PSSD: Success story for PSSD and ongoing discontinuation symptoms, please read

[PSSD]

Hi guys, these forums have helped me so much and I wanted to share my story with you. I will try to keep it concise as although I would like to include everything to help you identify connections between my situation and your own it could make this post very long, however I'd be happy to answer any questions. Medically speaking I have depression and crippling ADD pi (whether the latter made me predisposed to PSSD I can only speculate). Around the age of 19/20 I was prescribed anti depressants on and off over several years. I knew at the time that my sex drive was diminished but thought it would come back after discontuing for long enough but it didn't. Doctors chalked it up to too much alcohol intake and/or depression. When I realised at around the age of 23 about PSSD I stopped any use of citalopram. The subsequent years I tried all the supplements under the sun as many of you have.

 

I started to understand recently for the most part that the issue is related to the 5ht2 receptors and the down regulation which occurs from SSRI treatment. It was speculated in one study that some people have a lower baseline of these receptors yielding catastrophic results to the down regulation which occurs.

 

So the most promising supplement appeared to be inositol, I immediately bought a tub and tried it. The results that occurred were beyond my wildest expectations.

 

I immediately started noticing improvements in my sex drive but as the days went on over the last weeks the effects seemed to potentiate each day, then several days ago something fascinating happened. While I was in my office the whole world around be suddenly filled with colour, it was profoundly noticeable and so beautiful. Obviously I could see colour before but this was like a sudden major improvement in the aesthetics of the colour around me, I remember finding deep blue and the blonde colour of women's hair particularly appealing. The only way I can possibly describe it to someone although it doesn't completely do it justice would be like buying a new graphics card sticking on wow and turning every graphics setting to full, it was amazing.

 

This continued waning intermittently but potentiating each day, in addition to this I found my dreams started coming back, my dreams before seemed to happen so rare and had little impact on me as I woke up,now the creative narratives I used to enjoy have started returning. In addition my sex drive is increasing and potentiating. My orgasms feel amazing, there is a really nice sensation akin to stinging or concentrated tingling but pleasant (no other way to describe it sorry) that I had not felt since a teenager.

 

In addition to this my amouressness has increased, the warm fuzzy non sexual feeling you get when a female coworker sits next to you, I seem to enjoy flirting and checking out women a lot more.

 

And finally but by no means least my social intelligence or eq is through the roof, I used to be so self aware during interactions they were so forced as a social necessity, now they feel so organic and enjoyable and the feeling of being lost in a conversation is something that is almost naustalgiac to be feeling again.

 

If I was to use a metaphor for how I feel now vs how I felt I'd say I feel like a bright watercolour blending seamlessly with other bright colours. As opposed to a drop of dark oil in a glass of water.

 

I hope my story is somewhat inspirational and reassuring to others that there is always hope.

[Futurerecovery]

Thank you very much for telling us your story!

 

Do you still take the inositol? Did you take anything else when the improvements began?

Another question: Were the symptoms the same as during the treatment?

Which symptoms did you have? Genital anesthesia? Emotional blunting? Asexuality? Erectile dysfunction?

[PSSD]

Yeah I've been taking it for about three weeks at 18grams at 7:00pm each day, I also have berebine which I dabble with which appears to augment the effects but I'm tentative and undecided in using it in case they conflict and I inadvertently disrupt my valuable progress though I do not think that would be the case.

 

I've just ordered a kilo of inositol from eBay for £25

[Futurerecovery]

Thanks for the answer.

How long did you have PSSD after quitting citalopram?

 

Were your symptoms the same as during the treatment with citalopram? Did you have emotional blunting? Which emotions were affected? Did you have genital anesthesia or/and erectile dysfunction?

[PSSD]

My pleasure! During the treatment I had a complete absence of sex drive, I don't think I had genital numbness if I understand what it is but perhaps severely diminished sensory response to touch, over some months the various facets of my overall sexual energy gradually increased to maybe 20% of what it was and over the years maybe 50℅

 

I definitely had emotional blunting to the extent I spent a long time researching it before I'd even made the connection that it was linked to post SSRI sd.

