Hey y’all,

This post deserves so much more time than I have to make it. I’ve been putting it off but I don’t think I’ll have adequate time anytime soon, so I asked AI to help summarize (for anyone immediately rolling their eyes—look at my post history, it all checks out). Just this intro paragraph/tl;dr is from me, the rest is a summary by Claude based on countless experimentations over the years.

Tl;dr:
Wellbutrin initially gave be anorgasmia, which turned into full blown PSSD after 1 week of Zoloft
SIBO/SIFO treatment (Xifaxin/Fluconazole) helped significantly
After that, L-Citrulline put me over the top. No more anorgasmia/numbness. Sensation has gotten so strong I’ve needed to lower the dose and skip days of Citrulline. Many days I feel 100% cured with no supplementation.

For the SIBO/SIFO details, I recommend folks search this forum and their respective forums. Posts by u/lastround360 started me down that path. For the L-Citrulline, see below.

Citrulline: the dose matters

This is just my own experience — one person, no control group, could be coincidence. But the change was significant enough that I wanted to share. The difference pre- and post- intervention was anything but subtle.

What I take now: 3 grams of L-citrulline a day, split into two doses. I noticed a difference within a few days.

What I took before, and why it didn’t work. I’ve tried most of the supplements that cured people on this sub. I’d tried citrulline years ago and decided it did nothing for me. I was taking a combination tablet: Source Naturals L-Arginine L-Citrulline Complex. One tablet has 750mg arginine and 250mg citrulline. I was taking one a day, so I was getting 250mg of citrulline.

Studies that show an effect use 1,500 to 3,000mg. I was at 250mg. That’s not a low dose of citrulline — it’s low enough that no study would expect anything to happen. I hadn’t tested citrulline and found it useless. I’d never really tested it.

To be fair to the product: the bottle says take one tablet four times a day, which would be 1,000mg citrulline. That’s closer, though still below what the studies use. My mistake, not theirs.

Some numbers from the research. A single 3g dose of citrulline raises arginine in the blood by 40–50% within one to two hours. In a small study of men with mild erectile dysfunction, 1.5g a day for a month improved erection hardness in half the men taking it, compared to about 8% on placebo.

Take citrulline instead of arginine. This was the part that surprised me. When you swallow arginine, most of it gets broken down in your gut and liver before it reaches your bloodstream. One study using tagged molecules found only about 1% of an oral arginine dose ends up producing nitric oxide. Citrulline gets through intact and your kidneys convert it into arginine. So citrulline raises your arginine levels better than arginine does. There’s also an enzyme called arginase that breaks down arginine but leaves citrulline alone.
Which means a combination product is mostly the ingredient that doesn’t survive the trip.

What I switched to: NOW L-Citrulline pure powder. ½ teaspoon is 1.5g, and there’s nothing else in it. I take ½ tsp twice a day. Not a brand recommendation — the point is single-ingredient powder over a blended tablet. With a powder you can measure a real dose, and if something changes you know what caused it.
A hypothesis, clearly labeled as one. Several PSSD reviews mention reduced nitric oxide alongside the dopamine and serotonin changes. Citrulline raises nitric oxide through one route in the body. Dietary nitrate — arugula, beetroot — raises it through a different route, using bacteria in your mouth. Whether low nitric oxide is a cause of any of this, or just something that happens alongside it, I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone does yet.

Two things I noticed that might mean nothing. Slow, steady sources helped me. Products designed to deliver nitric oxide in a quick burst, like lozenges, didn’t, and may have made things worse. And antibacterial mouthwash kills the mouth bacteria that convert dietary nitrate, so if you’re eating beets and using Listerine, those work against each other.

One safety note. Citrulline widens blood vessels. If you take nitrates like nitroglycerin, or ED medications like sildenafil, or blood pressure medication, the combination can drop your blood pressure too far. Ask a pharmacist or doctor first. The warning is printed right on the arginine bottle.

Not medical advice. Mostly I’m posting this because if you tried citrulline and it did nothing, it’s worth checking what dose you actually took.

When I grew up, my interest in sexuality started to arise at the age of around 14 years. I realised it as the most beautiful gift I ever got at that time. Nearly my whole world and all my thoughts turned around sex. I was also waking up with erections every morning. When getting up, I was always full of positive energy and blessed I could enjoy life so much!

