PSSD Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction

[Avicii]

30 minutes ago, kostakonkordia said:

And btw this whole desensitization theory is bs it lead nowhere. You have to look at biochemistry to understand this phenomenon. And move away from the brain fixation. 95% of the serotonin receptors are in the gut and is located on enterochromaffin cells... 

if this is true, is time still the way to heal or is it permanent? I took antibiotics right before I took Sertraline….

[kostakonkordia]

14 minutes ago, Avicii said:

if this is true, is time still the way to heal or is it permanent? I took antibiotics right before I took Sertraline….

That's not how the body works. It's not permanent. Which antibiotics did you take? Do you have silver tooth fillings? 

[Avicii]

Tetracycline for acne….no fillings.

 

First 8 months accutane

Then 4 months Tetracycline

then 4 months Sertraline 

[kostakonkordia]

41 minutes ago, Avicii said:

Tetracycline for acne….no fillings.

 

First 8 months accutane

Then 4 months Tetracycline

then 4 months Sertraline 

Jesus christ you got the wombo combo right there... 

[Avicii]

2 minutes ago, kostakonkordia said:

Jesus christ you got the wombo combo right there... 

yes, it’s probably permanent for me…

[Fairsome]

No there is no permanence in this condition. Especially if your problems began only after withdrawing from Sertraline, obviously it is because of this drug.

[kostakonkordia]

1 hour ago, Avicii said:

yes, it’s probably permanent for me…

Again, it's not permanent.

[kostakonkordia]

3 hours ago, Avicii said:

yes, it’s probably permanent for me…

Look i will try to explain it. There are a few ways you can destroy your body. You can cut something out to so that it is beyond repair, like a leg or an organ. But for example the liver can regrow to its full size when 25% or so of it is left. Also fingertips. 

Other organs have this capability too but I heard not to such a great extent. 

The other method is to destroy your DNA(toxins like mercury and rediation can do such things not ssri as far as I know...) so the cells loose their function cannot transcribe proteins etc. Also cancer forms. 

You can also alter gene expressions (epigenetics) which is believed to play a role in cancer and stuff. But the nature of epigens is that they change all the time. 

Ssri and other psychiatric medication have the capability leading to programed braincell death(apopdosis) ergo brain atrophy. But this is systemic damage so it can regenerate much more easy, also the damage is never great enough to cause any of these symptoms. Considering all this and that people take one pill and are ***** up makes this pretty clear that this is never ever "brain damage". 

It's something in our biochemistry that needs to be addressed. There have been numerous people which recovered (by sjw and stuff...) and it's our obligation to find out what and why they did. 

And mercury plays certainly a part because it's notorious to cause biochemical disturbances in all bodily pathways and advers reactions to medication. 

So I hope I could help you understand that this is not permanent ;)). 

By the way. A fun fact. I have seen a video where someone was lobotomized as a teen and is living a normal life now with a hole behind his eyes(I looked it up and it's the prefrontal prefrontal cortex). 

Kosta

[kostakonkordia]

3 hours ago, Avicii said:

yes, it’s probably permanent for me…

And by the way alot of these "withdrawal symptom" match mercury toxicity. I have read that mercury folks sometimes even have brain zaps... Isn't that strange...? 

[Sofa]

Is there any success stories out there of people who recovered from genital numbness and anorgasmia?

 

For me it has gotten worse, and i could need some hope.

 

It started after i quit medication.

[Sofa]

Any recovery stories of shrinking genital, body numbness, severe emotional blunting and total blank mind? My brain feels changed!

[Altostrata]

New site pssdnetwork.org is a network of people who have experienced sexual dysfunction from antidepressants, persisting long after they've gone off the drugs.

[MontanaMan]

@Spruce30 how you doing now? 

[MontanaMan]

@Spruce30 do you have Anhedonia aswell or just sexual symptoms ? 

[Spruce30]

On 10/17/2022 at 8:17 PM, MontanaMan said:

@Spruce30 do you have Anhedonia aswell or just sexual symptoms ? 

I have the sexual symptoms, and emotional numbness. 

 

My PSSD has been a little easier recently. 

