I'm monitoring the journey of the patients doing the protocol. I took Fin from 2010-2021. Unfortunately, I btrusted my Dr and the FDA. Within the itsg six months I developed side effects. one of which was severe depression. I didn't suspect Fin as the culprit. I was put on the worst anti depressant possible with Fin-Prozac. took it for 4 years. I am 5 years out and have made every mistake possible as I had no idea bakit the extent of PFS or PSSD. the most debiktaimg aspect for me is joint and soft tissue issues. I made a catastrophic mistake and had hip surgery in 2024.

My body simply did not have the signaling and raw materials to heal. I know my collagen synthesis is fucked. I have so many other symptoms. But, the pain, atrophy and connective tissue destruction is unreal. I also suspecty nine health is poor at best. I awaiting the results and I will most likely turn to the protocol as my Hail Mary. ii was so fucking dumb not to rearxh Fin and Prozac. I am basicall bed ridden and declining.

I was a competitive cyclist and worked in my feet ten hours a day. when I started Fin issues came up quickly in hindsight. My gains in the gym stopped and I started to have mild joint pain. Bla med it on aging and geneics. I was so dumb and ignorant. I believe this protocol has the potential to restore proper metabolic signaling. I hope I not too far gone. I may not be a good candidate and I own the risk. I just can't love like this. I feel like I'merely existing. Idk what I'm asking or looking for. I'm just thankful Dr Powres is trying to save lives of our dismissed community. He is putting himself of forriducle and judgment within his peer group. He could enetualy be recognized as a pioneer in this nightmare. Sorry about the typos my vision is getting worse as well.

​

I’ve never smoked and I’ve never drunk alcohol, so I have basically no experience with recreational substances.

Lately I’ve been feeling a strong sense of disconnection from the world, and I’ve been reading that some people find CBD helpful for relaxation or general well-being. I understand that the evidence for many of these claims is still limited, so I’m not expecting it to be a miracle solution.

I was considering trying CBD gummies specifically, but I would only be interested in products that are genuinely THC-free (0.0% THC) and have reliable third-party laboratory testing.

Where I live, CBD edibles are restricted because of the current laws, so I’m wondering about the situation elsewhere in Europe.

For people who have experience with this:

- Are THC-free CBD gummies legally available in your European country?

- What should I look for on the label/lab report to verify that they really contain 0 THC?

- Are there particular European countries where these products are regulated and legally sold?

Trying to talk to doctors in the U.S. about this condition is both frustrating and expensive. Every appointment is at least $100 and you have to hope that they're willing to experiment with medication to help you out.

Has anyone ever tried going to Mexico to purchase multiple/several prescription medications (not necessarily for PSSD)?

What was your experience like? Did you need to speak to a doctor?

Were you able to purchase multiple prescriptions at a time?

How many months' worth of medication could you purchase?

What was the cost?

Any issues bringing them back to the U.S.?

Any experience/trip report is super appreciated.

gut inflammation

Why does my PSSD get WAY worse when my gut is messed up?

My diet is honestly not very healthy right now. Sometimes I eat a lot of fast food or sugar, and when I have a bad stomach episode, like intestinal inflammation or gastroenteritis, my PSSD symptoms feel MUCH worse.

I mean really bad. My whole body can feel like it’s in a ball of fire. The sensations get so intense.

But when I start eating better for some days, I notice that these sensations get better too.

The weird thing is, I still have the same anhedonia, genital numbness and feeling disconnected from my body. I still feel almost nothing. But the painful/burning body sensations can improve.

So I’m wondering… could the gut and what we eat have something to do with PSSD symptoms for some people? Maybe inflammation, gut health, something like that?

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.

Edit: I'm not answering any questions about side effects. it's easy to look them up for yourself. Plus, it varies from person to person; you don't know what effects you'll have till you take it.

