PSSD: A GUEST POST

After researching SSRI risks for the past 17 years, I took a hiatus from regularly covering the subject to spend time pursuing another project. Now that this project, a fictional novel unrelated to pharmaceutical and drug regulator malfeasances, was recently published, I'm back to covering a drug-related topic today. I first heard the new acronym, PSSD, which stands for Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), a few years ago. 

Any reader with a Twitter account likely knows PSSD has been gaining considerable coverage in the past six months or so. This is likely because the pharmaceutically-induced harm negatively impacts more people than drug companies and doctors will acknowledge. 

Until receiving the guest post below, I didn't fully realize that PSSD can cause many symptoms and is not limited to sexual dysfunction. My comments follow Sean's post below.

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Sean has chosen to keep his surname hidden.

My name is Sean; I am a 23-year-old male from the USA. During the COVID pandemic in 2020, I was experiencing more anxiety than usual. I had always been an anxious person, so getting help for that was on my to-do list. The therapists were fully booked then, and I could not get an appointment. My doctor was down the street, so I made an appointment to discuss my concerns. After a 15-minute consultation, my doctor diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and prescribed fluoxetine, more commonly known by its brand name, Prozac. At no point did my doctor inform me of the possible side effects associated with Prozac.

Within 3 months of the 20mg Prozac tablet, it appeared it wasn't doing much, if anything at all, to lift my anxiety. It was pretty much ineffective. After speaking with a nurse via telephone, I decided to taper off by following her guidance. She told me to split the pill in half and take it every other day for the next couple of weeks, then stop once it ran out. I suffered no withdrawal symptoms or other side effects during my tapering regime.

After hearing from multiple people that it takes a couple of tries to find the right medication, I gave in again and went back over a year later to try another SSRI. This time it was Citalopram at 10mg per day. This new doctor diagnosed me with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Once again, I was not informed about any possible side effects Citalopram could pose.

Within an hour of taking the first pill, my genitals were completely numb. In the hours following, I experienced intense brain fog, and I was losing my range of emotions and sexual function. At this point, I was panicking and had a mental breakdown.

When I woke up the next day, I felt like I was dead, as if my soul had been removed from my body. Music became nothing but a sound. The best way to describe it would be like making an animal listen to music; they don't understand it. I felt nothing from seeing my family, no more love or empathy, no more happiness--just nothing. My entire life has just been shot down from one pill of an SSRI. I thought to myself, how is this even possible?

After becoming suicidal from this horrifying experience, I tried turning to alcohol. I didn't think it could get any worse, but it did. I couldn't feel the effects of the alcohol I was drinking; I literally had no escape.

I went to see my doctor and explained how unlucky I felt for experiencing this after my first day. I was told that what I'm experiencing is depression. I knew for a fact that this was incorrect. Genital numbness is not a symptom of any mental illness. I experienced depression as a teenager and told the doctor that it felt nothing like this. After I was given another antidepressant, I threw it away and researched what I was experiencing.

After a few hours of searching, I came across the PSSD subreddit. That was the day I learned I may be experiencing Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD)

I prayed for my body to return to normal as I distracted myself from suicide daily. I felt as if I became asexual overnight. I had no libido and no attraction to anyone. There was suddenly no bond that could be formed. I tried talking to my friends at school and felt like I was talking to a wall. There was no connection to anything.

After seeing multiple doctors and informing them about this, they all became defensive and tried to put me on more antidepressants. I felt so violated. I was shocked that PSSD is not even listed as a side effect in the USA.

Fast forward to 2023, as I now write about my experience. I have seen no improvements in my PSSD symptoms. The fear of this lasting forever has become a reality, and the only way that the thousands of us suffering can escape from this is through research. Having to fund all of this on our own is disgusting, but we don't have a choice as we are still being ignored by the FDA and many doctors and psychiatrists.

Recently, a documentary about antidepressant withdrawal was released by BBC Panorama. The documentary mentions PSSD and those of us who have been left to suffer are also left with no answers. In the UK, the MHRA and Royal College of Psychiatrists have received reports of PSSD since 1991, and yet neither of these organizations has addressed it. In 2018, a petition was made to the FDA asking to include PSSD somewhere on the labels, yet we are still being ignored. Technically, the only action so far has been from the European Medical Agency, whose 2019 updated SSRI label now states that 'enduring sexual dysfunction may persist'; however, there is no mention of permanent genital numbness and debilitating emotional blunting.

