Blank mind, aphantasia, loss of inner monologue, depersonalization/derealization, numb skin, numb emotions, numb genitals, erectile dysfunction, chronic fatigue and the list goes on...
I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
I've suffered with this condition most of my life. I am now 66 years old and after decades of searching for a cause, I'm beginning to understand the problem. Years of SSRI's that were prescribed for me when I was an adolescent for simple anxiety . My life was ruined by these medications. Please keep reporting on this issue and thank you for your attention to this subject !
What an amazing sentence at 24:51!!!!!!!!!!!! "I'm sure there's researchers out there that have the answer to the problem they just don't know there's a problem they have the answer to." Thank you!
'Yes from what I have researched about it, it seems like it is probably very treatable. The issue is we need to start from the bottom and make it more well known to folks so it gets the research and treatments developed that it deserves.
Dr. Healy, dr. Witt, thank you for bringing attention to this! But we urgently need more research and funds. I suffer from PFS myself, similar to PSSD, and it has destroyed my life. I’ve been chemically castrated since my early thirties, suffering for years. Please help us. This existence is inhumane and torture every single day. Tomorrow I’ll have to suffer all over again. And the day after again. I can’t do this much longer.
I appreciate David Healy for being one of the few doctors who has been speaking about the harms of SSRIs for decades. However, I have a few disagreements with what he said here: 1. Just because multiple drugs can cause sexual dysfunction does not mean the mechanism by which they do so is the same. Sexual dysfunction from finasteride could have a completely different cause from SSRIs. I think this should be the default hypothesis unless we have a good reason to think otherwise. 2. Numb genitals are not a requirement for PSSD. While it is true that numb genitals are a good indicator that a person has PSSD, there are plenty of people who experience some level of sexual dysfunction after stopping an SSRI without any numbness. There are also those who did have numb genitals for a period of time, but it eventually recovered. However, they may still have a lower libido and other sexual problems that persist. Claiming that if you don't have numb genitals, you don't have PSSD, is an oversimplification. 3. David's hypothesis that PSSD is a peripheral problem doesn't match my (and many other peoples) experiences. He seemed to suggest that lower libido in PSSD is a consequences of the numbing causing you to start to lose interest in sex. As someone who has experienced it first hand, I don't think this is true. At it's worst, I would look at a picture of a naked women (as a hetro male) and I would feel nothing, it would be like looking at a picture of a tree or a rock. It very much felt like the part of my brain that interprets the patterns the make a woman attractive was completely shut off. If it was just a peripheral nerve problem it's hard to imagine how this could happen. In addition to this, even when my genital numbness was most severe I would still feel touch on my genitals. It was like I was touching my arm, there was just a complete lack of sexually pleasurable feeling. PSSD is a misleading name because there is a large group of symptoms that people can experience post-SSRI, and sexual dysfunction is just one of the more common ones. If you look at the entire range of symptoms that people experience during SSRI withdrawal and that can persist for years afterwards, it's difficult to not come to the conclusion that something went wrong in the brain. These symptoms include: brain zaps, brain fog, head pressure, fatigue, poor focus, low energy, lack of motivation, emotional numbness, lack of creativity, inability to connect with others, anger, mood swings, anxiety, depersonalization, insomnia etc. Of course, it's possible that he is right and it is a sensory problem, but I am sceptical of that idea at the moment.
In addition to this there are animal studies that show a correlation between reduced sexual dysfunction and changes in gene expression in the brain. "Neonatal citalopram exposure produces lasting changes in behavior which are reversed by adult imipramine treatment. D. Maciag et al." showed that rats exposed to citalopram for 2 weeks after they were born developed substantial sexual problems as adults. "Neonatal Antidepressant Exposure has Lasting Effects on Behavior and Serotonin Circuitry. D. Maciag et al." and in this paper they showed that this was correlated with a significant reduction in gene expression of a few serotonin related proteins. Of course, neonatal rats might be affected differently from adult humans but this is at least a reason to believe that SSRis can cause changes to the brain that might be the cause of sexual dysfunction.
Thank you for this. I'm someone who doesn't have genital numbness but do have persistent sexual dysfunction for 4 years post discontinuation of SSRIs. So i find it ironic he says that category of people will recover after 9 months. It's like he's trying to push the nerve endings/small fider neuropathy.
