In some cases, the symptoms decreased when the dosage was decreased or withdrawn. Then there's Desyrel. Unlike antidepressants such as Prozac that may keep you pacing the floor at night, Desyrel can have you sleeping like a baby. On the down side, on rare occasions Desyrel may cause a nasty side effect called priapism, a painful erection of the penis without sexual arousal. Priapism occurs when blood doesn't drain from the penis's spongy tissue, keeping it erect.
Urgent treatment is needed because of the risk of permanent damage to the penis.
Other patients experience permanent impairment of erection or impotence. Desyrel has also been linked to some heart problems, and birth defects in animals. Some of the side effects of these drugs may actually work for you. For example, because of Desyrel's sedative qualities, it's often added to other drugs like Prozac, if insomnia becomes a problem. After a few weeks on Prozac, I still wasn't sleeping, so my psychiatrist added Desyrel.