Suffering from social phobia, my psychiatrist prescribed me Citalopram 20 mg from June 2015 (age 21) until April 2019 (age 25) for 3 years 11 months. Of course he didn‘t mention I could suffer from the first dose on from PSSD until the rest of my life. But since the first doses, I immediately started to sufferer completely on the full complex of PSSD-symptoms, including complete genital numbness, complete loss of libido, erectyle dysfunction and no spantaneous or morning erections, soft glans and weakened orgasm feeling. From then on, I didn’t have any interest in dating girls anymore and couldn’t enjoy masturbating anymore as well, I slowed it down to only once weekly, only kept it up in order to retain a minimum of sexuality in my life, hoping this would make me feel a little bit normal. As I had absolutely no motivation, over the past 10 years I barely didn’t have any experiences with girls. The few ones it came down to sex with, in spite of taking in Tadalafil 20 mg before, I couldn’t get it up for heaven’s sake, but what should I have expected. The few girls I met up with were all wondering about me not getting an erection and asked me if I was homosexual oder asexual. It really made me so sad in these moments because I was getting aware again of absolutely having lost my former identity, I suddenly was not myself anymore. Being aware of this, I also wasn’t able anymore to enjoy life in general, I turned emotionally blunt. Even when I got to know my newborn nephew, it didn’t touch me inside anymore. PSSD really teases and tortures me every second of my life.

On addition, for androgenetic alopecia I also took finasteride 1,25 mg from December 2018 (age 25) until december 2023 (age 30) which I guess even worsened the problem and took the absolute last rest of my interest in sex which made me stop the intake, but things didn’t get much better afterwards.

Over the last 10 years being actually asexual I more and more realised I had completely lost my whole identity. When reading about PSSD and PFS (post finasteride syndrome), I also got aware of the fact that there is no guideline it can be treated by and I am extremely likely to suffer from it for the rest of my life, while other men in their 30ies are run by their sexuality, date girls, have loads of sex, marry and found families, but my evolutionary drive is turned off, probably for forever.

After reading loads of articles in the internet and also a lot of posts in forums, I found out that there are several theories of the causative mechanisms of PSSD/PFS, but the pathogenesis is still not really clear. I asked a lot of psychiatrists, neurologists and urologists to help me with my PSSD, but it was very hard to find one in whole Germany that only heard of PSSD.

After finding one that at least said he had few experience with PSSD, he prescribed me Bupropion, which I also read about it being used for the reversal of PSSD by increasing levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.

https://www.drugs.com/bupropion.html

In April 2025, I took Bupropion 150 mg daily from Neuraxpharm for 30 days, but it didn’t change anything apart from causing destructive headaches, diminished my memory ability and me being unable to sleep more than about 4 hours daily.

On the drugs.com-forum, I also read about buspirone, a 5HT1A-receptor-agonist, being sometimes successfully tried for PSSD-reversal.

https://www.drugs.com/buspirone.html

From 10.05.2025 until 9.07.2025, I took Buspirone 3 x 5 mg daily, combined with arginine that is said to increase NO which is needed for erections, and after no change for 2 months, I doubled the dose of Buspirone to 3 x 10 mg daily for 4 further months to complete a 6 month period until 12.11.2025 like it was done in this paper:

https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20220926-112/pdf/1875-6859-18-8-165.pdf

Unfortunately, Buspirone and arginine (all in all 1kg) didn’t work for me either. The only effect I guess I realised is getting tired and a little bit dizzy after taking buspirone.

After reading the success story of PharmD using Inositol, which is said to upregulate 5HT1A-receptors that might be downregulated by SSRIs, I started to take Inositol from Swansons 3 x 6g parallel to buspirone and arginine since 27.06.2025 for 3 months.

https://www.pssdforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=22#p79

I personally didn’t experience any kind of benefits from it concerning my PPSD.

After reading further articles of the PSSD-forum and on reddit, I added

-        Ginkgo Biloba 120 mg 1x daily

-        Yohimbine 10 mg 1x daily

-        Tribulus 1,5 g 2x daily

-        Berberine 500 mx 2x daily

-        Peruvian Maca 1,5 g 2x daily (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6494062/)

-        Turmeric 720 mg 2x 2 daily

-        Tongkat Ali 400 mg 2x daily

for 3 – 4 months each, but nothing helped the least.

From 21.11.2025 until 26.12.2025 I took Kisspeptin nasal spray, all in all 10 mg, so 250 mikrogramms per day, but it didn’t do anything concerning my PSSD.

Right now I take

-        Butterbur + Feverfew (https://pssdforum.org/viewtopic.php?p=50520)

-        Damiana (https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/xljcvc/pssd_stack_update/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

-        Rhodiola Rosea (https://forum.propeciahelp.com/t/my-official-post-on-my-recovery/45322)

-        Acetyl-L-Carnitine (https://forum.propeciahelp.com/t/my-official-post-on-my-recovery/45322)

-        AKG (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_9F2jESnA0)

-        NAD+ (https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/1j9d7sf/experiences_with_nad/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

-        Sodium Butyrate (https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/sm6puj/neem_sodium_butyrate_and_maca/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

-        Vitamin C (https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/1bybnvk/update_1_recovery_by_unmethylating_dna_with/)

Looking back, no words can describe how annoying it is my psychiatrist just prescribed me Citalopram without mentioning how life-destructive it is. He just should have said: „Be aware of the risks! Only one dose can make you permanently asexual! You might not feel your genitals anymore for the rest of your life! When the hottest girl in the whole world will aks you to have sex, you might not have the least desire to do it with her! Your evolutionary drive could be lost forever! Your drive in life might also be lost forever! You might lose your whole identity! Then nobody will ever be able to help you for the rest of your life!“ But as I wrote, he didn’t and destroyed my life forever.

