In the search for libido. Started Wellbutrin XL

[Gman86]

What is your age, if you don't mind me asking. Also, what were you using for the sublingual? Most of what I have read on other forums are people just cutting oral pills and putting them under their tongue.

I don’t mind. The 86 in my name is the year I was born, so not trying to hide it or anything lol. Will be 37 in less than a month.

So the only selegiline I’ve ever tried has been 5mg oral tabs that I get from my local cvs. Prescribed by Defy. For the few years that I’ve been using it, off and on, I would just split the 5mg tabs into quarters, and take 1.25mg sublingually at whatever frequency I was doing at the time. I’ve mostly done it EOD.

Seems like the studies done on taking selegiline sublingually were done on the version of selegiline specifically made to be taken sublingually, and not people taking the oral version sublingually. So not sure how much of the conclusions of those studies can be compared to taking the oral version sublingually. What do u think?

I switched to taking it orally a few days ago due to ur anecdotes, as well as the fact that at least taking it orally has a bunch of studies to go along with taking it that way, and the effects that specific dosages will have. I just don’t know if we can extrapolate the effects that say 1mg of selegiline daily will have, simply by dividing 1mg by 8, and taking that does sublingually, and expecting to get the same effects

 

[grimcontango]

Just on Wellbutrin XL, it does give me less staying power than usual, what I’d call “premature” ejaculation. Basically too sensitive than I would like (but fun in a way).
I had more success with other types of dopamine related medications, madopar, l-dopa etc for that slightly sleepy, come down that you need to feel relaxed enough because I could dose them more precisely than XL.
Interestingly though, naturally for some reason when I’m hormonally optimised, sitting on a plane or in a car, or watching a movie etc, I get random erections when I get totally relaxed, which presumably is dopamine firing.

 

[M.J]

Updates….

I still feel Wellbutrin did help in libido. Another example is before Wellbutrin while having sex I don’t feel I am in the mood. Now I feel more engaged and erection comes up after a minute or so. before I usually take cialis and add viagra over it just to make sure I have good erection. And the desire is not there.

With almost two month on Wellbutrin I consider this a success. Disturbing part is morning wood. And thinking of increasing the dose to double.

Also end of October I will visit a doctor in New York for addyi to try it out since this worked fine I believe addyi should be even better.

So two things to try increasing the dose and addyi.

 

[grimcontango]

Updates….

I still feel Wellbutrin did help in libido. Another example is before Wellbutrin while having sex I don’t feel I am in the mood. Now I feel more engaged and erection comes up after a minute or so. before I usually take cialis and add viagra over it just to make sure I have good erection. And the desire is not there.

With almost two month on Wellbutrin I consider this a success. Disturbing part is morning wood. And thinking of increasing the dose to double.

Also end of October I will visit a doctor in New York for addyi to try it out since this worked fine I believe addyi should be even better.

So two things to try increasing the dose and addyi.

From a lifestyle perspective are you in a high pressure job etc? I am and I’ve been on lexapro for a long time as I find it helps ( I prefer having a bit more serotonin for alertness than more dopamine ).

But that’s great to hear really, since Wellbutrin is well tolerated mostly and should hopefully be sustainable for you. I think the more you immerse and enjoy yourself, the stronger your sense of libido should be really.

When I had periods of time where I lacked confidence because of some hormonal or other issue, it took me a while before being myself again and being with understanding women even when I was dysfunctional really helped in a sense that I could still pleasure them in other ways and it did a lot to keep my senses stimulated and for my desires and confidence to return

 

[M.J]

From a lifestyle perspective are you in a high pressure job etc? I am and I’ve been on lexapro for a long time as I find it helps ( I prefer having a bit more serotonin for alertness than more dopamine ).

But that’s great to hear really, since Wellbutrin is well tolerated mostly and should hopefully be sustainable for you. I think the more you immerse and enjoy yourself, the stronger your sense of libido should be really.

When I had periods of time where I lacked confidence because of some hormonal or other issue, it took me a while before being myself again and being with understanding women even when I was dysfunctional really helped in a sense that I could still pleasure them in other ways and it did a lot to keep my senses stimulated and for my desires and confidence to return

Yes I am. Wellbutrin showed no side affect for me. even when drinking alcohol It was fine. Only problem is no. More morning wood also sometimes sleeping but not something I couldn’t handle.

