Ghost Introduction

[Ghost]

I am a 22 y/o Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) sufferer from the US. I found Propeciahelp through the PSSD community. I am interested in the crossover of symptoms in our conditions. Despite being in good physical shape and maintaining good diet, I still have problems.

Never a calm child, I was especially anxious about going away to college (age 18). The summer beforehand I went to my GP.

I was given Escitalopram (Lexapro) 10mg Q.D. for anxiety. I cut the 10mg pills in half and took 5mg for 4 days. After 4 days I experienced extreme insomnia, body numbness, sexual dysfunction, and delayed ejaculation. I quit the medication abruptly.

Shortly after stopping Lexapro my delayed ejaculation went away, but all other symptoms remain.

I lead the PSSD Forum and run the PSSD Lab website. I’ve recently graduated with degrees in Biology and Neuroscience and am in the process of applying to medical school. I’m excited to collaborate with the PFS community.

Notably, I’ve started the PSSD Genome Project, created PSSD FAQ, documented cured cases (as of 2017), created biochemistry youtube videos, documented several theories, created a PSSD research journal, and have started a new “logging” series of regular posts following possible PSSD research leads.

I’ll rate my symptoms as I am currently symptomatic. There are some things that have changed over the years (mainly psychiatric).

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 to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[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
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

BLOODWORK: (November 2017)

FSH AND LH
FSH 1.4 LOW 1.6-8.0 mIU/mL
LH 3.5 1.5-9.3 mIU/mL

DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE, LC/MS/MS
DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE, LC/MS/MS 49 16-79 ng/dL

PROLACTIN
PROLACTIN 8.2 2.0-18.0 ng/mL

T4, FREE
T4, FREE 1.5 0.8-1.8 ng/dL

TSH
TSH 0.98 0.40-4.50 mIU/L

ESTRADIOL
ESTRADIOL 37 < OR = 39 pg/mL

PSA, TOTAL
PSA, TOTAL 0.6 < OR = 4.0 ng/mL

SEX HORMONE BINDING GLOBULIN
SEX HORMONE BINDING GLOBULIN 46 10-50 nmol/L

T3, FREE
T3, FREE 3.6 2.3-4.2 pg/mL

VITAMIN D,25-OH,TOTAL,IA
VITAMIN D,25-OH,TOTAL,IA 29 LOW 30-100 ng/mL

TESTOSTERONE,FR(DIALYSIS) AND TOTAL(LC/MS/MS)
TESTOSTERONE, TOTAL, LC/MS/MS 912 250-1100 ng/dL
FREE TESTOSTERONE 121.0 35.0-155.0 pg/mL

[pete]

Hi Ghost. It’s deeply sad that our paths had to cross like this. Here we are, smart people, in the world’s most advanced nations. But together we somehow have this shared problem.

Mine is Accutane. Took over a decade ago. Same symptoms you have.

No one wants to fix this mess more than people like us. This is our problem and we need to fix this together. What we have is unacceptable.

We will do anything it takes to fix this.

[Devolution]

Sorry to hear your in the same situation as us ghost, I’m 20 year’s old and have had PSSD since 17 but was nothing compared to what I have now after using accutane, i have no doubt it’s the same thing. Unfortunately for me I have bad curvature and penile scar tissue from lack of healing so to regain pleasurable function would require my skin to be reverted back to normal or strengthened at the very least, my skin body wide is weak and elastic and, same goes for my penis and scrotum, just doesn’t look or feel right at all, it’s a weird one but hopefully one mechanism of action is at play for all of us, its also amazing your only slightly older than myself and have done so much for the community, making videos, running a forum, getting your degree etc, i lift my hat off to you mate and look forward to you working with the amazing guys here over at PH.

[Greek]

You seem like a really impressive guy, Ghost.

Your efforts are inspirational. I’m sad that you’re here but also glad - if you see what I mean.

It seems like we have an amazing team building here. There are lots of reasons to be optimistic.

[pete]

Yes. I like how this place has changed from the old feel of it. It is exciting to come onto this board now.

[Ghost]

Thanks, everyone! It’s very interesting to note the crossover in symptoms as @Devolution and @pete note.

I think that we can make some shared resources that can be modified for each community a bit. It will make things a whole lot easier if we don’t need to develop tools alone anymore.

[Dubya_B]

Cheers! to that. Thanks for bringing everyone up to speed regarding your work in the PSSD community so far. It’s astounding what you have accomplished in so little time.

[borax]

Same as @Devolution, former (mild) PSSD guy but didn’t know it was a thing until I got PFS. I experienced a complete resolution of my PSSD symptoms (genital numbness, lower than pre-SSRI libido, anhedonia) upon using Finasteride the first time. The disorders are almost certainly connected, or Devolution and myself have possibly the shittiest genes in the world lol.

[Devolution]

It definitely can’t be a coincidence that we magically got both condition’s, I guess only way to prove that is if you tried accutane and i tried finasteride lol, never ever going to happen I’d have no doubt they’d make us even worse.
I’m curious how many people here took SSRI’s before finasteride and did it also have an effect?