General Anxiety

[CuriousJosey]

Hi, Does anyone know or recommend a medication that is good for general anxiety issues that doesn't destroy their sex drive? Have ongoing issues for 7-8 years and would like some suggestions?!

[Paxiled]

I will say that the two ssris with the reputation of the fewest side effects are Prozac and Lexapro.  Prozac is the easiest to stop taking, but seems to be less effective than others for anxiety.  Still, if I were intent on taking an ssri I'd start with Prozac, then try Lexapro if that didn't help, and then Zoloft, because, while Zoloft seems by what I can see to be the best for anxiety, it is also a hard one to stop taking compared generally to the other 2, but again, it's something to discuss with a psychiatrist if you decide it's necessary to go down the medication merry-go-round.  I can't comment personally, because when I took Zoloft it didn't do anything one way or the other, and when drugs don't work they're easy to stop taking usually.  Good luck whatever you try.

[CuriousJosey]

Thanks again for the advice. I will probably try these and see what happens. As you say its a case of trial and error with regards to what works.

My biggest worry was the issue with sex drive as I'm currently dating and I wouldn't say I have the worlds biggest sex drive so imagine this will get shot to bits but just something i'll have to overcome and sacrifice if the benefits outweigh the cons.

I'm at the stage now where I'm accepting that anxiety issues will be part of my life forever.

[nursegirl6572]

Sertraline (Zoloft) is actually a good medication to start with, mainly because it has a good track record, and most people tolerate it fairly well with little to no issues.

Just keep in mind that it takes a while for you to adjust to the medication, 4-6 weeks is typical.  There may be some side effects, they usually start improving after about 2 weeks.

It looks like you've tried addressing the anxiety with multiple methods, with little to no success.  I think trying a medication at this point is reasonable.  Just remember that medications aren't a "cure".  They're just one tool in the treatment of anxiety.  Therapy is vital.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[CuriousJosey]

Thankyou, these answers are helpful. 2 of my siblings suffer with a similar type of anxiety and are both on meds. They've worked wonders for both and have transformed their lifes. They are both taking 100mg of Sertaline?

However there have been side effects. Guess this is just common!

I've tried different types of therapy in the past, have changed my lifestyle, diet and tried numerous herbal remedies will no real improvement.

[nursegirl6572]

I agree with Paxiled.

Starting off with Effexor if you haven't tried any medication yet, is extreme.  It's not the mosr optimal medication to START with.  It's also typically more appropriate for depression treatment.  There are better options for anxiety.

I would also ask you what you've done thus far to address your anxiety?  Have you been in therapy?  Tried any other methods?  If you really haven't done much yet to address the anxiety...I would start with therapy first.

As for your question, there is no one medication that we could recommend, everyone is different, and while one medication may cause sexual side effects for one person, it may not for another.  MOST of these medications typically do come with some sexual side effects.  It can be bothersome for sure.  

If you're really wanting to try a medication, my recommendation would be to find a good psychiatrist who knows medications, and just decide with him/her where to start.  It's a trial and error process, truly.

My own personal recommendations for people starting out with medication would be Zoloft or Lexapro.  They both have a pretty good track record, both in effectiveness of treating the symptoms of anxiety, and also in ease of tolerating the medication.  They do both have sexual side effects as one of their issues, but as with any med, that varies from person to person.  I've been on both in the past...I noticed more sexual side effects (mainly a decreased libido) with the Lexapro, more so than the Zoloft.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[Paxiled]

I would caution against that medication as a first try -- it's a stimulating antidepressant and very very hard to stop taking.  And it can have an effect on your sex drive, but the fact is you never know if a medication will have that effect until you try it.  Any drug that affects serotonin can have that effect, so the ones that affect it less tend to have less of sexual side effects, but they're often stimulating such as wellbutrin and not as effective for anxiety as for depression.  You might consider the trycyclics, but have you tried therapy first?

[Coryf18]

For me, venlafixine.