Remeron / Mirtazapine And Male Libido

[twixtwix25]

Hi folks

I have been on Remeron / mirtazapine for 6 months now and although I have more or less good things to say about the med, I have noticed that my libido has just about disappeared. I have done a lot of scouring on the internet and it seems as though that isn't much of an issue for most men out there. Have any of you had any issues with this?

Many thanks and best to all!

[Girly]

Hi folks

I have been on Remeron / mirtazapine for 6 months now and although I have more or less good things to say about the med, I have noticed that my libido has just about disappeared. I have done a lot of scouring on the internet and it seems as though that isn't much of an issue for most men out there. Have any of you had any issues with this?

Many thanks and best to all!

Hi there twixtwix25,

Sorry to hear that you're struggling with your libido. I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to answer your questions though, although I am sure you'll receive some input from the guys on here.

Take good care,

Girly

[X-ray]

Hi folks

I have been on Remeron / mirtazapine for 6 months now and although I have more or less good things to say about the med, I have noticed that my libido has just about disappeared. I have done a lot of scouring on the internet and it seems as though that isn't much of an issue for most men out there. Have any of you had any issues with this?

Many thanks and best to all!

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your sexual problems,

but I don't think that Remeron is the culprit.

I switched from Elavil to Remeron three years ago.

My sex drive increased after this switch.

Remeron and Wellbutrin are two antidepressants,

which don't have a negative impact on libido.

Best regards,

X-ray

[jimbow15]

Hi twixtwix25,

This is a general problems for a lot of people on ADs, SSRI/SNRI etc, the amount of posts we get about drug side effects, loss of libido is the prominent one in posts from men.

Initially I had an increase of libido which lasted for 6 months and then it went downhill. I have changed SSRI meds several times and it has not go any better.

Do talk to your Doctor about this he might be able to prescribe something to help, but it is a real problem with taken ADs for some men.

Best Wishes

Jim Bow

Edited June 30, 2010 by jimbow15

[Ricardo]

Hi folks

I have been on Remeron / mirtazapine for 6 months now and although I have more or less good things to say about the med, I have noticed that my libido has just about disappeared. I have done a lot of scouring on the internet and it seems as though that isn't much of an issue for most men out there. Have any of you had any issues with this?

Many thanks and best to all!

Hi twix - sorry about your difficulty but I think it might be due to something other than mirtazapine.

The main reason I switched from paxil to remeron was because my libido was zero on paxil. 6 months into remeron 30mg I can say that this is no longer a problem - the relief is huge - desire & performance are back to normal (for a 48 y/o married man...) . Remeron is working very nicely at the moment and I can live with the extra 5 or 6 kilos.

[North_to_South]

Hi there Twix.

I agree with you on this one. My libido definitely went downhill after starting this AD (Mirtz.) My PDoc also said that is a very common occurence. For me the libido was mainly affected, not really the performance side of things, although sex somehow never "felt the same" after being on this AD (I am married, male, late thirties). This is the only AD I have been on since 9months back, and I take no other medication, so I am 99% sure Mirtz. is to blame in my case...

North

[twixtwix25]

Thanks all. Interestingly I have none of the other sexual side affects that I encountered on other SSRIs (delayed ejaculation etc), just zero interest in sex. Bizarre.

In any case, there is a bit more to this story than I let on in my original post. I was actually on Celexa for many years but I figured I should give Remeron a go since I had heard it was sexual-side-affect free. However very shortly after starting Remeron (and discontinuing Celexa) I noticed my libido plummeted. In hindsight though I am pretty certain that this is because I went into a state of mild to at times severe depression. In other words I think the Remeron was simply not a great anti-depressant for me (although it calmed my anxiety very well). I am now pretty certain that this is the case since I started taking Celexa again about a month ago and over the last little while I have noticed my libido returning quite nicely. It appears that my mood, which was simply not elevated enough on Remeron, was perhaps what a major cause of my dip in libido. I am now taking 45mg of Remeron and 20mg of Celexa and this combination seems to be working out quite nicely (short of the rabid appetite and the 10hr nights of sleep).

All that being said it's interesting that others have noticed a dip in libido since starting Remeron. North_to_South it would appear that if affects some people differently than others.

[Girly]

Hi twixtwix25,

It is great to hear that the (remeron/Celexa conbination working for you. You're right most ADs have different reactions to different people which is why it is often a case of trial and error.

I know I take Celexa (I only took remeron berifly) and the side effects for Celexa, includes common, reduced libido and problems with orgasms (men and women). it also has uncommon side effect of increased desire for sex!

