Hello everyone. I’m taking an antipsychotic for a somatic symtom disorder: Saphris 5 mg
It is the lowest dosage possible and also, Saphris is known to be one of the antipsychotic that cause the less side effects. However, despite that and the low dosage, I feel the medication has a powerful effect on me. Side-effects I have: no emotions, less sociable, more introvert, less chatty, less imagination, no sens of humour while before I used to make everybody laugh, less confidence, I don’t like to do sport anymore while before I was extremely sporty, and a lot more importantly: very low libido.
What is your medication’s impact on your libido? After having sex, I think it could take me at least 3 days before being able to have an erection again. Because of that, it’s impossible for me to have sex more than 1 or 2 time a week, and this is the reason why I have been unable to keep a girlfriend since I take the medication. So I’m very frustrated. I wonder if I will be able to have a relationship again since I have no choice but to continue to take the medication for the rest of my life. Antipsychotics destroy the possibility of love relationship!
Are you still able to maintain a healthy love relationship?
Have you found a solution about the lost of libido while continuing the antipsychotic?
Its tough to remember - but my pdoc just reminded me that it is normal for couples to have different sex drives. So even if you are having problems that’s probably not the reason you don’t have a gf.
I took 30mg of Saphris for 2 years. It actually had the opposite effect on me than you are experiencing. I had more emotions again and an okay libido.
Why I’m taking the meds?! Because I have been very sick! I have a somatic symptom disorder and because of that I have been extremely dizzy during 12 years! The antipsychotic solved the problem: it made me healthy and able to have a professional life again!
All the relationships I had since I’m taking Saphris all ended quickly because of the same reason: the girl wanted more sex and I couldn’t give her enough.
About emotions, personally, Saphris had a positive effect by solving the dizziness related to my disorder, but I know that Saphris is also a mood stabilizer and I don’t need my mood to be stabilized. So I feel that my mood is too much stabilized for no reason and because of that, my mood is always neutral and I think this could be the reason why I have no emotions (I never laugh, I never cry, etc).
Meds work w everyone differently. Abilify is also supposed to have the least side effects but it had many terrible ones for me. I have medication hypersensitivity which means that even low doses of medication can give me bad side effects which is really a pain because it does work for my symptoms, but at the cost of making me physically miserable. Geodon so far has been working like a charm though.
Abilify definitely reduced my libido. Risperdal did not reduce my libido but took away my ability to orgasm which was immensely frustrating. Geodon though I haven’t noticed changing anything.
Hello TomCat. No problem at all for asking, I can explain that to you. Somatic symptom disorder is an extremely rare disorder. You are truly extremely physically sick but the cause is not physical. You don’t have any “mental” symptoms. All the symptoms are physical. It is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. You know, when everything about your neurotransmitters is completely a mess, it can cause real physical symptoms. And the problem is because the physical symptoms are real, doctors think that you have a physical sickness. So they spend months and years doing physical tests on you and they are all negative. And because the disorder is not really known among the doctors, they give up and say that the cause is unknown. Then you stay sick for years, unable to do nothing. Until, like me, you meet a brilliant psychiatrist who know the disorder and make the link and know that antipsychotics can solve it. So for me, the antipsychotic was a miracle. I have been extremely dizzy and very tired for 12 years, and as soon as I began to take the medication, I was healthy again! So I’ve lost 12 years of my life because the doctors don’t know the disorder while just taking a small pill would have solved the problem!
I only tried Zyprexa and Abilify but they eventually failed to treat my physical symptoms on the long term. I had more side effects with Zyprexa. Not tried Geodon but I note that and I will talk to my psychiatrist about it. Thank you.
Could always try yohimbie if you’re in the us or someplace it’s not banned. It’s better than viagra. Not sure if the effects would be the same for everyone. Also has side effect of making your heart want to beat out of your chest and maybe nausea. Used to burn fat too
I read about CIalis and Viagra and they only allow you to get and maintain an erection. They doesn’t increase your sexual desire or allow you to be more excited. If you take one of these medications, you will still need to get excited and to start the erection. My problem is that after having sex, I have no sexual drive at all for 3-4 days, so I can’t get an erection because I cannot get excited. I believe this could be caused by an increase of prolactin, which is a side effect of two medications I’m taking, including Saphris. After the 3-4 days, I can get excited and then I have no problem to get an erection and to maintain it, so I feel that Cialis and Viagra would not be necessary or useful for me.
I have no libido thanks to the meds but girls never liked me anyway so it is a blessing in that I don’t care as much anymore. Used to get so emotional I actually cried about it a couple of times. Not as emotional anymore. Less highs but less downs too.
i have no sex drive, i don’t get pleasure from being the one having sex but the one giving the pleasure. i take care of my partner’s sex drive which i have no problem doing i just don’t get pleasure from the being the one having sex.
I mention the yohimbie because it does both: makes you horny and makes you like a rock, plus better orgasm. Atleast for me, but I don’t take it because it’s banned in the eu and gives me unpleasant side effects