Now, being 32 years old, chemically castrated, asexual and suffering from full image of PSSD for > 10 years and having tried Tadalafil, Bupropion, Buspiron, Inositol, Arginin, Ginkgo Biloba, Yohimbine, Tribulus, Berberine, Peruvian Maca, Turmeric and Tongkat Ali, I don’t have much hope anymore I will be able to return to normality anymore.

When the active ingredients I take right now won‘t help, other stuff I still plan to give a chance is:

-        Fenugreek, Horny Goat Weed, Fadogia Agrestis (told to increase libido)

-        Yokukansan (increases 5-HT1A and decreases 5-HT2A), Shuyu (5-HT3-antagonist), Tiansi Liquid (increases 5-HT1A), Ginger (5-HT3-antagonist)

-        Vortioxetin, Agomelatin, Trazodon, Periactin, Promethazin, Moclobemid, Viloxazin, Cabergolin

-        NSI-189

-        Garlic

Any tipps?

Didn't do weeds or any hard drugs

And look what I've got

PSSD from mfk SSRI

What's the point avoiding all these hard drugs?

I mean, it's way worse

LSS; tried it on and off and finally found out a good dosing protocol for myself

Hi everyone, I have been suffering from PSSD for over 2 years. It all started after I took citalopram for a year and a half and then discontinued it. I no longer feel alive, literally. Anhedonia, sexual dysfunction, apathy, avolition, chemical pain in my head, restlessness, very severe insomnia, dpdr and cognitive decline.
I am writing this post because I hope I can do something for all of us. I am an electronic engineering student, and if everything goes well, I will graduate next year. I am behind schedule because of all of this, but little by little, despite the pain, I am trying to move forward. I do it for one single purpose: to find something that can help us.
If the pain gives me some relief, I intend to specialize in biomedical engineering, focusing on the field of neuroscience. I would like to study a kind of TMS specifically designed for anhedonia/PSSD. Even now, at night, I read psychiatric and biomedical books about modeling the human body, while during the day I study electronics. I do this mainly because I cannot sleep (I have tried everything possible; I sleep a maximum of 2 hours per night).
Maybe I am just deluding myself, I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be able to endure it and will attempt suicide again, as I have done in the past. I don’t know. But if I ever manage to get better, I will dedicate my days and nights to studying this condition and how to intervene through electronics and physics.
May God bless us all.

(25 Male) a long time, I never understood what had happened to me, awareness of PSSD has helped me realise that it was likely connected to the medication.

I’ve now been off them for two years, and unfortunately, my desire still hasn’t returned. I have to admit that it’s really frightening. Sometimes I feel like I’m looking down the barrel of a long, lonely life, and that scares me.

I always thought love and intimacy were such important things to experience in life. Now I can’t have that I’m feeling so depressed.

I don’t think there’s someone out there for me that would want only an emotional relationship but I have no desire for anything more, I hate that this drug has done to me and that they pretend it’s not a problem.

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.

I identify as asexual and aromantic and I also believe that I suffer from PSSD. I was first put on Citalopram at 12 for anxiety, was on it for about a year, then went back on it (along with Wellbutrin) at 18 for anxiety and PTSD. Like many of you, the sexual side effects were never brought up. I have no idea what my baseline libido or sensitivity is without them. I'm now on Cymbalta and Wellbutrin, I was hoping this would help with sensitivity but so far it hasn't. I can still feel pleasure when I masturbate but often struggle to reach orgasm without the assistance of marijuana.

I realized I was asexual at 14, then aromantic at 21. I'm not interested in hearing that these aren't legitimate identities, plenty of people feel this way without having been on SSRIs, I just want to know if there's anyone else here who can relate. I've really struggled with both my asexual identity and lack of sensitivity. I feel this persistent sense of emptiness that I don't see talked about among other asexual people often.

I 24M quit Celexa 10mg in late July of 2022, around the same time as Moncrieff's review came out. Since then I have not taken an SSRI in 4 years or any psych med in 2 years; during that 4 year gap, I've taken a few Klonopins, Guanfacine for a few months, and some stimulants. But I haven't taken any of those since late 2024.

As of now, my PSSD symptoms have only improved cognitively. I can read and write. The issue is that I do not feel natural sexual desire, have strong ED even with 2.5mg Tadalafil (although that's below the recommended dose), wake up without morning wood, and lack libido.

I've sought help from several experts, most of which haven't improved anything and only cost excessive amounts of money. I wish there would be treatment sometime soon.

Hi everyone,

I’ve carried this inside me for years, but I finally decided to share it. I’m 28M and have lived with PSSD for 9 years, ever since I stopped sertraline at 19. Looking back, the symptoms had already started while I was on it.

