AppleofSodom: PSSD

[AppleOfSodom]

Age at the start of SSRI's treatment: 27/28
Gender: Male
Country: Portugal

September 2011 to September 2012: Treated for depression and anxiety with 75 mg Effexor and 15 mg Mirtazapine. No noticeable sexual dysfunction during treatment.

September 2012: End of treatment (quit cold turkey). Developed PSSD.

Symptoms (1/10 being 10 normal function):

Erections are harder to get and maintain. (7/10)
Soft glans (even when the shaft is erect). (3/10)
Watery sperm. (7/10)
Less pleasurable orgasms (7/10)
Morning erections (6/10)
Loss of general enjoyment of sex (6/10)
Libido (10/10)

Improvements:

None so far.

Treatments:

Acute Cialis + acute Yohimbine works well, unfortunately I can't take cialis due to my eye problems and yohimbine makes me jittery and anxious.

 

[AppleOfSodom]

I must add I have no symptoms of depression nor anxiety, which were chronic before SSRIs. I believe whatever physiological changes PSSD causes are also "treating" those issues. Although I mourn the loss of my sexuality it's as if something in my brain has shutdown and there's a limit to how much grief and sadness I can feel.

The physical and emotional attachments I made with several girls along my life gave me the most blissful moments of my existence. Life feels incomplete without that.

After 2 and a half years I don't expect to recover. I'm learning to accept my condition, I guess.

[Fresh]

Hi Appleof Sodom ,  Welcome to the site.

 

It's great to hear that you've survived the antidepressants with most of your faculties intact.

Obviously PSSD is a big issue for a young man , and I hope you experience improvement in this area as time goes on.

 

What is yohimbine?

You may find some interesting discussions in Symtoms and Self Care with ideas.

 

Good to have you on board ,  Fresh

 

p.s.  if you click FOLLOW at the top right , you'll receive an email each time someone posts.

[Petunia]

Welcome AOS,

Thank you for posting an introduction, I'm sorry this has happened to you, but I don't think there is a reason to give up hope. You quit 2 powerful drugs cold turkey and are now experiencing PSSD as a withdrawal symptom. Withdrawal symptoms can last a long time in some people, but do get better over time.

 

You have some sexual functioning and the fact that the treatments you tried work, indicates that your body is capable of functioning properly, it may just take a little more time before things get back to normal.

 

Did you experience any other withdrawal symptoms when you first went CT? Are you taking any other medications now? Were effexor and mirtazapine the only drugs you tried as treatment for anxiety and depression? 

 

It would be great if you would put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature. Doing this helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts. Here are instructions for how to do it:

 

http://survivinganti...your-signature/

 

Petunia.

[akakoom]

I must add I have no symptoms of depression nor anxiety, which were chronic before SSRIs. I believe whatever physiological changes PSSD causes are also "treating" those issues. Although I mourn the loss of my sexuality it's as if something in my brain has shutdown and there's a limit to how much grief and sadness I can feel.

 

The physical and emotional attachments I made with several girls along my life gave me the most blissful moments of my existence. Life feels incomplete without that.

 

After 2 and a half years I don't expect to recover. I'm learning to accept my condition, I guess.

 

 

these are symptoms of anhedonia, by the sounds of it.  ssris interfere with the neurons that cause pleasure, which causes these feelings of apathy.  ironically thee drugs kill the feelings we are trying to get back when we seek treatment.

 

sorry to hear it has gone so long.  wish I could help both of us

[AppleOfSodom]

Fresh:

Yohimbine is the active ingredient of Yohimbe, a plant. It makes my PSSD much better if taken together with Cialis before sex. But i can't do it anymore. I have a severe eye disease so Cialis is a big no for me. Yohimbine is also uncomfortable at those dosages. Still, I'd take the discomfort if only I could take Cialis. Best sex I have ever had post-PSSD was with those two drugs.

akakoom:

I hesitate to describe it as anedhonia because I still like a lot of things. I still like music, going out with friends, watching movies, etc.

But there has definitely been a trend towards less-emotions in some aspects. For instance, before SSRIs I would fall head over heels in love and be a crazy romantic guy. Now It seems things are much more bland.

 

[JanCarol]

Hey AOS, I'm sorry to hear that you feel damaged by the drug.

 

I would like to believe it is not true, that there is hope for recovery for you.

 

If you were in yoga, real, formal yoga, they would be all about teaching you "sexual continence."  This means different things in different schools.

 

You can ignore what I'm about to say if you like - I've not met many men who like this prescription.

