Many months of doctors not believing me, well...

I was right.  I started taking thyroid meds and blood pressure medicine in December 2010. Within a month, like a switch, I went from having a normal, healthy sexual response, to being mostly anorgasmic. I waited on it with talking to my doctor. My body was so messed up with the thyroid, that who knew what was causing what. Maybe it would sort itself out when I got everything regulated. But, my numbers got about right (a bit over 3, down from 50 something) . I knew they could get lower, but to be almost anorgasmic still?  Maybe it was the blood pressure medicine?Then, I got my blood pressure under control by diet and exercise and was off those meds... Still the same problem.  I finally mentioned it to my doctor about 9 months after it started. His response was, "things take time. Your body has to readjust".

A few months later and my thyroid was out of whack again. They upped my meds.  Now I was completely anorgasmic. I talked to my doctor about switching meds. He didn't see the point. Excuse me? How would he feel if he all of a sudden could get aroused, but not climax during sex? This same doctor didn't think my levels were off. He  was fine with them hanging around 3.5 when I knew that most endocrinologists liked it closer to 1.0. So, I made an appointment with the endocrinologist.

When I got to the endocrinologist (I about cried when I was told there was a 4 month wait list to get in unless there was a cancellation, but lucked out at a 3 week wait only when I got a call for an opening), the doctor saw my numbers and wanted to get them lower. She increased my dosage again, for the 4th time. I told her of my problem and she had never heard of that problem before.  Maybe it was just menopause? She wouldn't believe me when I said I thought it was the thyroid medicine. I explained that it happened like a switch. One day I could climax, the next I couldn't.  For a few months I could only around ovulation, but soon, not at all.

She thought it was coincidental. She only gave me the name brand synthroid versus the generic because I wanted to try something different to maybe puzzle out WHAT was causing it. I knew it was just a shot in the dark. Maybe it wasn't the generic, but something in the main drug of synthroid and it wouldnt improve. Maybe I needed to get to a natural dessicated thryoid hormone. Maybe anything not produced by my body would cause this problem. All I knew was that I had to try something and that I knew it had to do with something with the thyroid medication. I just didnt know what about it was causing it. I needed to try evereything I could to try to figure it out as the idea of living the rest of my life unable to enjoy sex fully was not appealing. I was struggling with it and so was my husband.

So, she switched them for me to Synthroid versus the generic brand.  I would get checked again in 3 months.  So, starting about 4 weeks ago, I started getting hot flashes. What was that? menopause? Wrong dosage? And then I didn't have a period this past month. What was that? Thyroid? meds? menopause? Argh...

But, once, just before we left for vacation, I climaxed during sex.  The first time in over a year. Was it a fluke? Was it just overdue? I would still sometimes have night/sleep orgasms like I always have gotten - about once a month. Imagine how frustrating that was? To be awoken by orgasming in my sleep, but not able to orgasm during coupling or even masturbation?

Then it happened again, then again. In Less than one month I had reached orgasm during sex 3 times. More than I had all together in the last 20 months. 20 months!! I've been on this name brand versus generic about 8 weeks. I got worried that my assumption was wrong when after a month nothing had changed, but these things take time. I was just lucky it was that easy to figure out. A simple switch from generic to name brand. One of the inactive ingredients in the generic, and not in the name brand, was the culprit.

And it's not just the climaxing that had changed.  The entire sensation/feeling of sex had changed, I realize now. It wasn't so much that I couldn't climax, but that I had lost too much sensitivity. Like, I was having sex through a cotton blanket. I just didn't feel enough to get to the point of being able to orgasm.  I could get excited, toe curling excited, but not enough to reach orgasm, no matter what.  Now, from the beginning, I feel like the cotton blanket has been removed and I FEEL things the way I should - the way I remember. I feel like a young woman again who has just discovered sex. I cannot believe I was missing out for 20 months!!! And almost like a switch it happened again... From not orgasming, to getting back to what it was before. Which is orgasming mostof the time. Yay!

Why do I share? Because I can hardly believe that I'm the only woman in history on this drug to have had this problem. There is some Ingredient in the generic, I'm now convinced of it, that deadened my sexual sensations. Maybe this will help some other woman who finds my blog so that she doesn't have to wait 20 months of puzzling it out, or worse,  nevere figuring it out and living the rest of her life orgasmless. Yikes!