There has been some recent literature, https://www.pssdnetwork.org/literature  containing one study that estimated the prevalence of PSSD to be 1 in 216. Nowadays, this should be alarming as millions of people are taking antidepressants, and the majority of them are not being informed of this serious risk. No matter how small the chance of PSSD might be, tens of thousands of sufferers, including myself, can promise whoever is reading this that it is not worth it. No innocent soul should have to go through a life of endless torture and emotional and physical feelings of "nothingness."

Sean

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SSRI withdrawal is a harrowing experience, but eventually, most sufferers see an end to their symptoms after withdrawal is complete. PSSD, however, appears to be permanent. Robbing people of physical and emotional intimacy and leaving them numb, with little to no support and acknowledgment of this iatrogenic harm, is best described as a rape of the mind, body, and soul.

Like SSRI withdrawal, PSSD is downplayed by many prescribers. Their years of medical training did not provide any information about PSSD, and they're unlikely to look for symptoms of this disorder in their medical practice. Blaming PSSD symptoms on some DSM-created labels is easier and more convenient. 

Medical professionals no longer listen to patients but instead stick to their manuals and outdated training. SSRIs are prescribed as plasters to heal normal, albeit troubling, situations and related emotions. When people are uninformed of risks and accept the dressing only to later suffer iatrogenic harms, the same prescribers refuse to acknowledge the damage their actions caused--and they give out more plasters, or "Band-Aids" with specific brand names. 

One 10mg pill robbed Sean--and thousands of others. 

I hope Sean's guest post is shared widely. A handsome young man who should be enjoying life but instead is suffering and has nobody to turn to except support group members and old bloggers like me.

For more information and support on PSSD, follow PSSD Network on Twitter and on their website.

https://twitter.com/PSSDNetwork

https://www.pssdnetwork.org

Bob Fiddaman

My Take on Panorama's 'The Antidepressant Story'

 

On Monday, June 19, the BBC's flagship current affairs programme, Panorama, broadcast the long-awaited, and much anticipated 'The Antidepressant Story'.

Living, as I do, in Central America, it's difficult to watch British TV, especially live broadcasts. With the help of a useful app, however, I didn't fret too much.

While most of Britain settled down at 8pm on Juneteenth, the time difference here meant a 2pm viewing here for me.

I watched with my partner, who also has an interest, given her daughter died at the hands of antidepressants.

Many, reading this, will know I've been banging the drum for over 16 years regarding the safety and efficacy of SSRIs so watching this hour-long special saw me (internally) go through a range of emotions. It's only now, some three days after it aired, that I'm able to write about it.

My main focus has always been about the withdrawal effects of SSRIs and also their propensity to induce suicidality. Although 'The Antidepressant Story' covered the withdrawal issue they never delved into the suicide link. I totally understand why as this has been covered four times (brilliantly) by the Panorama team during the first ten or so years of the 2000's (Links at the foot of this post)

I watched with interest as they covered PSSD. For me PSSD is a confusing acronym, at first glance it looks like PTSD, an invented disorder that promotes the use of psychiatric drugs. If an experienced old fella like me, who's researched these SSRIs for many years, finds this confusing, I have to wonder if the same can be said about the general public?

The two acronyms are very different though.

PSSD is Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, a condition caused by the use of one or more serotonergic antidepressants that persists despite the cessation of antidepressant treatment. PTSD is Post-traumatic stress disorder, an apparent "mental health" condition that's triggered by a terrifying event.

Although I agree many suffer when recalling terrifying events, I refuse to give it a mental health label. PTSD first appeared in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-lll) published by the American Psychiatric Association, a manual used by psychiatrists, such as the ones who appeared (for balance) in 'The Antidepressant Story', namely Wendy Burn and Prof David Nutt. More about them later. 

