit problematic since her ability to enjoy sex is zero.  Some together time will be nice but GD it,  what the hell is wrong with these idiot doctors who prescribe this stuff to people that don't have severe chronic depression.

[Naanee]

You seem to be making this all about YOU. If you've never been depressed consider yourself very lucky. Your anger is not going to help. She can still enjoy sex. I do and havent had an O in several years

[Paxiled]

Just do you know, this post is 6 years old.  But I will say, people who are used to having orgasms do miss them.  A lot.  

[birdie0907]

Don't waste your energy wondering what problems her doc has because venting doesn't help your situation. Talk to the pharmacist or maybe see another doctor.

[birdie0907]

The fact the therapist strongly recommended it makes it sound like more than situational depression. On the other hand it sounds like she should have been given something like Ativan to temporarily calm her down. It is more for anxiety and I am not a doctor so get professional advice instead of mine.

[megaveggie]

As someone who took Effexor 150mg for a year I can tell you first hand that the lack of having an orgasm while on the drug is a common side effect.  It is very annoying and there were more side effects the longer I took it.  One that no one told me about and was not listed in the drug manual was urinary hesitancy.  It was so weird.  I had to pee really bad but when I sat on the toilet it would take like a whole minute before I could pee.

One of the worst, which has been reported by many people using it, is you feel electric shocks to your body and brain on occasion, seemingly for no reason.  I started feeling the shocks like once a week, then once a day, then several times a day and the doctor said "well, any prescription will have side effects".  It finally became more harm than good and I switched to Citalopram, which is the generic of Celexa.  It costs less than $20 as opposed to $120 for Effexor.  I am strongly emphasizing that Citalopram has helped me much much more than Effexor ever did for anxiety and depression and with no side effects that I have noticed and I have been on it for over a year now.  My ability to enjoy a sex life returned very quickly after quitting Effexor so I recommend your wife stop taking it before you go on your vacation.  When I went off of Effexor I decreased the dosage to half for a week and then was ready to completely stop taking it.  It is wise to decrease Effexor slowly.  I hope this helps your wife because depression is extremely difficult to manage by oneself.  Having you help her do some research is an enormous help for her and may actually lead to her relief.

[Rob2992]

Not wasting my energy is good advice.  As for it being situational,  she tapered down per her doc and had lots of severe headaches and upset stomach.  We added a couple steps to the taper down just to make some of that better.

We fixed a few of the problems in our life that caused her depression,  mostly me being more helpful with her parents (who are a lot of work).  Her mood has improved dramatically and her therapist says he never say someone recover so quickly from depression....

I think the bottom line is that both her therapist and her GP jumped the gun and went to meds before figuring out what the problem really was,  and truethfully it was partly me.

So the sexual issue is not resolved yet - she has been totally off it now for 4 days.  Somewhat better but not resolved.  The important thing though is that she is no longer depressed.

[birdie0907]

She is a model depression student because she and you figured out the problem and worked at it immediately. With situational depression it is straightforward in that sense, if the source of dep can be avoided.
That is fantastic that you have moved on from being angry with the doc because unlike what our TV shows tell us, anger is not a natural stress reliever for either side.