Che

Age: 30 | US

“I've always had very high anxiety, but in 2020, I was hit by a car and developed OCD intrusive thoughts as a result. In 2022, I could no longer cope with my intrusive thoughts and was admitted to an outpatient program. There, I briefly met with a psychiatrist weekly who immediately threw me on both sertraline and fluoxetine to treat my OCD. At the time, I was not given any information about the life altering consequences of taking these drugs.

Upon taking just a single dose of each pill, I noticed a numb coldness in and around my genital area. I found that I could no longer orgasm or feel any sense of sexual desire nor pleasure. Prior to taking SSRI’s, I had always had a very high sex drive and enjoyed an active, healthy sex life. Since I had just relocated and started at a new job, I figured my non existent libido was due to the stress of moving instead of the pills. I couldn't have been more wrong.

After several months of dealing with these adverse symptoms, I confided in a close friend about what was going on with me, and he suggested the meds could be causing these problems. I confronted my psychiatrist and was gaslight and told that the medications couldn't be the cause of my symptoms, but rather it was my anxiety which was giving me these issues. I did a great deal of digging online and discovered what I had was PSSD. I immediately quit both medications cold turkey and stopped all communication with my psychiatrist.

It's been four years since I've taken an SSRI, and I've hardly seen any improvements in my condition. I now experience numbness and a cold sensation in my genitals, an inability to orgasm, no sex drive, severe insomnia, slight cognitive impairments, no romantic desire and an inability to cry. If I had been forewarned about the consequences prior to taking SSRI’s, I wouldn't have touched them. I was chemically castrated without my consent.

There needs to be more awareness out there about how these medications can alter people. I hope the PSSD Network finds a cure. I'm worried about what the future holds for me.”