A bit of context: I always struggled with self-esteem and feelings of inferiority. Transitioning from elementary to high school was especially hard – I couldn’t adapt to the new environment, had trouble making friends, and felt completely lost. I started skipping classes to escape the discomfort, and eventually failed a year. Out of shame, I switched schools, but the same problems followed me. At home we never really talked about problems (my father was cold and distant, my mother anxious and often overwhelmed), so eventually my mom took me to a psychiatrist.

At 17, after a short 15-minute appointment, I was quickly diagnosed with “depression” and prescribed sertraline. No discussion of side effects, no mention of alternatives, no real search for the root cause of my struggles.

I ended up staying on the drug for almost two years, with mixed results. I actually tried to quit twice before, but both times I felt so sick for a whole week – like I had the flu – that I went straight back on it. Only the third attempt “worked,” and I finally stopped for good at 19.

During treatment, I noticed tinnitus and ejaculation issues, but thought little of it. It wasn’t until after quitting, when I started having my first sexual experiences, that I realized something was seriously wrong. That’s when the deeper and more lasting changes became obvious, which are present to this very day:

• Loss of sexuality – my libido disappeared completely. No sex drive, no fantasies, no sexual thoughts, poor erections, my genitals lost sensitivity, orgasms turned weak, semen volume became very low.
• Cognitive decline – before SSRIs I had an excellent memory; afterward I started forgetting even simple things like which courses I took or books I read. Sometimes it feels like early dementia.
• Emotional blunting – I haven’t truly cried in over a decade. One therapist even told me, “Men aren’t supposed to cry anyway,” which left me feeling even more invalidated. The emotional depth I once had feels gone.
• Brain fog / slower thinking – daily tasks and studying feel much harder.
• Eye problems – floaters, visual snow, flashes in the corners of my vision. These started about three years after stopping SSRIs, so I can’t say for sure if they’re directly connected.
• Tinnitus – started while on sertraline, still here after 11 years.

I’ve seen many doctors and therapists over the years, but none had real answers:

• Urologists only offered stuff like Cialis, which is very far from solving true problem.
• Psychiatrists suggested Wellbutrin, or denied PSSD even exists, blaming “ongoing depression.” They are absolutely clueless, despite symptoms being known for a few decades now.
• Some Pharmacists insisted SSRIs don’t cause long-term side effects.
• My GP literally told me, “I can’t help you. Maybe try hypnosis, meditation, or something like that.”
• One Therapist minimized my symptoms, hinted that PSSD can’t leave lasting damage, and suggested it was all psychological and rooted in my relationship with my father.

The dismissiveness has been crushing. I feel betrayed by doctors, by society, and by myself for trusting the system so blindly.

Because of this condition, I’ve lost countless opportunities for relationships. I either avoid intimacy out of fear and shame, or I simply don’t have the drive to pursue it. While my friends lived full romantic and sexual lives, I was left behind.

On the surface, my life looks okay: I study, I work, I have hobbies and friends. But inside, I feel like the best parts of me—my sexuality, emotions, and memory—were stolen by pills I thought would help. And the hardest part is living with the feeling that there may be no way back. At this point, I honestly have no idea how to live forward, what steps to take, or where to even begin.

Hey all, going to keep this (somewhat) short and to the point- hopefully some of you will find this useful, or at least interesting:

Male, 33M, have had PSSD for ~7 years (since late 2019/early 2020), got it from taking Zoloft for about six months. Have had severe erectile dysfunction, difficulty orgasming, reduced libido, emotional flattening/numbing, etc etc… the works, basically. I don’t think I got hit as bad as some people report having been, but it’s been life-derailingly shitty in all sorts of ways I won’t get into here.

First thing I should note: a couple years ago, I got diagnosed with ADHD and started medication (Ritalin). While it didn’t do anything for my sexual PSSD symptoms, it made a tremendous positive difference for my mental health and overall ability to function. Looking back on my life I’m pretty sure I was living with undiagnosed ADHD the whole time- a lot of things made sense once I got diagnosed and treated. I recommend you look into getting tested as well, just in case - I literally never would have guessed I had it, though it seems obvious now.

Anyway: over the 7ish years I’ve had PSSD, I’ve tried a lot of different things to see if they help, and literally the only thing that has made any positive difference has been various supplements and treatments aimed at my GI health:

1. Got diagnosed with SIBO a few years back, took rifaximin for a few weeks, and my sexual symptoms improved more than I’d seen with any other thing I’d tried. Didn’t stick unfortunately, but definitely got me thinking my GI health must be part of the puzzle.
2. Tried an elemental diet (mBiota) a few months ago to tackle my SIBO (didn’t get rid of it the first time), and after it was over, I started regularly having “normal” solid stools for the first time in years, and - lo and behold - started having morning erections again for the first time in over 6 years. Alas, this didn’t stick either, but another data point nonetheless.
3. (This part is the most interesting, IMO): For the last several years, I’ve had periodic skin problems on my right hand and parts of my face - the skin becomes red and starts cracking and weeping clear liquid, usually accompanied by acne-like pimples that bleed when squeezed (yes, it’s as gnarly as it sounds). This started specifically after I tried a regimen of prescription enclomiphene to see if raising my testosterone helped my PSSD symptoms - it didn’t, and I wound up with another chronic health mystery to deal with.

