Kathy's story, 18 year old

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)? latin america

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?) googling pssd

What is your current age, height, weight? 18 years old

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

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? I was put on psych drugs by force at age 14, many drugs, but what gave me pssd was100mg zoloft for 5 months

What condition was being treated with the drug? stupid pseudoscientific diagnosis ( I only had some anxiety due to trauma from living in an awful environment, needed therapy and a better environment NOT DRUGS)

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 5 months

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 17 01/2020

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 17 06/2020

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey/ very fast tapper

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? like a week, I don’t remember correctly

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Severe anhedonia, severe fatigue, complete sexual dysfunction, hormonal issues (hypothyroid, menstrual issues, low hormone levels etc), cognitive dysfunction

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

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

[ x] Other (please explain)
suspect low cortisol, adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroid, low testosterone, estrogen dominance, menstrual issues

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

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)? suspect low cortisol, adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroid, low testosterone, estrogen dominance

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience? I am very bad atm, I have severe trauma and anger along with severe grief, I lost it all, don’t know how long I can cope with this

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

I was drugged by force at age 14, I was super against the drugs but I was threatened and coerced by psychiatrist, I never needed that, all I needed was therapy and a better environment. SSRIs did nothing only gave me side effects and damaged me. I didn’t even had depression, I had some anxiety due to trauma and dysfunctional environment.

I had always been a very passionate, smart and happy person before this, but now I am bedrriden, I have severe anhedonia, fatigue and also no sexuality (I could live with no sex but the anhedonia and fatigue are unbearable)

I have severe trauma due to being harmed by something I didn’t even wanted to take, I am extremely disabled, went from very a straight A student and athlete to bedridden and suicidal. I’m only 18. I have very strong anger as well at psychiatrist and my parents. I don’t know how to cope anymore. I haven’t gotten better. the anhedonia is so strong and I’m very suicidal. I lost it all. The grief of what I lost is unbearable.

The fact that there’s no treatment or cure and almost no Dr believes in this makes me every hopeless

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Thank you so much for this Post. I’m 60 yo man damaged by Finistarid this year. But I have a little daughter and Im afraid every day, that one they will treat her with SSRI because of Mine She hast the Genetic Preposition to get horryble sideeffects. In the EU only Fluoxetin is legal for Childs but Psychiatrists don’t know anything about pssri and in the Internet you find nothing with the First View. You have to search to find this case. Doctors and Hospital s don’t know anything about the horryble sideeffects of SSRI.

1 Like

Welcome to the board Kathy I am.very sorry for what you are going through. These drugs pushed on children or anyone for that matter is simply criminal.

I will say tho that I have crashed many many times and have been able to bounce back some (I am praying this happens with my latest crash)

All I can say is your body is remarkable at healing itself and given your age you have a high chance things will even out. Be very careful with supplementing. Eat as healthy as you possibly can. Rest. Get blood work done to see where you are at. I’m confident the fatigue and anhedonia will pass it can take a long time for your body to re adjust after nuking it with chemicals but just hang in there and treat yourself as best you can.

1 Like

How long have u been off the SSRI?

almost 14 months

I know they say 3 months but in my experience I have seen younger individuals recover years later, don’t give up hope!