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Q: Sexual Dysfunction and Bipolar Disorder
Hi Dr. Phelps,
My question is concerning sexual dysfunction relating to this illness.
I just spent the last year and a half with no interest in sex
whatsoever. Three weeks ago out of the blue, the exact opposite starts
to happen, and now I can stop thinking about sex. It is like my life
is a series of cycles
where I'm either not interested, or constantly thinking about or having sex.
Does this sound familar to you in regards to other stories you've heard from
people with bipolar disorder?
Chris
Dear Chris --
I've not it heard put just that way, probably because it would take some
guts to say it as you have -- i.e. I'll bet it's not because nobody else has
experienced this whom I've seen. I do hear people talk about increases
and decreases (including to zero) in sexual interest (just not as the only
symptom, if that's how it works for you). I guess I'd start by asking
if that was the only symptom you see "cycling", and if there's
anything else that does, then the entire "cycling" package is the
target for treatment -- in which case the sexual changes you experience
would be expected to stop "cycling" just as that's the goal for
the whole set of symptoms. And the hope would be that when you weren't
cycling, your interest would be "average", like other folks:
there, not zero, but not a preoccupation either.
Dr. Phelps
Published July, 2001
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