NEW ORLEANS -- It's an issue between couples that can cause guilt, anger and doubt. But as one women discovered, lack of sexual desire can also be a health issue. And now there is a free study you can join that may help.
"In the beginning I thought it was just my busy job life and everything and then as it decreased and decreased even more. I started to realize there was a problem," said Samanthia Miller.
Miller, 31, is talking about something most people can't, not even with a professional.
"In the beginning, I thought my lack of sex drive was from me and, you know, for about a year, I didn't mention it to my doctor," she said.
It's called low desire or low libido, and it can get in the way of a relationship.
"He thought I was being frigid. He thought there was somebody else or I had a lack of interest in our relationship, which was hard to explain to him," said Miller.
But that was far from the truth. This was really a health issue for Samanthia. What she didn't know then was that her medication, an antidepressant, was causing this common side effect.
"Amongst other side effects like headaches, nausea, there is also a decreased interest in initiating sex or participating in it, and that can actually cause problems in the family," said Dr. Michael Biunno, a psychiatrist and medical director of Louisiana Research Associates. "Certainly antidepressants affect your appetite and affects your sex drive and things of that nature, and these are supposedly governed by the brain."
And that's what you might not realize. The brain is the most important sex organ. So a medication that works to help some brain chemicals might do the opposite for others.
So Samanthia is hoping to join a clinical study that is going on around the U.S. One of the test sites is here in Algiers. Doctors are testing a brand new drug to see if it can counteract the antidepressants that cause low sex drive.
"These kinds of drugs are thought to be antidotes or treatments for this condition, to be used as needed or actually long term if possible.
People who qualify for the study will be given either the real pills or fake ones known as a placebo. Then they will have a diary to document any problems with sexual desire or performance.
There is nothing currently on the market like the drug being studied.
"We're hoping that it's much more successful than, sort of, the treatments that we are using nowadays," said Dr. Biunno.
Samanthiahopes she can help others by joining the study.
"I know how much strain it puts on my relationship and we're a happy couple. I can imagine if you had difficulties to begin with, what kind of strain it would put," said Miller.
To see if you qualify for the free study call Louisiana Research Associates at 504-363-7448. They are looking for adults taking either SSRI's or SNRI's.
