Effexor.37.5's story -Complex PSSD

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.
sorry for english.

Where are you from (country)?Turkey

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?)Pssd forum

What is your current age, height, weight?26,187cm,74

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

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?37.5/day(lowest dose)

What condition was being treated with the drug?Social Phobia

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?2015-2019 SSRI’s(Prozac,Citoles,Lustral) 2019-2020 SNRI(Effexor-Venlafaxine)

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?21,January 2015

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?26,20 march 2020

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Taper off

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? After 2 weeks

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
[X] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[X] 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
[X] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X] Suicidal Thoughts

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

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems

[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[X] Increased hair loss- I lost 30% of my hair, it’s still falling out
[x] Frequent urination
[X] Lowered body temperature

[X]Pleasureless orgasm
[X]Premature ejeculation
[X]Facial changes(small chin,narrow face)
[X]Small neck
[X]Insomnia
[X]Exercise intolerance …

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

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)?
**
Prolactin in the upper limit of the range

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
No

1 Like

Thanks for sharing your experience. You mentioned multiple physical symptoms that some supposed medical experts want to exclude by definition from PSSD. I do hope that ALL symptoms that appear to be part of a “post-SSRI syndrome” get the attention they deserve in the future.

You have a brain tumor? Sorry to hear that. Do you know what kind it is? Some tumors are benign.

Yea.I experienced severe arm, leg and joint pain, bad vision and dizziness that started a few weeks ago. At first I didn’t care… you know pssd. However, when I later had an MRI of my brain and neck, my neurologist said I was having a crisis (like a stroke). Although I couldn’t understand it very well, he said that he saw white things (maybe lesions) on the left side in the brain MRI. She referred me to the emergency room and I spent the night there. My vision is now worse than ever. I can’t look at shiny things. I speak worse than before and my memory problems have increased. I also have balance problems while walking. And I’m more anhedonic than ever. I’m having a hard time even writing these.

She said there was a problem in my brain but it wasn’t like a tumor. Now I’m waiting for more detailed MRI results.