 

[M.J]

The libido i am getting out of Wellbutrin is seems like when needed it comes out, not the sort of libido you get in honey moon period where you need to have sex nowww.

It’s more like when having sex I actually respond to it and get engaged. Before Wellbutrin I was a dead fish no respond no emotions and of course no emotions down there also Or movement. Unless I use cialis and add viagra sometimes but again I will have movement down there but no emotions.

Anothe highlight here is climax or reach an orgasm is intense which makes me concerned of increasing the dose further I feel something else is missing to this Wellbutrin mix. Maybe addyi could be better.

 

[BadassBlues]

I don’t mind. The 86 in my name is the year I was born, so not trying to hide it or anything lol. Will be 37 in less than a month.

So the only selegiline I’ve ever tried has been 5mg oral tabs that I get from my local cvs. Prescribed by Defy. For the few years that I’ve been using it, off and on, I would just split the 5mg tabs into quarters, and take 1.25mg sublingually at whatever frequency I was doing at the time. I’ve mostly done it EOD.

Seems like the studies done on taking selegiline sublingually were done on the version of selegiline specifically made to be taken sublingually, and not people taking the oral version sublingually. So not sure how much of the conclusions of those studies can be compared to taking the oral version sublingually. What do u think?

I switched to taking it orally a few days ago due to ur anecdotes, as well as the fact that at least taking it orally has a bunch of studies to go along with taking it that way, and the effects that specific dosages will have. I just don’t know if we can extrapolate the effects that say 1mg of selegiline daily will have, simply by dividing 1mg by 8, and taking that does sublingually, and expecting to get the same effects

I only ask as I want to express that I don't want your expectations to be too high. As we all age, we suffer... and I mean suffer the effects of age related decline. Something like Selegeline which can actually return dopamine levels to a more youthful state is no less than miraculous. If there exists a deficit and also exists a cure for said deficit, that is a serious win/win.

As a younger (ish) person, the effects may not be so dramatic. That is not to say it has no therapeutic value to younger people, it just means that the effects of the drug may not be so noticeable. You have an above average intellect as your posts indicate, so I know you have an understanding of what I am trying to convey.

I had a very lengthy and in depth thread on this subject on the now dead ATM forum. There were several who followed that thread who were very negative as they had tried it and it did nothing for them. The flaw in their thinking was that "it didn't work for me as expected, so it doesn't work". Understandable, but flawed. Even if you don't "feel" it, it still has powerful effects on maintaining brain function.

Long story short... If you are a youthful person with normal functioning dopamine production, this will not likely be something that gives you a rush. If you are a youthful person who wishes to maintain your neurotransmitter function into later years, a low dose approach will reap benefits. Please keep us posted on your perspectives.

 

[BadassBlues]

The libido i am getting out of Wellbutrin is seems like when needed it comes out, not the sort of libido you get in honey moon period where you need to have sex nowww.

It’s more like when having sex I actually respond to it and get engaged. Before Wellbutrin I was a dead fish no respond no emotions and of course no emotions down there also Or movement. Unless I use cialis and add viagra sometimes but again I will have movement down there but no emotions.

Anothe highlight here is climax or reach an orgasm is intense which makes me concerned of increasing the dose further I feel something else is missing to this Wellbutrin mix. Maybe addyi could be better.

Just a question... How is your overall mood compared to before the Wellbutrin?

 

[M.J]

Just a question... How is your overall mood compared to before the Wellbutrin?

My mood was good before Wellbutrin. And maybe it’s 20% better after it.

At the beginning I felt like going to party just few minutes after having my first pill.
Now after sometime I still feel that rush a bit after taking the pill but not that strong.

It was high in the begging then went stable maybe after a week from taking the pill.

 

[M.J]

I can’t believe the amount of time and thinking I spent in the beginning just to increase libido. I was focusing in the wrong place. Changing protocol dosage taking ai not taking ai. Instead Wellbutrin and addyi should have been my focus.

one of the thing I need to think about now is my injection frequency to have better quality of life, eod is just too much.
I managed to find addyi in Phil.us trying to contact them. If all went as planned I will start addyi early October.