The Antidepressant Story kicks off with Audrey Bahrick, a patient who tells her story about reading about Prozac and its beneficial properties. She was going through a sticky patch at the time and thought Prozac would give her the lift that she needed. After taking it, Bahrick felt "confident and energized", adding, "I loved being on Prozac."

Another patient, Trish Matthews, also tells her story. Trish was training as a nurse in the 1990's and found the pressure of training whilst trying to manage her homelife, she became stressed and struggled to manage her daily life. She went to her doctor and was prescribed an antidepressant. She believed, after reading various articles, that her stress was brought on by a chemical imbalance. 

Drug company adverts, such as the one below, were flooding TV stations across the US and New Zealand (The only two countries that allow Pharma Drug To Consumer advertising)

It wasn't long before those adverts turned to print so other nations, such as the UK, could read about an apparent serotonin deficiency and how to treat it.

It was genius marketing by the drug industry but it was pure fiction, a fiction that was lapped up by the likes of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and its members. They never once questioned it. They could now prescribe en masse and give a reason, albeit fictional, why they were prescribing.

The chemical imbalance myth has been debunked so many times over the years. That I'm still writing about it baffles me. It's ingrained in society, moreover in rooms with pens and prescription pads. It's cult-like and many who are hanging on to this claim are part of that cult.

Back to Bahrick and Matthews

As the show progresses we learn that Audrey Bahrick and Trish Matthews both started to experience the dark side of the SSRIs they were prescribed.

"I was immediately sexually numb, within a day (of taking Prozac) my genitals were numb", Bahrick said.

Trish Matthews had been taking her prescribed SSRIs for 18 months and felt she was now better so decided to cease taking them. This is when her problems began. "Within 24 hours I felt absolutely dreadful", she thought her 'depression' was coming back. She rang her doctor who told her, "you have to go back on them."

Withdrawing from SSRIs can mimic the symptoms of why you were put on them in the first place. Prescribers are, largely, unaware of this as are those who take them.

Dr Mark Horowitz, a trainee psychiatrist, who also features in the show, was diagnosed with depression at the age of 21. 15 years later he tried to come off and experienced insomnia, panic attacks, dizziness, anxiety and low mood. He has not been taught about these effects of SSRIs at medical school or in psychiatry training. Horowitz, when reading the academic literature available to him, found that psychiatrists and academics at the institution he had studied at and others like them around the world had little helpful to say about withdrawal effects from antidepressants, they recommended stopping the drugs over 2 to 4 weeks, and reported that the symptoms were mild and brief. To date, Horowitz is still taking his medication.

Joanna Moncrieff, a practising professor of psychiatry and a part-time academic and author, says she was skeptical about these new antidepressants from the start. "My interest has always been in the role of drug treatment and whether they're as beneficial as we are, usually, led to believe that they are."

Pfizer, who are never out of the news these days, are briefly featured in the show. The Panorama team obtained a 'secret document' that showed how Pfizer execs wanted to play down the withdrawal issue. They also wanted to include claims about the chemical imbalance being a fact, they were declined by drug regulators but the chemical imbalance somehow made its way into the patient information leaflets that accompany SSRIs. With trickery, using wordplay, companies like Pfizer could set the 'chemical imbalance' promotion rolling by putting its main message amongst words like 'it is thought' or 'it may be'. Moncrieff was shown the document by the Panorama team, her reaction said it all, "Oh, my gosh".

Moncrieff has been instrumental in trying to debunk the chemical imbalance theory and in 2022, along with Benjamin Ang and Mark Horowitz, published a paper in the Science Direct Journal that found the field of psychiatry bears some responsibility for dissemination of the theory of the chemical imbalance  and associated antidepressant use.

This paper caused outrage amongst many leading psychiatrists and they took to Twitter not only to refute the findings but to target Moncrieff personally. I've watched it all unfold via my own Twitter account - it still continues today.

The Balance

As I mentioned previously, for balance Panorama asked two psychiatrists onto the show. The pharma conflicted Prof David Nutt and the former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Wendy Burn.

As was expected both made claims that could not be backed up with evidence. Nutt opted to go down the emotive route with, "antidepressants have saved the lives of many hundreds of thousands of people”.