[Parisien]

Hi guys, I myself have sexual problems due to stopping and withdrawing from my antidepressant, it has now been 9 months since I stopped.  I feel good mentally much better even I have no more symptoms I sleep well the only symptom that remains is brain fog from time to time but its getting better.  Sexually, on the other hand, always the same, it does not work out.  And you, what are your symptoms and since when? @Spruce30 @MontanaMan @Sofa @kostakonkordia

[Superwoman]

Can SSRI's cause pelvic floor dysfunction and vaginismus as a side effect?  I have not seen this listed as a symptom on the medication side effects.  But then again, genital numbing is also not listed as a side effect.  I don't have PSSD because I am still on the med, but I do have sexual side effects from the medication.  The sexual side effects started after reducing the medication years ago.  This seems the closest place to ask though.  My doctor said that abuse can cause pelvic pain and I was abused.  But I wonder if antidepressants could cause this as well?  Because I seem to have sexual problems from abuse but also from the medication and it is hard to tell what is what. 

[littlebird]

On 2/22/2023 at 9:58 AM, Superwoman said:

My doctor said that abuse can cause pelvic pain and I was abused.  But I wonder if antidepressants could cause this as well?  Because I seem to have sexual problems from abuse but also from the medication and it is hard to tell what is what. 

 

Hi @Superwoman, I was abused and also experience pelvic pain. It has been worse lately, but also all trauma has been coming up to the surface more with tapering. I've been wondering if there's some therapy that might help, the pain has been increasingly bad! Cold weather also makes it worse, and we're in a cold snap. Have you found anything that's helped?

[Superwoman]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:21 PM, littlebird said:

 

Hi @Superwoman, I was abused and also experience pelvic pain. It has been worse lately, but also all trauma has been coming up to the surface more with tapering. I've been wondering if there's some therapy that might help, the pain has been increasingly bad! Cold weather also makes it worse, and we're in a cold snap. Have you found anything that's helped?

Yes, pelvic floor physical therapy has helped me a lot, along with dilators.  It is a lot better, but I still have issues.  I know abuse causes pelvic pain, but I just found out that antidepressants can as well.  Because I was just googling trying to find out if antidepressants can also cause this and I found now that pelvic floor dysfunction is listed as a symptom of PSSD on Wikipedia.  But I haven't seen people here mention it. 

[Plowie78]

Hello I'm Plowie and I've recently discontinued sertraline after being on 25mg for four-five months

I discontinued solely based on the soul-crushing emotional numbness and anhedonia that these tablets cause

I'm currently around 3.5 months off after a cold turkey stop (I know very bad and still very early in withdrawal) 
I've actually made some pretty significant improvements in terms of my emotions and anhedonia my anhedonia has vastly improved and my emotions are still not what they were before but I can feel somewhat, I can even feel love which is amazing 

I do suffer from a lack of libido though, almost like I can't get horny, or maybe it's like a sexual anhedonia? not really sure how to describe it as I get full and proper erections but my head just doesn't have that 'lustful' feeling? My body responds just fine but my mind is still disconnected 

Does this constitute a mild case of PSSD or would this be tied into the emotional numbing aspect of the medications and withdrawal?

and as emotional numbing is also a very big complaint of people with PSSD and also in people in ssri withdrawal, how do we differentiate the two or are they really the same thing? From what I've been seeing on various websites it really seems that PSSD and protracted withdrawal are basically the same thing and should really be called drug caused brain dysfunction or something of the like

I'm not very worried in my case as I have seen consistent improvement, especially in the last two weeks so I know it's only a matter of time and I fully expect myself to be healed by the end of the year, my heart goes out to all who are suffering from these awful 'medications' 

[Seaweedbrain]

What constitutes a full blown case of pssd? I’m 3 months off from a disastrous cold turkey that caused severe anhedonia and brain fog, but reinstated and still in the process of tapering. The symptoms of genital numbness only started a couple of weeks ago but isn’t consistent. How separate are pssd and post acute withdrawal syndrome? There seems to be an awful lot of overlap

[guile2]

I purchased organic"chaste berry" after googling it from Frontier coop. 1 pound of it was $20. It helped my arousal (took it away) after chewing the berries. It had no side effects for me (the first time i chewed the berries it made me dance around my apartment in glee and also really really enjoy my music but after the first time it didnt cause any reaction). Priests used to chew it in the middle ages to stop sexual arousal according to google. 