 

Move your mind, your emotions, your investment to areas other than sex.  Stop having sex, stop masturbating. Avoid movies, sexy videos, porn, things that you find arousing (and possibly frustrating). Pretend your genitals do not exist.  Coming off the drugs can rob you of B vitamins, minerals, amino's.  And semen is made up of just these.  Expending semen is like spilling vitamins.  I know this sounds like the catholic church - but I assure you, this is a yogic perspective.

 

Many yogis learn to have sex and never ejaculate.  Addtionally, I would add (as InvisibleUnless reminded me on another thread) that the orgasm is a stress to the system, that it is energy draining.  

 

The Western way says, "use it or lose it."  Yoga teaches "preserve it and keep it."  There are meditation exercises for running internal circuits in your body to help strengthen the chi sexual circuit without being aroused.

 

Seek nutritional assistance - I am not a doctor or even a naturopath, but zinc and B vitamins will be important to replenishing your sexual energy.  Some cultures might say to eat the "oysters" of an animal (testicles) will help nourish your sexual energy.

 

Here is an example of sexual continence:  http://venus.org.ro/index.php/en/sexuality/32-his-secrets/101-male-sexual-continence-a-new-approach

 

There are more, now that I've given you this information, have a look and see if this is something that will help you.

 

I hope you begin to see improvement soon.

[AppleOfSodom]

Thanks for the advice Carol,

I would be willing to try a form of sexuality less focused on the genitals and on ejaculation, more whole-body based and holistic.

I do have concerns about stopping masturbating altogether as I remember reading a study about people that got improved erectile function after a period of daily Cialis use, which seems to indicate that having frequent erections can improve your erectile funcion long term.

People with PSSD have much less or none random erections as well as night-time and morning erections. I'm worried that the absolute absence of erections could lead to a worse outcome. Maybe I could try edging?

But I do think your advice is excellent and I think I could benefit by exploring a different way of viewing sexuality with a partner. What do you think of karezza? Is there any specific set of teachings or practices you would advise for me to try with a partner?

I have tried zinc and b6 in the past but it didn't seem to help.

[Altostrata]

I would look carefully at that Cialis study to see who funded it or who the authors were consulting for.

 

I agree with JanCarol, finding other ways to be sexual would make you feel better -- and probably your partner, too!

[alexjuice]

Move your mind, your emotions, your investment to areas other than sex.  Stop having sex, stop masturbating. Avoid movies, sexy videos, porn, things that you find arousing (and possibly frustrating). Pretend your genitals do not exist.  Coming off the drugs can rob you of B vitamins, minerals, amino's.  And semen is made up of just these.  Expending semen is like spilling vitamins.  I know this sounds like the catholic church - but I assure you, this is a yogic perspective.

 

JanCarol, yes I'd expect men to dislike this advice. But I think it is very good advice. I am finding in myself many many deficiencies such as you mention (selenium, glycine) and I've found the deficiencies get worst as I lose minerals via ejaculate. I am finding that laying off doesn't lead to losses (as in "lose it use it") but the opposite. Taking a break facilitates restoration to make enough gains to overcome. I really can't emphasize this point enough. It's not that easy though. And I wouldn't try for total abstinence because I have a problem with stagnant fluid backing up, but when I restrict orgasm to 1-4x a month I feel a lot better, less loss of sensation, less anxiety, and vast improvements in pssd symptoms. I am also treating infections that are common in the reproductive system such as fungal and viruses and treating these dramatically reduces urges. So, anyway, I would look into this advice, apple.

[Altostrata]

What an excellent observation, alexj. Please add to the PSSD topic.

[AppleOfSodom]

Just to let you know that there have been no improvements, if anything it's worsened

[johnson]

Hey Apple,

 

Don't feel too bad. My "Man" down there has felt mostly non existent the past week. It's gotten worse for me too.

We just have to hope that it gets better. Try and stay positive. Be careful what advice is given to you especially with regards to PSSD/Sexual dysfunction issues.

 

To comment on what was written above, as a male completely abstaining from sex can only lead you to having a wet dream. Wet dreams are how your body gets rid of old semen so the body can produce new semen when you aren't sexually active in anyway. Or something along those lines.

[AppleOfSodom]

Your history is confusing. Your sexual dysfunction doesn't seem to be related to psych drugs.

[andy013]

Did you ever try to reinstate the medication to see if your sexual function would return? If not, is there a reason why you wouldn't?

[AppleOfSodom]

Me? No way I'm going back on an SSRI.