I like what you say here. Your experience is completely valid. But if everybody’s brain is different, is there a portion of people that experience this the same way you do, and a group of people who experience it in a way that this doctor is suggesting? Or is it one way across the board? Since this is something that is new and just starting to be studied, I feel there’s a lot to learn and more questions than answers. The good news is the questions are starting to be asked so more answers can be found. That’s exciting.
I am so grateful that there are good people out there like you two that are willing to fight for those of us that are not able to do much to fight for ourselves after being so damaged by a system that we trusted to help us. This condition is devastating and I hold onto hope that we will find answers someday! To all my fellow brothers and sisters suffering from this unique hell I say hang in there!! We are worth saving!
Thanks for helping us when we were failed so badly by the medical system. One question that might be worth asking is how might you explain the windows phenomenon where some people have periods of some symptom relief before worsening to baseline again?
Doctors gave me sertraline at 11(!) years of age. I took it through my entire puberty. They even gave me risperidone at 18 for anxiety. I've had PSSD my entire life. Been drug free for 10 years now. (I'm 36 now). No libido, genital numbness, no orgasms, low volume semen. My testosterone is within range (17 nmol/L) and everything is in check just Slightly high prolactin. I have brain fog, dry skin and all kinds of symptoms. Symptoms are related to low testosterone. My theory is that PSSD is a damage on androgen receptors mostly. But also something going on with the serotonergic and dopaminergic system. I don't believe that it is nerve damage in the genitalias. Althougt it probably leads to this eventually because of lack of blood flow from not working. Mirtazapine/buspirone and some dopaminergic meds can lessen the PSSD symptoms. Testosterone treatment usuallt don't work but some have healed using high dose TRT followed by PCT. Just sharing my knowledge after suffering from this my entire life. I will probably end my life soon because of this.
Ive been destroyed by finasteride though I took SSRIS for a time before that. All I can say is I hope our suffering will come to an end soon, save us from this living death. I mean who can understand what its like to have your humanity taken away and still be alive? Its just so over.
Thank you so much for this video. At around 23:57, Dr. Healy hits upon something that rings true with me. I've had PSSD for well over 15 years and I've applied for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying). For myself, there is just no point in carrying on. Once again, thank you for this video and I hope more awareness leads to a cure very soon.
Thank you both for this informative interview, and for the work that you are both doing to highlight this awful and almost completely overlooked condition. I have a question for David: Most of us are pretty wary of taking any further pharmaceuticals, partly because we have been left very sensitive to foods, supplements, and drugs which so often can cause us to 'crash', but also, it was pharmaceuticals what got us here in the first place! Further to what you were saying about anticholinergic drugs, do you think a 'low choline' diet might have a positive effect?
Dr. Witt I hope you see this. This is tricky to talk about. I don't have genital numbness but I do experience persistent sexual dysfunction that I have not recovered from "9months" after discontinuation of SSRIs. I also have other symptoms that resemble pssd/PFS and I think a lot of people in this community experience the same. It's more nuanced. I think it's strange David put this in another unknown category...and says these symptoms go away over time. It sounds like he's trying to push the nerve ending issue/small fiber neuropathy. But I'm not going to disregard that theory...it may still be plausible. While on SSRIs I experienced complete numbness and impotence. Now that I'm off medication, the numbness went away but the sexual dysfunction endured...even after 4 years. I also experience emotional bluntness, some brain fog, and muscle fatigue. This is a big issue and I worry it might be brushed aside because it's not in the category of PSSD like he said. It makes me and others confused and not sure what to do then...if we can't even identify what we are experiencing.
Dr Healy is a great researcher, master on psych drugs and pssd.... Without him nobody in the world will even know that such disease exists, even that little awareness.... I dont think he pushes SFN. He knows what he is saying.
@@alextat834 I think everyone in this community is aware of his credentials. But we also only seem to rely on him. And he's got nothing to hold onto except his SFSN theory
@@christopherp.8868 yes on genital sensitivity.... Doesnt need to be completely numb or anesthesia. A significant reduction also in gennital sensitivity is important diagnosis and odvious pssd. What are your main sexual symptoms?