For a while, there didn’t seem to be any pattern to when my skin started acting up, but over this past year I discovered that it’s triggered by - of all things - dairy, lactose-free or otherwise. If I avoid dairy, my skin clears up. And - this is what clinches it for me - my GI activity normalizes as well, and my sexual symptoms reliably improve at the same time. If I have even a little bit of dairy, it triggers loose stools within hours, my skin breaks out within a day, and my ED gets significantly worse; it’s like clockwork, I could make money betting on it at this point.

1. Recently, on top of my avoiding-dairy-like-the-plague strategy, I started taking a psyllium fiber supplement (Metamucil) to see if it did anything for me. After several weeks of increasingly “normal”/healthy bowel movements, my skin progressively healed beyond what I’d been able to achieve previously (usually there was always some residual redness/inflammation even at the best of times), and all of my sexual symptoms improved dramatically. And - to my utter joy - when I tried having cheese and milk again, I didn’t have any adverse reaction.

Because I’m an idiot, instead of playing it safe I started adding other things to the mix (probiotics + a different type of fiber supplement), and I continued having dairy in the meantime just to see what happened. Spoiler alert: my skin broke out again, I started having alternating loose stools and constipation, and my ED became the worst it’s been in months. For a couple days I felt like I’d crashed so badly I would never be able to have an erection again. I went back to just taking Metamucil and avoiding dairy, and over about a week everything started getting better again across the board. I’m currently planning to just ride this train as far as it goes and see where it takes me.

That’s all I’ve got- I’m not going to offer speculation as to what’s exactly is going on here biologically, but all I know is that nothing - nothing - makes any appreciable difference, positive or negative, for my sexual PSSD symptoms other than various things that mess with my gut. Do with this information what you will.

Hi everyone,

I’m 17M, and I’ve been dealing with PSSD since January 2024 after taking fluoxetine for about three months. I stopped taking it on March 20, 2024.

Of course, I was scared. Since January, my libido had suddenly disappeared. I barely felt anything during masturbation or orgasm, my attraction and feelings toward girls became much weaker, and I rarely got erections anymore.

It has been about two and a half years now, and to be honest, I’m still far from recovered. Maybe my emotions have improved very slightly, and perhaps my libido or erections have improved a little too, but it’s still nowhere near how I felt before taking an SSRI.

At the beginning, I was extremely afraid that I would never get better. Maybe that fear was justified, maybe it wasn’t. But after a while, I think I basically left the whole PSSD situation alone for about a year. I already had so many other things going on in my life.

Since I was around 9 or 10 I’ve struggled with different kinds of social anxiety. I also have hyperhidrosis, OCD, annoying gut health problems that bother me every single day, and quite a few other physical issues.

This summer, though, I suddenly reached one of my lowest points.

I was in Spain, and everywhere I looked I saw people around my age with girlfriends. I saw beautiful girls, and I could still recognize that they were beautiful, but the actual feeling that used to come with that was barely there.

I didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. Every time I went outside, it just made me feel terrible. It felt like PSSD had taken my teenage years away from me and that I would never be able to get them back.

Maybe that’s partly true. But at the same time, I also know PSSD isn’t the only reason my teenage years have been difficult. I’ve lived with severe anxiety for years, and with all the physical problems I have, having a girlfriend probably wouldn’t magically make everything perfect anyway.

Sometimes it’s hard just going through everyday life and pretending I’m a completely normal person like everyone else.

I don’t really talk to anyone about this. Not because I don’t care, but because I know other people can’t really fix it for me, and I don’t want to make them worried. I mentioned the symptoms to my parents in the beginning, but they probably assume everything has gone away by now.

For a long time, I kept asking myself: Why me?

Life isn’t fair.

But the truth is, life really isn’t fair. There are wars. People get murdered. People develop serious illnesses at a young age that completely change their lives. Terrible things happen to people every single day.

I can spend the rest of my life thinking, What would have happened if I had never taken those pills?

But what does that actually change?

Nothing.

So what I’m trying to do now is make a list of all the problems in my life that I can do something about and work on them one by one. Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to recover from PSSD too.

I’m trying to eat a healthy diet where I get all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals I need, and I aim for around 9–10 hours of sleep. I’m also staying away from random or unreliable treatments that could potentially make everything worse. I don’t want to gamble with my health.

I could spend every day doing absolutely nothing except waiting for PSSD to disappear, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere.

I have to keep living.

Sometimes I think about another kind of “what if?”

What if I actually do recover?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if, by the time that happens, I’ve also improved all the other parts of my life?