 

Im a man it stops testosterone by raising estrogen supposidly so i advise being careful with it if youre trying it as a woman. 

[brassmonkey]

I would suggest that you do not take chaste berry. One of its methods of operation is to increase dopamine, which is in direct conflict with your tapering Zyprexa.

[guile2]

2 hours ago, brassmonkey said:

I would suggest that you do not take chaste berry. One of its methods of operation is to increase dopamine, which is in direct conflict with your tapering Zyprexa.

Well its the same people that said it increases dopamine as the people that are inventing zyprexa so i am not too confident in believing science fueled by industry that is so common to say anything natural is terrible. 

 

Personally chaste berry has become one of my favorite things to chew because it takes away lust in the body soon after for me as a man not sure what it does for women but supposidly increasss estrogen. 

 

Getting rid of sexual desire or lust immediately after chewing well ill take my chances that it increases dopamine. But i appreciate the warning and maybe its good to warn others. 

[Seaweedbrain]

Browsing through the pssd reddit I often see a lot of people who are feeling very desperate and want to try tons of herbal medicines. That’s very relatable since the symptoms are so devastating for our daily lives. However with the amount people who report crashing from various supplements I have to say it may be a big risk to recovery. Our CNS is very sensitive during withdrawal and don’t react normally to input atm. I caught a bad wave from just using an antihistamine for allergies

[guile2]

It is very true that the brain is ultrasensitive. And yet i find that sensitivity to be so much more to manmade chemicals. Suppliments are often nature tampered with in some way shape or form as well. Even natural herbs are also prone to problems from pesticides effecting their abilities. Then theres also western plants which have been tampered with highly for money reasons effecting any natural benefit one might get. Theres also plants that mix with medicine badly. 

 

Then you have a culture hating on plants too for some reason or other. And promoting nature tampered with to create suppliments. 

 

Buying organic plants can be difficult too with the amount of fake items. 

 

Good organic blackberries for example i have found can help brain function soon after eating but then the ones i got at a certain Walmart were fake tasted like chemicals and had a big label "made in usa". Well thats great but havent the US been spraying pesticides for hundreds of years and fertilizers? And im guessing somehow somebody got around regulations with that company. 

 

[Leonardo]

Can someone help me figure out if what I have is PSSD?

 

I took Trazodone for 1 year, I have been without any medication for 8 months.

 

I have no libido, I'm not sexually excited, I can get an erection when I'm with a woman, but I don't feel the romance, the love, the sex doesn't taste like anything and the erection is weak.

 

About a month ago it seems like I had a week window and had strong erections and ended up looking at porn, which felt really good. Now I don't feel like masturbating or watching pornography.

Furthermore, I'm emotionally numb... I want to love and I can't, I can't even feel hate, everything is indifferent to me.

 

Is this PSSD? If yes, what can I do?

[Avicii]

59 minutes ago, Leonardo said:

Can someone help me figure out if what I have is PSSD?

 

I took Trazodone for 1 year, I have been without any medication for 8 months.

 

I have no libido, I'm not sexually excited, I can get an erection when I'm with a woman, but I don't feel the romance, the love, the sex doesn't taste like anything and the erection is weak.

 

About a month ago it seems like I had a week window and had strong erections and ended up looking at porn, which felt really good. Now I don't feel like masturbating or watching pornography.

Furthermore, I'm emotionally numb... I want to love and I can't, I can't even feel hate, everything is indifferent to me.

 

Is this PSSD? If yes, what can I do?

100% PSSD, nothing you can do but to fight yourself through everyday and maybe one day everything will resolve. It may take a very long time…I am 2,5 years in and still doesn’t feel anything like my old self but things are improving every month. I hope I am healed in 2-3 years.

 

Stay away from alcohol/drugs, try to exercise and don’t isolate yourself even though you have no interest/love in other people. This is going to be really hard so you need to be strong!! Your PSSD sounds less severe than mine which means that you might be healed much earlier.

