Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)? UK
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?) Member recommendation
What is your current age, height, weight? 26,6ft 2,13st 01
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Prozac,amitriptyline
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Prozac 60mg,amitriptyline 250/100mg
What condition was being treated with the drug? Depression
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Prozac 2 years,amitriptyline 2 years
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 17,21
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?19,23
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? Prozac-2 years
Amitriptyline-couple months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Anhedonia,emotional numbness/depersonalization,dysautonomia
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
[x ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[x ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] 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
[x ] 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
[ x] 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? Supplements,nootropics,rTMS
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)? Low testosterone
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.
Depressed from 15, put on SSRI’S at 16. I began prozac at 17 but it took a further 2 years for anhedonia to materialize. I was incredibly confused and didn’t make the connection to the drug at first.
In an effort to treat the anhedonia I tried a host of medications to no avail. My anhedonia at this time consisted predominantly of the inability to feel love or pleasure. At this time I still felt “atmospheric connection” and felt like myself. However that all changed when I was put on the monstorus dose of 250mg amitriptyline at 21 years old. Ironically I asked to try this med but not at that dose! I had no clue how reckless that was of my psychiatrist at the time.
I don’t even recall when it happened but one day I realized I didn’t feel “connected” or like myself. I was in a constant state of fight or flight on this med until I woke up one day almost completely numb. It made me feel as though I am in purgatory and already dead. My memory suffered greatly too and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism but the levothyroxine they give me is useless. I also had CFS type symptoms and couldn’t feel my stomach.
I was actually forced to cold turkey it at 50mg to due to heart palpitations after 2 years. Unbelievably quitting it abruptly seemed to lift my anhedonia quite significantly-not to mention the debilitating physical symtpoms vanished. It was as though my brain started connecting again and I recognized vibes. However that soon left.
It was recommended I take nortriptyline and I foolishly did so. All the anticholinergic side effects I had on amirtiptyline including numb stomach,muscle weakness and CFS returned and have not gone away since tapering off the drug. Whats more I have crashed severely from severeal supplements since. Biotin gave me a sort of neurogenic bladder. Inositol destroyed my vocab and concentration. But the worst of all is that I took d ribose too close to the antibiotic macrobid and i now feel as though my monologue is broken. I feel an inner pressure around my mouth and chest when trying to think in my head. The voice in my mind sounds mangled. When I took the d ribose 3 days after finishing my weeks course of macrobid, I felt a physical change in my brain. It was incredibly frightening. Reading is incredibly taxing now- where as I loved it before.
I still have anhedonia,depersonalization and all these physical/cognitive issues. Nothing is helping unfortunately and it feels as if I have lived the past 5 years in a coma. I too am here for the survey