[PSSD]

Actually now I remember (sorry it was ten years ago) at the time of treatment I had genital numbness which gradually improved but never to 100℅ until the past few weeks where it has spiked

[Futurerecovery]

I don't think I had genital numbness if I understand what it is but perhaps severely diminished sensory response to touch,

 

When somebody uses the term genital anesthesia, it nearly always means decreased genital sensitivity as far as I know. Or what do you mean with diminished response to touch? Did your diminished response to touch go away completely with inositol?

 

Oh, I did not read the latest post, thanks!

[Gh0st]

Hey! 

 

I've been taking Inositol for 2 weeks (changing on and off between 15/5 mg daily.

 

I've had a few days where sexual encounters have felt more alive. I also get more chills and feelings of the air rushing by me. 

 

It's not as intense as the recovery that you have noted, so I'll keep on it.

[andy013]

Gh0st, do you mean 15/5 grams? PSSD said he was taking 18 grams a day. I tried inositol once or twice but I only took 600mg and didn't notice anything. I did read about a negative experience taking high doses so it made me a little wary to try it. PSSD, do you mix it with water or something, it seems like a lot to take at once?

[PSSD]

Gh0st, do you mean 15/5 grams? PSSD said he was taking 18 grams a day. I tried inositol once or twice but I only took 600mg and didn't notice anything. I did read about a negative experience taking high doses so it made me a little wary to try it. PSSD, do you mix it with water or something, it seems like a lot to take at once?

It's very sweet, I think I read it was 50% the sweetness of sugar, other than that it had no taste. I guess you could get relative with it and put it in some kind of beverage but I just stir it in and drink. Side effects are minimal, it helps me to sleep and initially i had gas and dihorrea which was annoying at worst but A tiny price to pay for this success.

[PSSD]

The studies I read called for large doses 18 seemed to be optimum, it did read a case where someone had taken 27 but not for PSSD and it bought on a case of hypersexuality. 12 grams seems to be the minimum you can get away with to achieve any benefit. Don't buy capsules get powder because capsules give you much higher cost for gram. With the Swanson inositol tub 18 grams is three scoops.

[Gh0st]

Here is another similar recovery: 

 

http://www.pssdforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=22&hilit=inositol

 

I've been trying Inositol for the past 2 weeks (15 days). 

5,5,5,5,5,2,2,15,15,15,15,15,10,5,5

These are the doses that I've been trying each day. I'm keeping it low to try and fend off any ADD aggravation

It's too early to speculate.

 

I'm wildly jealous that things are working so well for you. I've been hypothesizing that Inositol could work for months, and recently found proof that Citalopram/ Escitalopram desensitize the 5HT2C receptors, and that this pathway is what causes a lot of SSRI Dopamine inhibition. That's when I started taking it.

 

I bought a 227 g tub of it, but am running low and need more. I think I'm gonna take larger doses this weekend and see how that goes.

 

As for sleep. Oh my god it's amazing. I actually wake up feeling refreshed now. It's like I wake up and have to pull myself from sleep. It used to be that sleep/wake kinda faded into one and I felt not rested in the morning.

[Gh0st]

I take it in water by itself. You're right it is sweet and I actually like the taste. I add 32 OZ water to 15 g and that works perfectly.

[PSSD]

Try adding some berebine? That may have been the catalyst which worked for me, yes you are right it does aggregate the ADD. I have Ritalin on standby in case the brain fog gets to much which brings me back to a harmonious balance between being focused and the fruits of the inositol treatment. I'm reluctant to take it unless I have to as Ritalin is an agonist of the d2 and ht2 receptors and I'm concerned about mitigating my success by pushing in the wrong direction. Whatever I'm doing seems to be working though.

[Gh0st]

I may try that at some point, but will hold off until I give the Inositol a shot on its own.

 

If you want to try something that may give you a further boost, I'd suggest Choline.

