Loss of libido/impotence in a 21 year old related to Wellbutrin XL or Lamictal

[Rafael1114]

Hi I am a 21 year old pre-medical student and I am going through something I could have never imagine would happen to me. I was diagnosed with Bipolar II depressive disorder about 1.5 months ago. My psychiatrist ordered me to take 1 wellbutrin XL 300mg in the morning along with 1 Lamictal 25mg. I started taking both medications about a month ago, and I was feeling great until a week ago. Thats when I started having symptoms of impotence. I got extremely sad and worried. So I did some research online, and most articles I found show that Wellbutrin and Lamictal don't usually show these side effects. However I lowered the dose of the Wellbutrin until I stopped taking it. Now its been like 2 days since I stopped taking the wellbutrin and I dont see any signs of improvement yet. As you may imagine this is really frustrating for me. I spend my nights worrying about this, even though I try to ignore it, it is affecting me. Before taking these two drugs I had never had any problems with my sexual life. I would like someone to please help me. Are any of these two drugs the cause of my problem? If it is, about how long would it take for me to recover? Thanks for your time and help.

[erectionless]

I am a man.  At age 55, I began taking Celexa 20 mg 6 years ago, for anger management.  The first 3 years, I noticed it reduced my level of anger with no side effects.  About 2.5 years ago I begin to notice it becoming more difficult to maintain an erection.  My ability to even get an erection ended about 1.5 years ago.  I discussed this with my doctor.  He had me gradually get off celexa and go to Wellbutrin (300mg).  After a month of completely using Wellbbutrin, my anger levels began to climb.  My doctor had me go back to celexa 10 mg and Wellbutrin 150mg.  That leveled me back down but with no erections.  My sex therapist has moved me to 5 mg of celexa with 150mg Wellbutrin.  Still no erections.  My desire for sex ie very great, but my ability to obtain an erection has not returned.  I find myself waking up in the middle of the night with erections several time.  Thak demonstrates to me that physically I my body can produce an erection.  Is the situation unique to me?

[Rafael1114]

Hey all, I just had an appointment with my psychiatrist today. I am happy to say that I feel much better now. My sexual life is much better as well. My psychiatrist concluded that a possible cause for the loss of libido I had was due to the combination of lamictal and wellbutrin. So he told to stop taking the wellbutrin, instead he gave me something to help me concentrate. I dont feel depressed anymore nor worried about any other issues. Thank you all for your help.

[kevinb20005]

  Hopefully your sexual functioning will recover however wellbutrin (buproprion,zyban) is a known cause of POST SSRI SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION (PSSD)


  It has now been medically acknowledged that people taking antidepressants who develop some form of sexual dysfunction can have sexual dysfunction for years or indefinately AFTER they quit the drug.


Although Wellbutrin itself is not an SSRI and is believed to work on the dopaminergic system it has been reported to cause this same problem of sexual side effects that continue long after you stop taking it.


The best source of information and advice about this condition is the online support group for it -

           ***@****

Your psychiatrist may not be aware that sexual dysfunction caused by antidepressants can continue long after you stop taking your pills but this has been documented in a number of medical journals in the last year.All the information you will want is on the support group website.

[monkeyflower]

I forgot. How did you lower the dose of Wellbutrin? I was under the impression that it was a single pill - and since it's extended release, cutting it is NOT a good idea.

[monkeyflower]

I know, lots of those meds have really awful side effects. However, my opinion is that your mental health is ultimately most important. And in this case, I wonder if maybe you're noticing the meds *working*, since one of the symptoms of bipolar is an unusually high sex drive. Unfortunately, I think many of the symptoms of mania feel very good (euphoric, very sexual, etc.), and you may feel a little blunted without them.

My first suggestion would be to see your psychiatrist - if you've been getting your meds from your family doctor/health center, see a psychiatrist instead. They're most experienced at tweaking meds. Make sure s/he knows you've quit taking the Wellbutrin, and how important your sexuality is to you. Btw, it's a very bad idea to start or stop meds without first consulting your doctor. My second suggestion would be to get a referral to a therapist. Being bipolar can wreak havoc on your life and your relationships with others. I think you need to be able to talk about your feelings and possibly the results of your actions, as well as learn new ways to cope with stressors in your life.

I will also add that the more you dwell on your sexual issues, the worse they will likely be. Anxiety is NOT friendly to erections or sexuality in general. Worry about ED and libido loss thus often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you can relax about this (and your comment about "it's been two days" suggests you are definitely overly anxious), you can begin to explore your sexuality in a whole new way.

I wish you the best.

[Rafael1114]

Thank you for your quick responses. I do go to a psychiatrist and he was the one who told me to cut the wellbutrin 300 in half for the 150mg dose(I will ask him why he told me to cut it). Therefore I thought I could cut the 300mg pill in 4 pieces until I stopped taking it completely. However I am still taking the lamictal. I do feel anxious about this situation, and it seems that I do need to calm down. For now, I will have to wait until my next appointment with the psychiatrist, which is next week. I will post an update on my condition as soon as anything changes. That way anyone else going through something like this might get some help. Once again, I am really thankfull for your help and sympathy. Any other sugestions are also welcome.