my story & high prolactin

[chemistry]

Hi guys ive been a bit of a lurker for the past year or two and have accounts and posted on some of the other ssri forums. here's a bit of history

i have a 2 year history of taking anti depressants. citalopram was the first that i took and triggered the anhedonia, PE, hard to keep erections and watery sperm. it mostly triggered after coming off and at that time i was already taking elavil and eventually took zoloft for 6 months which made everything better for like 2 weeks. anyway long story short i didn't know about pssd and was too young and inexperienced to understand that my somewhat mild sexual dysfunction was caused by the drugs even though i came off them.

its been over three years since ive come off zoloft and everything else and ive had new symptoms appear which have slowly worsened over time. low libido, numbness on my skin/genital region, and shrinkage. i got my hormones tested and turns out i have high prolactin. my endo wants me to take cabergoline. my problems are no longer mild and are a lot worse.

im really terrified about taking it because im 19 turning 20, and i have many other problems caused by anti depressants.
for instance i am constantly stressed out... almost like akathesia but not really, just consistently tense, and i got that "feeling" in your chest when youre really under pressure about something, like your about to start sweating. it makes me irritable and agitated and very easily stressed by fairly normal things. i also have a neurological condition called "visual snow" which is basically a whole bunch of visual disturbances like floaters and all the rest (this has progressed over time too). im mostly numb emotionally and have a hard time feeling pleasure from things. i have tinnitus, derealization, brain fog, insomnia, the list goes on.

Basically i feel like i have damage or something due to taking these meds at a young age and my end goal would be to not have to take anything and feel alright. I really do believe some of the things ive mentioned can improve on its own and because my case is so weird and complicated i dont want to make some of my symptoms worse by taking cabergoline (or any drug) and i dont want to complicate things even more with new problems. i believe my chronic stress is part of the problem for me as well.

TLDR: i have high prolactin, been prescribed cabergoline, very sensitive to drugs and scared to take it, what should i do?

[Ghost]

Dude I don't feel right saying you should or shouldn't...but let me ask you... What have you been trying so far, and has that been working?

[Ghost]

My guess is that nothing is getting better, and all the while you are getting older. I think you get where I'm going, but what do you have to lose? Especially if things are getting worse.

[Ghost]

I'd get more hormones checked than just Prolactin though. Maybe Cortisol/ Testosterone etc...

[chemistry]

haven't given anything a real good shot. i tried zinc for a couple weeks and didn't notice any effect and i also tried inositol and stopped bc i thought it was making some of my other symptoms worse. i'll probably give it another shot at some point though.

i see what you're saying and you have a point, i just dont want to complicate things even more. i just thought i could get some advice about how safe it would be to take this... and if i do would i have to stay on it for it to continue to have a positive effect?

worst case scenario is i take it and i feel worse, think i'll go back to how i am now if i come off it?

I did get other hormones checked and they were alright, waiting to get cortisol checked out too.

[chemistry]

I know i probably come across as over cautious or even paranoid... but what can i say ive been f'd over by meds and going back on anything really doesn't appeal to me (unless the risk is low i guess).

[Tenyears27]

Tell your doctor you want a Cortisol Test. Me and you have IDENTICAL problems. My ears are always ringing, I have visual snow and floaters. Insomnia. I just found out that my body doesn't produce Cortisol anymore. Well it does, just very very small amounts. My morning cortisol is almost non existent.

Ask for a Cortisol Test and don't accept one opinion. Get a second and third opinion

You might not be as screwed as you think

[chemistry]

Tell your doctor you want a Cortisol Test. Me and you have IDENTICAL problems. My ears are always ringing, I have visual snow and floaters. Insomnia. I just found out that my body doesn't produce Cortisol anymore. Well it does, just very very small amounts. My morning cortisol is almost non existent.

Ask for a Cortisol Test and don't accept one opinion. Get a second and third opinion

You might not be as screwed as you think

Woah i've never met anyone with pssd and have these extra problems as well wow. i know a bit about your case and you dont think you have pssd though right ? im almost sure i have it like the PE etc is pssd but the symptoms that have appeared in the past couple years (low libido, shrinkage etc) could be the outcome of the changes these meds make in the body.

Yeah i see the visual disturbances all the time, i have the afterimages, halos around lights, etc... the only thing that could have caused this if not the meds would be cannabis but i only did it for a couple months and that was whilst i was on zoloft. i never drank or did any other drugs.

I did ask her to test cortisol and will be getting that done in a couple weeks.

[Tenyears27]

The halos around the lights could represent pressure in the eye. I would get that checked. Get some blood work. Mine came back Abnormal. Can't wait to talk to the Doc tmrw. Haha.

All this time I thought I was invincible. Damn was I wrong

[dananeedsmulder]

Tell your doctor you want a Cortisol Test. Me and you have IDENTICAL problems. My ears are always ringing, I have visual snow and floaters. Insomnia. I just found out that my body doesn't produce Cortisol anymore. Well it does, just very very small amounts. My morning cortisol is almost non existent.

Ask for a Cortisol Test and don't accept one opinion. Get a second and third opinion

You might not be as screwed as you think

Woah i've never met anyone with pssd and have these extra problems as well wow. i know a bit about your case and you dont think you have pssd though right ? im almost sure i have it like the PE etc is pssd but the symptoms that have appeared in the past couple years (low libido, shrinkage etc) could be the outcome of the changes these meds make in the body.

Yeah i see the visual disturbances all the time, i have the afterimages, halos around lights, etc... the only thing that could have caused this if not the meds would be cannabis but i only did it for a couple months and that was whilst i was on zoloft. i never drank or did any other drugs.

I did ask her to test cortisol and will be getting that done in a couple weeks.

I have some of visual disturbances too is this because the same shit that it is called medication I'm shocked