Zoloft and Nicotine

[Starcadia]

Really well put, DarrylR. I often imagine how I'm compensating for not getting my biologically designed exercise and exposure, and how different I would feel if I were fulfilling a "normal", biological routine, if there is such a thing. I take vitamin D instead of being in the sun, for chrissake.

And yeah, I definitely medicate with alcohol, nicotine and caffeine, and MJ in spurts. Unless I'm sleeping, I'm hopped up on at least two drugs during the duration of my waking hours. Without them I go ****ing nuts. Only when I've been in harsh, hot climates for extended periods do I feel less of a need to self-medicate.

I am curious about these SSRIs. Do they kill sexual desire or only the ability to perform? Having a normal drive and no ability to do anything about it sounds pretty depressing by itself (or like marriage, but that is another topic).

I've been on two anti-depressants, Paxil and Prozac. If you've ever tried to ejaculate while on ecstasy, that's how it is, minus most of the synthetic, ooey-gooey love stuff, but still with a synthetic, visceral zing in the brain. You may have desire, but you or someone else has to pull that thing bloody to get anything out of it, and thereby relieve the desire you have. Sometimes it just doesn't work, and you know how that can be.

The last time I quit Paxil cold turkey. For a month I had electric pulses in in my head every time I moved my eyes left or right. Never again. Endure or die.

[Grim]

Its not like u cant get it up.

Thats not a problem, but the " getting there " part is pretty much a work out.

I mean your partner will definately enjoy it, but for you its just like a work out and your brain runs out of sick stuff to think about to try and achieve the final goal ... lol.

I just had to take the rx route because your body builds up a tolerance to xanax and you have to take more and more and I was really tired of feeling run down and forgetting things that happened a few hours ago or couldnt recall a whole day.

I guess i shouldve seen it coming because everytime i would be in certain situations I would suddenly get all finichy and that whoel fight or flight sense would creep up.

Then it got so worse that it was a day to day struggle to go out in public plus never slept because my mind always kept wondering.

For those who can survive off the drugs then more power to you but ive tried everything and the only thing that made it better was alcohol and I started hitting the bottle pretty hard.

Now I drink about 1 -2 beers aday and just snus for the most part.

The meds are starting to help but its a crutch i wish I hadnt had to use.

At least im not depressed/anxious all the time.

[Raddleman]

Its not like u cant get it up.

Thats not a problem, but the " getting there " part is pretty much a work out.

I mean your partner will definately enjoy it, but for you its just like a work out and your brain runs out of sick stuff to think about to try and achieve the final goal ... lol.

I can totally identify with that :lol: . The clinical term for the disorder is anorgasmia, and is these cases is linked to increased prolactin secretion in the brain, particluarly common in ssris. Amantadine can relieve SSRI-induced anorgasmia in some folks, give it a go. (I haven't had decent sex since 2006) :lol: .

At least im not depressed/anxious all the time.

Lucky you :cry:

[rsuelzer]

The ignorance on these posts is overwhelming.

I am a user of SSRI's and they have saved my life, literally. Exhibit

1) I had tried to killed myself as early as 5th grade and repeated this activity every couple years until Sophomore year of high school.

2) I went on SSRI's three years ago (Lexapro) and I went from the most depressed state in my entire life to a NORMAL person. They are not happy pills, trust me, I still get down. But they keep me from deep dark states of depression.

3) They are not addicting, I go off of mine in the summer for about 3 months because I don't need them as much because my mood is naturally better int he summer. I have ZERO NONE NADA withdrawl symptoms.

4) I go back on them as the summer winds down because my mood naturally sinks, I have a very strong case of SAD (yes it exists.) Honestly SSRI's are the best thing that has ever happened to me to treat my disease.

And back to the orignal point. Of course it stops the cravings, they perscripe welbutrin (SSRI) to get smokers to quit. Smokers who take SSRI's are almost 40% more likely to stay quit after a year (maybe someone can find this study).


You guys certainly talk alot of shit about SSRI's for a group of people who use nicotine to feel good.

[rsuelzer]

Oh but I will say I haven't had an orgasm during sex since i have been on them. that is sooo true. I can have sex for literally hours, and yes it is more like a workout. But, I still enjoy it and for some reason I can finish myself, just not during sex its weird.

[Xobeloot]

Yeah. As I mentioned before... I'd much rather be unable to nut than be as flipped out as I used to.