I used to take Citalopram for a year, I'm so glad I didn't get PSSD. Thereafter I was prescribed Mirtazapin (which is no SSRI), been taking it for years (7.5 mg) to sleep more, fortunately it doesn't cause me any sexual disorders, I still very much want and enjoy sex, I just have a somewhat increased appetite.
I have heard a common hypothesis that the culprit could be caused by persistent down regulation of 5hta1, decrecreae in T, dopamine, increase in prolactin, and mentions of melanocortin. Could that be linked to about small fibre neuropathy and CCM (touch fibres) as well, or are they two completely separate angles?
I think it's the reversible vascular restriction syndrome that causes an impaired blood flow to various areas of brain and body, including the nervous system. Its been linked to ssri treatment.
@@Slidehhy Not that I'm aware of. But it should go wway in time as the name implies. It seems to stem from a change in venous (blood vessel) tone. The contract upon excitement. So lots of relaxation combined with exercise and perhaps cold showers might help exercise the vessels/training them to function normally again. Continuous systemic stress throuch drug abuse or emotional stress worsen cardiovascular health so I guess the reverse would be a strategy.
@@Slidehhy What you want to do, I think, is to activate your parasympathetic nervous system which is in charge of healing processes. Acupuncture can do this effectively, but also what I mentioned above.
@@Slidehhy cialis might help too. And nitric oxide promoters such as L-citrulline and L-arginine. But be careful with combining these with cialis. Start cialis with a low dose of 5mg and then go from there if needed.
@@Slidehhy Its probably not this tbh. Cialis, amino acids, all have been tried ad nauseum, though I dont know much about vascular restriction syndrome myself. PSSD and PFS are probably just out of control immune system destroying our brain and organs.
I disagree with the genital numbness part . The biggest diagnostic criteria should be the loss of libido which is common amongst all the people with pssd .
You are wrong. Libido loss can happen due to many mental diseases too. It is known many years ago. But numbness cant happen due to any mental illness....
@@alextat834 yes but we are talking about post discontinuation of antidepressants. A good amount of people in this community suffer with sexual disfunction without experiencing the numbness
Sorry to disapoint you but these two don't look like they're going anywhere. - The only research innitiative that seems to be setting the field seriously is the one led by Dr Urbanucci in Tampere (Finland) and Dr Hornig in Kiel, in coordination with the pfs-network. Their research is based on epigenetics and they at least have time lines, and they're conscious that they're aiming at clinical trials some day, with precise genetic therapeutics. - If Dr Healy and Dr Josef want to get somewhere they should understand that science doesn't make progress with patients doing trial and error with supplements and life style. If we agree that pssd/pfs is a very serious disease we have to act accordingly : only by setting the proper field in science and with world specialsits in their fields (Urbanucci specialist of the AR for prostate cancer). - Healy is going nowhere to my opinion. He's a polemist and excellent writer and he played his role, but he's not a guy specialized in clinical trials or genetics. If he wishes to get somewhere my take is he coudl contribute to educate patients towards funding science and campaining and aiming collectely at one thing. This disease's been going on for 20 years and so far we haven't got anywhere. That's shameful. Cancer and AIDS weren't solved - and aren't being solved - by patient trial and error with supplements and metformin. We need to set the proper field in science and finance it. /
Thanks for the information about the pills. But how can you get rid of generalized anxiety disorder without them? Thank you in advance for your detailed answer, or better yet, a special video
You still have PSSD, in my view at least. I believe PSSD is likely a spectrum, with a scale of numbness and other symptomology. Some comments on here suggest some people with sexual dysfunction (eg erectile issues) following or continuing after SSRI use, do not believe they have genital numbness but I suspect most, if not all, will have had some loss of feeling, even if they are not aware of it, as it is not of the clearly catastrophic variety that has affected some sufferers. There are likely a wide range of effects with PSSD/ neurological sequelae post SSRI use but varying levels of genital numbness seems a key symptom of PSSD. even if varying in extent
@@joshnelson3188I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
Can someone please explain the link between pssd and emotional blunting. What has sexual dysfunction have anything to do with emotions and feeling blunted?