[Fairsome]

On 2/22/2023 at 7:58 PM, Superwoman said:

Can SSRI's cause pelvic floor dysfunction and vaginismus as a side effect?  I have not seen this listed as a symptom on the medication side effects.  But then again, genital numbing is also not listed as a side effect.  I don't have PSSD because I am still on the med, but I do have sexual side effects from the medication.  The sexual side effects started after reducing the medication years ago.  This seems the closest place to ask though.  My doctor said that abuse can cause pelvic pain and I was abused.  But I wonder if antidepressants could cause this as well?  Because I seem to have sexual problems from abuse but also from the medication and it is hard to tell what is what. 

Absolutely, and I have pelvic floor dysfunction because of these drugs, it is caused by the changes in serotonin activity, and serotonin plays a role in regulating the pelvic floor.
 

 

On 8/26/2023 at 12:58 AM, Seaweedbrain said:

What constitutes a full blown case of pssd? I’m 3 months off from a disastrous cold turkey that caused severe anhedonia and brain fog, but reinstated and still in the process of tapering. The symptoms of genital numbness only started a couple of weeks ago but isn’t consistent. How separate are pssd and post acute withdrawal syndrome? There seems to be an awful lot of overlap

PSSD can be a part of the post-acute withdrawal syndrome, as a symptom. If it emerges after discontinuation from the drugs, it is withdrawal-related. However, for some people, the effects persist from the beginning of the drug use and don't change after withdrawal - in that case it can't count as a withdrawal symptom. 

[modelarz71]

On 29.05.2022 at 21:41, Avicii said:

Tetracyklina na trądzik….bez plomb.

 

Uwaga przez pierwsze 8 miesięcy

Następnie 4 miesiące Tetracyklina

następnie 4 miesiące Sertralina 

PSSD is not my problem because sexual activity is out of my interest at the moment, I focus on digestion more because I loved food. I am writing because I used tetracycline for acne at school, it helped for some time. Then the acne cleared up on its own without tetracycline. I also used garlic lubrication, but it was very harmful to the skin. Do you have eye inflammation from WD? regards

[Fairsome]

I saw this posted by @1WishToHeal and I find it pretty interesting, so decided to repost it here. It connects PSSD and withdrawal syndrome to inflammatory and autoimmune issues, and how symptoms from withdrawal syndrome and Long Covid very much overlap (through disrupting the autonomic nervous system). Our nervous system is intricately and closely connected with our endocrine and immune systems so SSRIs by changing how the nervous system works, might also disrupt the other systems in our body and this can cause a lot of issues.

At the University of Milan, the devastation of SSRI withdrawal effects continues to be better explored by the Professor Roberto Melcang's team. The findings have pointed to an explosion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and an autoimmune reaction in the body that worsens during withdrawal. Just as the theories of serotonin as the main effect of the drug have been overthrown in science, at the same time the serotonin-related theories of the so-called withdrawal symptoms were also overthrown. Good! It appears that almost all SSRI side effects and withdrawal effects are mediated through an immunological mechanism - an unfortunate large proportion develop autoimmune diseases as part of these drugs. In the light of current knowledge, the withdrawal symptoms are also a "disease", which fortunately for some subsides on its own, but for some it never subsides without treatment. Long Covid and Post SSRI syndromes seem to act through a common etiology, a logical mechanism. Attached is a yet-to-be published article. In PSSD support, the patients are currently the only ones in Finland to collect comprehensive antibody tests for the G-protein group, and these are analyzed in Germany. Article:

 

PSSD / protracted withdrawal patients report extremely debilitating and long lasting symptoms of a wide spectrum. The symptomology of these patients can differ from patient to patient, but commonly reported problems include: Fatigue, emotional blunting, demotivation, anhedonia, vertigo, tinnitus, sensory disturbances, sexual dysfunction, decreased or absent libido, altered smell and taste, chest pain, headache, "head pressure", shortness of breath, muscle pain, muscle weakness, bladder functioning problems, sleep disturbances, tremors or other movement disorders, cognitive declain (memory), GI problems, dysautonomia, dry eyes and dry skin, altered circulation, QT prolonging, altered body temperature control, blurred vision, suicidal thoughts and other neuropsyciatric symptoms. Interestingly recent evidence of Long Covid patients and Covid vaccination harmed patients report exactly similar symptomatology compared to several Post SSRI Patients.

