PSSD Forum

UPDATE: RECOVERED

UPDATE 2: STILL RECOVERED

Time to finally make one of these to track progress here

Status:
29 yr old male, frequent exerciser, generally eat healthy low carb diet, otherwise in good health.

Background:
Prior to PSSD I had a high libido.
PSSD started when I took escitalopram for 1 month in 2012. I saw a doctor for insomnia and they thought I was depressed. PSSD onset was gradual.
In 2013 I took Prozac for 6 months. I learned about PSSD and decided to quit cold turkey. I went through horrible withdrawals for a few months. Afterwards I still had PSSD.
From 2014 to 2018 I gradually improved my sleep with various lifestyle and behavioral modifications. PSSD remained more or less the same.
As of now, my PSSD has seen some mild temporary improvements over the last few months.

Current symptoms:
Genital numbness (10% of normal sensation)
Anhedonia (varies 30-50% of normal)
Ejaculatory anhedonia (varies 30-50% of normal)
Erectile dysfunction (50% of normal)
Low libido/desire (varies 10-30% of normal)
Poor sleep quality (50% of normal)

Helpful supplements/medications:
Tribulus may have increased my desire/lust/libido. But the effect only lasted for the first few weeks on it.
L-citrulline likely increased my erection quality.
Sarcosine+NAC likely improved my anhedonia.
High dose B vitamins (B1, B2) seem to improve fatigue.

Currently taking:
Sarcosine+NAC (2g each) for anhedonia
L-citrulline (1.5g) for EQ
B vitamins
Melatonin (300ug) for sleep

Blood tests:
I’ve posted tons of tests on my HackStasis thread (PM me for invite).
Here are some select values:
T: 606 ng/dL (264 - 916)
Free T: 29.4 pg/mL (9.3 - 26.5)
DHT: 41 ng/dL (30 - 85)
DHEA-S: 614.7 ug/dL (138.5 - 475.2)
SHBG: 31.3 nmol/L (16.5 - 55.9)
Pregnenolone: 130 ng/dL (<151)
Progesterone: 0.3 ng/mL (0 - 0.5)
E2: 19.8 pg/mL (7.6 - 42.6)
Total Estrogens: 94 pg/mL (40 - 115)
LH: 8.5 mIU/mL (1.7 - 8.6)
FSH: 4.1 mIU/mL (1.5 - 12.4)
Cortisol AM: 7.7 ug/dL (6.2 - 19.4)
Cortisol PM: 1.9 ug/dL (2.3 - 11.9)
ACTH: 29.8 pg/mL (7.2 - 63.3)
TSH: 2.49 uIU/mL (0.045 - 4.5)
T4: 6.8 ug/dL (4.5 - 12)
Free T3: 2.7 pg/mL (2.0 - 4.4)

Other info:
I tolerate most foods well. The only thing that causes problems for me is a high carb intake. Too many carbs (>150g day) causes me to feel bloated, fatigued, and have poor sleep. I have no issues with vigorous exercise (except some injuries). I have access to most meds. I briefly tried buspirone which gave me dizziness reminiscent of SSRI withdrawal brain zaps at just 5mg, which makes me suspect 5HT1A issues.

Current plan:
I just started taking rasagiline (0.25mg) and donepezil (2.5mg) to test out Meso’s theories. I also started agomelatine (25mg) to assist sleep. It’s only been 4 days but I have noticed a slight mood boost and increase in motivation. But no improvements sexually. I plan to stay on this few a few weeks and re-evaluate.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Good post!
I didnt respond well to melatonin, one of the few things that made me a bit numb so be careful increasing dosage. (assuming its ok for you now)

Update:

Rasagiline 0.25mg/d seems to increase motivation/energy. That's nice, I'll keep taking it for a while.
Donepezil 2.5mg and 5mg did not have any positive effect. It may have made me feel a little "spaced out"/unfocused.
Agomelatine 25mg before bed seems to help me fall asleep a little faster. But it's subtle so not sure if I will keep taking it.

I tried 300mg SJW at night a few times. It seemed to improve sleep quality but the photosensitivity increase is too much, causing me to sunburn the next day. I live in a sunny climate and am outside a lot, so that's a no go.

I've started taking a scoop of vegan protein powder before bed. I think it is increasing my sleep quality, possibly by supporting neurotransmitter synthesis.

PSSD sexual symptoms have not changed in the last few weeks.

I might do another tribulus cycle soon like some people are doing on PropeciaHelp, as I had a few higher libido days on tribulus. I will also ask Mesolimbo if he has any suggestions.

Any update?