@@simonwright6163Yes. Did you watch the video? Because there was a bunch about how this effects men, and smidge about experiences women had. If you watched it that would be clear to you. Also, didn’t you catch the part where Dr. Witt invites inquiries in the chat? Guess you forgot about that one too.
These drugs ruin life for women and men. They don't enhance anything on women or men. Healy first PSSD patient was a woman. It must be a misunderstanding or a mistake by Healy. What minute:second is it? Read PSSD definition on Rxisk. Best wishes.
Im going back on my comment. The peripheral studies also look interesting regarding the ultra sounds and molecular scarring. In the end there is not going to be any medical device that can measure the level of serotonin or dopamine in a synapse or if your SERT transporter is broken. Capturing the damage in peripheral tissue is brilliant because its something that we can actually measure. There is no question that brain alterations have occurred , but good luck proving it !
What exactly indicates genital numbness ? Is lower sexual sensation the same or not cause i fimly believe the latter can be caused by many things . I can pinch in my genital and feel pain (this is what anhestesia would mean not) shed some focking light on this cause there also "may" be people that so strongly believe they have pssd but actually not have it ?
It’s the sexual sensitivity that’s gone. It feels like rubbing skin on the back of your hand instead, yes you can still feel it but it’s no longer pleasurable
As a pssd sufferer I think Genitalia numbness is not neuropathy and is not permanent. Hear me out first. In year 2018 I was put on 25 mg clomipramine for OCD, on starting the medication my genital went partially numb and I had ejaculatory problems but my genital numbness and ejaculatory problems completely reversed in a few days despite me continuing the medication. In year 2021 I was started on Sertraline which caused my genitals to go numb, however it completely reversed in a few days despite continuing the drug. It was however im year 2022 when I was once again put on sertraline did I develop pssd including gentalia numbness.
I think the name must change to pses cause you can find some people like me that restored their sexual life, but mental problems persisted , in all cases with pssd the only thing that is certain is emotional numbness
avoiding porn , starting to masturbate without visual stimuli , cut sugar , for me it worked, i think its related to dopamine , porn downregulate dopamine receptors, our dopamine receptors are already damage due to pssd adding porn is like pouring gazoline in the fire
Thanks for helping us when we were failed so badly by the medical system. One question that might be worth asking is how might you explain the windows phenomenon where some people have periods of some symptom relief before worsening to baseline again?
Blank mind, aphantasia, loss of inner monologue, depersonalization/derealization, numb skin, numb emotions, numb genitals, erectile dysfunction, chronic fatigue and the list goes on...
I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
💎PSSD is terrible. Thanks for giving it more attention.
Stop spamming these videos in order to get views on you supplements selling channel.
Would be great if you could do another video on PSSD. Any supplements that could help or steroid protocols.
I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
I’m glad you are here. I follow your work. We need has many experts as possible
I've suffered with this condition most of my life. I am now 66 years old and after decades of searching for a cause, I'm beginning to understand the problem. Years of SSRI's that were prescribed for me when I was an adolescent for simple anxiety . My life was ruined by these medications. Please keep reporting on this issue and thank you for your attention to this subject !
What an amazing sentence at 24:51!!!!!!!!!!!! "I'm sure there's researchers out there that have the answer to the problem they just don't know there's a problem they have the answer to." Thank you!
'Yes from what I have researched about it, it seems like it is probably very treatable. The issue is we need to start from the bottom and make it more well known to folks so it gets the research and treatments developed that it deserves.
Dr. Healy, dr. Witt, thank you for bringing attention to this! But we urgently need more research and funds. I suffer from PFS myself, similar to PSSD, and it has destroyed my life. I’ve been chemically castrated since my early thirties, suffering for years. Please help us. This existence is inhumane and torture every single day. Tomorrow I’ll have to suffer all over again. And the day after again. I can’t do this much longer.
Same
😢😢😢
Same
Thank you so much for bringing up the topic! My girlfriend and me both used SSRIs. Then we stopped. She was fine, but I developed PSSD.
Best of luck to you!!
I'll be happy to speak to you and your girlfriend, my boyfriend to has pssd maybe we can cheer each other up ❤
What symptoms of pssd u have. ?
