"PSSD" from Vinpocetine

Any other sexual dysfunctions not properly addressed by medical science.
DrugsAreBad
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"PSSD" from Vinpocetine

Unread post by DrugsAreBad »

Summary: Got "PSSD" from Vinpocetine

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In the interest helping to provide an understanding of PSSD, here is a description of a non-SSRI which caused what appears to be the same issue. Hopefully this provides relevant clues. Or maybe it's completely irrelevant. Who knows.

Pre-history

Before my Vinpocetine experience i had tried Fluoxetine and later Paroxetine, each for a few weeks for depression. Both led to emotional blunting which was worse than the depression. Paroxetine more so than Fluoxetine. Paroxetine also led to "brain zaps". As I recell, Libido lessened somewhat, but remained good. However, but physiological response to psychological stimulation disappeared and it became difficult bordering on impossible to achieve orgasm. The lack of positive effects combined with negative emotional and sexual effects led me to quit. All issues disappeared after discontinuation.

A few years later I was battling horrible anxiety and tried different supplements to combat it. Among other things I tried St Johns Wort. It removed my anxiety and gave me enormous amounts of energy, but also made it impossible to sleep. I kept decreasing the daily dosage to small fractions of a pill, but ended up having to quit due to sleep deprivation. In retrospect, I should probably not have taken it daily since apparently the half life is 24-48 hours.

Shit hits the fan

Another thing I tried was Vinpocetine. The first time I tried it (labelled 10 mg periwinkle) I noticed my anxiety completely disappeared and that colors appeared slightly sharper and brighter. However, when looking at porn I found that my libido had completely disappeared. No response. No interest.

The next day my libido issues had disappeared completely and I decided I should use this infrequently. A week or two later I tried it again. This time as I recall, at double the dose. The effect was the same, except my libido didn't come back. This is now many years ago. Things have slowly improved, but not to anywhere near where I used to be.

Discussion

I've found some mentions of Vinpocetine affecting libido, both positively and negatively, but not a whole lot. E.g.: https://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/2 ... npocetine/

I haven't found much about its mechanism of action other than a short description on Wikipedia. This sentence mentioning dopaminergic effects seems to put it in the same ballpark as SSIR:s.
Increases in neuronal levels of DOPAC, a metabolic breakdown product of dopamine, have been shown to occur in striatal isolated nerve endings as a result of exposure to vinpocetine. Such an effect is consistent with the biogenic pharmacology of reserpine, a structural relative of vinpocetine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinpoceti ... _of_action

Since reserpine is mentioned as a structural relative of reserpine, I also checked that article on Wikipedia. This article also mentions effects on serotonin. This seems to suggest the issue may be the same or related to those caused by SSRI:s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserpine ... _of_action
Reserpine irreversibly blocks the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT). This normally transports free intracellular norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine in the presynaptic nerve terminal into presynaptic vesicles for subsequent release into the synaptic cleft ("exocytosis").
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Ghost
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Re: "PSSD" from Vinpocetine

Unread post by Ghost »

I'm really sorry to hear this, man.

As you know, this is a very unique case within an already unique community.

However, I hope that you are able to find some healing and that some of the things that have helped people here on the forum also cross over to helping you as well.
- Medical Student & Friendly poltergeist - Lexapro Sept '14. [Hx] [PSSD Lab] [r/PSSD] [Treatment Plan] - Add "Ghost" in replies so I see it :)
DrugsAreBad
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Re: "PSSD" from Vinpocetine

Unread post by DrugsAreBad »

It is and thank you.

I'm posting the story because there are at least some indications that that there might be a common cause. Specifically the combination of dopaminergic effecs, possible effects on progesterone and the symptoms of "PSSD" combined with a decrease in anxiety.

Might be irrelevant. Might help provide clues since there is additional literature on Vinpocetine and what is apparently a "structural relative", Reserpine.

E.g.:

"...vinpocetine increases DOPAC release at the expense of internal DA in a dose-dependent manner..."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11478921

(Reserpine) "Besides being able to release progesterone from the adrenals ... and to substitute for progesterone in the induction of lordosis..."
Advances in behavioral biology, vol. 11, p. 62
ErgogenicHealth
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Re: "PSSD" from Vinpocetine

Unread post by ErgogenicHealth »

Cyproheptadine may be able to help you. I used Vinpocetine at one stage too myself many months ago and made me more numb too.
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