cosmo86: intro - PSSD from Clomipramine (?)

[cosmo86]

Hi! 

First of all apologize for my english, it’s not my native language.

I’m a 35 year old male and I’ve been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and depression when I was 21.

Since that moment I took so many different antidepressants that I can’t even remember all their names.

Until I was 30 years old I took mainly Lyrica (Pregabalin) and Entact (Escitalopram) and I never experienced any sexual collateral symptoms from them.

When I was 30 years old a traumatic event changed my life (the girlfiend I had since I was 22 left me) and those meds were no longer effective to treat my anxiety and depression.

Since that moment I changed a lot of different types of antidepressants (and also some antipsychotics) without any sexual problem.

The one who worked better for me was Anafranil (Clomipramine) 25 mg. I started taking it 2 and a half years ago in combination with Lantanon (Mianserin) 15 mg and Rivotril (Clonazepam) 3 drops each day.

I have to admit that they worked great for my symptoms, I was feeling very well.

I started taking them in May 2019 and after some months I started suffering from anorgasmia.
My psychiatrist assured me it was a temporary effect of Anafranil.

During the following year and a half I was single, so not sexually active. Anyway I noticed a progressive decrease in libido but I didn’t give too much importance to this problem (my bad).
I also replaced Mianserin with Trazodone for a couple of months because for a certain period it was difficult to find it in my country.

5 months ago I had the first occasions to have sex in 1 and a half year and was in that moment that I truly realized how my libido has been destroyed by the meds. I tried to have sex in 3 different occasions but failed miserably every time.

Since that moment I can’t achieve a full and stable erection without Cialis (but it doesn’t work all the time) even during masturbation. 

I immediately told to my psychiatrist about the situation and he told me that Anafranil could do that but it was reversible.

So I stopped taking Anafranil in October 2021 and I started taking Buspirone, since he said it has always worked to resolve those side effects of tricyclic antidepressants.I took only Buspirone for 3 weeks but without any significant improvements.

So I decided to go to an andrologist, who prescribed me a “rehabilitation therapy” with cialis 5 mg 3 times a week for a month (ormonal values are normal).

In his opinion my impotence was caused by a mixture of organic and psychological factors.

At this point I started panicking.

I went back to my psychiatrist and I explained him the situation and told him I was afraid i got PSSD.

He told me that there isn’t any scientific evidence of PSSD and that it is all in my head. In his opinion i developed an obsession for the sexual dysfunctions I had when I was taking Anafranil and now some psychological dynamics cause the dysfunctions to persist after discontinuation.
He prescribed me another SSRI (Fluvoxamine) in order to get rid of this obsession. I told him I was too afraid to take it because I’m worried it could worsen my symptoms but he answered me there isn’t any risk.

I went to another andrologist two months ago who prescribed me 3 months of Cialis Daily (5 mg) and one month of complete abstinence from porn and masturbation (???). 

The abstinence improves the situation a little bit and Cialis daily almost resolved the ED but I’m afraid to develop tachyphylaxis taking it every day.

I found a new psychiatrist who believes me and recognize PSSD. She told me that there’s no cure and the only thing I can do is to avoid SSRI and wait.

Two months ago I started to do cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce the distress caused by the situation, which helps me a little bit.

At the moment I’m taking only 1 drop (0.1 mg) or Rivotril (Clonazepam) any other day to contain the severe anxiety caused by this condition.

Since I stopped Anafranil I don’t suffer of anorgasmia anymore but my libido is still very low and I have pretty severe ED along with a strong anhedonia and cognitive dysfunction (sh*tty memory, can’t focus etc..)

 

Right now because of this situation i suffer from extreme anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts every day.

 

Anyway I try to stay phisically active (I run 1/2 times a week) and to spend time with my friends to get some relief from this mental torture but I can’t open up with them because I’m ashamed of the condition I put myself into.

Since I also have traits of OCD I’m worried that psychogenic factors could play a huge role in my situation, preventing me to feel any possibile improvements.

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by ChessieCat
reformatted text

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @cosmo86

 

Yes, antidepressants may cause sexual dysfunction, and in some cases, this may persist even if the antidepressant is discontinued. That condition is called PSSD. Sometimes PSSD fades very slowly over time, but we cannot 

 

This is a site for going off psychiatric drugs, not PSSD specifically. You may wish to join PSSDforum.org

 

How may we help you regarding tapering or withdrawal?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.