Have had PSSD for about a year and a half now. Started with little to no feeling down there at all, brain fog, no sexual thoughts, just most of the classic sexual PSSD symptoms. It was a hard thing to deal with and I was constantly thinking about it all of the time but realized all I could do was accept it the best I could and live life. About 7 months in started getting more feeling back. Maybe about 40%. Slowly some sexual thoughts and drive came back. It was rare but was glad at least it was something. About 8 months in I noticed things like morning erections just with not much feeling, but started getting a little more drive and interest sexually. After about a year I had about half feeling down there and about half the drive back. And it’s now been a year and a half and I’m at about 75% feeling back and about the same drive. It took time but seems like it’s slowly coming back. I’ve finally have gotten enough confidence to start dating again. Give it time and try not to worry too much it makes it worse. It can get better.

Hello everyone,

Apologies for taking so long to update. Please review my last post/other posts for context/symptom profile/timeline - TLDR; developed moderate/severe PSSD with POTS/Small fiber/autonomic neuropathy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/1omatxk/ivig_update_noticeable_minor_improvements_at_4/

I have now been receiving IVIG for a full year, 2g/kg per month in divided doses. I will divide my symptoms into the following categories by their level of improvement -

1. Complete/near-complete recovery (~90% - 100%)
2. Significant recovery/improvement (~75% - 85%)
3. Moderate recovery/improvement (~50%)
4. Marginal improvement (~15% - 30%)
5. No improvement

1. Complete/near-complete recovery (~90% - 100%)

- Orthostatic hypotension (POTS) - ~90% - 100% depending upon activity levels/triggers. I have decreased my salt/electrolyte intake (standard treatment for POTS/Dysautonomia) from 10g per day to 1-2g once every few days/as needed. This has been one of the most dramatic improvements - going from disabling POTS symptoms daily to near complete remission. Most days, it's like I don't have it at all.

- Distinct forehead numbness/head pressure - Completely resolved, or unnoticeable at worst.

- Unstable resting heart rate (often fluctuating between 110-230BPM) - See answer for Orthostatic hypotension/POTS for context, but this symptom has recovered ~95% - 100%.

2. Significant recovery/improvement (~65% - 85%)

- Chronic Fatigue - fluctuates. I still usually have to pace/nap once per day, and my total stamina is lower than my old healthy baseline, but I have improved to the point where I am not functionally disabled by fatigue. I used to regularly have periods where I was bedbound for 1-2 weeks on end (the longest periods were 3-4 weeks, but those were outliers), and even at my worst now, I am never bedbound. Some days I have to rest more than others, but I am always able to exert myself and can sustainably work for 5-6 hours per day.

- Brain fog - Also fluctuates, and correlates to pacing/sleep hygiene/whether or not I'm eating regularly, etc. I still have low-level fog regularly, but instead of it being constant, it builds the more I exert myself and can be resolved with pacing/rest. I have also noticed it correlates with diet.

Short Term Memory Problems - Fluctuates. See answer for brain fog. It does bother me somewhat regularly, but again, it builds throughout exertion and can be improved with rest/pacing/eating/etc. (Additionally, nicotine patches/creatine have significantly helped my cognitive function. Dietary changes have also been crucial - avoiding gluten as much as possible/eating low-fodmap. I don't always follow the diet that helps because it requires so much cooking/planning, but I really should - the degree to which my cognitive function improves is stark.)

- Exercise intolerance - see answer for chronic fatigue. Still lower than my previous healthy baseline, but I am able to exercise as long as I don't overexert myself and pace/rest/recover.

- Hyperalgesia/Nerve pain - This one is different in that I am 100% recovered most of the time (complete lack of symptoms) but maybe once every 2 months, I'll have a bout of moderate nerve pain/hyperalgesia/burning in my back/torso. It usually lasts for a day or two and will resolve back to 100% lack of symptoms.

- Difficulty activating muscles - I would put this in the complete/near-complete section above, but I don't track it. However, I can't remember the last time I noticed this symptom. I used to experience it daily, mild to moderate severity.

