The end of the story - sexual function

[max_dose]

HI, I was prescriped 75MG pregabalin twice daily maybe 6 years ago, then up to 150mg twice daily a few years later and eventually 300MG twice daily for the past few years now.I am a "fairly" young male and this is prescribed for GAD which i think works amazingly. However I have an issue where I am unable to come to the end of the story in between the sheets. I have no need for the Viagra!

I understand this to be that the medication changes your nerve endings all over your body.I have a great desire however I have issues.

I once tried a few years ago whilst fed up and not thinking clearly to cut pregabalin and lasted I think 48 hours. At the end of this 48 hours i could feel my eyelashes tingle, every part of my body. When a car door closed i got a fright, I was on edge. All my senses heigtened and i turned into a person with a sex drive of a 16 year old boy. But I had to go straight back on the tablets and I knew stopping the tablets was a silly thing to do.

I would rather have the pregabalin, and no GAD and put up with the issue above however this is a great enjoyably part of life that brings people closer together and it is a shame to miss out on this.

My question is - is there anyone that has succesfully found another medication to work alongside pregabalin which brings back this feeling? I did contact my GP and ask online via askmygp due to the issue and they said that with this medication and SSSRI's there is no alternative but to decrease my dose to see if this helps.

I have read old threads and saw similar issues but no answer as yet. Anyone any ideas? I dont want to reduce my dose as I know my GAD will return with a bang. I wish I could lol.

Many thanks

[Anxiety7]

I took ssri and lost my libido so I was put on pregablin
GAD was gone and everything working normally
I had low mood and was put on Valdoxan and ever since I am more happy
and have the sex drive of a young me
Stay away from ssri if you want libido

[max_dose]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Are you on both pregabalin and Valdoxan at the same time or are you away from pregabalin altogether?

[Anxiety7]

I am currently taking 300mg of pregablin and i am on 50mg of valdoxan :)

[SmilingAlbert]

I am 46 YO male, take Preg with Mirtazapine, and have no problems of this kind. SSRIs fairly notorious for this sort of thing, Mirt notable for not having it, and some even say it actively improves such things.

Albert

[hanshan]

Hi Max_Dose - Thanks for being brave and raising this issue. A certain percentage of males taking pregabalin experience some kind of sexual dysfunction - typically erectile dysfunction or anorgasmia. It seems like you have the latter.

You are taking the full dose of pregabalin. Is it possible to cut back, without actually stopping? Supplementing with a non-SSRI antidepressant like Valdoxan may help. Although you don't have erectile dysfunction, a drug like Viagra may still help. Also, avoid alcohol and meds containing opioids like codeine (which I believe is still available over the counter in the UK).

Good luck. It is terrible to find something that actually works well for GAD, only to have these consequences. If you have any success, be sure to post here as others are no doubt searching as you are.

[max_dose]

Hi all,

Thanks all for your replies. Hanshan - thanks - I now have a word to do more research on - anorgasmia.

I did not ask my GP to decrease my dose however she offered. I was scared that if I had an issue she would not increase it. I have no reason to think this - Just preparing for the worse.

I know the anorgasmia is not psychological as I have the most caring , understanding, patient partner anyone could ever wish for. She has plenty fun.

Bingo! Codeine - that's the problem. I have been taking a fair amount of codeine each day for at least a year. Not prescribed by my GP but by an alternate source. I do not require it for pain, Wrong on so many levels I know but it's safe to say i'm addicted to it or i hide behind the feeling of it each day. It certainly improves my mood (for a short time only). I don't drink alcohol 100% so this is the drug of my choice i suppose.

Step one - Lets try and cut down on the codeine or miss it out for 48 hours and see where that leaves me.

Step two - check out this valdoxan online to learn more.

I often wonder if Pregabalin improves my mood. I know if i missed a dose by mistake i would feel worse. But is this worse feeling due to increased anxiety or low mood or low mood because of the anxiety or clear out depression. The thoughts consume my life. Or is anxiety caused by the clear stresses of modern day life and we are all medicating by pregabalin, self medicating like alcohol just to get through it all. Sad really.

Thanks you for all your replies.

[hanshan]

Australia has just banned over the counter sales of products containing codeine -- it can now only be prescribed by a doctor. There will probably be similar moves in the UK at some stage. There were news stories about codeine causing deaths, but what they didn't say was that it was from the paracetamol or ibuprofen that was also in the tablet and some people taking 30 or 60 tablets a day.

