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Are SSRIs good for our condition?

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by Blue_Knight, Sep 7, 2018.

  1. Blue_Knight

    Blue_Knight Fapstronaut

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    Considering that we have damaged dopamine system in the brain, is it a good idea to take SSRIs which affect serotonin in our brains? Doctors mostly give SSRIs for depression...
     
  2. RayJay01

    RayJay01 Fapstronaut

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    I was put on SSRIs to help lower my libido. It worked for a while, but then my libido rebounded, If you're going to go that way, its best to look at it as a temporary crutch to help you break away. I'm about to start experimenting with an herbal supplement called chasteberry. Its normally used by women, but in men its supposed to lower libido. Apparently monks used it in the middle ages to help them stay celibate. We'll see. . .
     
  3. Sima Guang

    Sima Guang Fapstronaut

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    I'm on citalopram now, but started first on escitalopram. Escitalopram was horrible for me! I was always tired and had trouble thinking. However, I think I ended up PMOing more while on it! When I switched to citalopram, I managed to go 2 weeks without PMO! But then...my libido came back. It could be for other reasons though since I am taking some other supplements. I wish I had the will to keep up those 2 weeks. It was a great start that I messed up.
     
  4. Blue_Knight

    Blue_Knight Fapstronaut

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    I take buspirone at nights and citalopram in the morning. I just started citalopram today. I was wondering are SSRIs good for our conditions?! Does PMO lower serotonin as well as dopamine?!
     
  5. Sima Guang

    Sima Guang Fapstronaut

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    PMO lowers dopamine. I haven't read anything about it lowering serotonin but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I think SSRIs are probably helpful for our condition. I feel like I recover faster for the horrible feelings I get after PMOing.
     
  6. Blue_Knight

    Blue_Knight Fapstronaut

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    Do you have any experience taking any SSRI before? Did they help you?
     
  7. PMO might lower dopamine in the long term but mainly it has the effect that the receptors keep being bombarded with high amounts of it so they down regulate or desensitize and then normal activities seem boring

    PMO might also lower serotonin in the long term, there's some cross interaction between serotonin and dopamine receptors, possibly explaining the libido drop, but i dont know
     
    dboy18 likes this.
  8. Blue_Knight

    Blue_Knight Fapstronaut

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    Yea that's right. PMO mainly downregulate dopamine receptors and this makes the dopamine as the culprit for our symptoms. Busprione is a dopamine antagonist which I think can help the recovery of dopamine receptors. In addition, my doctor prescribed me with Citalopram which is a SSRI. One of the side effects of SSRIs is lowering dopamine! So, I don't know if it is a good choice for us or not...
     
  9. lantti

    lantti Fapstronaut

    Medical pills of today is relief but it isn't a cure.You know what else is relief? pmo. Heroin. why not do that as well?

    You can get dopamine from putting music high volume and blasting away. You can get it from exercise. But no matter what you do, you cannot get that as much as you did when pmoing away. You will drop down and have the withdrawals, or you're not rebooting. You can eat pills all day, and fix the problem easy way, but those pills cost lot of money and they really don't cure the problem, they just treat the problem. And the problem doesn't go away that way.

    In what way?
    And here we have the reason why you're now on day 1 of pmo. Those feelings you have, are the thing that guides you. If you neglect them you neglect yourself, and thus yourself will rebel and you will never stop pmo. You're supposed to take care of yourself, not run away from your feelings. You're using PMO to "cure" your feelings. wrong way pal. You should use your feelings to cure PMO.
     
  10. I've tried anything from sertraline to wellbutrin. The way I see it is that antidepressants are a band aid approach (in the case of pmo induced withdrawals). They do not really cure anything or help cure anything, they just ease symptoms whilst circulating in your system. Coming off antidepressants can be a real pain and make withdrawals even worse. Antidepressants for pmo withdrawal induced depression is probably much different from antidepressants for legit depression. I just don't know what to think of them. They never made me happy or cause any good mood. They did however soothe my anxiety enough to be able to function somewhat. On one hand they do take the edge off, but feeling comfortable enough can lead to relapses, which is exactly what happened in my case, worsening withdrawals. Perhaps the intense pain of withdrawals is what it takes to really overcome addiction. The one medication that is capable of making me experience real happiness despite withdrawal is ativan. This binds to gaba receptors which suggests gaba downregulations plays a significant role in withdrawal. It's also highly addictive and withdrawals from benzo's can be as bad or worse than pmo withdrawal. So drugs are never really the solution.

    Bottom line I've come to think of antidepressants as a last resort. Withdrawal is all about the brain trying to figure out stuff and reach new biochemical homeostasis. Antidepressants can and will mess with these processes. They're an articial crutch in the case of withdrawal (anyone with true depression may benefit from medications so if you're feeling depressed and it's not withdrawal by all means listen to your doctors).

    Take them if there's no other option or if you're severely depressed. They can save lives. Not going to write them off. I have however noticed that above all it takes time and abstinence to really heal from pmo induced withdrawal. Pmo causes unhealthy biochemical imbalances, antidepressants generate artificial equilibrium. If you have pmo withdrawal induced anxiety or depression you'll still feel anxious or depressed, but the meds space you out enough to somehow get you to function better. But it's the brain sobering up that induces anxiety or depression in the first place during withdrawal, which leads me to think antidepressants aren't the best option if you really want to heal yourself. The body has amazing self healing properties and increasing receptor density can and will happen if it's given enough time. It's all cause and effect you know. Porn messes up the brain it's as simple as that. It's important to understand that withdrawal is a cycle. There's different stages and interrupting any of these is the last thing you want to do. To really be cured, whether you take antidepressants or not, it's of the utmost importance that you go monk mode for however long your brain may need.
     
  11. dboy18

    dboy18 Fapstronaut

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    I think it depends on how long you masturbated for and the rate at which you PMO. For me I started when I was 12 years of age, I'm now 27, I would masturbate daily 3-4 times a day. I recently went to the doctor to go check myself out because I was very depressed when I started abstaining, withdrawal symptoms got me hard. The doctor gave me some Nuzak antidepressant pills, there has been a difference in the way I cope during my days, I'm now calmer, I think systematically, I'm no longer panicking and scared to be around people, my mood is steady and consistent. Before that I was always uneasy, irritable, anxious, always needed that sexual high to be happy. I did not want to take the antidepressant route because I heard so many negative things about them and how they can mess your body. So it depends on how severe is your addiction is. If pmo has not driven you crazy like me, refrain from antidepressants and heal the natural way but if the withdrawals are hindering your day to day work, consider using them.
     

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