Any improvement
@@ayaladiamant1416that would be a great support group
I appreciate David Healy for being one of the few doctors who has been speaking about the harms of SSRIs for decades. However, I have a few disagreements with what he said here:
1. Just because multiple drugs can cause sexual dysfunction does not mean the mechanism by which they do so is the same. Sexual dysfunction from finasteride could have a completely different cause from SSRIs. I think this should be the default hypothesis unless we have a good reason to think otherwise.
2. Numb genitals are not a requirement for PSSD. While it is true that numb genitals are a good indicator that a person has PSSD, there are plenty of people who experience some level of sexual dysfunction after stopping an SSRI without any numbness. There are also those who did have numb genitals for a period of time, but it eventually recovered. However, they may still have a lower libido and other sexual problems that persist. Claiming that if you don't have numb genitals, you don't have PSSD, is an oversimplification.
3. David's hypothesis that PSSD is a peripheral problem doesn't match my (and many other peoples) experiences. He seemed to suggest that lower libido in PSSD is a consequences of the numbing causing you to start to lose interest in sex. As someone who has experienced it first hand, I don't think this is true. At it's worst, I would look at a picture of a naked women (as a hetro male) and I would feel nothing, it would be like looking at a picture of a tree or a rock. It very much felt like the part of my brain that interprets the patterns the make a woman attractive was completely shut off. If it was just a peripheral nerve problem it's hard to imagine how this could happen. In addition to this, even when my genital numbness was most severe I would still feel touch on my genitals. It was like I was touching my arm, there was just a complete lack of sexually pleasurable feeling.
PSSD is a misleading name because there is a large group of symptoms that people can experience post-SSRI, and sexual dysfunction is just one of the more common ones. If you look at the entire range of symptoms that people experience during SSRI withdrawal and that can persist for years afterwards, it's difficult to not come to the conclusion that something went wrong in the brain. These symptoms include: brain zaps, brain fog, head pressure, fatigue, poor focus, low energy, lack of motivation, emotional numbness, lack of creativity, inability to connect with others, anger, mood swings, anxiety, depersonalization, insomnia etc.
Of course, it's possible that he is right and it is a sensory problem, but I am sceptical of that idea at the moment.
In addition to this there are animal studies that show a correlation between reduced sexual dysfunction and changes in gene expression in the brain.
"Neonatal citalopram exposure produces lasting changes in behavior which are reversed by adult imipramine treatment. D. Maciag et al." showed that rats exposed to citalopram for 2 weeks after they were born developed substantial sexual problems as adults.
"Neonatal Antidepressant Exposure has Lasting Effects on Behavior and Serotonin Circuitry. D. Maciag et al." and in this paper they showed that this was correlated with a significant reduction in gene expression of a few serotonin related proteins.
Of course, neonatal rats might be affected differently from adult humans but this is at least a reason to believe that SSRis can cause changes to the brain that might be the cause of sexual dysfunction.
It's likely both a problem with the brain and localised neuropathy.
Thank you for this. I'm someone who doesn't have genital numbness but do have persistent sexual dysfunction for 4 years post discontinuation of SSRIs. So i find it ironic he says that category of people will recover after 9 months. It's like he's trying to push the nerve endings/small fider neuropathy.
I like what you say here. Your experience is completely valid. But if everybody’s brain is different, is there a portion of people that experience this the same way you do, and a group of people who experience it in a way that this doctor is suggesting? Or is it one way across the board? Since this is something that is new and just starting to be studied, I feel there’s a lot to learn and more questions than answers. The good news is the questions are starting to be asked so more answers can be found. That’s exciting.
yes the name PSSD is purely useless
I am so grateful that there are good people out there like you two that are willing to fight for those of us that are not able to do much to fight for ourselves after being so damaged by a system that we trusted to help us. This condition is devastating and I hold onto hope that we will find answers someday! To all my fellow brothers and sisters suffering from this unique hell I say hang in there!! We are worth saving!
Thanks for helping us when we were failed so badly by the medical system. One question that might be worth asking is how might you explain the windows phenomenon where some people have periods of some symptom relief before worsening to baseline again?
Thank you for another amazing interview spreading awareness about PSSD
I could listen to Dr Healy all day! And you too Dr josef!
Thank you both. We are abandoned and ridiculed for almost everyone. People like you give us some hope!
