As you get older, anything that can give your anti-ageing wellness a boost is appealing. Now Sari Botton, 47, reveals why Wellbutrin gave her the sense of wellbeing she needed.
‘I was 47 in the winter of 2013 when I went to my doctor seeking an antidepressant but with two firm deal breakers,’ Botton recalls. ‘I wouldn’t take any drug that would make me gain weight or one that would make sex more problematic than it had already become. Four years prior I’d had a partial hysterectomy. And while I’d insisted on retaining my ovaries so I could go through “the changes” more gradually, two months post-op, the hot flashes began. On the heels of those came mood swings and depression, followed by dryness and pain during sex, which naturally made me want to do it less often.’
Botton details, ‘My doctor prescribed 150 milligrams of Wellbutrin, or bupropion, twice a day, and a month later I had the libido of an 18-year-old boy. Everything changed—no more dryness, no more pain. An increased interest in sex. Not to mention that my mood was elevated and I was generally more upbeat. And not only haven’t I encountered the weight gain that people often complain of with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac but I feel as if my metabolism got a boost.’ So how did this miracle drug help to give Botton her waistline back? ‘It works on norepinephrine,”’says Elissa Gretz Friedman, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynaecology, and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai, ‘So it might be that it reduces appetite.’
Friedman points out that it’s not unusual for women in their 40s to experience what Botton went through. ‘It’s not simply women in their 60s who have these issues,’ she notes. ‘Menopausal symptoms like sexual dysfunction commonly start in perimenopause, which can be five or so years prior to menopause.’ Lucy Puryear, a psychiatrist and a co-director of the Menopause Centre at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women in Houston, adds, ‘Testosterone levels in women start declining as early as the 30s, and that can certainly have an effect on sex drive.’
So how does Wellbutrin help with women’s sex drive? ‘It’s definitely the antidepressant that we know does not have adverse sexual side effects,’ Friedman comments. ‘It works in a different way than common SSRIs like Prozac and Paxil. Instead it increases norepinephrine and dopamine,’ which are involved in female sexual response. ‘There have been many studies that have looked at sexual function and bupropion, including ones that looked at women who had not been depressed but had sexual dysfunction, and it worked,’ Friedman explains. However, ‘in the studies I saw where it has a positive effect on sex drive, the effects did seem to decrease over time.’
However, before you start thinking of Wellbutrin as a one-size-fits-all antidepressant and sexual aid, Rachel Hess, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, cautions, ;For many women and men, Wellbutrin is an excellent drug for sexual dysfunction, [but] there can be problems with using Wellbutrin that are nontrivial: It can exacerbate eating disorders and anxiety disorders, and it can make some people more prone to seizures.’ Fortunately, Botton has not had any of those issues, and her gynaecologist, Christine Herde, who practices in Poughkeepsie, New York, applauded her decision to get a prescription. ‘You recognised that you needed help,’ she told Botton. ‘And you were willing to take medication, which many women aren’t. This lets you have an active sex life, and that keeps things working. The more activity you have, the more pliable the vaginal tissue remains. This is very important.’