St. John's Wort (SJW): A Case For PSSD/Anhedonia

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Lucas Aoun

Founder @ BYB

April 21, 2020

What is PSSD? Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) is an iatrogenic condition which can arise following antidepressant use, in which sexual function does not completely return to normal after the discontinuation of SSRIs, SNRIs and some tricyclic antidepressants. Here’s a list of anecdotes from Beetlebum how SJW helped individuals with PSSD/Anhedonia:

Key Facts

CASE 1
My morning wood is very strong and I get very intense erotic dreams now. At first I was a little afraid, because I read that SJW works like SSRI. But it does not. There are no sexual side effects, except the positive ones. I am a little dizzy, though. Today I had the most intense orgasm since I got PSSD four years ago. I will definitely continue the treatment. I must say, that I already made some progress over the years, but I constantly had to force myself to masturbate. Now I am horny again. There is still much room for improvement, but I made the first step into the door. And this is still the fifth day, where SJW is supposed to fully kick in after 2 – 3 weeks.”


CASE 2
“The first two days I also had the impression that the symptoms got worse a bit. I almost quit to be honest. Then it got better and better. Today is the sixth day and I get strange flashes of emotions I haven’t felt for years. I even forgot about them. This only lasts about a second or two, but it gives me hope, that there is some rewiring going on in my brain. I even had an erotic dream again. The whole four years I had do deal with PSSD I got five erotic dreams in total, which I can remember. Three of them happened this week. ”

“Today is the 10th day of my SJW treatment. My penis was a bit more numb today than the previous days and the orgasm wasn’t very great too. I rose my dose from 900 mg to 1350 mg yesterday, though. Maybe my nervous system has to adjust to the new dosage first. Overall feeling is pretty good. I still get these emotion-flashes which remind me that my capability of having positive emotions hasn’t died yet. Playing computer games is a little bit fun too. I used to be a hardcore-gamer before I got PSSD. When my emotions got numb, I stopped playing. Windows where my condition becomes a little better have occured prior to my SJW treatment, but now they seem to be more often and more intense, but I am far away from being cured.”

CASE 3
I WANT things! My anticipatory anhedonia has completely vanished.This is an absolute milestone. Even in my best windows I was too anhedonic to really want something emotionally. It is just still a very general feeling. I don’t want specific things, I just feel I want something, lol. I think I have to learn to deal with this emotion again, but I am SO happy that my reward system has awoken.

Sexuality has also further improved. I get a boner now by just thinking about sex. A not very strong one though, but my morning erections are extraordinary strong. I think this is all because the 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors have upregulated. They both trigger dopamine release. SSRI are known for downregulating them which can result in anhedonia, memory problems and sexual side effects. It all makes sense now to m

CASE 4
“I went out to a walk in one of our beautiful german forests yesterday. You know, it wasn’t just my sexual sensations and enjoyment that got numb. I hardly could feel any positive emotions. But in the forrest I’ve sensed some kind of fairy tale atmosphere. The trees and the green of the leafs … I have trouble describing it … but I FELT them! It reminded me of my childhood, where every place had a special atmosphere. Yesterday it wasn’t nearly as strong as it was before I had PSSD, but I more and more find out about emotions that I have completely forgotten. On one side this makes me very sad, on the other side – they are coming back, obviously. How the hell could I live like that all the time

“The SSRI-like symptoms are compensated by the effects on dopamine and other neurotransmitters to some extend, I think. To my surprise I had an almost acceptable orgasm yesterday – with an enjoyable buildup. I don’t notice any withdrawal symptoms so far. I think I just quit taking normal doses, before the stuff can make any permanent mess with my receptors. Maybe I should try the OP method and take small doses several times a week, because I am convinced now that this drug has beneficial effects on PSSD.”

“My sexuality has further improved, by the way. Buildup was very good today, the orgasm was longer and more enjoyable and I even noticed a significant increase in semen amount. As a bonus I got a very strong anxiolytic and antidepressive, pleasant effect. I feel good and the reward system functions better. Played Hearthstone yesterday and it was an exciting blast! I must add that I was very anhedonic before I tried SJW (minus the windows). The at first experienced negative sexual side effects have completely faded away. It takes a little bit longer until I cum, but that is a good thing in my case!”

“I would recommend a brand that has the whole bandwidth of active components. I am on “Laif 900″. I live in Germany, don’t know whether it is available in foreign countries, but you can order it via the internet, I guess.”


“As I wrote, SJW impacted my sexuality negatively too. But that faded away. I think it is pretty expectable that an imbalanced system gets initially imbalanced even more when it gets repaired. Antidepressents cure depressions but worsen the symptoms at the beginning of the treatment. Teeth surgery elevates pain before it lessens it in the long run. Antipsychotics can make psychosis worse before it gets better. There is rarely a cure which heals you in an instant without temporary side effects.

But everyone is different. It could very well be that SJW worsens your symptoms in the long run and doesn’t help you at all. You must know for yourself if you take that risk. I am glad that I did. But 1000 mg as the initial dose is very brave. I started with 450 mg which triggered an uncomfortable panic attack.”

Reference: https://pssdlab.wordpress.com/beetlebum-st-johns-wort/

Message me at ergogenic.health@gmail.com to book a consultation.

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