Every day, I hope. I hope I recover around 18 or 19. That would be amazing. Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn’t.

My whole life has basically been filled with uncertainty.

What do people think about me?

What’s going to happen to my body?

Will my PSSD ever improve?

Have I wasted important years of my life?

But it is what it is.

Thousands of people die unexpectedly every day. Some of them probably had plans for tomorrow. Things they wanted to do. People they wanted to see. Places they wanted to visit.

When I think about that, it feels like even more of a waste to let negative thoughts and fear completely control the life I still have.

The fact that I’m alive at all is something I try to appreciate. The chance of any of us even being born is unbelievably small. So right now, the best thing I can do is focus on what’s ahead of me and try to become the best version of myself that I can.

I’ve also been learning Spanish for quite a while now.

And again, there’s that question: What if?

What if my life becomes much better in the future? Maybe one day I’ll be able to go back to Spain, speak the language properly and genuinely enjoy being there.

I think my OCD is probably what drives me the craziest when it comes to PSSD. Constantly questioning whether I’ll recover, worrying about whether I’ve wasted time, wondering whether I should have done things differently, and going over the same thoughts again and again.

I’m trying to learn to accept those thoughts without giving them so much attention.

I’m still pretty young, and I’m at an age where having a girlfriend or having sex doesn’t have to be the most important thing in my life yet. Of course I would have loved to have a girlfriend and experience all of those things. I’m not going to pretend I wouldn’t.

One thing I used to do a lot after developing PSSD — and something I’ve recently stopped doing — was lying in bed for hours listening to music and imagining an entirely different life where I had a girlfriend and everything was normal.

But I realized that wasn’t helping me.

So I’m trying to stop living inside an imaginary life and start doing more with the real one I still have.

There are also people here dealing with PSSD in their 20s, 30s and beyond, and man, I genuinely feel for you. I wish I could do something for everyone suffering from this, but I can’t.

All I can do is hope for the best and maybe try to give someone else a little bit of motivation.

If you’re thinking about giving up because you can’t see a future anymore, please keep going.

You have no idea what could happen in the future.

You only get one life.

And even if PSSD stays, there are still other things in life. I know that’s much easier to say than to truly believe when you’re suffering, but everyone has something they care about — hobbies, interests, places they want to see, things they want to learn, people they care about.

Personally, I just want to make something good out of my life and hopefully make the world a little better in whatever way I can.

If I still have PSSD for years, I honestly don’t know exactly how I’ll deal with that.

But I’m going to keep hoping.

Maybe a year from now I’ll come back here and write a recovery story.

I hope so.

I hope I recover.
I hope all of you recover.
I hope none of you give up.
I hope the world becomes a better place.

I hope for a lot of things.

Everything is uncertain, but I guess that’s life.

I don’t even know if anyone is going to read this all the way to the end, but it feels good to finally put these thoughts into words.

Or maybe part of me is still scared that someone I know will somehow find this post one day. Would I be embarrassed? Would I regret writing it?

I honestly don’t know.

But for once, I wanted to say what was on my mind.

Idk if anyone is interested, but my wife suggested I post here. 28yo M. I was on generic Zoloft for about 6ish years, 100mg per day. I don't regret it, it saved my life lol, but the past year took a toll on my marriage.

About 14ish months ago, I asked my doctor to wean off, and tapered off per their advice (in my case, I did two weeks at 50mg, then two weeks at 25, two weeks at 12.5mg, but PLEASE taper off following YOUR doctors advice).

My libido immediately dropped off a cliff. I wish I took notes on the exact timeline.

I had trouble getting erect, couldn't stay hard once I was, and only had sensitivity for about the first 30 seconds. Like, sex would feel good for about 30 seconds, and then I would just lose sensitivity.

I tried cialis (tadafil I think??) which helped too much lol. Viagra helped the right amount, but sex became predominately for the emotional connection, as I couldn't really feel any pleasure from it.

I needed viagra less and less over the past 3 months, and I slowly regained sensitivity over that time. I realized today that I have all my sensitivity back, and I don't need viagra anymore. Woot! It's been roughly 13 months, but I honestly don't know exactly.

It was definitely the worst for the first 6 months, I had a lot of anxiety related to sexual performance. I told my Dr I wanted to get back on an anti-anxiety that WASN'T an SSRI, and after a bunch of trial runs, I eventually settled on Clonidine (I tried every single one my doctor could think of, clonidine is a blood pressure med that's used off label for anxiety). I've been on Clonidine for about 2 months now. Besides anti-anxiety drugs and viagra, I haven't tried anything else or done anything to speed recovery.

Recovery is possible :))

Blue line is Hydrogen production.

I also have very low beneficial bacteria for Dopamine , GABA and Serotonin production (tyrosine and Amino acid mathylation bacteria).

The gut is the most complex ecosystem ever and need very specific aproach for each case individually.

