Sexual Side Effects from Concerta??

[CHammond]

Hi,
I have been on medication for the better part of my life. I started taking meds when I was about 10 or 11 years old and I'm 18 years old now. Recently I have been put on Concerta and since then I have very rarely been able to climax during sex. Is this a common side effect for this drug? If so could someone please tell me? My girlfriend is starting to think I'm not attracted to her anymore but I told her that it's probably because of my new medication. I've looked into this and I keep getting contradicting results in my searches. Some websites don't list it as a side effect and some do. But they say it in a way that I can't really understand but only can assume that they are saying Concerta has sexual side effects. Someone please help me so that I can clarify this with my girlfriend. Thanks!

[zuzu8]

You pose an interesting question. Almost all studies for medications for ADHD (i.e. Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta etc.) have been on children, not adults, and sexual side effects on these have not been reported. The newer drug Straterra however, is having reports of sexual dysfunction..

Since Strattera is marketed as an adult prescription, clinical tests were done on adults, which then unearthed sexual side effects.

Nowhere can I find any info that Concerta has the same problem, but, as I said, perhaps this is because very few, if any clinical trials have been done for your age group.

So it's possible Concerta has sexual side effects which aren't widely known yet but will become apparent as more and more young adults take it.

Is it possible the Concerta may be interacting with any other meds you are on? And of course Concerta has insomnia as a possible side effect, which if you suffer from this, in and of itself can cause sexual dysfunction simply because of the fatigue factor.

zuzu xx

[CHammond]

Thanks for the reply, zuzu.
I am taking other meds than Concerta and you're right, maybe they, combined with Concerta, are clashing and causing the sexual dysfunction. I'm taking Risperdal and Lamictal for bipolar disorder. My psychiatrist just put me on Concerta because he recently diagnosed me as ADHD. Should I tell him about the sexual problems I am having? I have also been staying up all night since I started Concerta. But the doc put me on Ambien for the sleep thing. When I take the Ambien I can usually get to sleep but I sleep sometimes for 14 to 15 hours at a time. Maybe I should tell the doctor about this.
Thanks,
Chris

[mlgable]

Yes you need to tell your doc all of your symptoms. Your doc is not a mind reader and has not way of knowing that you are having trouble with side effects if you don't tell him. Be sure to mention how long you sleep when you take the ambien too as he may want to change the dose or the med since that is a long time to sleep. Call your doc today and let him know what is going on so he can make any necessary changes.