u/Sure_Produce4375

I've been suffering from this condition for 3+ years now, oscillating between periods of near total remission and crashes (windows and waves). I find this pattern pretty common among those suffering from PSSD.

But then there are people claiming that they've experienced 0% recovery. I take these people at their word and do not want to invalidate their position, but I just want to tease out the full state of their condition.

To those of you that claim 0 progress over 2-3+ years, do you actually mean that your symptoms have been consistently terrible since the onset of PSSD? Or do you understandably mean that the improvement has just not been anywhere close to your pre-PSSD state? Have all aspects of the condition remained stagnant or just certain aspects (sexuality, anhedonia, motivation?)

If you are claiming 0% recovery, have you experimented with any medications that crashed you and you never recovered or have you naturally been in this state without any intervention (just quitting SSRIs)?

I appreciate your responses. I also know this condition takes an indescribable toll and understand if people don't want to go into detail about their current state.

Very understandably, this sub has a strong bias against SSRIs as they've brought so much pain and suffering. But I don't want this bias to leave out any possible options that might help people feel better or explore meaningful remission.

I would love if this would be a single post where everyone who has attempted a long-term, dedicated reinstatement protocol would tell us about it. Ideally, I want people to answer the following questions:

1. Which drug did you reinstate? Was it the same one as you originally took? At what dose?
2. How long did you try reinstatement for?
3. How long did it take to experience the effects of reinstatement - positive or negative? What were the effects specifically?
4. Did you feel lasting or temporary remission? How did it affect your emotions, libido, etc... Did you feel closer to your "normal" self?
5. Did you get worse from long-term reinstatement?
6. Are you still reinstating or have you quit? Why so?

I've seen a few reinstatement success stories in this sub and I've seen a lot of failures. I'm trying to understand if there's a common thread between the successes and failures. Also curious if there's a lot of people who have reinstated, recovered and never commented in this sub after.

Today marks three years since the onset of this condition in my life. Took Lexapro for 8 months, tapered over a month - developed full blown PSSD with anhedonia, genital numbness, no bodily sensations, and so on.

After 3 years of this condition, I have made a lot of progress in the so-called Windows & Waves pattern. Over time my windows have gotten a lot longer and stronger, and my waves a lot briefer. My baseline condition is also a lot better, I would say I never drop below 50% sensation/feelings during a "crash."

This characteristic with the windows I experience is interesting. I've noticed that with the longer windows different aspects of my former personality "come online" during different parts of the window. At times I get super melancholic/depressed, at others anxious, at others horny, and at others artistic/inspirational.

It's like different brain regions are activating at different times, and I'm still not able to put it all together in its original form. I think this condition is ultimately an inability to experience external stimuli the way one used to pre-medication. My poor brain is confused but perhaps figuring it out.

My progress is promising, I am no longer in complete dread everyday like I was for two years. When I'm in a window, I get super close to experiencing 90% of my past self - just different aspects of it at different times. The synchronicity is really what is ultimately missing. It's been 3 years - I really hope I can still piece it all together.

The thing that helped the most and gave me the most rapid improvement was a weightlifting plus cardiovascular protocol. I've been training every single day for the last 9 months, combining HIIT, Zone 2 cardio, sauna and strength training. Good sleep is also really important. The improvement in my condition was rapid and extremely noticeable. I really suggest doing this over experimenting with random medications, gut protocols, and diets...

Hoping we can withstand the temptation to resort to radical methods to hasten our healing. Confident we all have a path towards feeling better. So grateful that I have measurably improved in this condition after every single time I doubted if I was going to get better or not.

Remember, everyone gets fucked in life one way or another. There is no such thing as a perfect life. This is the burden we have to carry and still try to be sensible/strategic in our recovery. We should do our best to not be bitter - it is in our own best interest.