Doctors gave me sertraline at 11(!) years of age. I took it through my entire puberty. They even gave me risperidone at 18 for anxiety. I've had PSSD my entire life. Been drug free for 10 years now. (I'm 36 now).
No libido, genital numbness, no orgasms, low volume semen.
My testosterone is within range (17 nmol/L) and everything is in check just Slightly high prolactin.
I have brain fog, dry skin and all kinds of symptoms. Symptoms are related to low testosterone. My theory is that PSSD is a damage on androgen receptors mostly. But also something going on with the serotonergic and dopaminergic system. I don't believe that it is nerve damage in the genitalias. Althougt it probably leads to this eventually because of lack of blood flow from not working.
Mirtazapine/buspirone and some dopaminergic meds can lessen the PSSD symptoms.
Testosterone treatment usuallt don't work but some have healed using high dose TRT followed by PCT.
Just sharing my knowledge after suffering from this my entire life. I will probably end my life soon because of this.
I'm thankful for the work of you Dr Healy
Ive been destroyed by finasteride though I took SSRIS for a time before that. All I can say is I hope our suffering will come to an end soon, save us from this living death. I mean who can understand what its like to have your humanity taken away and still be alive? Its just so over.
Can you guys please figure this out
Thank you so much for this video. At around 23:57, Dr. Healy hits upon something that rings true with me. I've had PSSD for well over 15 years and I've applied for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying). For myself, there is just no point in carrying on.
Once again, thank you for this video and I hope more awareness leads to a cure very soon.
Thank you both for this informative interview, and for the work that you are both doing to highlight this awful and almost completely overlooked condition. I have a question for David: Most of us are pretty wary of taking any further pharmaceuticals, partly because we have been left very sensitive to foods, supplements, and drugs which so often can cause us to 'crash', but also, it was pharmaceuticals what got us here in the first place! Further to what you were saying about anticholinergic drugs, do you think a 'low choline' diet might have a positive effect?
Thank you so much for your work 🙏
Dr. Witt I hope you see this. This is tricky to talk about. I don't have genital numbness but I do experience persistent sexual dysfunction that I have not recovered from "9months" after discontinuation of SSRIs. I also have other symptoms that resemble pssd/PFS and I think a lot of people in this community experience the same. It's more nuanced. I think it's strange David put this in another unknown category...and says these symptoms go away over time. It sounds like he's trying to push the nerve ending issue/small fiber neuropathy. But I'm not going to disregard that theory...it may still be plausible. While on SSRIs I experienced complete numbness and impotence. Now that I'm off medication, the numbness went away but the sexual dysfunction endured...even after 4 years. I also experience emotional bluntness, some brain fog, and muscle fatigue. This is a big issue and I worry it might be brushed aside because it's not in the category of PSSD like he said. It makes me and others confused and not sure what to do then...if we can't even identify what we are experiencing.
Dr Healy is a great researcher, master on psych drugs and pssd.... Without him nobody in the world will even know that such disease exists, even that little awareness.... I dont think he pushes SFN. He knows what he is saying.
@@alextat834 I think everyone in this community is aware of his credentials. But we also only seem to rely on him. And he's got nothing to hold onto except his SFSN theory
@@christopherp.8868 How is your gennital sensitivity? No numb ok, but did you notice any decrease?
@@alextat834 decrease in what?
@@christopherp.8868 yes on genital sensitivity.... Doesnt need to be completely numb or anesthesia. A significant reduction also in gennital sensitivity is important diagnosis and odvious pssd. What are your main sexual symptoms?
I used to take Citalopram for a year, I'm so glad I didn't get PSSD. Thereafter I was prescribed Mirtazapin (which is no SSRI), been taking it for years (7.5 mg) to sleep more, fortunately it doesn't cause me any sexual disorders, I still very much want and enjoy sex, I just have a somewhat increased appetite.
I have heard a common hypothesis that the culprit could be caused by persistent down regulation of 5hta1, decrecreae in T, dopamine, increase in prolactin, and mentions of melanocortin. Could that be linked to about small fibre neuropathy and CCM (touch fibres) as well, or are they two completely separate angles?
