I am Wondering if Paxil Caused This??

[BBC3]

Recently, i have been getting into HRT. 36 yr old, healthy. My energy levels had been crap for last few years. My testosterone checked out at 300. I am wondering if my past paxil use could have casued it. I took paxil for about 1 year when I was 32. I got off for whatever reason. I had all the standard side effects that all subsided within a few months of initial use (difficulty ejc, sweating, yawn, etc..). The sex was great. Anyway.. I started taking it again recently and I have noticed that it caused symptoms kinda like "blue balls". My testicle swell within 2 -3 days and ache a bit. This may be some sort of side effect of the drug simply not allowing the sperm to get out. But recently I have been reading a lot about testosterone and its effect on the endocrine system. I am starting to belive that the use of paxil may have permanently altered my system. Cause i am wondering if my testicle have not been receiving the proper LH & FSH ( or you know) due to lack of the drug. I have stopped and started paxil about 3 times in the last 2 months, and I get the same result. THIS NEVER HAPPENED THE first year I took paxil. Are there any physicians out there that have experienced this. Or anyone else. These are not "normal" or warned side effects. Although I have noticed that they have now broadened the side effects description to include " other sexual side effects" too. Is it possible that Paxil has permanently altered my endocrine sys????

[pmgamer18]

Yes I think it can make your T levels go down it's an SSRI and they do this here is a study.
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/rx/testos.htm
Most of use feel or have feelings of depression do to low testosterone are you sure you did not have low testosterone when you were 32.

[keaster]

Originally Posted by pmgamer18

Yes I think it can make your T levels go down it's an SSRI and they do this here is a study.
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/rx/testos.htm
Most of use feel or have feelings of depression do to low testosterone are you sure you did not have low testosterone when you were 32.

That is not a real study. It is a quasi scientific study- meaning it really does not prove anything.

[pmgamer18]

You can take it for what it is worth here is a site of over 1200 people that have all kinds of problems do to SSRI meds.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ssrisex/

[keaster]

Originally Posted by pmgamer18

You can take it for what it is worth here is a site of over 1200 people that have all kinds of problems do to SSRI meds.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ssrisex/

Not being rude or anything- but that does not change the fact that the study in question was "useless". Meaning that many people produce these quasi scentific studies on anything they want. One can put anything on the internet, thats why you have to be careful. The only way one could take that study as actual info would be if it was published in a peer reviewed journal.

[zkt]

What particurily dont you approve of in the methodology ? or it it the conclusion or what ?
I certainly can`t call it useless> any paper by a doc is at least an informed opinion and about 10 years distant from useless.


"METHODS AND AIMS

Twenty subjects, ages 35 to 74 years, were evaluated for a double blind placebo controlled trial of a dietary supplement combination for the treatment of ASD. All of the subjects were using medication for the treatment of mood disorder (DSM IV Criteria) included SSRI's, SNRI's, Bupropion, Trazodone and Mirtazipine. Screening physical exams and laboratory studies including CBC, TSH, Prolactin, serum free Testosterone, Serum Chemistries, and Urinalysis were done. The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) was used as part of the clinical assessment of ASD. In the course of the evaluation process, low serum free testosterone was noted in 15 patients.

[brownb01]

I am convinced that effexor caused my problems...low T and so forth.

[billythebaxter]

i have spoken to people on this forum and others regarding SSRI induced testosterone deficiency in men.

because there are few clinical studies, many doctors and specialists don't recognize it, but i am sure it is a factor in mid-long term usage.

my endocrinologist has suspicions that paxil use caused low T for me and we are currently running tests to rule out other causes.

if those other tests come back negative then i will discontinue the paxil and pray to god that my T levels will slowly bounce back.

im trying to find a network of people with similar experiences because a) i really think this is an as yet undisclosed side effect that is begging for recognition and b)because i want to know how long it takes for T levels to recover upon cessation of the SSRI usage.

id also be interested to find out what other antidepressants of different categories have this same effect.

billy

[BBC3]

What i am kinda getting at.,,,, is that I am thinking that the Paxil (in particular) causes problems uwtih the endocrine sys. In that, when supplementing with AAS you will shut down your system in a way that stops whatever signal is responsible for keeping you testicles funtioning. I am thinking that the Paxil created a LONG TERM DEPENDENCE!!! Meaning that, whatever adjustement my body made due to the usage of the drug stuck. I am starting to believe that my system adjusted to it and now without it, my body has not re-compensated. CONSIDER using HCG for restimulation of whatever makes you testicles verile. I think I have been shut down for the 3 years I have been off paxil. Just a thought. I don't find it supprising at all that the endo. found interest in the fact that you were taking paxil. I have a pretty good feeling that more lawsuits are to come. It makes my balls feel like they are about to expode. This is not a normal side effect of Paxil...

[keaster]

Originally Posted by zkt

What particurily dont you approve of in the methodology ? or it it the conclusion or what ?
I certainly can`t call it useless> any paper by a doc is at least an informed opinion and about 10 years distant from useless.


"METHODS AND AIMS

Twenty subjects, ages 35 to 74 years, were evaluated for a double blind placebo controlled trial of a dietary supplement combination for the treatment of ASD. All of the subjects were using medication for the treatment of mood disorder (DSM IV Criteria) included SSRI's, SNRI's, Bupropion, Trazodone and Mirtazipine. Screening physical exams and laboratory studies including CBC, TSH, Prolactin, serum free Testosterone, Serum Chemistries, and Urinalysis were done. The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) was used as part of the clinical assessment of ASD. In the course of the evaluation process, low serum free testosterone was noted in 15 patients.

If you really want to pick the "study" apart you can

"Studies investigating testosterone levels and mood disorders have shown conflicting results. Levels of testosterone in 12 depressed males were compared to age-matched normal controls by Levitt and Joffe in 1988. No significant differences were noted between the patient and control groups. In 1991, Steiger et al. evaluated nocturnal testosterone secretion in 12 patients with major endogenous depression and found that blunted testosterone and elevated cortisol secretion were markers of acute depression prior to treatment. Testosterone concentration increased after remission from the depression, following drug cessation. Lower testosterone levels were also observed in an evaluation of healthy male internal medicine residents; suggesting that chronic stress and sleep deprivation may play a role in testosterone levels.

He didnt cite the Steiger et al study.

They needed pre treatment baselines. Many persons with psychological issues have altered endocrine systems. Even if it was published-baselines are needed. This is because low t can casue depression and vice versa. Also, to small of a sample size and no control group.



Read-

Schweiger, U et al., Psychosom Med 61 (3): 292-296, 1999.
"Psychiatric inpatients with major depression tend to have higher cortisol and 40% lower T than control subjects with no depression"