Tracking the Possible Side Effects of Your Prescriptions

I am pretty sure, most of us when we get a new medication do go through the drug information as well as discussion with our doctor about the side effects of the med. But keep this information because side effects can happen at any time..

There are at least three situations I can think of where it could be very important. I know two from personal experience:

1. You can adapt to the medication over time and the side effects can creep in as you’re adapting. For me, it happened twice. I was on Celexa for several months before the side effect of abdominal pain started creeping in.. Because it had been a few months we, nor my doctor or I, didn’t associate a possible side effect from a medication to the pain. I was also on fentanyl and didn’t even notice the side effect of a decreased libido as it slowly crept in. I thought it was part of getting older. until I came off the medication & return to the level of high school..
2. Dosage changes can also impact. With the increase in medication to help treat something you can also increase the risk of side effects. I had this happen with Cymbalta. Well it didn’t help me with my pain it was helping me with my mental health but we had to shift it up one level. This shift did the same thing as my fentanyl just took alot faster. Zero libido kicked in after only 2 days.
3. Other Interactions. It is entirely possible for medications to interact with other substances. Yes, the big one would be other prescription medications, there’s a possibility of interacting with over the counter medications, supplements of all sorts or foods even. So if you are having side effects, if you made any changes in any of these, take that into consideration. But the side effect might be from the food or the supplement or the new med, but the side effect could also be from the initial medication or worse a combination of more than two.

So, Yeah. Keep as eye on your side effects if there are changes, even if you’ve been on it for a while. Unfortunately, the third situation is the most convoluted one to sort out.

Libido

How fibro & other issues affect or don’t affect my libido. People who know me but do not have interest in this topic as relates to me, like a sibling or parent, even some friends, you just might want to skip this post.

Lol.. No, this is not me & a partner, but a stock photo. 😉

When I was young, before the fibro became an issue, I was only dealing with the early onset of only Endometriosis & CFS. My sex drive, much to the delight of my boyfriends over the years, was high. I don’t know many women who have that strong a libido. I only know of one female whose libido is close to mine. I’d equate my strong libido levels to that of an 18;year old boy. That tells us something.

I have found that the medical condition itself of fibromyalgia does not impact my libido. It does however impact if, when and how I act on that libido. Whether I’m a passive or active partner, how I can move and what positions I can or can’t get into. And there are some days that are just too painful. The mind is willing, the body not so much.

While the fibro has not impacted the desire, what has impacted it over the years is medications. I’ve had two major medications not only decrease but almost eliminate any sex drive I had.

Fentanyl patches completely killed my libido

Fentanyl: I was, at one point, at 50mcg/hr through a fentanyl patch. And because I had slowly been increased to that.. I didn’t initially notice the libido drop.. It was a slow progression to the complete elimination of any interest.. I was also on it for several years and I guess I attributed the drop in drive as a fibromyalgia issue as many women in the support groups have lost their libido to fibro. I only found out that it had completely suppressed my natural urges when I came off it. It took only a few days for it to return. And return it did! Unfortunately I was single at the time.

Cymbalta significantly impaired my libido

Cymbalta: It seems that there are a lot of antidepressants that can impair one’s sex drive. Fortunately, I’ve never had problems with them until the Cymbalta. It was initially great for my depression, but zero help for the Fibro for me.. But when we tweaked it & bumped it up a level, the mood stabilizer part of the medication was better, but within 48 hours of starting the higher dose, the libido died. We tried it for 6 months to see if that side effect would wear off before switching me to a different medication. My sex drive returned in maybe 36 hours, at most.. But again, I was single again, at the time.

Now, these medications may not impact others the same way and I’m sure there are other medications that will impair sex drive of others. This is my experience and my experience only.