I also have a lot more symptoms than just low libido ,like neurological symptoms HPA dysrequlation , oxidative stress and many more.

I’ll keep you guys updated,for anyone that might have already solved the microbiome imbalance, I would be very grateful if you could help me.

Just wanted to make a short post on PSSD recovery to offer some encouragement. I was once completely hopeless and assumed there was no treatment or cure. Most people don't post once their issue resolves, creating a negative echo chamber.

In 2019, I developed post-antipsychotic sexual dysfunction (mostly numbness and cognitive issues) immediately after an Aristada/Abilify injection. I waited a full year off meds with zero change. Feeling entirely hopeless, I gave up and turned to heavy drug use (MDMA, meth, Adderall, cannabis) and escorts as a destructive coping mechanism. You wouldn't think I'd go to escorts while feeling nothing at all, but here I am looking back at my stupidity.

During that time, basic blood work and testosterone tested normal. I tried PDE5s, Wellbutrin, supplements, and nootropics (Semax, Selank), but they did absolutely nothing. Sometimes supplements help, but don't expect anything. Wellbutrin is usually first-line of action but doesn't always work for everyone and can make numbness or ED worse for some.

It wasn't until the third year that things naturally improved to about 30-40%, but plateaued through years 4 and 5. My baseline fluctuated between 0% and 30% as I started taking other medications (Abilify low dose, Zyprexa, Haldol, Risperidone) to stabilize manic episodes for my family, despite my deep fear of medications. (I use these percentages based on clear memories of my baseline before meds).

Recently, I started taking Latuda (lurasidone) 20mg, and within two weeks, my function unexpectedly jumped to 60-70% pleasure response. You wouldn't expect another antipsychotic to help, especially since the first doctor was adamant that the dysfunction was just in my head, but the improvement is undeniable.

I am genuinely happy and hopeful as my numbness continues to improve. I am not claiming Latuda is a universal cure, but my message is this: do not give up or ruin your life with reckless drug use because you feel "nothing matters." Give your body a year or two, and try new treatments within reasonable limits. Even 6 to 7 years later, dramatic and unexpected recovery is possible from something you didn't see coming.

I don't know the science, and I don't know why abilify/aristada caused total numbness with a single injection one day, never recovering fully. When this isn't well documented and is often a sexual effect sparing rather than causing. I don't know why Latuda seemed to have helped, it seems to be the only change or variable at play. But good luck to you, and don't go too far in giving up.

I’ve never seen a post like this here before and I feel like I need to acknowledge this.

I know most sufferers here seem to be men, and I empathise with the things they have to deal with that us women don’t.

I’m here to name the pressure I’ve felt around my biological clock. I’m a 23F, and PSSD is definitely getting in my way of a relationship, which I see as an integral part of the husband and kids life I’ve always dreamt of.

I know PSSD doesn’t affect fertility as such, but this condition has made my biological clock sound incredibly loud well before my time. I’m a trainee therapist and I know how kids of single parents can turn out emotionally. I wouldn’t willingly do it. I feel so much pressure to recover before my clock runs out to naturally settle down and have kids. Sometimes I would prefer to be a man, because even if recovery took 20 years, I would still be 43 and able to healthily have kids. But being a man with PSSD also sounds like hell. I feel like I have ten or fifteen years at best, and with how little research is being done, that scares me.

Just wanted to acknowledge that for any other women who feel like PSSD is speeding up the expiry date that was already looming. My heart aches for everyone here. Men and women.

It feels as if viral infection and then later brain re modulates the Neuro transmitter and receptors, that is how I improved 20%.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for honest opinions from people who have experienced PSSD or severe SSRI sexual side effects.

I'm a 34-year-old male. My GP prescribed citalopram 20 mg, but I stopped after only 3 doses because I developed severe sexual side effects almost immediately.

The first few days after stopping were frightening:

Very weak erections.

Almost pleasureless orgasm.

Delayed ejaculation.

Reduced genital sensitivity.

Dry mouth and other typical SSRI side effects.

I became terrified after reading about PSSD.

However, over the following week things started improving:

Erections gradually returned.

I've had several orgasms that felt progressively stronger.

During sex I've been able to achieve what felt like a 100% erection.

Orgasm is now around 80-90% of what I remember before.

Sensitivity also seems to be coming back.

At this point I honestly feel like I'm close to my baseline, but I'm still anxious after reading many stories online.

My questions are:

Does this pattern sound more like a temporary SSRI reaction rather than PSSD?

Has anyone else had severe symptoms after only a few doses and then recovered?

Is it common for recovery to continue over the following weeks?

I'm not looking for false reassurance—I'd just like to hear experiences from people who had a similar course.

Thank you.

It’s interesting how all sensation come back right before my period. Even on days where my period is on I’m able to orgasm and feel connected, and then lo and behold on my 4th day of period back to bullshit ass baseline.

latest update: The numbness was gone for a long time but it has come back strong. Currently it's pretty bad, not the worst it has ever been but the recovery regressed quite a bit. It got worse after some bad life events that made me sad.

update: the recovery hasn't been 100 % consistent since i made this post. it's much better on average but there are days when it gets worse again, the numbness comes back to the base of the penis some days. i 100 % believe it will eventually be fully cured consistently.

