FrankTalk.org

Hi Guys,
I hope to get some feed back here. I am being treated for low-T with mixed results I suffer from some mild to moderate depression as a result. My Dr. has been suggesting I try a mild anti depressant ( one with no or very low incidents of sexual side affects). I was wondering if any of you every had any positive results from an anti depressant relating to E.D. Dr thinks maybe a boost in mood would help E.D. meds work better.
Thanks.
Bill.

Some say that Wellbutrin helps increase your libido. I have not found that to be true, but it doesn't shut you down sexually like the SSRI antidepressants tend to do. Abilify really makes a huge difference in my depression and it doesn't have negative sexual side effects. I can go from crying to being able to laugh again in a week on Abilify.

thank you

Anti-depressants have the opposite effect on me. I get suicidal. Be careful and follow doctors orders.

Make sure to find out from a psychiatrist if you are low in dopamine or serotonin, you feel differently when deficient in one not the other.

The drugs they give you work on one or the other. If you're low in one and they give you the other it can make you feel worse. Quite often Doctor's will most of the time prescribe a SSRI without much thought (for serotonin), when sometimes the patient might need a NDRI or SNRI.

thanks for the input!

AVL_UK wrote:Make sure to find out from a psychiatrist if you are low in dopamine or serotonin, you feel differently when deficient in one not the other.

The drugs they give you work on one or the other. If you're low in one and they give you the other it can make you feel worse. Quite often Doctor's will most of the time prescribe a SSRI without much thought (for serotonin), when sometimes the patient might need a NDRI or SNRI.

Personally, Ive had very good success with Wellbutrin SR, Ive been taking it for over 20 years; it's not a "cure". It's more like a sturdy crutch. Ive tried them all, it's the only one thats worked for ME. It's the right medication for ME.
IF ... your imbalance is different, you might need a different family of medication.
A good Psychiatrist can probably help you.
Be patient, sometimes results can be slow to show themselves.
What Ive experienced with "WellbutrinSR", is that the generic "Bupropion" is extremely inconsistent between manufacturers[and even batches of the same manufacturer].
My doctor prescribes "Brand Necessary"because I proved to him a long time ago how drastic the differences can be.

Get a Psychiatrist, don't count on a GP to "give you something to help"; those are stop gap measures at best. Its kinda' like using a GP for implant surgery.

I know that conceeding to "needing a Shrink" for the first time can be scary in itself. Be brave, just do it.

Listen to your Psychiatrist and try to be patient. Your situation can improve !

Good Luck

For the past 40 years (plus) I've lived with various levels of Major Depressive Disorder. It began with 16 years of what turned out to be Cushing's Disease... aka: a pituitary tumor causing a total breakdown in the feedback mechanism of my HPA axis (Hypothalmus/Pituitary/Adrenal). I don't know what stars were watching over me, but as soon as I heard an ad on a local Philadelphia radio station at 2:00 AM one morning (deep in insomnia) I knew to make a phone call the next day. The ad said, "If you think you're suffering from depression, call this number.) That was in the 1970's and that number is still embedded in my brain... it turned out to be the Depression Research Unit of The University of Pennsylvania. I saw the head of this unit and hit it off from the first appointment. To this day, I refuse to see anyone less than either a Psychopharmacologist or a Neuropsychopharmacologist. It's been pointed out to me that when it comes to mere psychiatrists, 80% of them underdose. (Not up for arguments! Simply stating what I've been told and have experienced.)

Long story short: Even though my pituitary tumor was removed in 1993, I will always be prone to bouts of depression. We know that my particular makeup responds best to MAO-Inhibitors. (Not a category of mild antidepressants!) SSRI's not only don't work for me, but will cause me harm. When I broke my own cardinal rule of "no less than" Psychopharms or Neuropsychopharms to treat me, I allowed a Primary Care doctor to prescribe Wellbutrin at 300mg daily. That went on for at least 2 years with no effect. I then met my current Neuropsychopharmacologist who was horrified than any doctor would allow a patient to go 2 years on a drug with no effect! So, he wanted to find out quickly, whether or not Wellbutrin would EVER work for me. He first put me on an anyticonvulsive med saying, "Where we're going, you WILL convulse without this on board." We then went UP from 300mgs... the goal being 6000mgs!

At 5000mgs I was feeling pretty drugged... and not in a good way! But we found out within weeks that I could've been on Wellbutrin until the proverbial cows came home... it was NEVER going to work for me!