 

However, I'd wait around on the Inositol for 4-5 more weeks, and then when things start to stabilize I'd taper off.

[Sampo]

What a thread! Thank you PSSD! I'm happy that you have found a good way to treat PSSD and discontinuation symptoms!

 

I have been now 11 months without Sertraline and I have still all the symptoms what I have had after quiting. I have got just very tiny improvements in my mood. I have also PSSD. It includes erectile problems, premature ejaculation and dead sex drive. I'm also very anhedonic and I got very bad dificulties feel emotions same way like before and it's hard to me to do anything because I'm so tired all the time.

 

Your story is so inspiring so maybe I will try inositol too. What do you think that is it too early to start take it soon or is it better to wait a little in my situation? Do inositol have other side effects that you have mentioned above? I'm also interested that do the music sound better after you started taking inositol?

[scot]

@PSSD Great to here that you recovered.Could ypou please tell us your initial symptoms like erectile dysfunction e.g. 20% etc and how much they improved with inositol e.g. erectile dysfunction from 20% to 90 % etc?

Thank you

[Altostrata]

Welcome, PSSD.

 

You started using inositol about 3 weeks ago? How long have you been off citalopram? How long did you take it?

 

Did you have any other withdrawal symptoms when you went off citalopram? Do you have any now?

 

If you had withdrawal symptoms, how did they go away?

[oskcajga]

Hi guys, these forums have helped me so much and I wanted to share my story with you. I will try to keep it concise as although I would like to include everything to help you identify connections between my situation and your own it could make this post very long, however I'd be happy to answer any questions. Medically speaking I have depression and crippling ADD pi (whether the latter made me predisposed to PSSD I can only speculate). Around the age of 19/20 I was prescribed anti depressants on and off over several years. I knew at the time that my sex drive was diminished but thought it would come back after discontuing for long enough but it didn't. Doctors chalked it up to too much alcohol intake and/or depression. When I realised at around the age of 23 about PSSD I stopped any use of citalopram. The subsequent years I tried all the supplements under the sun as many of you have.

 

I started to understand recently for the most part that the issue is related to the 5ht2 receptors and the down regulation which occurs from SSRI treatment. It was speculated in one study that some people have a lower baseline of these receptors yielding catastrophic results to the down regulation which occurs.

 

So the most promising supplement appeared to be inositol, I immediately bought a tub and tried it. The results that occurred were beyond my wildest expectations.

 

I immediately started noticing improvements in my sex drive but as the days went on over the last weeks the effects seemed to potentiate each day, then several days ago something fascinating happened. While I was in my office the whole world around be suddenly filled with colour, it was profoundly noticeable and so beautiful. Obviously I could see colour before but this was like a sudden major improvement in the aesthetics of the colour around me, I remember finding deep blue and the blonde colour of women's hair particularly appealing. The only way I can possibly describe it to someone although it doesn't completely do it justice would be like buying a new graphics card sticking on wow and turning every graphics setting to full, it was amazing.

 

This continued waning intermittently but potentiating each day, in addition to this I found my dreams started coming back, my dreams before seemed to happen so rare and had little impact on me as I woke up,now the creative narratives I used to enjoy have started returning. In addition my sex drive is increasing and potentiating. My orgasms feel amazing, there is a really nice sensation akin to stinging or concentrated tingling but pleasant (no other way to describe it sorry) that I had not felt since a teenager.

 

In addition to this my amouressness has increased, the warm fuzzy non sexual feeling you get when a female coworker sits next to you, I seem to enjoy flirting and checking out women a lot more.

 

And finally but by no means least my social intelligence or eq is through the roof, I used to be so self aware during interactions they were so forced as a social necessity, now they feel so organic and enjoyable and the feeling of being lost in a conversation is something that is almost naustalgiac to be feeling again.

 

If I was to use a metaphor for how I feel now vs how I felt I'd say I feel like a bright watercolour blending seamlessly with other bright colours. As opposed to a drop of dark oil in a glass of water.