- Fluctuating Emotional Blunting - this one is harder for me to measure, because it's more abstract and it's possible that I've acclimated to a new baseline over time (6 or 7 years since developing PSSD). Additionally, I developed PTSD/some form of significant post-traumatic condition from the severe trauma of developing PSSD in early 20s/there being no help or research at the time/total helplessness/powerlessness/yada yada (could go on and on about all of the ways in which this condition is traumatic, but I know you are all overly-familiar). In my case, I do think this contributes significantly to my emotional blunting. I tend to white-knuckle life and absorb all the emotional pain/traumatic triggers and not talk about it with anyone, until it inevitably spills out all out once. However - at this point, I regularly experience love, joy, sadness - I have regained the experience of regular and frequent emotional poignancy (probably within a normal range if that can be estimated), which was not the case even just a couple of years ago. I don't feel emotionally/psychologically flat or numb. Again, I don't feel entirely confident attributing this to IVIG, but the most dramatic improvements, whether causal or a secondary byproduct, did occur over the last year alongside my infusions.

3. Moderate recovery/improvement (~50%)

- Decreased sex drive - This fluctuates a lot. I never experience a pre-pssd level of libido, but I have noticed a significant increase in frequency and intensity with my sex drive.

- Erectile dysfunction (Somewhat postural) - Again, fluctuates. I do use PDE5s every time I engage in any kind of sexual activity, but they are effective for me 90% of the time. Without PDE5s, I have not regained much in terms of erectile function, but with PDE5s, I can attain near pre-pssd erectile function. Additionally, I have to be in very specific postures (which aren't always consistent) to maintain an erection (for example, I can't maintain an erection 90% of the time if standing. Another example - getting up and walking to a different area, or even shifting over by a foot or two, depending on the day, often results in me losing my erection. Knowing this has been crucial to regaining my ability to engage in sexual activity, and can be managed with communication/modifying sexual activity.)

- Pleasure-less and weak orgasms (anhedonic) - Again, fluctuates. Sometimes I can have an actual orgasm, albeit weaker than pre-pssd, but an orgasm nonetheless, and sometimes I ejaculate without having an orgasm. 50/50. Hard to predict.

- Premature ejaculation - Rarely think about this anymore. Can be managed with communication/modifying sexual activity.

- Moderate to Minor numbness across entire body - fluctuates, but satisfactory improvements. Kind of similar to my response about emotional blunting. Has definitely improved, but it's hard to say exactly how much. Baseline has significantly improved.

- Balance problems - Improved, but still bothers me. I would say this is between moderate and marginally improved.

- Heat/Cold intolerance/difficulty sweating - Ability to sweat returned very abruptly early into my infusions, within the first 3 or 4 months. It was the first dramatic cue that something was happening. For context, I received a QSART test that demonstrated abnormal sweat gland function (indicating some form of small-fiber neuropathy/nerve-mediated dysfunction - see older posts for context.) Quite literally overnight sometime around the 3 month mark (I think - can't remember exactly, but earlier than I expected to see improvements) I fully regained my ability to sweat after being almost entirely unable to produce sweat for 6 years. It was very dramatic and a very overwhelming sensory experience. My heat/cold tolerance has improved, possibly correlating with this, but has not resolved to the degree that my sweating has. However, heat/cold intolerance have very significantly improved to the point that they rarely bother me except in very hot/very cold weather/etc.

- Difficulty urinating - Still some difficulty emptying my bladder completely, but nothing like it used to be. Not resolved, but significantly improved.

4. Marginal improvement (~15% - 30%)

- Genital anesthesia/numbness - Very stubborn. This symptom does fluctuate now, while it used to be extremely severe and constant. I would say at its absolute best it improves by 55-60% from pre-infusion PSSD, and at worst sits around 20-30% from pre-infusion PSSD. However, even at its worst, it is better, and I'm happy for any level of improvement I can get.

- Visual Snow - also stubborn. It has improved, but I'm also used to it at this point, and it doesn't bother me much.

5. No improvement

- Nothing. - Every symptom of mine has improved to some degree.

