21 years old male suffering from PSSD

5 months ago I had insomnia and went to our medications box to find something help me sleep, I saw Maprotiline, went to google and saw it can help sleep and it is “Safe”. I took it for 5 nights in a row and it didn’t help sleep.
at first I had dp/dr, severe depression, severe panic attacks and anxiety, nervousness. those all went away after 2 months and a half, but now after 5 months of last dose I have emotional blunting, sexual dysfunction and brain fog.

Where are you from (country)?

I live in Iraq

How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)

I found this site on reddit and wanted to take survey to start a study on PSSD.

What is your current age, height, weight?

I am 21 years old, weight 56 kg ( was 62 kg before pssd), hegiht 5’10.

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?

I took Maprotiline then Escitalopram after 2 months of quitting Maprotiline.

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
5 mg of Maprotiline for 2 days then 10 mg for 3 days then quit, 5 mg of Escitalopram for 3 days.

What condition was being treated with the drug?
took Maprotiline to help me sleep and it didn’t help, took Escitalopram to treat my emotional numbness but I had adverse reaction to it.

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
took Maprotiline 5 days and Escitalopram 3 days.

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
21years old, I started taking Maprotiline 5th of October/2019, then started taking Escitalopram in 12th of December/2019.

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
21 years old, quit Maprotiline 10th of Oct/2019, quit Escitalopram in 15th of Dec/2019.

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
I cold turkey it. but it was a really short time of use.

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
I didn’t thought about what happened because I was really busy of irl problems, but after 15 days of quitting of Maprotiline I knew a lot of things are happening to me.

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
emotional numbness, sexual dysfunction ( no libido, genital numbness, less watery semen, weaker erections), cognitive issue and lack of appetite.

Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.

Sexual
[*] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[*] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[*] Loss of Morning Erections
[*] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[*] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[*] Reduced Ejaculate
[*] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[*] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[*] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[*] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[*] Confusion
[*] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[*] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[*] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[*] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[*] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[*] Muscle Weakness
[*] Joint Pain
[*] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[*] Prostate pain
[*] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[*] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[*] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?

Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

5 Likes

Stay positive and work on your recovery. You mqy be fine

Glad you are here. Can you try buproprion? That helps some people.

buproprion is not available in my country unfortunately.
I think the medications triggered autoimmune and some kind of inflammation.
I am taking SJW but I will go on a MAOI and auto-inflammatory diet soon, any recommendation or advice would be really appreciated.

There are other drugs that work on dopamine that are not available in the USA but maybe available in your country. Good luck!

Dear @xx_nothing_to_say_xx,

Welcome to our forum! I am deeply sorry that you are going through this. The bad news is that there is no established treatment for this condition and all suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt as no drug, supplement or diet has a reasonable track record. Often, you’ll find as many people get worse as get better. The good news is that you are at the five month mark, so it is still fairly early for you and many people improve over time.

May I ask to take our research survey. It is designed to collect aggregated data based on established scientific questionnaires that will be used to stir up interest for more research into this condition. Over 300 people, including 75 who suffer persistent side effects from antidepressants, have already participated. The more data we have, the higher the interests!

Find more information here: Post-Drug Syndrome Survey FAQ. Survey NOW LIVE - Please Participate

Good luck!

1 Like

I don’t know why I can’t participate the survey

1 Like

Apologies. Check your PMs to take the survey.

…and thanks.

Noticed you are still in your first year. Not uncommon to see good improvements in that time. Hope you have a brighter future ahead!