New studies found sexual dysfunction extremely common among Long Covid (1,2,3,) Decreased or absent libido, ejaculation problems in men and arousal problems are often mentioned by long covid sufferes. Cambridge has documented anorgasmia as one of the long covid symptoms, anecdotal reports exist in many forums (4,) Different internet forums are full of people claiming that they developed genital numbness after covid or during long covid (6). Even though sexual dysfunction has been detected being one of the widest symptoms of long covid (5) it can be assumed being severely underreported due to the nature of the problem. Small fiber neuropathy, often with autonomic involvement, seems to be a typical finding after covid infection or among long covid (7,8,9,10,11,12). Also post Covid vaccine small fiber neuropathy is well documented in the medical literature (13,14,15,16,17). Tinnitus and changes in hearing are also possible in long covid (18,19). Interestingly also anhedonia, apathy and mood problems are well known complications of long covid (20,21,22,23). Even QT prolonging is documented being related to Covid infection (24,25,26). Also covid vaccine induced long QT and syncope are not rare (27,28,29). Interestingly we see all these claims and problems also among PSSD and protracted withdrawal patients.

 

As well as SSRIs also Covid and vaccination are associated with vasculitis (30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40). Movement disorders again are both well known events after SSRIs and Covid - kinetic movement disorders are also present post covid infection (41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48). Interestingly even post covid vaccine akathisias are starting to be documented (49).

 

Surely a question needs to be asked: Why can covid, covid vaccine and SSRIs all induce similar problems and also clinically 100 % similar syndromes?

The Spike protein of the Covid virus gets into cells through ACE-2 receptors. Both the people who are vaccinated against covid and people who had covid infection produce autoantibodies to ACE-2. Interestingly also SSRIs act on ACE-2 receptors (50). Anecdotal cases reported positive ACE-2 without vaccination or previous covid infection - but claimed having an active Post SSRI syndrome.

 

Anyhow the name of the SSRI drug (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) seems to mislead both the patients and doctors when trying to understand the mechanisms behind drug hazards. A scandinavian patient manifested with full-blown SSRI "withdrawal" symptoms and PSSD symptoms. After hundreds of hours of research this patient came up with an idea that this could be severe long Covid syndrome even though this patient had not got covid infections nor covid vaccines. Research and hypothesis made this patient requiring autoantibody tests involving all functional autoantibodies against protein G. Findings were positive and totally abnormal. All symptoms of this patient manifested just after a few weeks of SSRI use and worsened during / after withdrawal. No infections were detected but leukocytosis was found. The symptomology pretty much correlated to the autoantibodies found. A reduced blood flow with this same patient was confirmed in the Lung / Heart CT scan where the contrast agent did not spread normally in the tiniest blood vessels / capillaries. No clear embolization was found though. Soon after more PSSD people claimed to have tested positive against these rare autoantibodies as well. Some of these patients never had a covid vaccine nor covid infection. These functional G protein autoantibodies can be tested only in very rare special laboratories. Functional G protein autoantibodies are recently seen all the time among long covid patients when investigated (51,52,53,54,55). Auto-antibodies against protein G are associated with cognitive and vascular dysfunction, as well as neuroinflammation, blood-brain-barrier dysfunction and vascular inflammation. Even severe neuropsychiatric symptoms are associated with some of these auto-antibodies.

Interestingly neutralization of functional autoantibodies against protein G from Long Covid patients by using BC007 infusion ended-up with a significant recovery just within hours after treatment and a complete recovery later. Even problems with severe anhedonia, apathy, brain fog, demotivation, memory, behaviour, cognition, smell and taste, fatigue, circulation, twitching muscle, muscle pain, blood pressure, heart rejection, dysautonomia, shortness of breath, tremors, weakness resolved (56,57,58,59). Immunoadsorption therapy is also effective, but doesn't lead to a permanent cure as bc007 does.