Any update? (Bump)

i also had high libido on tribulus for the first week only. I diminished after that.
I am planning to cyle it now

Hello everyone, thanks for the interest. I've been doing some traveling and also had surgery recently, so I haven't been taking anything for PSSD for almost a month. I have pretty much returned to baseline, except that my baseline seems a little higher than it was last year.

In June, I had some interesting occurrences. I was taking rasagiline 0.5mg, l-citrulline 1.5g, and tribulus. I cycled the tribulus by starting at a low dose and increasing each day for week, then decrease to zero. There is a thread on PropeciaHelp where I got the idea. A few days into the cycle, I had the first wet dream I've had in years. I also was able to masturbate twice in one day a few times. I had some very good orgasms. Sensitivity was still low. I attribute better orgasms to rasagiline, EQ to l-citrulline, and overall libido boost to tribulus. I will continue to experiment with these soon.

I also tried some herbs for sleep. I took multiple at once so I'm not sure yet which ones are helping, but my sleep quality is noticeably better from something. Herbs are: melissa (aka lemon balm), nigella sativa (aka black seed oil), valerian root, and jujube.

I haven't taken sarcosine+NAC in a while. I think I made some permanent improvement to anhedonia from it, but I might reinstate it to see.

I am considering some new things as well, like berberine, different brands of tribulus, tongkat ali, and magic mushrooms. My focus right now is recovery from surgery, then I will dive back in to experimentation.

TalkingAntColony wrote:Hello everyone, thanks for the interest. I've been doing some traveling and also had surgery recently, so I haven't been taking anything for PSSD for almost a month. I have pretty much returned to baseline, except that my baseline seems a little higher than it was last year.

In June, I had some interesting occurrences. I was taking rasagiline 0.5mg, l-citrulline 1.5g, and tribulus. I cycled the tribulus by starting at a low dose and increasing each day for week, then decrease to zero. There is a thread on PropeciaHelp where I got the idea. A few days into the cycle, I had the first wet dream I've had in years. I also was able to masturbate twice in one day a few times. I had some very good orgasms. Sensitivity was still low. I attribute better orgasms to rasagiline, EQ to l-citrulline, and overall libido boost to tribulus. I will continue to experiment with these soon.

I also tried some herbs for sleep. I took multiple at once so I'm not sure yet which ones are helping, but my sleep quality is noticeably better from something. Herbs are: melissa (aka lemon balm), nigella sativa (aka black seed oil), valerian root, and jujube.

I haven't taken sarcosine+NAC in a while. I think I made some permanent improvement to anhedonia from it, but I might reinstate it to see.

I am considering some new things as well, like berberine, different brands of tribulus, tongkat ali, and magic mushrooms. My focus right now is recovery from surgery, then I will dive back in to experimentation.

Good to hear from you.

Very interesting that you are taking nigella sativa. I've been researching it a little bit. It inhibits IL-6, IL-1b, and TNF-alpha and improves dyslipidemia by decreased hepatic cholesterol synthesis. I believe the pro-sleep effect is from it, as I had experienced improved sleep quality and less awakenings while taking it in the past.

Mind if I ask what was the surgery for and whether you were put on an antibiotic/cortiscosteroid or not?

Surgery was for wrist tendonitis. No antibiotics or corticosteroids post surgery. I did go under general anesthesia without issue, which was a relief since some people here have reported tolerance to it.

A positive update:

Still healing from surgery but, my PSSD symptoms have improved in the last few weeks.

I had sex a few times and it was great. I could perform well and enjoy it, although I still have numbness. My libido has been decent about half the time in the last 2 weeks. EQ is still good. Orgasms are good as long as there is some build-up. I have been enjoying music more frequently.

I added a bunch of things to my stack so I'm not sure what is helping. Mesolimbo thinks it is probably Shilajit and/or Jujube.

New items

• Shilajit extract 250mg. I've tried shilajit before but a different brand, didnt notice anything the first time around.
• Jujube 10:1 extract 4g at night. Might be 5HT1A antagonist. Feel slight drowsiness so it's helpful for sleep.
• High bioavailable Zinc 20mg. I've taken zinc before but not this form.
• Boron 2mg. Might lower SHBG, worth a shot.
• High bioavailable Vitamin D + K2 10,000 IU. I've taken 5k IU for a while before, but perhaps this higher dose+bioavailability is doing something.
• L Reuteri probiotic Had digestion issues after traveling overseas that seemed to improve from probiotics. No idea if they affect PSSD.
• S Boulardii probiotic

Still taking

• Rasagiline 0.5mg
• L-citrulline 1.5g
• B complex

Also, I tried berberine for a few days but it gave me nausea and diarrhea, so I stopped.

I hope I can figure out what is helping and make it last!