 

I hope my story is somewhat inspirational and reassuring to others that there is always hope.

 

1.  What brand of inositol did you take, exactly?   Was it just some tub of inositol from some random person on ebay, or was it a legitimate brand name? 

 

According to your post, your dose was 18grams at 7:00pm each day.  It would be helpful to report the specific brand, however - there's a lot of variation out there.

 

2.  It'll be interested to see if your results are maintained after stopping the insoitol, or whether it's an inositol dependent "recovery".

 

 

3.  Here's an informative wikipedia page about inositol for those who want to do research on the subject:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inositol

 

4.  Here's a relevant SA thread about inositol (people may wish to read this):  http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4908-inositol/

[oskcajga]

I've attached an interesting (short) research article about using inositol to treat a "psychiatric disorder" to this message, for those who are interested.  If you read the introduction, you'll see what OP was referring to when he mentioned desensitization of 5HT receptors (based on one reference in this study). 

 

I won't spoil the results for you

 

Enjoy

[oskcajga]

Here's another full article about the effects of inositol in assisting with 5HT (serotonin) receptor desensitization

 

I think this article has a MUCH more interesting discussion that explains the potential mechanisms OP was referring to. 

 

For those that are interested, this is reference #2 that was cited in the above article's introduction.

 

[PSSD]

Hi guys there are a lot of questions here so I will try to answer some of them; during citalopram use my sex drive was non existent, I had genital numbness and non existent romantic feelings. It gradually improved after discontinuation over a year but maybe to 20% of what it was pre treatment, each year it has improved at a diminishing rate to maybe about 50% over a 5 or 6 year period.

 

The brand I used was Swanson as that was the brand used by another success story I read

 

I think this should be first line treatment in response to sampo but of course I am not a doctor.

 

In response to the message about choline, I have read that for certain purposes choline can be synergistic however my view is that there is way too much conjecture out there on the internet. A lot of people don't even understand choline, what it does or how it might interact with existing supplements or their own bio chemistry. I tried it before during experimentation with racetams as it was recommended and it didn't agree with me at all. My personal view is it is better to keep things as simple as possible if you are dealing with something temperamental like PSSD.

 

In response to oskkagja; I have had similar thoughts, usually when something works during treatment it creates an opposite reaction after treatment leading to withdrawal effects e.g. benzo withdrawal from gaba downregulation however clearly as sexual dysfunction occurs during and after SSRI treatment this is not always the case (I wish I understood exactly why). But there are peer reviewed studies what show an increase in post synaptic 5ht and d2 receptors after inositol treatment in contrast to the downregulation which occurs after and during SSRI use which as we know is thought to be the cause of pssd and my gut feeling is that it will remain as the effects seem to remain strong well beyond the half life of the dose prior to my next treatment.

[Offeverything27]

Yeah but is this a long term treatment plan? This is a long term problem , so is this considered a long term treatment? Or short term treatment?

 

The automatter used inositol a while ago and marked major imporvements in regards to pssd and then later wrote that it came back.

 

I would love to cling onto this idea trust me, I would love to believe that this could help me and others but is there any evidence that inositol stops working? Can you develop tollerance issues?

[AppleOfSodom]

Bingo. A lot of people claim to be "cured" with some substances only to find out it was short-lived. Examples: piracetam, wellbutrin, choline, inositol, dopamine agonists.

[dalsaan]

There are no cures in the sense of a single intervention that is going to take away symptoms for good.   However, there are things that have the potential to make a contribution towards recovery.   The sooner people get their heads around that mindset the better.   Dont look for a cure, focus on creating the conditions/opportunities for recovery.

 

Even if the relief is short term it is evidence that your body has the capacity to function in a way that doesn't manifest symptoms.

 

Dalsaan

[scot]

There are no cures in the sense of a single intervention that is going to take away symptoms for good.   However, there are things that have the potential to make a contribution towards recovery.   The sooner people get their heads around that mindset the better.   Dont look for a cure, focus on creating the conditions/opportunities for recovery.

