Fluvoxamine and Sexual Dysfunction: What Users Say (Page 2)

• ACK...
• January 6, 2017

For Anxiety and Stress "I've been taking 50 mg of fluvoxamine for 8 days. It works amazingly for getting the horrible thoughts I experience daily to leave my mind - I can just turn it off and feel normal and calm. If it didn't have so many negative side effects, it would be the perfect medication for me. I've been experiencing headaches, nausea, lack of motivation, trouble getting up in the morning, lack of concentration, it's completely killed my sex drive, and it makes me feel almost wired at bedtime, before I crash into a drug-induced sleep. It also makes me feel constantly hungry, even after a large meal. If I were to keep taking this, I think I'd become obese. I rated it a 3 because it worked for what I needed it for. Disappointed it wasn't for me."

• mih...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2018

Fluvoxamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I switched to Luvox because Effexor was making my cholesterol go through the roof, and now the sexual side effects are back, and I'm more tired than usual. I take 450 mg Wellbutrin with it, along with various supplements. I'm going to give it a few weeks before trying something else."

• Too...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 18, 2015

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "Went from too much genius to just enough. I won't describe it more specifically than that. Excessive thoughts used to cause very bad anxiety and stress. I used the fluvoxamine maleate to quell the excessive thoughts and was able to focus better on getting things done. The drug cannibalizes its effectiveness though because of the side effect of drowsiness. I am often very tired on the drug, and although I am still able to work well, it takes more effort to do so than when I am not on any medication. There are some sexual side effects to this drug as well. The most prominent sexual side effect is near inability to climax. But that is the nature of the drug: it numbs your emotions. I can't have a normal sex life on this drug."

• Ano...
• May 27, 2021

For Panic Disorder "I suffer from severe panic disorder, no depression or mood imbalance, just panic disorder - I would wake up having severe panic attacks and would continue to have them throughout the day (always based around a fear of having a heart attack). It crippled my life. Luvox has helped me immensely in near eliminating all panic attacks, and when panic and anxiety do start to rise (or I get chest or body sensations, which previously would just about always trigger a severe panic attack). The Luvox almost always nips things in the bud and helps me quickly rationalize the situation and move on. On the rare occasion now that I do still experience panic, it’s much, much less severe. The sexual side effects for me aren’t as severe as Lexapro but only ‘just.’ I one day hope my situation is that I find something without the sexual side effects, but right now, Luvox is absolutely necessary for me. If it weren’t for the sexual side effects, I’d score it a 10."

• Gia...
• March 28, 2021

Fluvoxamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I take Anafranil for 32 years now, after a diagnosis of OCD when I was 15 years old; the doctor said I would have to take it for the rest of my life. Two years ago, I asked the psychiatrist to try to switch the medicine because of side effects I have that really disturb me (great hair loss, permanent dry mouth, lack of libido, etc.). Eventually, she prescribed fluvoxamine, so I stopped Anafranil and started it. The experience was AWFUL: immediately I started feeling kind of detached from everything, what it came out to be a profound state of depression. The doctor increased the dose, and things didn't change at all. After two and a half months taking fluvoxamine and feeling completely depressed, emotionally detached from everything, and with a permanent underlying 'dark'/strange feeling, I decided to stop it. Instead, that night I took half of my usual 75 mg Anafranil; the next morning I was just fine, the 'normal', functional me."

• Pal...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2017

Fluvoxamine for Anxiety and Stress "I've been on it for 2 months for my anxiety, and it's working pretty fine, but I've decreased libido and low sexual drive, and it's concerning for a young guy to have this sort of side effects. I am gonna consult my doctor about this."

• frc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 13, 2018

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I’ve been on fluvoxamine for about a month now, and it’s the third time I’m trying the treatment. I’m taking 200 mg daily. I started with 50 mg, then added an extra 50 every week. It has definitely helped with my OCD, mood swings, and nervous tics - I really am much better. But again, the side effects are making me reconsider. First week, I felt nauseous all the time and had diarrhea and stomach cramps, second week, there was the insomnia and sexual dysfunction, third and fourth weeks, still insomniac but now coupled with generalized tiredness and night sweats. No matter how much I sleep now, I always feel ready to nap, and it has seriously messed with my productivity both at uni and work. I don’t know what I’ll do next because I really am better, but I’m not sure it’s worth the side effects."

