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.
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: 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: 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.
Fibromyalgia 
You must be logged in to post a comment.