This post is an invitation to report on drugs prescribed to transgender people. These include cross-sex hormones - testosterone for women, estrogen and progesterone for men, hormone-blocking agents like Lupron given to children with gender dysphoria to stop the physical changes of puberty, and other drugs like finasteride, spironolactone and birth-control pills prescribed to … [Read more...] about Transgender Meds: A Call for Reports
Sex
EMA Acknowledges Persistent Sexual Dysfunction After SSRIs & SNRIs
The European Medicines Agency has just concluded a review into sexual dysfunction after the discontinuation of SSRIs and SNRIs. Before we discuss their findings, it's worth looking back over the events of the past year. RxISK petition In 2018, we put together a petition requesting changes to SSRI and SNRI product labels to warn about post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) and … [Read more...] about EMA Acknowledges Persistent Sexual Dysfunction After SSRIs & SNRIs
Neutered Britain: Sex and Drugs
An article in the BMJ last week triggered a flurry of newspaper interest. Sex is a surefire generator of column inches as it were. Stories appeared in all the major broadsheets. Rather surprisingly I didn't put two and two together until the Daily Mail took the tried and trusted tack of talking about one of our problems - happening in another country. The Americans, they … [Read more...] about Neutered Britain: Sex and Drugs
Xarelto and Sex
Editorial Note: This extraordinary post from Spiros might help explain the very similar problems that follow SSRIs, Finasteride, and Isotretinoin. There have been several other reports to RxISK of comparable problems on rivaroxaban - Xarelto. This drug causes many more problems than the sexual one described here. We would be interested to hear from anyone else suffering from … [Read more...] about Xarelto and Sex
RxISK Rorschach: Do not Go Gentle
Last week's RxISK post on Assisted Dying proved something of a Rorschach test. People read diametrically opposite messages into it. It was written at the same time as Something Stupid This Way Comes and cross-referenced this. This I thought made it clear that there is no such thing as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD). TRD is a phenomenon created by antidepressants - … [Read more...] about RxISK Rorschach: Do not Go Gentle
Encountering Doctors
Editorial Note: The image goes with a study headlined Doctors stop listening to patients several seconds into a conversation. This post is from one of the many PSSD sufferers who behind the scenes has been helping push research on this awful condition forward. It would be a lot easier if doctors did listen. Just as the brain and the human nervous system are largely … [Read more...] about Encountering Doctors
Post-Retinoid Sexual Dysfunction (PRSD) Petition
There are long-standing reports of sexual dysfunction linked to the use of isotretinoin, a retinoid drug used in the treatment of acne. FDA and MHRA received the first reports of sexual dysfunction involving isotretinoin in 1983 and 1985 respectively, and according to a publication in The Lancet, Roche had received 150 reports of problems affecting the male reproductive system … [Read more...] about Post-Retinoid Sexual Dysfunction (PRSD) Petition
Skin and Drugs and Sex
Editorial Note: This post returns to PSSD - post SSRI sexual dysfunction - PRSD - post retinoid sexual dysfunction - PFS - post finasteride sexual dysfunction and PGAD - persistent genital arousal disorder. See our RxISK PSSD page for the many prior posts on these conditions There is also post on davidhealy.org - Khashoggi and Pandemrix - which might not sound like it is … [Read more...] about Skin and Drugs and Sex
Can Antidepressants Make You Less Attractive?
In recent years, there has been increasing concern about the problem of antidepressants finding their way into the environment. These drugs aren't fully absorbed by the body and are present in human waste. Small concentrations are then flowing into rivers via wastewater treatment facilities where wildlife can be affected. In August 2018, several media outlets reported that … [Read more...] about Can Antidepressants Make You Less Attractive?
Post-Finasteride Syndrome & Amino Acids
Editorial Note: This post has just arrived. We need to know if the treatment outlined makes any difference to others with PFS, PSSD and PRSD. It looks safe to test. You can help us by testing it if you have one of these conditions. We'd also like to know if you are aware of any reasons why it might not be helpful - others have tried it - or if you think it could be helpful … [Read more...] about Post-Finasteride Syndrome & Amino Acids