I can say this much. I made the mistake of drinking several beers this past thursday night. Though it didnt affect me terribly, the hangover was far worse than I remember. I'm guessing that has to do with both the meds and the fact that I hadn't had a beer in months prior.

[rsuelzer]

I am curious about these SSRIs. Do they kill sexual desire or only the ability to perform? Having a normal drive and no ability to do anything about it sounds pretty depressing by itself (or like marriage, but that is another topic).

Def not the ability to perform, for me anyway. I have been on lexapro for three years, minus two summers. The problem is not with "getting-it-up" or not wanting to. The problem is finishing the job for yourself. Nearly impossible.

[rsuelzer]

Here is an article saying that SSRI's work on the same part of the brain as nicotine.

"New Haven, Conn. -- The same receptors in the brain that are activated when a person smokes cigarettes also play a critical role in the effectiveness of antidepressants, according to a study by Yale researchers in the November issue of Biological Psychiatry."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1116214900.htm


Basically, nicotine is an immediate anti-depressent that works very similarly to SSRIs. That is what I got out of the article.

[Xobeloot]

Exactly. everything still works as intended except for the fact that the trigger has the safety engaged.


I've also noticed that if I manage to maintain focus long to pop off a shot, the whole physical attributes of orgasm are non-existant, and the soldier is still at attention ready to keep going as if I never came.

Maybe I should just go into porno :lol:

[Raddleman]

Well, at least Tom Cruise isn't on snuson :lol: . Seriously, I would literally be dead by now if I hadn't been prescribed antideps, I can empathise ray. I get that low off them.

For all those that view psychiatric meds in a negative way, and think we should all come off them (there are tonnes of these people about) - tell this to the guy who who has just hanged himself. The fact of the matter is that in order to come off these drugs, there needs to be a viable alternative, and there's a lot of hokey crap out there that just aren't up to the job.

Wanting sex is a basic human impulse, to which we are driven for most of our natural lives, so it's not a pleasant pay-off. The side effects of these drugs - particularly SSRIs (I'm on an SNRI) - can be pretty crap. Like you guys mention, it doesn't seem to be the performing, it's the checkered flag that these pills compromise. Like you, ray, I can always DIY after, that's not an issue.

Not being as hooked on nicotine is a nice benefit though (to get back to the thread :lol: ) and this combined with elevated mood is a no-brainer for me.

Maybe I should just go into porno

Without a shadow of a doubt Xobe.
-'Milf bondage and grizzlies XXX'. :lol:

[Xobeloot]

Goldie Coxx And the 3 Bears...


Somebody has been sleeping in MY bed... And she's still there!

Bow chikka Bowow!

[Raddleman]

Goldie Coxx And the 3 Bears...


Somebody has been sleeping in MY bed... And she's still there!

Bow chikka Bowow!

rofl

[Starcadia]

It has been shown in recent years that anti-depressants can increase the presence of suicidal ideation. It happened to me on Paxil, which was largely why I stopped using it. I replaced it with many years of deep introspection and inner focus to get to the core of my problems, which has been massively successful - and continues today because it opened so many doors for me - especially when it was combined with a solid workout routine. It was a synergistic treatment for mind and body simultaneously. For instance, when I was doing both, winters became easy to get through, and spring would be anticlimactic when it arrived. Due to certain shifts in my life I had to give up my workout routine and haven't gotten back to it, so this past winter was rough. But I get to enjoy spring again!

SSRIs only treat symptoms.

That said, I do believe some people require them, but not nearly as many as are increasingly dependent on them.

[Raddleman]

That said, I do believe some people require them, but not nearly as many as are increasingly dependent on them.

That's true, some doctors give them out like candies. A la "Split up with your boyfriend? Here's some prozac."

Sounds like you found your own balance Starcadia. Exercise definitely helps the way I feel too; when I drag myself to the swimming pool, it totally changes the way I percieve my problems - the trivial is no longer an issue.

[Xobeloot]

Ever seen "What the bleep do we know"?

For me, the SSRI is a means of allowing me to re-route my thought pattern without being bogged down by the outer and inner demons that have plagued me most of my life.

I know many people who have been prescribed different varieties of anti-depressants just like you mentioned... They had a break-up, or they didn't get the raise they thought they would get. It truly is the new cure-all. If I mention zoloft in a public place, there is always at least one person who says that they've taken it at one point or another.