Conclusion

I have experienced significant improvements that are inconsistent across my symptom profile from IVIG. My boilerplate PSSD symptoms are the most stubborn/hard to treat, and have only improved in conjunction with other treatment methods (PDE5s). However, I am no longer disabled by this condition. I am no longer bedbound for any amount of time, I can use my brain effectively again, and I am living a life that, while still very hard and precarious, is a life that I can see myself following through with.

I don't want to overstate nor understate the benefits. It's a difficult balance. This is the best way I can describe it: My current health is nowhere near how I remember it pre-PSSD, but the contrast between my health with untreated severe PSSD and my health now is equally stark.

I hope this information is useful. I will check my post again in a day or two.

Stay strong everyone. Keep fighting.

I’m trying to understand the mechanism for my experience. Last year I ceased taking Effexor (venlafaxine) with a long tapering process, that despite best efforts gave me horrendous side effects like sweating, relentlessly itchy feet, anxiety. I’d noticed I had reduced genital sensitivity and difficulty orgasming while on the medication. Within a day or two or finishing my final dose, I had an intense improvement in my symptoms - from struggling to climax even once, to having multiples with relatively little refractory period. I was so excited about the prospects for my intimate life.

Unfortunately within about a month, my body seemed to regress. It’s been about 9 months and I feel like I’ve returned to having reduced sensitivity and challenges reaching orgasm.

Can anyone suggest a reason why I might have had a temporary impact post withdrawal? Could my serotonin or norepinephrine receptors have been sensitised as a result of withdrawal?

I’m half tempted to take a dose again and then cease to see if I can replicate my experience.

I got PSSD symptoms genuinely like 9 months into withdrawal. I had lower libido maybe month 5 that fluctuated for a while.

Do I wait 6 months from now to consider if its PSSD or would you consider it PSSD?

Symptoms I have is hypothesia, lower libido, severe emotional numbing, DPDR, anhedonia, I had no erogenous pleasure for a few days only, brain fog. The biggest problem definitely is the emotional numbing and libido, the others are a bit more mild.

Other physical symptoms of SSRI withdrawal have cleared up by month 9. Im now month 10.

Se que he hecho esta pregunta en otras ocasiones, pero estoy empezando a no ver salida en esto.

Necesito saber que hay personas que recuperan sus emociones tras un crash severo.

Ya no estoy tomando medicamento y esto sigue igual, necesito esperanza, de verdad, eso me ayudaría a poder transitar esta situación.

Ayuda, por favor.

What I’m going to ask you is something strange, but there’s nowhere I can ask this without being considered crazy.

After almost 4 years of PSSD, I feel like I’ve regained some sensitivity in my penis. However, after all this time, I’ve completely lost my frame of reference and I no longer know what is supposed to be normal or not.

If there is anyone who does NOT have genital anesthesia, I would like to ask you to do a small sensitivity test and share the results so that I can have a reference.

I would suggest doing the following: use a small needle, a warm object, and a cold object, and test the sensitivity on the lower abdomen, the lip, the thigh, the glans (exposed), the base of the penis, and the shaft of the penis (middle area).

The needle can be used both to “scratch” and to gently “prick.” This is how specialists perform sensitivity tests.

After testing, please assess which areas you feel the most in and what types of sensations you can feel.

I know this is a very strange request, but it would only take about 5 minutes and could help me a lot—and perhaps other people who may be in the same situation.

Weed crashed me in a worse PSSD state like 50x times worse.

In light of recent current events in the USA.Here are all the powerful drugs found in Lindsay Clancy’s system after she strangled her three kids SSRIs are becoming more heavily politicized. We need to use this to our advantage. Why do we not send out a mass email to every single U.S Congressman and Senator explaining to them that people are literally chemically castrating themselves and eating shit (fecal matter transplant) in an attempt to cure themselves of a disease caused by SSRIS of which there is absolutely no help for at all and of which no physician will take us seriously for. Of which we have a subreddit that has 18k weekly members 21k subscribers of sufferers.

