BRYSON

Age: 19 | US

"I was given Prozac by my psychiatrist to treat OCD, depression, and anxiety. I wasn’t warned about any side effects, let alone PSSD. I was originally on 20mg for two months and during this time I had no noticeable sexual side effects, however I did have Akathisia and it felt like my body couldn’t regulate its temperature. I forced myself to stay on the medication and thankfully those side effects went away. My dose was later increased to 40mg, and after a week of being on 40mg I had genital numbness, emotional blunting, complete loss of libido, and could not orgasm or get an erection whatsoever. These symptoms appeared gradually and I didn’t connect it to the Prozac at first (since I wasn’t warned about this at all). I eventually did my own research and found that these are all side effects, and so after another week I stopped taking the drug cold turkey.

Luckily, all of the side effects went away and I completely returned to normal within a month of stopping Prozac. I consulted my psychiatrist and she assured me that these side effects are normal and they always go away after stopping the medication. She said I could just stay on 20mg or if I wanted to go to 40mg again I could try combining it with buspirone or bupropion to offset those side effects.

After a few months off the medication and still dealing with depression, OCD, and anxiety, I decided to give Prozac another try. I went back on 20mg and this time I experienced mild sexual dysfunction while on the medication that seemed to go away. However, after 3 months on Prozac again with no improvement in my depression, anxiety, or OCD, I decided to stop taking it since it wasn’t helping me.

This time after stopping Prozac I started to experience brain zaps. It was like a switch flipped and I began to feel different. The brain zaps stopped, but my libido was non-existent and I couldn’t get an erection anymore. It has now been over 6 months off Prozac and my symptoms have stayed the same. It is much more difficult to get and maintain and erection than it used to be and I can no longer feel pleasure. I have also noticed changes in my semen, it is much more thin and watery than it used to be. I have never had sexual issues prior to using Prozac, and I am an otherwise healthy 19 year old.

This has completely ruined my life and I was never suicidal before this, but after getting PSSD I think about suicide everyday. Not being able to feel sexual pleasure is bad enough but also I don’t know how I am supposed to have a relationship like this. I now fear being alone forever. Not being able to perform sexually has made me feel really insecure and bad about myself. I have been to multiple doctors and specialists, everyone indicates nothing is wrong and yet I know something is very wrong.

My life feels ruined."