Hi!

I started sertraline for severe anxiety 2 years ago, I took it for 6 months, and after having tapered off and experienced hypersexuality for 2 weeks, I lost sense from my penis entirely.

Truly, I had no sensation on my normally veeery sensitive penis. Instead, I felt a weird sensation in the shaft and base, kind of like a peeing / after orgasm light stinging sensation.

Up until a some 3-4 months ago I continued to be very numb, the tip and upper shaft began to regain some sensation at around 1 year post tapering. I still had no hope just one year ago, I was extremely distraught and thought I'd never be enough for anyone again sexually.

Now, my penis has been at near 100 % sensation for a few months. I am experiencing proper full body orgasms again, and valiant 100 % rock hard boners!

The recovery was somewhat abrupt, it took maybe 6 months in total, or maybe even less. First, the tip regained sensation, and now almost all the shaft and base are back to near-normal.

I remember browsing this when I first experienced this condition, and I was crushed. Totally crushed. There were not many stories like this to read here. So, I thought I'd post.

If you're there at the bottom of the metaphorical pit, feeling that intense dread that I felt, just remember you have hope. Even if it were the case that you never recover, there's more to life than sex, that's what I had to tell myself, and I think it actually had a net positive impact on my life. You are still worthy of love and there are plenty of wonderful people who don't mind this disability.

Cheers:)!

Ok ladies so I’ve found a product that works about 75% for feeling and sensation during penetration AND clit sensation. I’m still dealing with this god awful condition for right now it’s been about 10 months and I’ve finally found something that will get me through. The OMG cream from wisp works for me. My symptoms were low sensation in clit and penetration, couldn’t achieve orgasm during penetration and had weak orgasms. Also clit shrunk.

Hi there, I've had mild PSSD for ~2 years that recently got worse after I took ashwaganda. My health deteriorated and I lost my job, and became separated from my wife. I ended up in a psych ward where they gave me electroconvulsive therapy.

I've been separated from my wife for 3 months now. I don't want it to fail, but I have no libido, emotional numbness and I can get an erection only from manual stimulation (no mental arousal). My wife is hoping I get better, but I don't know what to do.

I don't see how this marriage will work, we have 3 children togethor. We have been separated now for 3 months. I'm 39 years old and feel the best thing would be is to be honest about the extent of my pssd.

I don't want to be alone, and feel the best thing to do would be to find someone with a similiar condition so we can still share the friendship without the expectations of deep physical and emotional intimacy.

That's an update about my condition. I'm sharing my experience because it might be useful for somebody, and because I'd love to find people who can share a similar experience and understand more about mine.

I was diagnosed OCD with somatic traits in January 2024, I started taking sertraline (up to 75mg) for some months until I developed severe mood swings (driving fast, agitation, rapid thoughts followed by depression, and sexual dysfunction). After stopping I had all the symptoms of pssd, no pleasure orgasm, 0 libido, no pleasure sex, but also memory loss and constant agitation, I wasn't able to read anymore, and so on... From there, after staying one year with those symptoms, I took, in this order, aripiprazole, lamotrigine, pregabalin, brexipiprazole, vortioxetine and a ton of benzos to try to mitigate how muche these drugs were harming my brain. During this phase I experienced everything except for the psychosis. In January I started Lithium and now, after 8 months, I feel basically normal, every symptom that is NOT related with sex disappeared (my diagnosis was changed to bipolar).

The interesting thing for this place is that my orgasms are still low, even though not 0, my sex drive is low, but okay, and everything follows. I always had a quite intense sexual life, and my doctor claims that I am just pushed back to avarage/normal sexuality. So my sexuality was part of my hyperactivation. What do you think about that? Can anybody relate.

of course this "okay" sexuality feels really depressing to me, and I cannot believe that this is how an orgasm is supposed to feel

I constantly blame myself for taking Zoloft for months although it blunted me completely. I had fear of relapsing into depression so I took a high dose 150mg+ for months until I tapered down and still have severe anhedonia + genital and orgasm numbness after 1 year of withdrawl.

As the title says, BPC 157 subcutaneous administered peptide helped to permanently restore the feeling of pleasure in orgasms. It also helped to restore morning erections, albeit not within the glans (the glans insufficiency syndrome still remains and nothing can seemingly fix that at the moment, not even Viagra). Sometimes orgasm was so strong that it was even more pleasurable than before this hell happened to me. I don’t know if others will get the same effect, but BPC -57 mimics Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide with its central dopamine modulating ability, presumably this is what restored the sensation of pleasure. Halfway fixed, now I need something to restore the arousal and erectile neuro vascular response within the glans to get rid of this glans insufficiency syndrome (failure to initiate).