 

Even if the relief is short term it is evidence that your body has the capacity to function in a way that doesn't manifest symptoms.

 

Dalsaan

Could you please describe some things that could contribute towards recovery?thanks

[Gh0st]

I know that many people here have the opinion that trying to mess with things isn't going to help. However, I think that totally disregarding science is a terrible idea that can lead to no recovery.

 

I say this next part only because I genuinely care about people with PSSD and AD problems…

 

This forum has over 4,000 members, and only 40 topics in the success story section. Can we just admit that sitting around and tapering isn’t the best option all the time?

 

I don't know what we have, but for many of us it's not "withdrawal". Why? Because as a pre-med student I can tell you that it breaks the definition of withdrawal. You can call it "protracted" or whatever you want, but it is brought about by long term epigenetic changes in the brain. My story breaks the withdrawal hypothesis even more. I took escitalopram for 4 days. I've had PSSD for 1.2 years. I've had PSSD 107 times the length I took the drug. That's not withdrawal, that breaks every definition of withdrawal.

 

The Neuroscience major part of me knows that we're stuck in a rut. Something has been altered. These studies are backing up what we already know. There is no witchcraft or secrecy behind what these drugs do. They inhibit SERT function. There are also extremely well documented effects of this, and the consequences. Things that have been recognized since the 1980’s, and through today. I have piles and piles of journal articles on my desk. Many institutions. Many researchers. I read a scientific paper a day. At some point simply saying that an ameuter can’t understand this no longer works, because I’ve read a good portion of every article ever published about SSRI drug’s effect on the serotonin system. I study the brain every day in school. Under professors with PhDs.

 

Nothing is damaged. Nothing is broken. Nothing is destroyed. Your brain has just become used to an altered homeostasis. A brain doesn’t know this at a cellular level. It’s just neurons firing and responding to stimuli, and when gene expression changes, it changes. For most people it changes back after SSRI use, but for us it hasn’t. This is I gues what could be referred to as “withdrawal”, although after things don’t turn back, the brain doesn’t know the better.

 

Then why do people recover?

 

Gene expression flips back. It’s slow at first, but once you start triggering the right things, the brain begins responding to these and it’s almost like a snowball effect.

 

Now, Inositol…

 

I have studies (which I will send to ANYONE if they message me) show that 5HT2C receptors are desensitized by Citalopram treatment. That’s proven. That’s science. I also have studies that show (also available to interested people) that Inositol resensitizes receptors that have been treated with SSRIs. After you resensitize the receptor, it stays that way in the same way it stayed desensitized.

 

But that shouldn’t come as a surprise, in fact, I’ve posted about Inositol on other forums for months. That’s because I read these studies and drew hypothesis out of them.

 

That’s why I think Inositol could be a godsend for some people. It flips that switch.

Best of luck to the OP, I’m so happy that you are feeling better.

[Futurerecovery]

But how do you want to explain that often symptoms get worse after quitting the drug, Ghost?

My symptoms worsened extremely 1 week after quitting Escitalopram, which I took for 4 days (and 2 days one month before, so I already had a mild PSSD before I took it again)

[Offeverything27]

Maybe the drugs altered your brain chemistry, and while it was still in your system you were able to function normally, and then when the drug left your system your brain chemistry stayed that way. Who knows

 

All I know is I'm glad ghost has pssd, if he didn't we might not have anyone in neuroscience who actually understands the depth of what we're going through

 

I'm very encouraged

[Futurerecovery]

This is the thread of user "PSSD".

Too much off-topic. It's not a inositol or a general PSSD thread.

"PSSD", please inform us whether something changes in the next months.

General PSSD discussions should be in the PSSD thread. Don't spam this thread.

[Altostrata]

Very good point, Futurerecovery. I have moved some posts elsewhere.

 

Please respect that this is PSSD's thread and we want to know how he's doing as time goes on.

[Altostrata]

I've moved a bunch of off-topic posts to Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD)

 

PSSD, how are you doing now?