PSSD persisting side effects

Member Stories
#1

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)?

Germany

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?)

probably Google, searching for persistent side effects
What is your current age, height, weight?

30, 6,1 ft., 202 lbs.

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

Duloxetine (SNRI)

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

60 mg/day

What condition was being treated with the drug?

OCD

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

8 years

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

20, early 2010

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?

29, early 2019
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?

tapering off

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

first 5 years no side effects at all, then onset of side effects

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
[ ] 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
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

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

Misc
[ x] Prostate pain
[x ] 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
[ ] 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?

Bupropion, Tianeptin to no avail

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.

Took Cymbalta because of OCD, did wonders, quality of life seemed to be restored, no side effects until 2015. Sexual side effects (lack or arousal/excitement) have persisted since then until now.

Symptoms of depression kicked in as soon as side effects wouldn’t resolve after quitting the drug.

#2

Welcome malfeitor,

I see you have been made aware of our projects in other threads. So, I will be brief: Thank you for participating in our survey. It’s good to have one more person from the PSSD community here that is willing to contribute.

Fingers crossed that there will be more things to contribute to in the future.

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#3

Thank you very much. Donating to the foundation means supporting your guys efforts to find and fund research, right? Sorry to bother, I see this topic has been debated quite controversially in another thread and I haven’t found a reasonable conclusion for me yet.

#4

It’s not a dumb question at all, since it’s not entirely obvious, especially for a new member.

The Foundation and the forum here are separate entities. Obviously, there is communication and collaboration between the admins and the Foundation. Notably, one of the admins is also a founding members of the PFS Foundation. But the staff of the forum is not in a position to tell you what the Foundation will do with your donations and there is currently no guarantee that your donation will be to the benefit of our projects.

The work of the staff here currently does not require any funding from members. We are running the forum and our projects on a purely volunteer basis and will not ask for any money for this. However, the work we are doing is geared towards creating research opportunities with scientists who have very specific skills and equipment. Once these opportunities are in place, we will need funding to pursue them. This funding will be administered by the Foundation but will be ring fenced from its other activities, so that members can donate to our specific projects.

If you want to donate to specific scientific research into the root cause of the condition, I’d suggest to create a savings account and to set aside a monthly donation you feel comfortable with. Once we have research projects in place, you can donate the funds you set aside specifically to our projects via the Foundation.

Obviously, in the unlikely event that you are won the lottery (or better) and are capable to donate significant amounts, please contact us directly as this would speed up some of the things we are doing :wink:

Glad to see you eager to help. We are hopeful that there will be more opportunities to contribute in the future. Stay tuned!

5 Likes
#5

Thanks this clarifies a lot. Looking forward to supporting your projects for which I am very grateful. Whenever I come up with something that might be of use I will contact you.

4 Likes