His Chemicals, My Imbalance: A Story about Love

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February 24, 2015 | 13 Comments

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  1. I feel bad for the both of them. Accutane is pretty strong stuff. Maybe give Requip or Mirapex a try. Those increase libido (sex drive) beleive you me.

  2. My ex-wife ultimately left me over long-term sexual dysfunction from Accutane.
    She said it didn’t feel as if I was attracted to her.

    I tried hundreds of treatments, from hormone replacement therapy to natural supplements, diet changes and intense exercise. A “cure” for this sounds like a sick joke at this point.

    Sexual symptoms aren’t even listed as official side effects, doctors still often laugh at any patient who is bold enough to claim they are linked to Accutane, and there seems to be no end in sight.

    That is the current state of the situation.

    • Bill,

      I didn’t mean to hurt you’r feelings and in no way am I making light of your situation. I’m sorry about what happened. Mirapex has boosted my sex drive, confidence in having sex, constantly wanting sex. Although the wanting it too much has caused some friction in my relationship w/gf. I’m only making a suggestion and wouldn’t joke about your condition. Other then that I am at a loss
      There’s a Dr. Fred Berlin @ Johns Hopkins. Hes a world known expert in sexology and deviant sexual behavior. He has been on many TV shows IE American Justice, science shows. Google him. Give it a try. It couldn’t hurt. Try to obtain his e-mail address. I’ll look for your posts. Good Luck. I’ll do anything I can to help you out.

      Jay

      • Jay, no offense taken. I was simply referring to how often many treatments, which are considered effective among the general population, are recommended to post-Accutane sufferers only to do absolutley nothing or only improve symtoms marginally above baseline. Worst-case, they may add new side effects.

        It’s like Accutane does its long term damage on a whole other level than standard pharmaceuticals are meant to treat.

  3. See Buried Alive: PSSD

    PSSD is worse than hell, worse than death, and I do not say that lightly. It is a curse that makes me feel death is much preferable to the constant, grinding, hidden misery of my current existence. I am not even ‘depressive’. I am simply not whole anymore.

    Thanks to a 26-month course of Citalopram then Fluoxetine between 2011-2013, my once-immense libido feels completely and chemically destroyed. All excitement suddenly and unexpectedly excised. I am a very loving 40-year old male who thrives in longterm relationships and over the last few years, I have felt like only half a man, attractive to and attracted to women yet without any sexual capacity. All thrill is dead. All recent relationships have failed due to this factor.

    I am in a deeply loving relationship with a very special woman right now, I have been honest and told her and she has been amazingly supportive yet I fear failure further down the line. She is amazing in every way, she is a gift from the gods and every time I fail her, more and more of me dies inside. We are so close and in tune but I feel so sad for her, defeated, part of me wants to let her go and find someone ‘complete’…I know she loves me deeply and does not want this but inside I feel like some tragic, pointless monster, feel like I’m holding her back. I put a brave face on but it is killing my heart, my soul.

    Many would say “be thankful to be alive”. I cannot live this way. I want us to be complete. Losing that thrill is losing possibly THE main motivator of life for me…no excitement, no reward, yet I still have the extremes of attraction and emotion. The frustration of this limbo…the fact I still have it over 18 months after discontinuing the meds…I cannot take it much longer….I do not want to lose this person.

    Despite all the above, I am a positive person and will try to live on in hope.

    • Heartbreaking. Just like how my life has been broken by these pills. There must be millions of us.

      Perhaps the donations button should be put front and centre on the home page, emphasizing that you are a charity. Perhaps the link should be publicised across all the SSRI discussion boards. Perhaps a specific PSSD research fund should be set up. It seems that this is the number one issue and the number of potential donors is immense. Just a thought.

    • Dr. Healy,

      Are you a victim yourself?

      God Bless you! Only one who has consumed a PSSD/PFS/PRSD drug can understand the pain of the other.

      Shiv

  4. I completely relate to this story. I have Post-Finasteride Syndrome, from taking and stopping Propecia. Similar persistent side effects remain. Your story is devastating to read and it highly resonates. We need a more open and ongoing dialogue concerning what drugs can do to your physical health, mental health, emotional well being, sex life, social life, career and relationships in the long-term. It is criminal that people suffer from these conditions while more prescriptions (with unknown side effects) are rushed onto the market for financial gain. No one (doctor, label on medication) ever indicated that certain drugs can alter your brain chemistry over time. Doctors too easily prescribe medications because they simply do not know anything about them.

  5. Bill, I don’t know if you’re still linked to that page, but it would be very important for me to contact you and help me with some information. I am 28 years old and I did the treatment with ISOTRETINOIN on two occasions: The first was at 15 years of age and the second at 20. Currently I feel terrible and in the country I live, the treatments are difficult to access. It would be very supportive if I could exchange a few words with you. I feel very bad.

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