• Pen...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 8, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I took fluvoxamine for intrusive thoughts and HOCD. I had anxiety nonstop and felt panicked by triggers relating to my OCD. It helped stop the intrusive thoughts just enough to help me learn healthy coping mechanisms. But after 6 years, I dumbly cold-turkeyed my medication (NEVER do this), and I now have complete sexual dysfunction and emotional blunting. I’ve had it for 2 years now with no improvements. I can’t feel romance or romantic attraction and don’t have the ability to be aroused by anything. My genitals are numb. My emotional blunting is so bad that I can’t laugh at things I used to think were funny and can’t feel empathy for people or animals. This is called PSSD or post-SSRI sexual dysfunction. I also have cognitive issues where I don’t respond naturally to what people say. PLEASE use this as a last resort. I would have never gone on SSRIs if I knew this would happen."

• Lis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 30, 2022

Fluvoxamine for Anxiety and Stress "I’m on fluvoxamine for depression. It helped with it and with my bad thoughts, but it gave me severe sexual problems, so I'm forced to switch. It only started to be helpful after a month, and also it can give you sleep problems and anxiety (just at the start, like the first 2 weeks). But the sexual problems are still there even if my depression has been better, but still not cured. So I’m switching now."

• Ist...
• December 22, 2022

For Anxiety and Stress "I was taking this for 5 months, and it lowered my anxiety and made me not obsess with derealization, but the sexual side effects and emotional numbing were just too much. I stopped taking it, but sexual dysfunction persisted even after 1 and a half years of being free from this drug."

• Ist...
• December 22, 2022

For Anxiety and Stress "I was taking this for 5 months, and it lowered my anxiety and made me not obsess with derealization, but the sexual side effects and emotional numbing were just too much. I stopped taking it, but sexual dysfunction persisted even after 1 and a half years of being free from this drug."

• luc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 25, 2016

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "It's been helping me a lot for my awful pure OCD, intrusive thoughts. I'd rate it a 6 out of 10. However, I've just recently increased the dose from 150 mg to 200 mg, so I might feel even better. Bad side effects: low libido, nausea, and drowsiness. Hope they will eventually subside as I'm taking it for less than two months (nausea is already subsiding)."

• Pum...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 15, 2013

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "After an incident that involved a family member who was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Throughout my life (25 yrs), I've felt slight symptoms of anxiety that became perpetuated by post-traumatic stress disorder. I experienced feelings of intense fear over nothing, obsessive intrusive thoughts I could not control, and so on. My doctor put me on 150 mg of Luvox. I did not want to take it because I had never taken medication. At first, I became more depressed and had horrible obsessive thoughts of someone attacking me. I told my doctor this, and she assured me that it is normal and told me to stick with the medication. I stuck with it, and now I feel better than before. Only side effects are sexual and some trouble sleeping."

• Zac...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 14, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "OCD/PTSD/DEPRESSION I've tried a few different types of medication, and this one actually works for me. 300 mg at night, 2 years now. I don't really get stuck on intrusive thoughts like I used to. I still get sad sometimes, but it's still a normal emotion. I've been able to learn the difference from a depressive sadness to a normal sadness, if that makes sense, haha. - Personal side effects: I sweat a heap more in any physical activity. Sex drive is ehh. Insomnia. - Please save yourself and do not abruptly stop unless you want to be incredibly irritable, brain zaps nearly all the time, headaches, no sleep... The list goes on."

• Anonymous
• October 25, 2013

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "I was diagnosed with OCD a little more than 2 months ago. My doctor started me on 50 mg of fluvoxamine for the first month. I had no noticeable benefits from the medication and four side effects. The side effects included the following: weight gain, fatigue/disrupted sleep pattern, headaches, and sexual dysfunction. The second month, my doctor increased the dosage to 100 mg. The results were the same as the first month. He has since switched me to another SSRI."

• Liv...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 28, 2024

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "This is the best SSRI I have ever taken in my entire life. It has the least sexual side effects, it does not make me a zombie, it doesn’t make me more depressed or anxious. It has significantly helped my OCD, and I spend much less time on my obsessions/compulsions, and it has also decreased the frequency and intensity of panic attacks. I have been on this drug for about 2.5 years, and I had tried many other drugs in the past: Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin, Effexor, trazodone, and many more I cannot remember. This drug is the BEST out of any of them ever. It gave me my life back. I would recommend this to anyone suffering with OCD or panic disorder, or even anxiety that causes you to over-focus."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2011

Fluvoxamine for Depression "I feel normal. No sexual side effects like Lexapro. Less of a fog, too."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 22, 2015

For Depression "No terrible side effects other than extremely reduced libido and some nausea/weakness."

• Jer...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 7, 2022

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "Beware if you’re a guy. I took fluvoxamine for horrible OCD, anxiety, and mild PTSD. Some of the side effects included erectile dysfunction and low testosterone."