sexual side effects with lamictal???????

anyone?????

What sort of side-effects do you mean? Lack of libido etc?

My desire has gone down a little since I started the lamicatal, but no problems once...well, things get started. However, I have been having some problems in the relationship, so that could be causing it--not the lamictal.

can't have an orgasm since i started it. desire is there........no big OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

All AD's, including Lamictal stripped me of desire and other abilities. With Lamictal - I found that I still had no desire yet I felt frequently aroused. It was the creepiest side-effect ever! And one that I couldn't indulge in under the circumstances. This completely disappeared when I tapered off Lamictal.

i'm in such a fix on this. i can get aroused, very easily.........and the lamictal is the only think that i've taken in the past 20 years and has given me consistent positive thoughts about life.

i'm cleaning, making jewelry, photographing....all of the things that i need to do for my peace of mind........

damnit!!!!!!

Yes, I now serve mainly as a bad example. heheh

Sex and psycho drugs...what a problem. Welbutrin was the only one tried on me that did not have negative sexual effects. I look at my records and feel as though I have been a chemical guinea pig in that I have tried so many AD's over the years. The only one I can remember that gave me a big WOW in mood was the first one..Prozac.

Now off all AD for over two months things are working better than they have in years, sexual side effects gone...and I just thought it was a middle age thing..nope a drug thing mainly.

Trouble is though I don't know if I can handle this thing of being AD free. It is an experiment that is starting to go bad. People near me are informing me of my change in personality for the worse. I may have to return to my daily dose of something and yes I will expect the sexual side effects to come right along with it. Lack of arousal, libido down the tubes, inability to have orgasm, ...sometimes you just feel you are sex dead. This is just about as depressing as not having an anti depressant on board. My significant other could not be more patient and understanding but that doesn't make it all better.

well, i hate to see the others are experiencing the same thing...... at least i can talk to you about it........

i can't exist without meds either. i hate feeling down and gloomy most of the time. i just didn't, not realistically, expect a sexual side effect with a mood-stabilizer........

xoxox pat

I always thought it was weird that most ADs do this. Aren't climaxes like a mini-natural antidepressant? lol I always know I feel (at least temporarily) less depressed/anxious after on

Agreed...

I didn't put it together with starting lamictal but now that you mention it, I have had a lot more difficulty reaching orgasm since I started it. I definitely can't give it up because it helps my moods too much, but now at least I know why I am have sexual difficulty

yes, orgasm is very relaxing. seems a shame that the med overrides something that is natural and helps us.....medicine is a two-edged sword. always has been, always will be.

i'm so much better on the lamictal and almost off of the prozac. my feelings have returned, my positivity is way up and i don't dread every day as i did previously.

dang it!!!!!!!!

What do the pdocs say when asked about this? Do they just say, well that's a lamictal/AD side effect but it's worth it because your mood is better? Or do they offer to try lowering the dose? Or substitute with a different med? It seems such a serious side effect, that the docs should be concerned and try to fix it by offering alternatives.

I remember in my first years of sexual activity, I tried to take birth control pills but they had too many side effects for me to tolerate. One was total lack of libido. I mentioned to the prescribing doctor that I didn't like that I had no interest in sex now. He just saw this as no big problem, and said, well, it you don't want sex, don't have it, and that will help keep you from getting pregnant. And he laughed. I could have smacked him one. Don't they understand that sexuality is important?

I knew it was a possible side effect before I started any AD's. Once the side effect did happen, I didn't even mention it to my doctor because I was waaaay too uncomfortable saying it. I don't know what they would do for it.

my Pdoc is way young enough to be my son.......can you imagine his face, if i did say something......"mothers" aren't sexual.

my doc has a great attitude (for me, cos i don't mind taking meds).
he believes if at first you don't succeed, try again...and again.... with regards to finding just the right meds or combination.
so, rather than just accept the unwanted side effect, see if he can experiment with different doses, maybe add wellbutrin to the mix, or try another ad altogether.

really strange thing happened to me. I was taking Prozac and then added Lamictal. The prozac made it IMPOSIBLE to achieve climax, I mean really, I did try. Once I stared Lamictal it was like it counter-acted that effect of prozac and I could once again climax. I think everyones body does something different with these drugs!

Most of the time when I go to the pdoc's, I see the nurse practitioner who I like very much. The nurse practitioner is a woman so I will probably mention this difficulty with sex to her, but like I said before if the fix involves going off lamictal or decreasing it I can't imagine doing it. My mood is so much better in every way I am not going to worry about sex. I suppose There may come a time when I feel differently and really start to miss good sex.

oh no! My pdoc said there were 'no sexual side effects' with Lamictal (haven't started it yet).

If I can't orgasam, I might explode!

loss of sexual desire and / or diminished sexual response is a common side-effect of psychiatric medications.

sometimes i wonder if it is (at least partially) an intentional side effect. an attempt to reduce the mentally ill population in future years or something like that. i think that is crediting the drug developers with a little too much, however. firstly because it is in their interests to have future consumers and secondly because the drugs simply aren't specific enough in their effects for them to be able to do much about it.

the main mechanism seems to be a kind of sedation. that seems to be precisely the mechanism that helps people. precisely that mechanism is what results in less distress (along with less creativity less passion less sexual desire etc etc etc). bit of a package deal with the psychiatric medications methinks...