 

[Gman86]

I can’t believe the amount of time and thinking I spent in the beginning just to increase libido. I was focusing in the wrong place. Changing protocol dosage taking ai not taking ai. Instead Wellbutrin and addyi should have been my focus.

one of the thing I need to think about now is my injection frequency to have better quality of life, eod is just too much.
I managed to find addyi in Phil.us trying to contact them. If all went as planned I will start addyi early October.

Did u notice benefits going EOD with injections? What injection frequency were u doing prior to EOD?

 

[M.J]

Did u notice benefits going EOD with injections? What injection frequency were u doing prior to EOD?

I tried once weekly , twice and then EOD

All the same thing but I believe as the guys say more frequency will help increasing free T at least in my case.

So it’s better, also I lowered my dose and managed my hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. I would love to do that on twice weekly at least.

Once weekly we take estrogen to high which affect my mode (I become very aggressive) worst case if twice weekly has the same affect I just continue with EOD.

I am doing 16mg or 17 mg EOD.
500fsh EOD
Fsh 75 EOD

I will reduce all those slowly specially FSH cuz I don’t believe I really need Eod. (Not sure though)

 

[M.J]

I just have to say this again, when I reach orgasm on this Wellbutrin I feel all my brain Levels are on the top limit, feels like it’s coming from down deep inside your brain.

Some deep intense shit orgasm .

Which make me concerned about any other increase in dosage. So I will try addyi first. Before thinking about increasing Wellbutrin.(just to see if it’s better)

 

[Gman86]

I only ask as I want to express that I don't want your expectations to be too high. As we all age, we suffer... and I mean suffer the effects of age related decline. Something like Selegeline which can actually return dopamine levels to a more youthful state is no less than miraculous. If there exists a deficit and also exists a cure for said deficit, that is a serious win/win.

As a younger (ish) person, the effects may not be so dramatic. That is not to say it has no therapeutic value to younger people, it just means that the effects of the drug may not be so noticeable. You have an above average intellect as your posts indicate, so I know you have an understanding of what I am trying to convey.

I had a very lengthy and in depth thread on this subject on the now dead ATM forum. There were several who followed that thread who were very negative as they had tried it and it did nothing for them. The flaw in their thinking was that "it didn't work for me as expected, so it doesn't work". Understandable, but flawed. Even if you don't "feel" it, it still has powerful effects on maintaining brain function.

Long story short... If you are a youthful person with normal functioning dopamine production, this will not likely be something that gives you a rush. If you are a youthful person who wishes to maintain your neurotransmitter function into later years, a low dose approach will reap benefits. Please keep us posted on your perspectives.

Appreciate the kind words. And what ur saying makes total sense. I personally don’t notice anything from taking it. But that could possibly be due to working so hard my whole life to maintain the best level of health that I can, and maybe don’t currently have enough of a catecholamine deficit to notice any benefits. But I do still like the idea of taking it and it possibly still working in the background, as far as keeping catecholamine levels optimal, improving longevity, and who knows, maybe is contributing positively to those days where I seem to have a bit better mood and motivation

I think I’m unfortunately gonna take another break from it, however. I need to figure out what’s causing my progesterone level to be so high, and I’ve ruled out everything but lugols iodine and selegiline. I actually went off of both for a couple months, got labs done, and prog was still very elevated. So I might have technically ruled them out, but I just can’t think of anything else I’m doing that could cause the elevated prog levels. So I’m thinking there’s a tiny tiny possibility that maybe I needed to go off of both selegiline and lugols iodine for longer than 2 months for my prog levels to come down, since selegiline and iodine both have a ridiculously long half life, I’m pretty sure

 

[Gman86]

@BadassBlues hey I just had a thought. And if u can’t, it’s totally fine, just thought I’d throw it out there lol. Is there any way u can get ur prog level tested while on the 5mg of selegiline/ day? Preferably the standard/ non-sensitive prog panel from Questdiagnostics lol. That’s just the panel that I’ve been using to test my prog level for a long time now, where it keeps coming back very elevated. Again, if u can’t do any of this it’s totally fine. Just figured if u could, and ur prog level came back normal, or even lowish, it would help me rule out selegiline as the cause of my very elevated prog levels