 

Recent data has shown that Long Covid patients regularly suffer from sexual dysfunction, decreased or zero libido and anhedonia. 60% of Long Covid patients also have Small Fiber Neuropathy. Long Covid is even associated with problems such as ejaculation dysfunction and difficulty getting orgasm. Muscarinic receptor and Sexual Functioning are also related. Both PSSD patients and Long Covid patients can get their symptoms directly when on meds / during active infection but others crash weeks or even months after - likely due to immunological response. Functional auto-antibodies to protein G are responsible for reduced circulation and even micro clotting together with vascular dysfunction. Reduced circulation / blood flow in key brain areas leads to debilitating symptoms from nausea to anhedonia, demotivation, muscle weakness, tremors, dysautonomia etc. Changes in circulation have been documented in Post Covid / Long Covid cases (60,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,70,. Interestingly, anecdotal SPECT scans of PSSD and SSRI withdrawal syndrome patients show reduction in blood flow in many brain areas which correlates to studies pointing to SSRIs decreasing brain activity similar to severe long covid or covid.

 

Dr. Melcangi and his team has recently shown that Paroxetine treatment and withdrawal changed neurosteroids of rats (71). The same team has shown a profound effect of Paroxetine treatment in gut microbiota (72). Also other teams have claimed similar results. It is well known that neurosteroid synthesis can be substantially affected by neuroinflammation. Gut-microbiota-brain axis is a widely researched area in autoimmune diseases and neurological manifestations. Interestingly both SSRIs and Covid are associated with increased risk of developing Diabetes.

 

This all could be linked to autoimmunity involving endothelial dysfunction, again linked to rare antibodies against protein G. Regional brain perfusion as well as endothelial abnormalities are directly linked to altered mood, cognition, sexual performace and behaviour. As autoantibodies against protein G are linked also to dry eye syndrome, altered sweating and salivary function which are relatively often described from patients harmed by SSRI treatments, a full circle is closing and should be investigated as early as possible. Is PSSD in a keen relation to long covid via specific autoantibodies which require special treatments?

[Breathdeep]

Hi peeps, I have had pssd for just over three yrs. Things are better than at the very beginning. I've improved about 30% but I'm no where near normal.  I know I can find old threads about this subject on this site however I'm interested in hearing from other people. Has anyone recovered or seen significant improvements? If so, I'd love to hear how long and a little about your recovery 

[getofflex]

Merged similar topics.  

 

@Breathdeepthe thing to do is use site search, using the search phrase "PSSD". 

 

How to do a Site Search

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by getofflex

[TheSaxo]

I am currently over 10 months off medication and currently in a window. I am getting morning woods and some sexual thoughts upon waking (but way less horny than I used to be). However, my erections are still weaker than they were before I started taking medication.

 

Could this be due to low libido? If my sex drive increases, will my erections also become stronger, or could this be a mild form of Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD)?

 

Additionally, I have muted orgasms, although they do improve during a window.

[Patient2022]

On 12/1/2023 at 11:12 AM, Breathdeep said:

Hi peeps, I have had pssd for just over three yrs. Things are better than at the very beginning. I've improved about 30% but I'm no where near normal.  I know I can find old threads about this subject on this site however I'm interested in hearing from other people. Has anyone recovered or seen significant improvements? If so, I'd love to hear how long and a little about your recovery 

Are you still on tapering or you’ve been off AD and this is the result?

 

I’ve found being on a different AD made symptoms better. And now I’m on a very low dose, and it’s the same as when it was the higher dose. That’s just my experience. 

[Daniel1269]

Hello,

 

Is the duration of being on the SSRI (and tapering off) linked to the risk of developing PSSD?

 

 I.e is there a higher chance of developing PSSD if you have been on the SSRI for a long time as opposed to less than 6 months? 

 

I’m trying to weigh up potentially tapering faster if duration is a contributing risk factor of PSSD?

Obviously need to consider risk for withdrawals too as PSSD will be the least of my concerns if I get debilitating WDs. So difficult to weigh up.

 

Could tapering too fast cause PSSD too? Would a slow taper be best with reducing PSSD and WD risk?

 

Have no sexual side effects from the Sertraline at present. 50mg since 23rd October 2023, starting my taper next week. 18 yrs old.

Any advice/insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many  Thanks.