Is PSSD Permanent?

[marybanana]

Is PSSD Permanent? Will we ever feel the way we did before? What are your speculations, thoughts, and evidence on the matter?

In my opinion it's likely that things will return to near-normal, but possible for any given person that PSSD is permanent.

There is really no evidence for my opinion other than from testimonies from across the web. I've seen many, many people claim that a few years can really come a long way in healing. On the other end, I've seen people linger on with PSSD for decades. What becomes hard is discerning what happens to people when they leave the forums. I'd say that a good majority of the people here won't be posting about this 20 years from now. In the same way, people who took these drugs in the 90's- early 00's aren't really active on many modern forums. You have to search for their stories, many of which are on sites/forums that are closed. There are a few that pop up every so often, but a majority fade away. What happened to them? We'll probably never know.

But this isn't the end of the road. Even if you don't recover over the years, much of this site is dedicated to regaining some of your pre-SSRI function. Sonny has had PSSD for over a decade, but with a dedicated effort he has mostly put his PSSD in remission.

Things that seem to help recovery:

Being healthy
Being Stress-free
Most of all...
Being lucky

Do you know much about math?

I think of it sort of like a half-life chart. You have 100% of people with Sexual Dysfunction the day they stop the SSRI on the right, and then quickly most people return to normal. Then you keep following the curve. Over time, most people recover, but a percentge don't, and the farther out you go without recovery, the more likely that is to happen.

This curve was random from the internet, but I think it describes PSSD well. Many people see improvements in the first few years, where for some it lasts indefinitely. It has to do with hormones, neurotransmitters, gene expression...It's a mess. Too much to post about here. I suggest looking around the forum for much more info and research.

Ghost, I wonder what made you change your mind. Why do you think almost nobody recovers from PSSD naturally now?

[Ghost]

Because I was 19 then and am now 22 and have seen a lot more.

Sonny had the same realization the longer he went on with PSSD.

Nearly every cure story that I've ever seen has been from someone trying something. VERY VERY rarely is it natural.

Also, the connotation of "naturally" is very close to "passively". Passively waiting for time to heal is not the best option. I'm here to help people get better, and that's my only goal. I don't think it's fair advice for me to tell people to wait because I think it's only wasting their time: time which is impossible to get back. Everyone's time is best spent trying new things all the time. Otherwise, it's overwhelmingly likely that PSSD won't heal on its own. I've been increasingly vocal about this fact, up to the point of basically coming out and saying "you're screwed until you find a way to unscrew yourself". That shouldn't be a negative thing, per say, instead, it puts your progress in your own hands. Waiting is luck, while researching and trying are active processes.

At the rate we're going, we're not making progress fast enough, and I'm terrified at that prospect. There are too few people researching and trying too few things. I can't even get over 10 people to do a gene test. If they think waiting and quasi-participation will result in recovery, I think they are sadly mistaken. Unless we give this problem everything we've got, we probably won't overcome it.

[apachuri]

Ghost,

I will gladly try your dna test if I can save enough money to have it done. I am very low on money right now.

I would also like to say that I may be one of the very rare cases of PSSD that get better over time. I took 60mg of Celexa for 9 months and stopped almost cold turkey in December 2012 (basically my own taper over 2 weeks as I was worried about the sexual side effects and took matters into my own hands). I have had PSSD from 2012 to present (6 years). I was 23 when it began and I am 29 now. I have tried drugs such as Wellbutrin, Buspar, Mirtazipine, Cabergoline, and Clomid. Each of those drugs I did not take longer than 1-2 months and I took them during my first 1-2 years of PSSD. The other 4 years I tried supplements off and on such as Zinc, B6, Ginseng, Fenugreek, depleting my neurotransmitters with BCAAs, L-Tyrosine, CDP Choline, and this new Neuro Bliss Reduce Stress drink. I can honestly say that most of my improvements happen naturally over time when I am not trying anything and I want to explain it but I can't.

I believe hope is possible for PSSD. I did not notice the biggest improvements in my on and off cycles of sexual function until years 5 and 6. Keep on being strong. I didn't think it was possible either.

[Pep19]

The PSSD is permanent because no one helps us, do not tell me to try drugs or supplements without the help of experts, doctors is normal. The truth is that having sexual dysfunctions for the doctors is not so serious, they will tell you so much patience you will not die.

[Juvo]

The PSSD is permanent because no one helps us, do not tell me to try drugs or supplements without the help of experts, doctors is normal. The truth is that having sexual dysfunctions for the doctors is not so serious, they will tell you so much patience you will not die.

