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JustSoYouKnow 18 day window - genital sensitivity 100% .. Here's what I did


JustSoYouKnow

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Took a single 10mg dose of Lexapro 85 days ago. 3 days later, I got PSSD.

Symptoms:
  • 100% genital numbness / 50% body numbness

  • extreme brain fog

  • 100% erectile dysfunction

  • mild loss of enjoyment

  • heart palpitations (especially in the morning)

Symptoms 85 days later:
  • numbness comes and goes, but is trending good. Best window was 18 days of near 100% sensitivity starting at day 67.

  • brain fog cleared up and can now have clear thoughts and express them well. This cleared up after a week or so

  • ED seems to be correlated with numbness for me. Trending up and sometimes 100%

  • I enjoy everything again. This cleared up by the first week or so

  • heart palpitations kept getting better overtime. No window, just a steady upward trend. It's not noticeable anymore

First great window came a week in. Had almost euphoria and very little numbness. Made a Reddit post about it here. It lasted a day or so, then I was back to 100% numbness.

As time went on, all of my symptoms would gradually improve and disappear, or I'd get better windows of improvement overtime.

But then I noticed something interesting. When I'd eat a heavy carb meal before bed, I'd wake up with tremors and I'd always be back to 100% numbness. To me this meant that the decisions I made would have some effect on my symptoms. I had control again.

**** this

So I decided I would do whatever it took to be healthy again, even if PSSD is here to stay. The reason I took Lexapro in the first place I because I wasn't very healthy. I was binging on carbs, chronically stressed, had blood sugar problems, 35 lbs of belly fat (dangerous fat mixed in with organs), chronically fatigued, and living 2000 miles away from all family / friends.

Strategy:
Increase growth of new brain cells (BDNF)

Note: We grow new brain cells all the time. It's how our brains adapt to change. BDNF has been known to lift feelings of depression and increase willpower. In fact, SSRIs I thought to work partly because they also increase BDNF. The reason they say to stay on them for at least 30 days is because it takes 30 days for these new brain cells to come online.

  • Consume a lot of fish oil supplements / eat wild salmon

  • Stopped eating sugar and heavy carbs

  • Went on a calorie deficit

  • High intensity cardio for a short time

  • Resistance training

  • Moved back to my hometown to spend time with friends / family

  • No alcohol or drugs

End carb addiction / fix blood sugar / fix insulin resistance / fix metabolism

I went on a keto diet and taught my body how to use fat as fuel again. Takes about 3 weeks of eating ~20g of carbs.

Now I no longer crave foods like pizza and my appetite is basically gone because my body is churning through stored fat for its energy now.

Decrease chronic inflammation in my body

Note: Abdominal fat produces things call cytokines which leads to chronic inflammation.

  • Get down to ideal weight, lose dangerous belly fat (35 lbs)

  • Stop eating inflammatory foods like canola oil, sunflower oil, and wheat

  • Exercise

  • No alcohol

Decrease chronic stress
  • Meditate daily

  • Quit playing intense video games like League of Legends

  • Exercise

Rebuild gut microbiome
  • Eat probiotic fermented foods like kefir and sauerkraut

  • Stop eating sugar and heavy carbs like wheat

Lose visceral fat

Note: Subcutaneous fat is stored just below the skin and separated from organs. Belly fat / visceral fat is stored next to organs and is extremely bad for longterm health. Someone with a large gut is more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than someone who is obese. It's call being thin on the outside, but fat on the inside (TOFI).

Current status

I just got back from a trip to Miami. Things went well. I was even able to get some of the best erections of my life on demand :)

But a few of things happened, in order:

  1. I got a slight sunburn

  2. I spiked a fever and am getting tested for COVID

  3. I got tossed out of my perfect 18 day window (50% numbness again)

The interesting thing about sunburns and viral infections is they both significantly increase inflammation in the body. It could be a coincidence.. But my symptoms got better as I've been decreasing inflammation, and got worse again after acute inflammation from sunburn / virus.

Current mindset

Going to stay the course and keep getting healthier. Maybe my PSSD never fully goes away, but I will create the ideal conditions for it to leave if it ever does.

Current goals are to lose the rest of my belly fat, get jacked, get a promotion / raise, and never do unhealthy bullsh*t like drink alcohol and eat garbage again.

Happy 2021.

Here's my original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/kr2dm1/18_day_window_genital_sensitivity_100_heres_what/

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  • Altostrata changed the title to JustSoYouKnow 18 day window - genital sensitivity 100% .. Here's what I did
  • Administrator

Welcome, @JustSoYouKnow

 

Good to hear you're seeing some recovery from your bad reaction to Lexapro. We have a number of people here who had fairly immediate adverse reactions to antidepressants. What we see is they very gradually recover.

 

In your case, since there was only one dose of Lexapro and a short period of PSSD, you may have spontaneously recovered from that symptom.

 

The BDNF explanation of how SSRIs "work" is baloney, as are the other theories.

 

Good idea to continue to take care of yourself and improve your health in general. Please let us know how you're doing.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

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