I think it's the reversible vascular restriction syndrome that causes an impaired blood flow to various areas of brain and body, including the nervous system. Its been linked to ssri treatment.
Is there a fix
@@Slidehhy Not that I'm aware of. But it should go wway in time as the name implies. It seems to stem from a change in venous (blood vessel) tone. The contract upon excitement. So lots of relaxation combined with exercise and perhaps cold showers might help exercise the vessels/training them to function normally again. Continuous systemic stress throuch drug abuse or emotional stress worsen cardiovascular health so I guess the reverse would be a strategy.
@@Slidehhy What you want to do, I think, is to activate your parasympathetic nervous system which is in charge of healing processes. Acupuncture can do this effectively, but also what I mentioned above.
@@Slidehhy cialis might help too. And nitric oxide promoters such as L-citrulline and L-arginine. But be careful with combining these with cialis. Start cialis with a low dose of 5mg and then go from there if needed.
@@Slidehhy Its probably not this tbh. Cialis, amino acids, all have been tried ad nauseum, though I dont know much about vascular restriction syndrome myself. PSSD and PFS are probably just out of control immune system destroying our brain and organs.
Please ask Dr Healy why he will not support the research of Dr. Melcangi?
Thank you for putting up these videos Josef. This horrible condition definitely needs more attention drawn to it.
I’m NOT interested in taking another pill to help with my PSSD. I’m hopeful that my sexual function and feelings will return eventually.
Thank you so much! I've heard there could also be a problem of long lasting fertility problems. Do we have evidence of that?
I disagree with the genital numbness part . The biggest diagnostic criteria should be the loss of libido which is common amongst all the people with pssd .
You are wrong. Libido loss can happen due to many mental diseases too. It is known many years ago. But numbness cant happen due to any mental illness....
Thank you! I have to agree
@@alextat834 yes but we are talking about post discontinuation of antidepressants. A good amount of people in this community suffer with sexual disfunction without experiencing the numbness
I'm with you here. For me it's the mental loss of libido that i experienced from SSRIs that is worse than physical numbness.
I'm a bit confused now.
@@bryngilwern5766 same. I appreciate you
14-17 I took ssris. I’m starting to show symptoms as I’m at the end of my taper. The anesthesia has gotten stronger this is scary
What about this kisspeptin? We need more information on that
Sorry to disapoint you but these two don't look like they're going anywhere.
- The only research innitiative that seems to be setting the field seriously is the one led by Dr Urbanucci in Tampere (Finland) and Dr Hornig in Kiel, in coordination with the pfs-network.
Their research is based on epigenetics and they at least have time lines, and they're conscious that they're aiming at clinical trials some day, with precise genetic therapeutics.
- If Dr Healy and Dr Josef want to get somewhere they should understand that science doesn't make progress with patients doing trial and error with supplements and life style.
If we agree that pssd/pfs is a very serious disease we have to act accordingly : only by setting the proper field in science and with world specialsits in their fields (Urbanucci specialist of the AR for prostate cancer).
- Healy is going nowhere to my opinion. He's a polemist and excellent writer and he played his role, but he's not a guy specialized in clinical trials or genetics.
If he wishes to get somewhere my take is he coudl contribute to educate patients towards funding science and campaining and aiming collectely at one thing.
This disease's been going on for 20 years and so far we haven't got anywhere. That's shameful.
Cancer and AIDS weren't solved - and aren't being solved - by patient trial and error with supplements and metformin. We need to set the proper field in science and finance it. /
Thanks for the information about the pills. But how can you get rid of generalized anxiety disorder without them? Thank you in advance for your detailed answer, or better yet, a special video
Generalised anxiety is better than this living hell
Of course you can chemical imbalance is a theory it’s not actually true thank goodness! Anyway therapy is good as well as changing your lifestyle
What if you're not completely genitally numb but you have reduced sensitivity and pleasureless orgasms?