The issue with this is that there's always a shred of doubt in the doctor's mind about what's really afflicting us. This is a barrier to getting care because 1. It's buried in a sea of pubmed articles 2. PSSD is intangible 3. Medicine isn't trained to deal with iatregenic conditions

Also, you took an SSRI under a doctor's care. You might not have taken it had you read through the white sheet and did some research. Where was the doctor to help you there? Im not advocating against the use of doctors, I have one myself, but you'd be surprised at the amount of knowledge you can quickly obtain with access to the internet. This may also come as a surprise but your physician is also taking a calculated risk and guess when prescribing you any medication.

I used to advocate for the natural route before I realized I'd probably be waiting a long, long time. Therefore, I 100% with Ghost in the "you're screwed until you find a way to unscrew yourself". It's a harsh reality, and it can be scary to try stuff as I think we all probably have an aversion to putting stuff in our body.

Do not be under the misconception that help is right around the corner. If it is, you still be waiting a long time. For the people adamant that they keep going natural, spitting into a tube and sending Ghost your genome file is perfectly safe and natural, and then we can finally figure out what's different about us.

[raven100]

I do think that a natural programme alongside whatever trials you are doing is absolutely mandatory though. A healthy diet, exercise regime, meditation, psychotherapy etc. can and likely will improve your quality of life. This is an active natural programme as opposed to the passive 'time will heal me' mindset which I agree will not get anyone very far.

[Ghost]

I do think that a natural programme alongside whatever trials you are doing is absolutely mandatory though. A healthy diet, exercise regime, meditation, psychotherapy etc. can and likely will improve your quality of life. This is an active natural programme as opposed to the passive 'time will heal me' mindset which I agree will not get anyone very far.

Yea totally agree.

Apachuri I've been really excited to follow your improvements over the past few years! You really have a great story and hopefully it continues. No one else took me up on the reduced cost genetic test so I could pay for yours in entirety if you'd like?

I think what Raven said is really important, you need to stay healthy. I would argue that staying healthy should be HARDER than trying supplements because it requires lifestyle change. However, it is critical.

Another thing I just thought of now is the reason why people should try a supplement or not. I see a lot of people bumping threads or asking for updates for a trial of something. The only one that this hurts is themselves. From what I've seen, there is little correlation between what helps one person or another. In most cases, it's something that only cures a few people, and that's it. Waiting for a cure to pop up on the forum is a really inefficient way to get better because you'll likely miss the thing that would cure you. A majority of the people who try something and get better have tried a lot of things unsuccessfully first. It's impossible to say if apachuri's previous trials were part of the reason he got better or not.

[Ghost]

Also, you took an SSRI under a doctor's care. You might not have taken it had you read through the white sheet and did some research. Where was the doctor to help you there? Im not advocating against the use of doctors, I have one myself, but you'd be surprised at the amount of knowledge you can quickly obtain with access to the internet. This may also come as a surprise but your physician is also taking a calculated risk and guess when prescribing you any medication.

The further that I go on my journey to become a doctor, the more I realize that there is a lot of this type of teaching going on in the classroom:

"a causes b causes c so give drug X".

This is not because doctors are lazy, its because the body is SO DAMN COMPLEX. It's impossible to teach a doctor EVERY thing that they will ever need. This is currently western medicine, and while it's starting to change a bit, it's what you're going to get unless you pay to see a specialist.

Like Juvo notes, educate yourself. I haven't walked into a doctors office with less information on SSRIs than a doctor in 4 years. I'm always the SSRI expert in the room, and I've seen a lot of doctors.

[been_too_long]

Even if tomorrow the medical community accepted PSSD does not mean they would stop prescribing SSRIs. Lots of medication have substantial side effects. Doctors have to weight the risk vs rewards when it comes to prescribing. Our condition is extremely rare, chances of a "new patient" being hit by it is miniscule. The benefits of SSRIs still outweigh the risk.

While I do advocate PSSD should be placed in the meds scare sheets, it is kind of irrelevant. Lot people here scream I wouldn't taken the SSRI if I knew the risk... Lets be honest; majority people here NEVER read the scare sheets in the first place. Hardly anyone reads them. I know bunch is going holler "but I did read them.." Easy to say that after fact. Fact is you probably didn't,

[Pep19]

It is not true that pssd is rare, it is very developed, the problem is that many do not even know they have it, others are still under the drug, others think it is anxiety or depression or doc. Are you really convinced that you are among the few unfortunates in the world? The pssd is not bad luck, doctors know that these shit drugs cause such effects, they deny and make fun of you, wake up!