Sexual health

Resolved Sex life with anxiety and depression

Posted by User | 2021-03-19 | Sexual health

I am diagnosed with anxiety (social anxiety, OCD and panic attack) and depression 6 months ago, and visited A&E twice due to panic attacks before I was diagnosed.

I have been taking Vitango, Lexapro, Trittico and Xanax - have not tried any therapy yet.

I realised I started to lose sex drive and sensation during intercourse which directly affects my partner (he is supportive but I can see this can affect my relationship in the long run as I don't know when I can fully recover) so after speaking with my doctor, she lowered my medication dosage.

Is there anything else I can do to work on my sex drive and sensation during intercourse?

Thank you so much.

2 Replies

Dr Lim Min Yu
Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
20 Mar 2021
Expert

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Pending Moderation

Medicines to treat depression such as Lexapro (escitalopram) are known to have the side effect of making it difficult to become aroused, sustain arousal, and reach orgasm.

It is good that your partner is supportive and it is important to continue to communicate how you are feeling with him.

Other than lowering the dosage of medicine, which could be counter-productive if it is effectively treating your symptoms of depression and anxiety, one may consider the following:

scheduling sex: the medicine may have more side effects shortly after taking it, so you could try to change the time you take the medicine, or plan to have sex when the side effects are least pronounced.
changing medicine: speak to your doctor about alternative drugs that may have fewer side effects on your libido and sex life.
seeing a therapist: working with a psychological counseler can help to explore the concerns you have, improve communication between you and your partner, and help to improve your intimacy. Even though the most likely cause of the problem is a side effect from your medicine, psychological issues often add to it.

Dr Lim

User
20 Mar 2021

Pending Moderation

I appreciate you and I will heed your advice. Thank you so much Dr Lim for your time to respond to me. I hope this helps others who are struggling with similar concerns.