I find this claim astonishing and am bamboozled that it's rarely challenged by mainstream media or, indeed, programme makers such as Panorama.

As I wrote on Twitter, "If I believed listening to the Dixie Chicks whilst going through severe Paxil withdrawal saved my life, would this actually prove that the Dixie Chicks saved my life?"

Of course it wouldn't.

There is no scientific evidence that antidepressants save lives. Too many people are scared to challenge the narrative because many patients who believe this to be true will get emotional and throw hissy fits on social media platforms. Trust me, I have friends who think they or their kids' lives were saved by SSRIs. I cannot debate with them as it causes them obvious distress. 

Nutt knows this. He seems to be playing the system here, it's clever deception. Appear to have concern and show support whilst dismissing the likes of the patients that appeared in the show and millions of others who have suffered the darker side of SSRIs.

Burn didn't fare much better. Fidgeting throughout her (edited) interview, Burn said she personally regrets that severe and long-lasting withdrawal wasn't recognised sooner. "I can't really explain why it took so long, perhaps partly because of the overlap between relapse and withdrawal...I don't know, I can't really explain it."

What Panorama didn't show the public, because they probably didn't know, is an interview Burn did with Equally Well back in 2020. She told them that "when she was first trained she was told not to tell patients about side effects as it might dissuade them from taking medication."

The BBC didn't push Burn on why she has blocked or muted so many patients on Twitter who have reached out for help regarding withdrawal and PSSD issues.

Burn offered a personal apology on the show but it reminded me of Alan Partridge publicly apologising to Norfolk farmers. "If there's anybody watching who has gone through withdrawal and it wasn't recognized then I'm very sorry."

You'll notice she was making a personal apology here and not one on behalf of The Royal College of Psychiatrists, whose members with Twitter accounts are some of the most vile human beings I've come across regarding those injured by SSRIs. That's another blog though.

All in all, I thought the one-hour special did the job, it got the message across and, as predicted, infuriated many Royal College members on Twitter. Their anger was aimed at the apparent bias of the show. At no point did they show any empathy whatsoever to those harmed by the very same drugs they write prescriptions for. Targeting their cultish beliefs was deemed, it seems, unacceptable.

Psychiatry is in a mess but I can't let General Practitioners (GPs) off the hook here either. For too long now, GPs have ignored the SSRI withdrawal and PSSD issues as have the British Drug Regulator the MHRA. This needs to change, and it needs to change right now!

I sat down with the MHRA 15 years ago to discuss the SSRI withdrawal issue, back then I had no Facebook or Twitter support groups to help me, nor did I have any interest from the BBC or any other network channel. I made the visit alone and sat with the, then, chief executive of the MHRA, Kent Woods, their Head of Pharmacovigilance Risk Management, Sarah Morgan, and their Communication Manager, John Watkins.

I thought I'd struck gold, sadly that wasn't the case. The problem still exists today and many patients who are prescribed these drugs will, no doubt, go through what I did, what the patients in the show did, and what many millions of people worldwide are having to endure.

With that said, if you want to become an advocate for SSRI safety, it comes at a price. Members of the Royal College of Psychiatry have labelled me 'a conspiracy theorist', a 'far-right sympathizer', a 'misogynist', amongst many other labels designed to keep me quiet. It's straight from the pharma playbook, folks!

I'm not alone, many other SSRI safety advocates have had their fair share of crap thrown at them as they strive for answers, many of whom who have lost loved ones due to SSRI induced suicides.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists were 'royally' kicked in the nuts with this Panorama offering. It's going to get a lot worse with the insults, the accusations, the muting and the blocking. Cults don't like their belief system tarnished.

Bob Fiddaman

Watch the 'The Antidepressant Story' on BBC IPlayer here.

Outside the UK, watch here

Previous Panorama SSRI coverage

The Secrets of Seroxat

Emails From The Edge

Taken On Trust

The Secrets Of The Drug Trials

Guest Post - Rip Van Winkle Awakes Surveys the Damage and Seeks Answers

Following on from Mark Carter's two previous guest posts.

Mark's time on SSRi medication should be a stark warning to those considering medication and those who dish it out.

