I've been going through this hell for seven years. PSSD has ruined my life and in all that time I've never had a single window.
It seems like most people, even the long term sufferers, at least have a couple of windows. Is there anyone else out there like me who's had absolutely nothing in years?
I can't believe this is how my life turned out. I can't believe how unfair and unlucky it all is.
I understand if most people here don't want to touch another drug ever again, but I was desperate enough to try Phenelzine. It didn't cure my PSSD but it made a massive difference in terms of my mood and anhedonia. Sadly I had to discontinue due to side effects, but you may not have these issues.
If you've been suffering with this for years and are on the verge of doing something drastic (like I was), you may consider trying this. Take it or leave it, it's up to you. However, I'd rather not get shouted at for simply recommending something that helped me, especially when I didn't have to say anything at all.
I've been suffering with genital numbness for the past several years. I've exhausted all physical explanations, including pelvic floor tension. I've seen three pelvic physios, and whilst they did find mild issues, they don't think it's the cause of the numbness.
I've been working on accepting the fact that I likely have Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD). However, I've been considering the fact that my symptoms might be a result of some kind of freeze response. I've seen a couple of Redditor's saying that they've experienced similar symptoms to PSSD, despite having never taken medication, usually after a period of high stress.
My emotions feel blunted. I feel disconnected from my body. I have head pressure.
My dilemma is this: If I decide to investigate somatic issues, will this feed into my obsession around PSSD, which has caused me an incredible amount of stress over the years. Will it set me back in terms of grieving for the person I once was?
I've been desperate to try Parnate for some time now but my psychiatrist is telling me it's not available in the UK. I asked if there was any wriggle room and he said no. I'm confused though, because the reason he gave made no sense. He said you can't take it unless you've had it prescribed previously, but how could you have had it prescribed previously if it's not prescribed in the UK?
Has anyone else here in the UK recently gone on Parnate? Should I fight this issue? I've been on Nardil before, which helped but I had to stop because of side effects, and Moclobomide, which barely does anything for me. Parnate feels like my last chance.
I've seen every kind of doctor for my ED and numbness. I'm constantly getting told it's in my head. I just want to know, has that ever actually been the case for anybody here? Did you have symptoms (naturally I'm particularly interested if they match mine) that went away after you addressed mental health issues, or just stopped obsessing over them? I'm sick of being torn between two ideas: One, that this is a pelvic issue and could potentially be solved or two, that I should just accept that this is my life now.
The first physio I saw told me I essentially had hypertonic pelvic floor after a physical examination. Some months later I went to see another physio, who after examining me, told me that there was nothing unusual.
I'm really confused and frustrated by this. How can this be? I've had numb genitals and ED for a decade now and I really wanna get to the bottom of it or at least just move on with my fucking shitty life. Because of this I can't do either.
I recently tried nardil and in terms of mood and anhedonia it was incredibly helpful. Unfortunately I couldn't keep taking it due to extreme drowsiness and (ironically) insomnia.
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I've been on 300mg of Moclobemide for a month and have recently bumped it up to 600mg. It's early days for the increased dose, but so far it's been doing very little for me. My depression is killing me day after day.
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Parnate is the next option I'm considering but I'm concerned that will also cause insomnia. I'm also open to trying other MAOI's such as ensam.
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Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm suffering a lot and I'd really rather not go through another month of this because I didn't choose the right medication.
Age: 28
Height: 6ft
Weight: 182 Pounds
My genitals have been numb for ten years. I've seen various kinds of specialists and none of them can explain why. I've had hormones checked, blood tests, MRI scans and nothing. I've even had an SSEP where they turned the voltage as high as it would go and I felt nothing at all. Results were still normal. I also have a lack of morning erections and general ED.
I can only give my word but I promise you, this is NOT in my head. I've woken up with this everyday for the past ten years. I've almost given up hope of it ever recovering but I'd at least like to know what happened so I can get some closure.
I now believe there can only be two (if any) explanations. I know from a pelvic floor therapist that I have tight muscles in that area. I'm wondering if this may be an issue of muscles compressing nerves and restricting blood flow.
The other theory, which has driven me insane over the years, is that I have Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction. For a long time I was convinced of this. But when I see who the proponents of PSSD it's always doctors with questionable reputations (such as Dr Will Powers) or straight up lying crackpots like Tucker Carlson or Jordan Peterson talking about this.
This has destroyed my life and if I can't get better, I at least want explanations.