Today, I'm on a patch that transdermally metabolises into forms of amphetamine and methamphetamine. I'm not by any means "tweaking"... I assure you! It's not even the meth components that work on depression It's the fact that the drug in the patches (Selegiline... and antiparkinson's med when administered orally) is an MAO-inhibitor. I was on this patch as a trial drug before it's approval in the 1980's, then as compassionate use prior to its approval because it worked for me, and I'm so glad to have a psyche specialist who refuses to accept anything less than total remission for me.

And that's my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth!

Just thought of one more item of interest for this thread. Perhaps it might help someone.

There is a class of antidepressant that's basically unknown here in the states. However, it is available in Canada (from where my Neurospyche doctor had me import it) as well as most other countries worldwide. Unlike and SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, it is an SSRE (Selective Serotonin Reuptake ENHANCER).

"The antidepressant tianeptine was once claimed to be a (selective) serotonin reuptake enhancer (SRE or SSRE), but the role of serotonin reuptake in its mechanism is doubtful. Tianeptine has no affinity for the serotonin transporter, neither increases nor decreases extracellular levels of serotonin in cortico-limbic structures of conscious rats, and it didn't show any other long-term effect on the serotonin pathway.[1] Thus, tianeptine's role as an SSRE may have been the coincidence of a yet unknown mechanism of action."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuptake_enhancer

Tianeptine didn't do much for me, however my husband Jim did feel some response to it. But being from out of the country, naturally it costs us out of pocket. I doubt that this or any SSRE will ever be allowed in the states. I can't see our Big Pharma companies ever allowing a drug that's acts contrary to their sales of SSRI's... not even if some suffering from depression respond to it. Tianeptine is available around the world, by a most reputable pharmaceutical firm. But getting it approved here would simply be a battle they'd never win.

I wish anyone and everyone suffering with depression my deepest and heartfelt hopes. I know what it can do to a person. Help IS out there.

CTR5000 wrote:For the past 40 years (plus) I've lived with various levels of Major Depressive Disorder. It began with 16 years of what turned out to be Cushing's Disease... aka: a pituitary tumor causing a total breakdown in the feedback mechanism of my HPA axis (Hypothalmus/Pituitary/Adrenal). I don't know what stars were watching over me, but as soon as I heard an ad on a local Philadelphia radio station at 2:00 AM one morning (deep in insomnia) I knew to make a phone call the next day. The ad said, "If you think you're suffering from depression, call this number.) That was in the 1970's and that number is still embedded in my brain... it turned out to be the Depression Research Unit of The University of Pennsylvania. I saw the head of this unit and hit it off from the first appointment. To this day, I refuse to see anyone less than either a Psychopharmacologist or a Neuropsychopharmacologist. It's been pointed out to me that when it comes to mere psychiatrists, 80% of them underdose. (Not up for arguments! Simply stating what I've been told and have experienced.)

Long story short: Even though my pituitary tumor was removed in 1993, I will always be prone to bouts of depression. We know that my particular makeup responds best to MAO-Inhibitors. (Not a category of mild antidepressants!) SSRI's not only don't work for me, but will cause me harm. When I broke my own cardinal rule of "no less than" Psychopharms or Neuropsychopharms to treat me, I allowed a Primary Care doctor to prescribe Wellbutrin at 300mg daily. That went on for at least 2 years with no effect. I then met my current Neuropsychopharmacologist who was horrified than any doctor would allow a patient to go 2 years on a drug with no effect! So, he wanted to find out quickly, whether or not Wellbutrin would EVER work for me. He first put me on an anyticonvulsive med saying, "Where we're going, you WILL convulse without this on board." We then went UP from 300mgs... the goal being 6000mgs!

At 5000mgs I was feeling pretty drugged... and not in a good way! But we found out within weeks that I could've been on Wellbutrin until the proverbial cows came home... it was NEVER going to work for me!

Today, I'm on a patch that transdermally metabolises into forms of amphetamine and methamphetamine. I'm not by any means "tweaking"... I assure you! It's not even the meth components that work on depression It's the fact that the drug in the patches (Selegiline... and antiparkinson's med when administered orally) is an MAO-inhibitor. I was on this patch as a trial drug before it's approval in the 1980's, then as compassionate use prior to its approval because it worked for me, and I'm so glad to have a psyche specialist who refuses to accept anything less than total remission for me.

And that's my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth!

Thank-you for both of your very informative posts.
Do you have any knowledge on "Trintellix" ?