You still have PSSD, in my view at least. I believe PSSD is likely a spectrum, with a scale of numbness and other symptomology. Some comments on here suggest some people with sexual dysfunction (eg erectile issues) following or continuing after SSRI use, do not believe they have genital numbness but I suspect most, if not all, will have had some loss of feeling, even if they are not aware of it, as it is not of the clearly catastrophic variety that has affected some sufferers. There are likely a wide range of effects with PSSD/ neurological sequelae post SSRI use but varying levels of genital numbness seems a key symptom of PSSD. even if varying in extent
@@joshnelson3188I don't have emotional blunting....! I get mentally and visually arousal Erection orgasm pleasure during sexy talk with girls and during masturbation ! Even when a girl touch and suck my penis I feel arousal Erection orgasm and pleasure but when I try to touch and press a girl body and insert my penis into vagina ...I don't feel arousal and pleasure? Is it PSSD ? One year ago I took Escitalopram 10 mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg for 3 months...! After stopping the medication I got these symptoms ! One more thing when I touch and hold girls hand in my hand I feel full warm feeling ! And Some days ago I felt some warm feeling on touching a girl breast first time in 8 months of this problem ! Am I recovering ? Is it really pssd ?
Can someone please explain the link between pssd and emotional blunting. What has sexual dysfunction have anything to do with emotions and feeling blunted?
They’re just concurrent symptoms
Can dapaxotine gives you pssd?
Wait, so it kills drive in men and enhances it in women? I Would like to know more.
Eh? Did you watch the video?
@@simonwright6163Yes. Did you watch the video? Because there was a bunch about how this effects men, and smidge about experiences women had. If you watched it that would be clear to you. Also, didn’t you catch the part where Dr. Witt invites inquiries in the chat? Guess you forgot about that one too.
These drugs ruin life for women and men.
They don't enhance anything on women or men.
Healy first PSSD patient was a woman.
It must be a misunderstanding or a mistake by Healy. What minute:second is it?
Read PSSD definition on Rxisk.
Best wishes.
No, it also kills it in women.
@@TheMelissaWasHere thank-you for the clarification.
Its glutamate ! Libido disappearing isn’t peripheral. Too much emphasis on the genitals. Probably not going to lead you anywhere over time.
Why you think glutamate plays a role? Ketamine also works on glutamate receptors…and it’s not known for PSSD as far as I m informed
Im going back on my comment. The peripheral studies also look interesting regarding the ultra sounds and molecular scarring. In the end there is not going to be any medical device that can measure the level of serotonin or dopamine in a synapse or if your SERT transporter is broken. Capturing the damage in peripheral tissue is brilliant because its something that we can actually measure. There is no question that brain alterations have occurred , but good luck proving it !
What exactly indicates genital numbness ? Is lower sexual sensation the same or not cause i fimly believe the latter can be caused by many things . I can pinch in my genital and feel pain (this is what anhestesia would mean not) shed some focking light on this cause there also "may" be people that so strongly believe they have pssd but actually not have it ?
It’s the sexual sensitivity that’s gone. It feels like rubbing skin on the back of your hand instead, yes you can still feel it but it’s no longer pleasurable
@@elijhv how much sensation lost do you experience ?
Gently numb or genitally numb ?
Either way I have become.. comfortably numb .
As a pssd sufferer I think Genitalia numbness is not neuropathy and is not permanent. Hear me out first.
In year 2018 I was put on 25 mg clomipramine for OCD, on starting the medication my genital went partially numb and I had ejaculatory problems but my genital numbness and ejaculatory problems completely reversed in a few days despite me continuing the medication.
In year 2021 I was started on Sertraline which caused my genitals to go numb, however it completely reversed in a few days despite continuing the drug. It was however im year 2022 when I was once again put on sertraline did I develop pssd including gentalia numbness.
I think the name must change to pses cause you can find some people like me that restored their sexual life, but mental problems persisted , in all cases with pssd the only thing that is certain is emotional numbness
How did you restore the sexual problems
Fasting , stop watching porn, masturbate to keep production of testosterone active ,cycling supplements like arginine ornithine , nac , niacine
Did you do anything to restore it?
What did you do to restore it?
avoiding porn , starting to masturbate without visual stimuli , cut sugar , for me it worked, i think its related to dopamine , porn downregulate dopamine receptors, our dopamine receptors are already damage due to pssd adding porn is like pouring gazoline in the fire
Thanks for helping us when we were failed so badly by the medical system. One question that might be worth asking is how might you explain the windows phenomenon where some people have periods of some symptom relief before worsening to baseline again?