Part I - Guest Post: Like A Lamb to the Slaughter

Part II - Guest Post: Life ‘at’ and Escape ‘from’ Paroxetine Island


Third and final installment...

Rip Van Winkle Awakes Surveys the Damage and Seeks Answers

Hi, my name is Mark and I am a recovering drug addict.

Even qualifying it by saying I was made a ‘drug addict by stealth’ by my friendly family doctor peddling poisons under a wrapper of fraud lies and deceit doesn't seem to lesson the spiritual heartbreak of this confession. The weight of which I find  difficult to bare at times.

As I write I am now 33 months drug free and yet I still feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up. Withdrawal is like an onion, each month you peel away another layer of drug damage and often you cry.


At 18 months and stabilising I then wrote letters of outcry to major media outlets. I then decided to confront those who did this to me and seek answers. I soon learned that seeking answers from the medical profession was a lost cause for none were to be  found or forthcoming. In fact quite the opposite.

First I presented to psychiatrist Dr SB  at the Te Raphiti Clinic Howick to make an official-in-person complaint regarding Paroxetine.  After having my humanity insulted for 10 years I was now about to have my intelligence insulted.

Seeking an explanation to my withdrawal horror Dr S.B. turned on me and tried to blame it on the Healtheries supplement I had taken. I thought that strange as he was the very one who had said it was O.K. to take. (Part II)

On explaining my sexual damage and trying to get an explanation for it he interrupted me with:

“Have you considered the fact you might have a sexual disease?”

What the … no doubt some kind of Te Raphiti joke!

This disgusting comment was extraordinarily offensive.  He did not ask me one single question regarding my lifestyle before throwing this insult at me. He clearly had no idea who he was talking to. Then when I tabled a research document by Dr David Healy, he refused to engage in it and immediately stood up and said, 

“Right I am discharging you back to your doctor now”

I was now convinced it was Dr SB by name but Dr BS by nature!


I then decided I would make a complaint regarding my plight to the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) and went to advise family doctor Dr W of this and to also voice  my concerns regarding Paroxetine and seek from him an explanation to my very serious sexual damage. When I told him he had chemically castrated me. He dismissively replied:

 “Well, what do you want me to do about it...look I’ve got other patients waiting to see me...you have got psychological issues, I am referring you to the psychiatrist.”

It was now that I decided he did not deserve to be my Health Care Provider any longer so I immediately found a new one.

His parting comments:

“So do you think I shouldn’t prescribe SSRIs then?”, and “I would never have given you something I thought would have harmed you.” , were very revealing!

It is amazing what a letter of complaint to the HDC can do for 3 months later Dr W was in two newspapers singing a new song ‘Fewer Pills, better Life’ and ‘Pill-popping ends’. This turnaround was extraordinary. These stories are freely available to all.

‘Pill-popping ends’

‘Fewer Pills, Better Life’

I then reluctantly went to see the psychiatrist, for one reason and one reason only, and for the same reason I had gone there previously…..to try to get an explanation for my sexual damage, yet knowing full well they would just play games. I wasn't disappointed. Not happy with Dr B.S.‘s previous comments I requested to talk to someone else. I soon realised it was going to be another session of sick comedy when Dr Z. T. (Zero Truth) started off by claiming he had never heard of PSSD! I personally find this statement unbelievable especially since Eli Lilly have added PSSD to their prescribing information.

Here is Dr Z T explanation for my sexual damage;

I asked, “Is it going to improve because it seems to me like it’s been 2 years and it seems to be diminishing you know… I just want to know if it’s coming back or its  going to be permanent.”

Dr Z T from New York on secondment to the Te Raphiti Mental Health Clinic, Highland Park, Howick replied...

