“Dope you up like a racing pony”? Do you even know how psychotropic medications work?
Never mind, I just read your last post. Reported you for threadshitting, too. It’s one thing to say “medication isn’t really my thing” (even though the OP wasn’t asking for opinions on medication in general), but to spread judgment and misinformation about what all doctors always or never do is irresponsible and potentially damaging.
Your presence here is really unhelpful.
Another report for 2spooky4me’s threadshitting.
He or she is free to start another thread on teh evils of psych meds, but this isn’t the place.
I’d rather be on the drugs than be the bi-polar mess I was without them. You last sentence is exceptionally bad considering that a person with a mental illness is not healthy by any measure.
Just checking in…I’ve been on 225 mg Lamictal forever. Plus a bunch of others.
Bipolar. Never on Seroquel–that’s a different cup of tea altogether, from what I’ve seen, as far as some side effects go–but about libido, I have no idea.
God knows that’s what psychs (“p-docs” on boards, for some reason) get paid for. Good luck.
Just like “they” say sometimes regarding other side effects of anti-depression drugs–“I’d rather be fat than crazy”–which sounds flippant and easy but is a situation sometimes achievable after years of bitterness–it may be, truly, you may come to a similar type of modus vivendi.
The pain of depression can be more intolerable than any affliction imaginable. Chemistry and therapy, amigo.
PM whenever if you feel like it.
Oh I absolutely agree. That is why it’s so important to me to figure out which drug is responsible for which effect: the improved depression and the sexual dysfunction. If they are both caused by the same medication, well, then I’m going to have to just figure something out because sex is no good if your life is a pit of bottomless blackness.
The OP is looking for advice. Take your rants and personal beefs with docs or meds out of this thread. Start your own about it, if you like, but stop posting in this one if you’re going to continue.
I myself take lamictal, but not for depression, but for seizures. Strangely enough, it causes hypersomnia in me. (Like I’m always falling asleep!) I can’t really answer any of your questions, but having been there myself (yes, I also take Paxil for OCD) I just wanted to wish you luck. Fuck depression.
I am aware of this and actually, I have been somewhat concerned of this possibility. Never having experienced mania before, I wouldn’t know what it felt like, so a sudden lifting of mood could be mistaken for something more. However, after reading more in depth about manic behavior and symptoms, I am inclined to think this is not what is going on with me.
Well, I know this is only your experience and doesn’t necessarily translate into mine but this at least is a hopeful sign for me. Given the fact that you weren’t prescribed Seroquel and only Lamictal, and never suffered any sexual side effects, this points more to Seroquel being the culprit for me (which is what I’ve suspected from the start). Especially when all the other factors of my situation are considered.
Good luck figuring it out, Ambivalid. I have a dear girlfriend who has been dealing with depression for years. She’s my age (50) and has no sexual desire whatsoever. She has been juggling different prescriptions and quantities for a while. It worries me, but I don’t know what it’s like to be her, and I know very little about meds, and so I just listen to her mostly. I’m going to let her know about crazymeds.
Anyway, I hope things start looking up for you…in every way.
It’s tough going through the trial period with medicine. I’ve found crazymeds to be an invaluable resource for what my doctor didn’t tell me. They were pretty spot on about paxil. It didn’t do enough for my anxiety, but kickstarted a depression episode.
I haven’t experienced any sexual side effects with paxil or viibryd. It is the weight gain and constant sleepiness I found intolerable.
I have decided to stop the Seroquel, as it is not working at all as a sleep aid. I’m quite disappointed about this too. Nothing seems to help with my sleep, I’ve tried Ambien, Trazadone, Seroquel, Klonopin and countless OTC remedies and they all fail. The only one that gave me any relief at all was the Klonopin but that relief was short-lived, as I quickly built up a tolerance. ETA: I’ve also tried a number of non-drug solutions, such as no caffeine after 4pm, I took the TV out of my bedroom, and I don’t use my computer/phone before or as I’m lying in bed. It makes no difference.
What about melatonin or 5-HTP?
I used to be on Lamictal, and I plan to go back on it. I felt just generally good on it, but ending up losing insurance, blah blah blah. Never been Seroquel, so can’t speak to that. But i had a fantastic sex drive on the Lamictal 
I hope it works out for you!
Nope. Both of those fall under the “countless OTC remedies” that I’ve tried that have failed.
Have you tried guided relaxation for sleep? There are some good apps that are free or cheap.
I’ve been on some psychiatric meds for a while now and I’m pretty sure that loss of performance is a pretty common side effect… personally I would give up the ability to have sex or masturbate for the rest of my life than go back to how i was before i was on meds
For a bit more of a medical explanation, depression can be caused by unbalanced hormones so most psychiatric meds will reduce the amount of hormones that your body is creating (not 100% sure about this but from the research ive done i believe this is a pretty reliable explanation)
This is what I was going to suggest. Lamictal takes a while to get on or off of, but the Seroquel sounds like you can just start or stop it at will. So do an experiment. Stop the Seroquel (after consulting with your Doc, of course) for a short while and see if your libido comes back. If it doesn’t, it’s the increased lamictal.
I was on lamictal for a while for seizures and it did WONDERS for my mood. Unfortunately, I had to stop because I started to get the dreaded rash. Be careful about increasing the dose too fast. I wish you good luck!
J.