Introduction and questions

[Tinman]

Hi everybody.
I've been having symptoms for 4 1/2 years now. Low desire, ed, numbness, memory fog, weak unsatisfying orgasms etc. I don't recall how many doctors I've seen including specialists. Testosterone therapy didn't improve my symptoms. They always end up concluding that it's a psychological issue. "It must be performance anxiety" they say. I've experienced performance anxiety before back when I was healthy, so I know what it feels like. That ain't it! So frustrating. I'm sure many of you can relate.
I'm suspecting pssd now after I discovered some of David Healy's blog and website. I think it might be due to my past abuse of diphenhydramine. Anyone else experience this?
Also, has anyone had success or improvement from Dr. Goldstein? I've had a phone consult with his office and am considering making the trip. But it's so expensive since they dont take insurance, for treatments that appear to be experimental.
Any thoughts?

[Enigmatic]

Hi Tinman, I did not see history of SSRI usage in your intro, had you taken SSRI or just the diphenhydramine? That drug has been reported to cause worsening of symptoms for some people here so it is plausible. There have been links to histamine being a piece to the puzzle of persisting symptoms but as of now, we do not know exactly how it fits in just yet.

[Missano20]

Hi everybody.
I've been having symptoms for 4 1/2 years now. Low desire, ed, numbness, memory fog, weak unsatisfying orgasms etc. I don't recall how many doctors I've seen including specialists. Testosterone therapy didn't improve my symptoms. They always end up concluding that it's a psychological issue. "It must be performance anxiety" they say. I've experienced performance anxiety before back when I was healthy, so I know what it feels like. That ain't it! So frustrating. I'm sure many of you can relate.
I'm suspecting pssd now after I discovered some of David Healy's blog and website. I think it might be due to my past abuse of diphenhydramine. Anyone else experience this?
Also, has anyone had success or improvement from Dr. Goldstein? I've had a phone consult with his office and am considering making the trip. But it's so expensive since they dont take insurance, for treatments that appear to be experimental.
Any thoughts?

Diphenhydramine permanently and significantly worsened my PSSD. I wouldn't at all be surprised if this was the cause. How long did you take it and what dosage? Diphenhydramine is a pretty weak ssri but it's possible to have pssd from taking it especially at higher doses.