My story in this terrible hell

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)? Italy

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?) Googe search

What is your current age, height, weight? 35, 187 cm, 71 kg

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

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Serenoa 360 mg oral, then serenoa topic, citalopram 20 drops/day

What condition was being treated with the drug? AGA, then anxiety and depression

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Serenoa 2006/2007 oral, Serenoa topic sometimes on temples 2008/2010, citalopram 2009/2010

Date when you started the drug?
Serenoa 2006, Citalopram 2009
Date when you quit the drug?
Serenoa 2010, Citalopram 2010

Age when you quit? 22

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

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? Serenoa after 2 years, Citalopram when I started

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Nothing

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
[ ] 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
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[x] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[x] 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? Nothing

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)? Nothing anormal

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.
In summary guys I had noticed concentration problems and strange headaches in 2008 but I didn’t blame Saw palmetto. One morning in July I got up and started having a strange sore throat and abnormal tiredness, low-grade fever, malaise and extreme anxiety. Treated with citalopram for anxious depressive disorder for one year, suspended August 2010. On October 31, 2010 crash with poop change in the morning. From there I never recovered and the sexual sides, mental fog, sleep and persistent gastrointestinal disorders began

Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY

  1. Name of the therapy/substance:
    • Dosage:
    • How often you took it:
  2. Status
    • Still using [ ]
    • Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
    • Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
  3. Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
  4. Response when you started:
    • Greatly improved [ ]
    • Slightly improved [ ]
    • Stayed the same [ ]
    • Slightly worsened [ ]
    • Greatly worsened [ ]
  5. Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
    • Greatly improved [ ]
    • Slightly improved [ ]
    • Stayed the same [ ]
    • Slightly worsened [ ]
    • Greatly worsened [ ]
  6. Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
    • Greatly improved [ ]
    • Slightly improved [ ]
    • Stayed the same [ ]
    • Slightly worsened [ ]
    • Greatly worsened [ ]

Hi @Sugar-ray31! Welcome to the forum, and thank you for telling your story!

Do you have a sense for whether your symptoms came from saw palmetto use or the SSRI?

Your symptoms started a long time ago - has anything changed over time?

Hi @M_C You ask me 2 good questions that are very difficult to answer. I can give you an answer based on my body experience. 1) I think that the big part was done by the topical saw palmetto used with discontinuity, I had strange headaches and I didn’t concentrate and I remembered things well 2) It improved little, indeed problems with the fibers and ligament tissues with a hernia were added hiatus. The thing that irreversibly changes is the poop after the crash