“Well I think the other factor that has to be considered here is age, now I  have the advantage or disadvantage of being older than you are and I know that ahhh  desires tend to diminish with age, so there’s that, and then there is also … circumstances I have to tell you that one thing I appreciate about New Zealand culture and on the other hand I have to say is quite different from the States is, there is very little sexual provocation around here women tend not to dress sexually whereas in the States if you are on the sidewalks of New York probably every 10th woman you would be looking at because she is dressed provocatively and have…. so the demure in which you are has a lot to do with it and one of the ways we know this is that ahhh because ahhh stories about Catholic priests and sexual abuse aside, when people dedicate themselves to the monastic life ahhh their  testosterone levels go down measured in this more accurate way as I’ve described um… so…. so  the prognosis here in part  depends  on whether or not you are reacting to age whether or not you are getting sexual stimulation apart from manual and um… and then  there’s the whole question of what role sex plays  for you psychologically ahhhh and um  to what degree  is that bound up in intimacy and that gets to be very complicated, there are some people who don’t have sex unless they are  feeling really close to another person, and there are other people for whom being close to another person is in fact somewhat of a turn off that’s why there are all these people who are married and have mistresses, (said with short subtle nervous giggle), so it can get very complicated and I can’t give you a prognosis!” 

For the audio click here.

It is high time the medical profession woke up and smelled what they are shoveling. This explanation is typical of the self-protecting, Vomitous, verbal diarrhea which exudes from  so called doctors. No doubt these people are actually intelligent yet they sure seem hell bent on doing all they can to prove otherwise! Is it any wonder patients are clueless about what is going on. And if doctors are not vomiting forth nonsense then their self-protecting silence is deafening.

Dr Z T was visibly physically repulsed at my suggestion that he try Paroxetine refusing to consider such an idea, finally giving this explanation as to why he would not try it:

“I would not take anything without googling it first” 

If only I had been so wise. It is obvious he wasted his money going to Medical School. He could have clearly put his skills and money to better use by investing in and working at a second hand car dealership. Dr Z.T.  refused to talk sensibly and engage in discussing researched facts for when I tabled truths regarding GSK and Paroxetine he stood up and said “well you are clearly not interested in our help”. Funny he didn't even suggest anything. “I’m leaving the room now” and he left refusing to talk to me, refusing to come back into the room, and leaving me in the room with two observing students! Let me just say that Dr Z T’s behaviour  was the most unprofessional, childish, immature, rude display I had ever witnessed from anyone in the workplace ever.

I then walked to the Managers office, made a complaint and then left. Interestingly I mentioned to the Manager that Dr BS had previously advised me that they do not prescribe Paroxetine at this clinic and yet the Manager said “that is not correct because we do”…oh boy! There are many who cannot get off paroxetine. Why is this? Well for a start doctors are totally misinformed of the potent nature of this poison. Secondly many, unlike myself, are unable to put aside 3 years of their life to spend hours daily lying on the floor in a foetal position with uncontrollable-sobbing-anxiety crying out to God to take them, while being hit with wave upon wave of traumatizing drug induced suicidal ideations.

In some ways Rip Van Winkle has awoken yet feels he has morphed into a Teletubby, same bloated stomach look, same distorted gait, same difficulty accessing vocab from  brain and (no offense to Lala, Po, Dipsy, and Tinky Winky)  same sexual (in)ability.

I say it is a miracle I am still alive after surviving this hell as such I speak for the dead in order to protect the living. I am gravely concerned that adverse reactions are being greatly underestimated by the public, the medical profession and the regulatory authorities. As such I believe a public health problem of epidemic proportions is unfolding in this nation or for that matter worldwide.To those working as pimps for pharma I would like to say...

“The prescribing of Paroxetine/Aropax/Seroxat/Paxil/Loxamine/any other name this evil poison is hiding behind and its evil cousins (including Venlafaxine/Effexor) must be stopped!”

It is time for Medical Professionals to wise up, man up, own up, stand up and speak up!

Thank you for reading my story and thank you to Bob Fiddaman for being a voice for the voiceless.

Regards

Mark Carter( Poisoned, ruined and sexually destroyed by an SNRI and SSRI)

BSc (Maths), BAppSc (Psych), Dip.(Psych), Dip.(Health and Human Behaviour), Dip.(Primary Tchg), Dip.(Bus), Dip.(Tesol), Cert.(Tesol), Cert.(Applied Theology).

Pending: Dip.(Applied Mental Health), Unfinished: Actuarial degree, BCom, and BTheol.


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If you would like to write a guest post for this blog then please email by using the contact tab at the top of this blog.


Bob Fiddaman