(NSFW) Do you think I will lose my libido, and if so what could I do to keep it?

If you loose it, then you wont even care, because you wont value it anymore. It’s like suddenly you don’t like ice cream anymore: it might be odd to not like it, but you wont want to change it because your thinking will be that ice cream just doesn’t taste good anymore. It’ll be a positive thing to yourself because you wont be craving it.

I have no idea. The drugs I’ve been taking can have that effect, but they haven’t. I’m thinking that if you drive is that high, the Celexa wouldn’t get rid of it so much as tone it down. Maybe. It might be too powerful for the drug.

You ideas and history probably play a significant role in your sex drive. Those aren’t going to change. So even if the physical part of drive is lessened, I think the mental part will stay strong.

However, keep me posted on this. There are times when I wish I didn’t have the drive I have. A lot of times. It would probably make me a lot happier if I could stop thinking about sex.

If you’re worried about this, I would talk to your doctor and see if there is something else that can be prescribed for you. Not all side effects affect everyone. It might be worthwhile to try the Celexa first and see if it even helps and if you notice any difference.

@Carly thats a good way to look at it and though it wont effect me if i feel like that, it will effect my S/O, which in turn wont that effect us?

There are other options that do not affect libido, Wellbutrin being one.
However as @Carly says it is a good idea to try Celexa and if you are fining it does cause issues (as @wundayatta says not everyone experiences this) then simply call your doctor and request a change.

@Inked_up_chic true. I guess my next argument would be that you hopefully won’t be on this medication for too long. Most meds that help you mentally shouldn’t be taken long-term (bad effects). So unless your S/O is constantly in need of a some good lovin’, I would talk with them about it. I would expect them to be more in favor of a non-depressed you instead of having a thriving libido.

If my bf was sad/depressed/anxious but horny all the time, I wouldn’t want to have sex with him. But I’d rather him be completely non-interested in sex for a short while and be happy at the same time.

I don’t know if you’ll lose it or not. But if it’s any consolation, your OP description is doing wonders for mine.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies OP description?

Unfortunatly, I also had a severe brain injury- I did lose mine, mainly because of the drugs. I think that by knowing you might, and taking steps to keep it you’ve already won at least half the battle.

I stopped taking anti-depressants after trying two of them, because they killed my sex drive and stopped me from orgasming (which I thought was a big deal).

I did not find any way to keep it. I did without the drugs.

yep… all that talk about jumpin’ bones 24/7 kinda gets a guy goin’... know what i mean?

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies hahaha ok, yeah, I know what you mean >_<

Tell you doctor you want to be prescribed into a biofeedback program instead of taking Celexa and ask to also be put into a mental health group that teaches a range of deep relaxation methods and skills to reduce or eliminate Anxiety and depression symptoms. Take up some form of exercise regimen also. Doctors often talk in absolutes and choose what’s easiest for them and most cost effective. You can inquire about other options that haven’t the quality of life side effects that Celexa would have for you. You will need to have an advocate like your husband and you will need to both be very adamant and assertive about the kinds of programming you want to try instead of the Celexa.

Good god, what a painful side effect. I say, have lots of sex and hopefully that will be counter-active against the depression. If the sex isn’t proportionate to the drug dosage, you’ve gotta keep at it.

All kidding aside, do what will be best long term. You’re S/O will just have to understand. Then when you get all better you could have all of the make-up sex you want (which is the best kind) to make up for lost time.

Great advice from @Joybird, explore all alternatives first, then decide.

And why don’t you care about orgasming, seems as if that is a big part of sex and sex drive? I don’t mean to be overly personal, I am curious about your reasoning.

A couple of things: I don’t think it is possible to say absolutely what the side effects of any drug will be in any individual. Sexual side effects are very common with antidepressants but you can’t know for certain how they will effect you. And the side effects can be dose dependent, I think. You have no way of knowing what a therapeutic dose could be for you; you could respond to relatively lower dose that would have relatively fewer or less severe side effects. You won’t know until you try it. And though I respect the advice that @Joybird has offered, regarding alternate treatment options I would urge you to work very closely with your doctor on this. A traumatic brain injury is nothing to fool around with. I’m certainly not a doctor and I don’t know what kind of brain injury you’ve had but, if for example, it has possibly put you at increased risk for seizures you need to be careful both about the medication you take and about any alternative treatments like biofeedback. And if you any reason at all to suspect or believe that your doctor or doctors are talking “in absolutes” and making medical decision based on “what’s easiest for them and most cost effective” as @Joybird puts it, rather than on what’s best and most appropriate in your_ case, for your health, then I very strongly urge you to find another doctor. It just seems that there may be some important medical issues involved in healing from a traumatic brain injury, and while you should certainly be an informed and intelligent “consumer” of “medical services,” who should work with your doctors; they’re not gods who should simply be obeyed without question or thought, but I’m not sure if you telling them what your treatment plan should be is the way to go. If it is, why consult a doctor at all, if not for their medical knowledge and expertise?

And just in case you’re interested, here’s a link to some standard AMA information on sexual side effects of antidepressants and possible ways to deal with them. And here’s a link to a forum discussion about the different reactions some people have had to Celexa.

Good luck.

If Celexa affects your sex drives, there are other drugs you can try that won’t – I’m on Lexapro and it has zero effect on my sex drive whereas Paxil totally killed it for me.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’ve been on both of those and they didn’t help, currently I’m on xanex (sp) until we switch to the celexa.

@lillycoyote thank you for all of that, it really made me feel a lil better.

@rooeytoo as unrealistic as this sounds I was with an extremely controlling asshole for 6 years that trained me to not get off…. I find it extremely difficlut to get off since than ( even 2 years later). It happens for me about once every 3 months or so. And because of that I’ve learned to find the most extreme pleasure in the act of sex itself. I now actually find it more pleasurable, exciting and enjoying then having an orgasm. So not being able to due to medication really has no barring with me.

Sorry if that was to much info for you other people, but I was asked and I’m always an open book :)

@Inked_up_chic – you are very honest and open and I asked. Too bad someone messed with your head like that.

After reading @lillycoyote‘s response regarding seizures etc. I think her advice is much better. I am so opposed to docs whose first move is drugs, sometimes it gets in the way of common sense. I hope you find a solution and recuperate quickly.

@Inked_up_chic. I just realized that the first link, the one to the “standard AMA information was bad. Here it is again.

I also just realized that your user name is Inked_up_chic. For some reason I’ve always read it as linked_up_chic. :- )