I know codeine can help calm mental pain, and many people are mildly addicted, but not to a dangerous level. Nevertheless, it's probably best to get off it, particularly if you have pregabalin and maybe a suitable antidepressant to do the job. It does slow down the nervous system, including sexual response, so that might be the game changer for you if you can stop it. Good luck.

[max_dose]

Hi Hanshan,

yes codeine is bad, I had it "prescribed" legally in the UK from a UK online doctor believe it or not codeine only, 30mg tablets no paracetomol or brufen. Costs a bit of cash compared to all my pregabalin medicines being free from my part of the world. And from the same site I can see pregabalin as well. Scary stuff. My pregabalin is however from my GP and free.

The break from codeine during one working day, then I deliberately missed a 300mg pregabalin at night ( wrong on every level ) however the next day we had a lot more success. But missing the 300mg pregabalin causes mood swings for sure in myself.

Sitting at work all day on pregabalin feels like being a zombie but i suppose that's how it works - gets you through the stresses of life.

But for anyone reading and having the same issues - look out for codeine causing the issue in partnership with pregabalin and talk to your partner, open and honest and everyone will be more patient and understanding, just incase it is psychological.

But i'm back on the 30mg codeine maybe 3 tablets per day. so back to square one but if not for this forum i would not have known what the issue was.

Time to "wean" myself off it completely.

[hanshan]

I'm amazed that an online doctor in the UK would prescribe codeine only tablets. It's simply asking to set up a dependency. If at any time the doctor decides to stop the supply, then you have to go doctor shopping or hit the streets.

90 mg of codeine a day is still pretty serious stuff - it's the equivalent of nine over-the-counter painkiller tablets containing 10 mg codeine each (around the daily limit for medium-strong pain), but at least you aren't getting the constant paracetamol or ibuprofen which might do your liver or kidneys immediate damage. Nevertheless, I can't say this strongly enough, get off it as soon as you can. You will never stop thanking yourself for it (and your sex life will no doubt benefit).

[Benjammin69]

Hi,
I found that wellbutrin/zyban gave me my sexual desire back... in the UK it's licenses for stopping smoking but in the US it's used as a an appetite suppressant and an antidepressant. Depending on your psych you mate get it prescribed or not. I did at 150mg modified release.

Cheers

[max_dose]

benjammin69 - cheers I will check it out online.

Hanshan - I agree completely with all you say. It's a Uk regulated service the website. I was stunned when I found it after a single search.

[hanshan]

Hi Max_Dose - How are you going? I'd like to know more of your story.

[max_dose]

HI, Doing grand,

600MG per day! Running three times a week and going for a sub 50 min 10k prior to a big birthday. I think the pregabalin masks the sore knee, back, leg pain etc.

Partner asked last night if I was up for anything.....But I had taken my night 300MG tablet and of course had taken some other meds during the day so it would have never worked lol. But we discussed the issues and had a compromise. All is well. I know what I have to do in the future - a bit of planning ahead,

I'm always curious who reads these types of forums, would worry that my GP would know who I was and make a connection while researching pregabalin lol. Why would they? Millions of folks on forums, taking this med but that's the anxiety and thinking "of the worst possible outcome" that these meds are there to help.

I hope everyone else on pregabalin gets some sort of success. I had fluoxetine for many years, terrible to come off and settled on pregabalin as I heard about if from a mental health nurse and asked my GP about it who had no idea it could be used for GAD ( Previous GP).

Hope it works out for everyone, and helps stop the worry.

[hanshan]

Hi Max_Dose - Great to get an update from you.

I think one reason pregabalin is slow to percolate through GPs in the UK is that the UK and Ireland are the only English-speaking countries to have licensed pregabalin for anxiety - in other English-speaking countries it is still "off-label" for anxiety. This means that there is not a welter of research and advertising coming concerning pregabalin and anxiety from over the Atlantic into the in-boxes of UK GPs.

Who reads these posts? Apart from those who actually post, there are "lurkers", who read but don't post, and those who drop in for a while because they want some information. All are welcome!

But back to more down to it issues (if I can say that) - I know sex is the absolute best when it's a spontaneous eruption, but with these meds some planning may not go amiss, ie you delay taking any codeine and pregabalin on a day when you know you will have sex until afterwards.