Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

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Elias
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Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Elias »

Hello,

In April 2021, I made a 2-week round of escitalopram (5mg x13 and 10mg *1). I quit cold turkey. I experienced sexual dysfunction and usual withdrawal symptoms upon quitting (i.e. I became fully impotent when I took the 10mg pill and in the first days of my withdrawal).

I managed to gradually recover 90% of my sexual functions within a few weeks.

The real problem started on 9 June, when I took a 1-week round of Ofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone antibiotic) to treat an infection which, it later turned, did not exist.

I experienced the usual side effects of the drug (insomnia, leg pain, etc...). Those faded away quickly.

However, ofloxacin caused a strong rebound in sexual dysfunction: I went from 90% to 30% in a few days as I took the drug. The crash did not resolve upon stopping Ofloxacin.

I have been taking 200 mg of Panax Ginseng (i.e. 20 mg of ginsenosides) daily since the beginning of June (save for break over 10-22 July). There may have been a sorry drugs interaction as fluoroquinolones can pose a risk of serotonin syndrome when taken in combination with antidepressants, and Ginseng is often said to act as a mild SNRI. I also took Ginseng now and then over the past years (i.e. before escitalopram) without experiencing any sexual dysfunction.

I made some progress from my Ofloxacin crash until 18 August, the day following a missed dose of Ginseng. After a short bout of severe sexual dysfunction, I went back to my early August status quo, although I did it a bit messily (i.e. 200 mg on 16 August, missed dose on 17 August, 200 mg again on 18 August, 100 mg on 19 August, 100 mg until 23 August).

I then missed a dose on 24 August, went back to 50 mg on 25 August, and have been taking 100 mg again since 26 August.

However, I have been experiencing severe sexual symptoms since 25 August. This did not resolve like it did the first time I lowered the dose. I also experience some agitation during the day, and sometimes a mild tingling in my fingers, although that may be related to stress. Again, I felt I started to make slight progress on the sexual front since my June ofloxacin incident. That progress has been erased and I now feel close to being asexual.

To sum up: I did incremental improvements on 200mg Panax Ginseng (mid-July-mid-August), managed to keep on improving for one week after lowering to 100mg (19 August-24 August), and then crashed after I missed a dose and took only 50 mg the day after (25-26 August). I have been on 100 mg again for one week but cannot seem to return to my early August status quo, the sexual symptoms seem to get worse and worse by the day.

Should I stick to the 100 mg Ginseng dose for a while before engaging in a proper taper, or lower the dose back to 50 or 75 mg now, for example? Should I "reinstate" 200 mg, in spite of all the risks involved?

Ginseng is not a random supplement; it is often said to act as a soft SNRI, it seems to inhibit SERT. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198525/.

It is also not recommended to take it for more than 3 months. So I decided to start quitting.

On the other hand, it is often reported that ginseng can be pro-sexual.

The thing is that am taking ginseng in capsules, and it is often not advised to open capsules as the substance may be absorbed differently by the body when taken in powder form. The ginseng capsules also contain various vitamines (B5, B6, B9, B2, D3, B2, C), zinc and magnesium.

Also, I am smoking 10-15 cigs a day, and I have been smoking more since the incident of this week. That may be an issue, as nicotine is serotonergic.

Thanks in advance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Days of Escitalopram April 2021 (11x5 mg + 1x10). PSSD upon discontinuation.
PSSD mostly resolved by June 2021 before big crash most likely caused by 7-days course of ofloxacin and/or increased cigarette smoking.
Severe PSSD since then (symptoms: low libido, very low semen volume, feeble morning woods. Erections ok-ish. No emotional numbing).
Managed to make some progress on 200mg Panax Ginseng until new crash at end of August (current Panax Ginseng dose: 100 mg).
Frog
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Frog »

I’ve taken ginseng (1000mg) many times and never had any negative side effects while on it or after stopping. Maybe this article from Meso could help you out a bit.

https://www.theresearchzone.com/post/pa ... r-pssd-pfs
Naczoz
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Naczoz »

Same here, im on ginseng and I cant get it up at all...should I wait or quit it?
Naczoz
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Naczoz »

It seems that meso lied again, this stuff is dangerous. How the fuck can someone recommend here mild SNRI like ginseng here?
Frog
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Frog »

Naczoz wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:01 am It seems that meso lied again, this stuff is dangerous. How the fuck can someone recommend here mild SNRI like ginseng here?
He’s addressed this previously. Maybe look it up before accusing someone of lying
Naczoz
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Naczoz »

Elias did, not meso. Anyway - is it possible that my erection is worse with it? What about you Frog? Did you improve with ginseng? Im takieng NOW's ginseng - 1000 mg in two pills.
Frog
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Frog »

Naczoz wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:50 am Elias did, not meso. Anyway - is it possible that my erection is worse with it? What about you Frog? Did you improve with ginseng? Im takieng NOW's ginseng - 1000 mg in two pills.
No, you said Meso lied but he has addressed the SNRI aspect on his server.

Ginseng always brings improvements to sexual symptoms for me. I like it
Elias
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Elias »

Thanks for your reply.

Again, I seemed to be slowishly improving while on 200 mg after my Ofloxacin crash. My libido was stable from one day to the other, at least. I don't know if the improvement was natural or Ginseng-related.

I don't know if my crash is related to having taken the substance in the first place (i.e. many supplements can do good for a while before inducing a crash).

It seems that my system did not like the missed doses and then the halving of my daily intake, alshtough I also did fine for a while on 100 mg.

Or there may be other reasons (i.e. psychosomatic, cigarette-related) behind my recent worsening of symptoms. 200 mg is not a strong dose after all.

I did not follow Meso's advice. I had been taking Ginseng now and then before escitalopram and resumed upon my mother's advice at the beginning of June.
Frog
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Frog »

Are you taking anything else or taken anything else?

I’ve never had any issues with it before and I’ve taken it for long periods, even a 2 month cycle
Elias
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Re: Panax ginseng withdrawal crash?

Unread post by Elias »

I have been taking daily doses of the following since early June, besides ginseng: calcium (210 mg), EPA (37mg), DHA (50g), Vitamine A (218 ug), magnesium (400 mg), Vitamine D3 (10 ug), vitamine B6 (2 mg), vitamine B3 (16mg), zinc (10 mg, then 5), vitamine B5 (6mg, then 3), vitamine B2 (1mg, then 0.5) vitamine B1 (1mg then 0.5), vitamine B9 (200 ug, then 100) vitamine B8 (50 ug, then 25), selenium (50 ug, then 25), vitamine D3 (5 ug, then 2.5), vitamine V12 (2.5ug, then 1.25).

All of the stuff above was taken as supplements stacks called "normalite" and "magalite" (ginseng was in the first stack, along with the substances for which I thus halved consumption).

And again, 10-15 cigs per day, + some heavy lifting exercise twice per week 9I picked up bodybuilding at the end of August after having stopped.

I don't really have any symptoms like anhedonia or brain fog besides the sexual ones.
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