Low Libido - Anxiety - Mood instability - Medication Induced - HELP!

[Parsons51]

Hello everyone! Looking for some knowledgeable advice before I start getting involved with my docs.

Here's a little background info:

21 year old male
Diagnosed with Tourette's at 9 yrs old - Been taking atypical antipsychotics since then
Main side effect is low libido/increased prolactin

In the past year, and especially in the past 6 months I have experienced being in states of instability. Not depressed for months on end. Just mood swings and living with the uncertainty of not knowing how I'll feel the next day. I wouldn't consider it clinical depression. Right now my mood/anxiety changes phases throughout the day. It seems that when I eat a heavy meal (get slightly tired midday) I have less motive than I did before I ate.

I have come to believe that my treatment for tourettes is causing my current problems through the lowering of my testosterone. Right now I have quite low libido. My desire to do things is quite low at this time.

I am curious to as what can be done with my situation. Is anyone aware of how antipsychotics work on dopamine? I am wondering if the reason my tics are controlled by my medications is because of their lowering effect on my testosterone. If so, would hormone therapy delete the efficacy of my treatment for tics?

I recently got bloodwork done on my test and my results came back as 20. Units of measure I don't know. I shall get a copy of that bloodwork if I want to get serious about finding a solution.

What's the next step?

[ecsaaron]

Certian meds can have an effect on your test levels. Pain killers will put them in the tank. I would let your doctor sort out those issues and it sounds like you got a few. Dont give up and do lots of research. Welcome to the board

[kelkel]

Your next step is to post up complete bloodwork with ranges. Including as much as possible. There are some members here that are brilliant at interpreting BW results. Antipsychotics can and will raise prolactin levels as well as lower testosterone levels. There are also antipsychotics that are prolactin sparing. Get your prolactin and I bet E2 under control and your libido should improve. B6 will help with your prolactin. You also can't o.d. on B6 as it's water soluble. There are other ancillaries that can help with it also but I don't know if you need to go that route just yet.

Read this from a description of B6: "Should you be taking antidepressants, contraceptive pills or be on hormone repla***ent therapy you may need more of this vitamin. As this vitamin is readily lost in the urine, it must be taken regularly to ensure an adequate amount in the body. Anybody on a very high protein diet, using alcohol, or allergic to MSG (mono sodium glutamate) and/or tartrazine may also consider increasing their vitamin B6 intake."

We need to see a sensitive estrogen assay also if you have it.

If you've been discussing this with your doctor what does he tell you? If your not satisfied with his answers and your continuing treatment maybe it's time to find a new physician?

See this article http://www.jclinpsychiatry.com/pcc/p...2/v63s0408.pdf. It will help explain dopamine and prolactin and how they interact with your meds.

Sorry to hear about your issues. Welcome to the forum and keep us posted!

[Parsons51]

Thanks for the response. I have an appointment with a urologist next week and hopefully he will be able to refer me to an endocrinologist. I will post back here in the future when I have more questions and more answers.