PSSD from Fluoxetine as a Child
Prescribed Fluoxetine for OCD at age 11. After more than a decade on and off the drug, sexual dysfunction and emotional blunting persist years after stopping.
PSSD Stories
Personal accounts of post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) that persisted after stopping the medication
18 personal accounts that describe post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD): sexual side effects, genital numbness, emotional blunting and related changes that continued after the antidepressant was stopped. Each story is written by the person or a family member and shared with permission. See the SSRI page for the research background.
Related: SSRIs · SNRIs · Finasteride · SSRI & SNRI research · Communities
More story collections: Akathisia Stories · Hyperbolic Tapering Stories · All stories
It hurts to think about that topic
Took escitalopram for 4 months at 21 in Germany. Tapered in two weeks. Now PSSD, dead emotions, visual snow. Some hope on Keto. I love you. - Paul
Pssd hell
20 years on Zoloft without issue. Doctor doubled the dose for GI issues. Then anhedonia. Tapered off, now 10 months in, no improvement. Genital numbness, ED.
Identity Loss From SSRIs: How PSSD Stole My Queer Experience
I now have a condition called Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), still 14 years later. Nobody told me SSRIs could take the essence of my personality.
PSSD Sertraline
After being prescribed Sertraline for anxiety, I took my first pill and immediately felt a strong zap-like sensation in my head. My genitals were extremely numb. I stopped after less than a week. I have now had genital anesthesia (post-SSRI sexual dysfunction) for three and a half years.
PSSD from Lexapro
In college I was prescribed Lexapro for anxiety. I stayed on it for many years, then successfully tapered off with therapy and lifestyle changes. Seven months later, when my anxiety rose again, a doctor (not my usual NP) suggested I go back on a low dose. After six days I stopped due to severe night sweats and insomnia, expecting things to return to normal. What followed was a total destruction of my life: my sexual functioning went to zero, my genitals went completely numb, my hair fell out, and I am virtually disabled. PSSD has destroyed my life.
PSSD
PSSD with almost all side effects, 2 years.
Unheard: My Experience with Antipsychotics and Persistent Side Effects
I am a 23-year-old from Nepal. In April 2023 I was diagnosed with a single episode of psychosis and prescribed olanzapine. I developed severe sexual side effects that never resolved, along with IBS and insomnia. I was forcibly hospitalized after developing suicidal thoughts due to PSSD. There is no psychiatrist who would listen to me in a third world country like Nepal.
PSSD Since 2014
I want to keep this brief and anonymous. I’m a 33-year-old female. I was on Lexapro then Sertraline, which I cold-turkeyed at 21. I haven’t been aroused once since then. My main issue is anhedonia—for me, that’s even worse than the sexual side effects. I can’t even remember the last time I felt excited for anything. 12 years ago, maybe?
When Antidepressants Took My Life Away & How I Took It Back
Prescribed paroxetine in 2008 after a few-minute consultation, I spent a decade on over a dozen drugs. Six years of protracted withdrawal and PSSD followed. Eight years later, I’ve fully regained myself and now help others.
PSSD took my life away from me
From age 19, I was cycled through Lexapro, Effexor, Zoloft, Pristiq, Seroquel, and Cymbalta. Each one made me worse. Now off everything for over a year, I have genital numbness, severe emotional blunting, and can no longer feel love.
PSSD stole my adult years
Took Paxil for 4 weeks and stopped after experiencing side effects. It has been about 9 years and nothing has changed since.
PSSD - living hell
I have survived a brain tumour, hydrocephalus, two brain surgeries, and radiotherapy. PSSD is, by far, the worst thing I have ever experienced. After a ten minute consultation and one prescription, my life was altered forever.
Lost My Sexuality at 23 | Not Adequately Warned
I was prescribed an antidepressant in 2019 during a difficult period. At no point was I warned that it could affect my sexual function long-term. After coming off the drug, those effects didn’t go away. Only later did I discover others going through the same thing, and that this condition—PSSD—had been reported for years.
Psych Drugs, Withdrawal, + PSSD Exacerbated My Already Suffering Neurodivergent Life
I was placed on several medications from age 13 to 20. After quitting Citalopram cold turkey, I lost my sanity, my education, jobs, and family. PSSD has stolen what should have been the most important years of my life.
PSSD Within a Month. A Descent Into Hell
Cymbalta for 3 days, then Nortriptyline for 3 weeks. PSSD hit instantly — complete chemical castration and genital numbness. Then came the anhedonia, cognitive dysfunction, and chronic akathisia. Over two years later, symptoms persist.
Just One Pill Destroyed My Life
One SSRI pill gave me numb genitals, no emotions, and insomnia within an hour. Years later I’m left with PSSD, survived akathisia that nearly killed me, and developed alcoholism just to cope. PSSD is not dose-dependent.
Escitalopram/Lexapro — A Life Ruined by PSSD
Prescribed 5mg Lexapro for a minor issue. Less than six weeks on the drug, and ten years later I still have complete anhedonia, tinnitus, vision issues, and full sexual dysfunction. These drugs should simply not be legal.