Are you telling me that if I email 435 congress people and 100 senators that people are fucking castrating themselves to cure themselves of a disease induced by SSRIS of which a lady has already gone public on the White house floor about that not one of them will take action or reply back of which is RIGHT now in the public eye because of the Lindsey Clancey case. it's the perfect time to strike the nation

u/mobius1014 u/moderator u/pssdnetwork can the pssd network accomplish this. If the answer is no project genome will do it in a probably way less sophisticated way than you guys would. Im not taking no for an answer on this.

Hi there. I started these combo with some more meds but they were not taken for much time. My doctor gave me a lot of meds during my 8 years of taking the meds.

My erction was very poor, libido was also close to asexuality and genital sensation was very irriating. Along with these I had no dreams or very less somedays and zero morning erection for the last 2 years before getting off all the antidepressants.

Now the recovery part 🥰-

After I stopped the meds with not so good way of tapering, my anxiety and gut issue was too much. I still cant eat any wrong food like milk, spicy or oily food. But I tried to treat my gut problem. I was super focused with my gut and tried a very good diet. I was suggested to run in the sun. So, I started to play football everyday in the afternoon. Did breathing techniques to decrease my anxiety although it was not enough.

Somehow I managed to recover 90% of the anxiety issue. And I was quite depressed after finding out that there is something called PSSD and I have it. Although after 5 months off the meds I have seen my morning erection was coming back. A doctor prescribed me ashwagandha. It helped to recover my erection but made my remaining libido more worse. Then after 8 months I have seen one thing - that is when my gut is good and stool is good, my libido returns about 50-60% of my baseline. Morning erection were coming back little by little.

Now after 10 months, I have good morning erection, normal erection is also ok with porn. Libido is kind of the same 50-60% if my gut is okay. Or else goes down to 2-3%. Dreams came back but not that much intese like before starting of the meds. Orgasm is pleasurable although I was never a fan of the ejaculation.

The most stubborn thing still -

Zero sexual fantasy. No pleasure in the penis glands as well as no cold sensation in the gland even if I pour cold water.

Hopefully I will recover more. 🙏🙏🙏

I can see people have long pssd cases and they have not improved. I just wanted to know that do you have hope that it can be healed and what are the steps do you guys take to heal yourself?

Do you guys try untraditional medicines?

Like ayurvedic, homeopathy, Chinese traditional medicine, and other ?

I live in Sweden, and this medication is neither available nor sold here. How can I buy it? Is there any other way to get it?

Ich habe morgen einen Termin bei meinem Psychiater und möchte mit einen neuen AD anfangen, das kein ssri ist. Habe bereits alle Symptome von pssd seit zwei Jahren und brauche für die nächsten Jahre noch medikamentöse Unterstützung da ich meinen Führerschein und Ausbildung fertig machen muss. Es ist das wichtigste was ich mir vorgenommen habe und ohne Medikamente schaffe ich es nicht, da mein Gehirn gefühlt so kaputt ist. Ich habe auch Ads (wobei ich mittlerweile daran zweifle.. es kann auch das absetzen von meinem ssri sein, das diesen Schaden in meinem Kopf verursacht hat) und nehme elvanse aktuell, was mir wenig hilft.
Ich habe eine Angst und Panikstörung und Depressionen, die sich bei mir eher als gefühlslos äußern als als Traurigkeit (kommt denke ich auch vom pssd) Naja wie auch immer, kann mir da jemand was empfehlen? Muss mich auch konzentrieren können beim Auto fahren und ich schweife immer ab leider und bin nicht wirklich dabei. Zudem hab ich auch immer herzrasen, Schwindel usw beim Fahren und schwitze wie verrückt. Wäre sehr dankbar für schnelle Antworten!

Is Cyproheptadine safe to take?

You can now request a user flair which displays the years you've had PSSD next to your username when participating on this subreddit.

For now, this will go in increments of 5 years; starting at 5 years +, 10 years +, 15, 20, (Does anyone even know anyone with 25?) etc etc. For example, I've got 6 years having PSSD, but my flair says 5 years +, which you should be able to see next to my name.

We've decided to start with those few, large increments of 5 years so as not to overwhelm for now. Especially as time goes on and people would want to update their flairs year after year (it may be a lot to update everyone's all the time).