I hope the new combo continues to work well for you,

GIrly

[houns339]

I had increased libido for a few months and now it's decreased. As I'm single I'm not really bothered, I do feel really depressed again though. I just hope it passes.

[DivideByZero]

@OP:

I have taken mirtazapine a couple of times and I'm now in a taper to stop taking it. It completely devastated my libido... sure I couldn't climax on SSRI's but at least I had a libido with them. For me the w/d from mirtazapine is also one of the worst I've ever experienced. I dropped from 30 to 15 ok and from 15 to 7.5 ok but have been doing 7.5 eod to speed this s*** up since I have classes starting in a tad over a month and this insomnia is ******* me. No appetite, no libido, insomnia, nausea, headaches, muscle twitching, and anxiety through the rough coupled with heart palpitations.

Similar to alcohol/benzo dependence I feel that ime starting this drug after stopping causes a wind-up effect making it less effective and the w/d more pronounced. Or it could just cause such profound changes in the brain I never fully recovered in the off months... who knows? It made me an emotionless zombie at even 15mg a day. Seriously, I would rage in the car and think about ******* people without batting an eye. I lost my humanity on this crap.

I can say that when you're off the libido returns slowly, and physical exercise helps speed the process. I've also had bloodwork done and my testosterone levels were good as was everything else so it is certainly something it does to the brain.

Bad stuff. Wish I never went back on it... sadly there is nothing that helps my insomnia and I believe it to be hereditary.

[whereto]

I have been on Mirtazapine (Remeron) for over 2 years, and in that time I have had a very thin libido...

For several years I had no interest in sex at all - it became a dispassionate abstraction that I chalked up to some personality disorder or something of the like.

I can feel the Remeron all day when I'm on it. I know it's there, protecting me from those all-too-familiar subterranean tempests of anxiety and dread. I don't know for certain whether my libido has been affected by Remeron's numbing effects, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Ricardo]

Hi,

One of the main reasons I switched from Paxil to Remeron was in order to save my libido which was really low on Paxil. Low libido = poor "performance" = increased anxiety/depression. Things are much better with Remeron, not highly driven but the interest is there and the thing works.

There are other factors which can affect libido - alcohol, fatigue, relationship issues, middle age.

[flavadave]

"Please PM Member for Link"

This link says that decreased libido is experienced by at least 1% of people who take Remeron.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Trace
Link Removed as per TOS

[Bradoonee]

I don't think Mirtazapine has killed my libido. I think depression did though. I think sadly I wasn't given Mirtazapine to start with otherwise I think I would have been pretty okay. The Doctors here in the UK gave me some garbage drug called Sertraline (aka Zoloft). That pile of horse dung never helped my depression and each time I had a down period I slowly got worse.

Mirtazapine has been a life saver though but should have been given to me in the start.

SSRIs for depression are just lethal in my opinion. Mirtazapine on the other hand gets a massive thumbs up for me ... its just a shame I didn't start it earlier as it would have been the wonder drug!!

[anon4701]

I know this is an old post but wanted to chime in.

I'm 33, I was put on Mirtazapine a couple years ago for PTSD and depression as I didn't want to go on an SSRI/SNRI due to no orgasms, numb genitals etc,  was told Mirtazapine is much better for sexual side affects, I actually disagree.

Over a 12 month period I went from what is almost an out of control libidio, having sex with my wife of 7 years 3-4 times a week and watching porn in between I went to not thinking about sex, avoiding sex with my wife, struggling to get or maintain an erection and having a general thought of "sex is disgusting" along with having very muted orgasms and finding my wife unattractive sexually to the point I begun questioning my sexuality.

 

I've been off it now for two months and am on Valdaxon thanks to a doctor who thinks having lots of sex is important if you tell him it is, I'm happy to say my wife and I have had sex 3 days in a row, I'm waking with erections in the morning again ad thinking about sex a lot, I also once again find my wife sexy.  The Valdaxon has also worked much better for the PTSD, depression and anxiety than Mirtazapine, I'd never go on it again as it was also the worst to come off with bad insomnia that lasted for weeks even after spending three months gradually tapering down to around 2mg from 45.

Edited July 27, 2015 by anon4701

[Bradoonee]

I think Venlafaxine is worse than Mirtazapine for destroying your libido. 

Edited August 16, 2015 by Bradoonee

[Ef14]

Hi

I am on venlafaxine as well as mirtazipine and have no libido at all. Not sure which is there more likely cause from these posts. Any updates would be welcome

Thanks