 

[PhilM7]

This is a little off topic, but it is related to libido. Did anyone ever use the supplement called 6-OXO about 18 years ago? The FDA took it off the market, because unlike many supplements, this one actually did something to hormones, but I don't know what. I was taking it for improved workouts at the gym, but in addition to feeling stronger, my libido was insane while I was on this supplement. This was before I ever started on TRT or was doing any blood tests so I can't say what it was actually doing. I wish that supplement was still on the market, but I was curious if anyone else had tried it, and had the same results I had with libido.

 

[BadassBlues]

@BadassBlues hey I just had a thought. And if u can’t, it’s totally fine, just thought I’d throw it out there lol. Is there any way u can get ur prog level tested while on the 5mg of selegiline/ day? Preferably the standard/ non-sensitive prog panel from Questdiagnostics lol. That’s just the panel that I’ve been using to test my prog level for a long time now, where it keeps coming back very elevated. Again, if u can’t do any of this it’s totally fine. Just figured if u could, and ur prog level came back normal, or even lowish, it would help me rule out selegiline as the cause of my very elevated prog levels

I am due for my quarterly testing, I’ll let you know the result. My progesterone has never been elevated that I recal.

 

[Gman86]

I am due for my quarterly testing, I’ll let you know the result. My progesterone has never been elevated that I recal.

Ya I don’t think selegiline is what’s causing my prog to be high, but I just want to be 100% sure before I rule it out completely. But that‘a promising that u don’t recall ur prog level ever being high, considering u’ve been on and off selegiline for years.

But that would be awesome if prog is included in ur quarterly labs. Nelson also offers a very cheap prog panel through discounted labs. It’s around $34, and he’s always sending out discount codes, so even cheaper with a discount code obv

sorry to be a bother, but u wouldn’t happen to be able to find any of ur previous progesterone tests while on selegiline, would u? No rush or anything. But that would basically be just as good as u getting prog tested soon while currently taking selegiline. Either or would be just has helpful. Ur upcoming prog test on selegiline, or a previous prog test on selegiline. If I could rule selegiline out as the issue, sooner than later, that would be amazing. As I would like to get back on selegiline as soon as possible, as long as I know it isn’t contributing to my high prog level at all, of course

Progesterone test (LC/MS)

Progesterone blood test for men and women

www.discountedlabs.com

 

[aneuman]

This is a little off topic, but it is related to libido. Did anyone ever use the supplement called 6-OXO about 18 years ago? The FDA took it off the market, because unlike many supplements, this one actually did something to hormones, but I don't know what. I was taking it for improved workouts at the gym, but in addition to feeling stronger, my libido was insane while I was on this supplement. This was before I ever started on TRT or was doing any blood tests so I can't say what it was actually doing. I wish that supplement was still on the market, but I was curious if anyone else had tried it, and had the same results I had with libido.

I've never taken it, but I do remember 6-OXO and all the talk about it. It seems it ready did something (such as increasing free testosterone, DHT, etc) so I'm not surprised that it increased libido for you.

These were the findings of the study below:

For the serum hormones, the only significant changes that occurred over the course of the study that were 6-OXO dependent were for FT, DHT, estrone, and T/E. FT and DHT underwent overall increases of 90% and 192% for 300 mg 6-OXO and 84% and 265% for 600 mg, respectively, while T/E increased 53% and 67% for 300 mg and 600 mg 6-OXO, respectively.

Effects of eight weeks of an alleged aromatase inhibiting nutritional supplement 6-OXO (androst-4-ene-3,6,17-trione) on serum hormone profiles and clinical safety markers in resistance-trained, eugonadal males​

 

[CKO]

Mucuna pruriens boosts libido a bit by; increasing dopamine in the brain. It actually seems to have a calming effect vs the increased everything that Wellbutrin gives. (Do not take mucuna if you're on Wellbutrin.) I've used Wellbutrin to quit nicotine and it greatly helped my mood as well, but also made me crazy irritable. Withdrawal symptoms for me included brain zaps and feeling very weird.