Luigi’s intro 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.

Where are you from (country)?
Scotland
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?)
google- PSSD and eventually found out about PFS

What is your current age, height, weight?
24, 170, 11 stone
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Sertraline, fluoxetine, mirtazapine, amitriptyline

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
Varying doses of each anti depressant

What condition was being treated with the drug?
Social anxiety
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Altogether 4 years
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
20

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
24
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Straight away on ssri but mirtazapine reversed it while I was on it

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

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
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] 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)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x ] 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
[ ] 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?
This is all new to me so only thing I’ve tried is ‘edovis’ supplement trial(ongoing)
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.

Was put on 50/100/150 mg of sertraline in 2014 for social anxiety and depression, which left me completely impotent to begin with but after a month or so erections and libido came back but it would take an hour to reach orgasm(gf at the time wasn’t complaining) but it bothered me, next it was fluoxetine another ssri at a low dose but side effects(cognitive, sexual) were too bad so I was switched to mirtazapine 15/30mg which was great for sleep, erections, libido and organs were still great but sensitivity in penis was a little less than before starting anti depressants but still no issue. At the beginning of this year I was put on amitriptyline 10mg for 2 weeks but stopped after 2 weeks due to urine retention. I was feeling optimistic about fighting depression and anxiety med free but soon I noticed i had no feeling in my genitals, orgasms were pleasureless and I have severe Anhedonia, I thought they were just normal withdrawal symptoms and would go away after a few weeks but sadly this is not the case things have only gotten worse!

Been lurking here for a month or so and decided to sign up, I’d be interested in the survey if it’s still ongoing?

Luigi

2 Likes

Hi Luigi. Thanks for posting. Being that you are still in the first year of experiencing symptoms, it is likely that you will experience an upswing at some point, even if things are on the downhill slide at the moment. This is going by past experiences common to PFS patients and what I have read of PSSD patients.

I have also had a serious problem with anorgasmia while taking sertraline years ago. I have sexual dysfunction post-Accutane, but this made things much worse. Luckily, I went back to post-Accutane baseline around a month after stopping sertraline.

Yes, the survey is still available and will be a permanent fixture on this site. Hopefully, reports generated by the data will also be viewable in the near future. You will receive an invite via email within the next six hours. You can read more about the survey in this topic: Post-Drug Syndrome Survey FAQ. Survey NOW LIVE - Please Participate

2 Likes

Fingers crossed an upswing is coming because as you’ll know at the beginning it’s very scary and hard to accept and come to terms with.

I’ve actually heard of SSRI’s being prescribed to combat premature ejaculation but surely anorgasmia is just as disheartening as PE!

Yeah I got the email and completed the survey, looking forward to seeing the results.

sorry to hear your story too. these poisons are a crime.