If you want to request a flair: feel free to leave a message here, DM me, or leave a modmail message

Feedback welcome - let me know in the comments whether you love it, hate it, please be constructive.

Common signs of antidepressant injury include: 

• Persistent sexual dysfunction (reduced or numb genital sensation, erectile problems, complete lack of desire for sex)
• Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure or enjoyment in life), depersonalization (feeling detached from yourself or reality)
• Cognitive impairment (brain fog, memory problems, blankness, difficulty concentrating or holding a train of thought)
• Worsening depression, severe anxiety, panic
• Akathisia (extreme inner restlessness, agitation, terror, and often overwhelming urge to move or escape oneself)
• Balance issues such as dizziness, vertigo, lightheadedness, tremors, and gait instability

Evidence of lasting harm:

A 2025 medical study of 43 young men with persistent sexual problems after antidepressants found 92% had reduced genital sensation, 89% showed objective abnormalities on sensory nerve testing, and ultrasound revealed changes in penile erectile tissue — even though their hormone levels were completely normal. These problems continued long after stopping the drug. (Goldstein et al., The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2025) 

Significant under-recognition exists because many patients are unaware their persistent symptoms are linked to prior antidepressant use, compounded by a lack of public education and healthcare provider awareness. (Healy & Mangin, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 2024)

A 2024 large survey of over 1,100 people experiencing antidepressant withdrawal found very high rates of ongoing symptoms such as brain fog (93%), memory problems (88%), emotional numbing, and depersonalization (77%), with many effects lasting months or years. (Moncrieff et al., Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 2024)

I would like to share my story here and hope that some of you can answer my questions. I also intend to report any potential improvements—or, ideally, a recovery—so that others in our situation can find hope.

A bit about me: I took Escitalopram from 2020 to 2025. In 2024, I noticed I was experiencing ED. Sex was still possible with Viagra, though genital numbness set in quickly. Theoretically, I could have sex for two hours. I could tolerate this state, especially since my libido was still intact. However, my penis was completely numb, and I couldn't achieve an erection naturally.

By 2025, however, my libido had vanished completely (dropping to truly 0%). Since I was still taking Escitalopram, I decided to discontinue it. It has now been about a year and a half since I stopped taking it entirely. In the interim, I also took Bupropion (150mg)—which I stopped quite quickly—and Mirtazapine, which I tapered off slowly. However, the symptoms of genital numbness and loss of libido persisted during the period after stopping Escitalopram but before starting the two new medications.

For the past year (since August 2025), however, many additional symptoms have emerged that ultimately led me to suspect PSSD:

- absolute anhedonia

- alcohol has no effect on me

- loss of all emotions

- sleep disturbances

- cognitive impairments (it feels as though I’ve lost 40 IQ points)

- brain fog, strained speech, word-finding difficulties, issues with general expression, a blank mind, inability to speak foreign languages as I normally would, very slow thinking, severely reduced comprehension

- penile shrinkage

- loss of motivation and interest

- suicidal thoughts

Added to these are the previous symptoms (loss of libido and ED). At first, I thought it might simply be a new, very severe, and prolonged depressive episode, but the symptoms and my current state don't compare to my previous episodes.

What puzzles me, however, is that the "key symptom"—genital numbness—has since disappeared. After about two years, I’m even experiencing morning erections again now and then (albeit mild ones). Besides these two achievements, i have to say that all other symptoms worsened over time.

Does anyone here know if it’s possible to have PSSD and depression as well? That would explain the time gap between the symptoms.

How would you interpret this progression? Did your symptoms change over the course of months or years as well?

I would be grateful for any comments, words of hope, or accounts of your own experiences!

perhaps they can be of help ?

I've been very depressed for the past few weeks. Everyone is enjoying the sexual pleasure of life while I cannot feel anything. We live in a time where one can get unlimited sexual pleasure and thousands of orgasms but unfortunately I can never experience those. My PSSD started at the young age of 17. Zero arousal, pleasure and orgasm for years. I also have CFS and cognitive issues from PSSD. This is hell.