PharmD posted his recovery on the old PSSD Forum in early 2011. It was part of the information saved and reposted in the new forum, and the full thread following Inositol can be found here.
The story was also posted on “Drugs Forum” here.
“[Jan 28, 2011] First of all, a big thank you to the creator of this forum. I applaud your efforts in sharing your experiments with others in hopes for finding a solution to PSSD.
I have found inositol to be an effective agent in treating my social anxiety disorder (SAD) (if only I had discovered it before Paxil damaged my body pale ). This stuff is amazing! I have been keeping a log for the past 6 days, and I am happy to report that I have had consistant relief from SAD on every single one of those days. Trials show a benefit by week 4 but I can definately say that I am getting immediate relief from this stuff. Inositol has also been found to treat depression and OCD with comparable efficacy to SSRIs with a MUCH better side effect profile, so keep this in mind if you suffer from PSSD, dropped the SSRIs, and are still looking for a viable alternative to treat your depression, OCD, anxiety etc. Dose is in the 6 gram – 18 gram range daily (can be in divided doses as well).
I thought I might contribute to this board as I am self experimenting with the effects of Inositol on my PSSD.
Method of Action: Most conventional psychotropics in use today act at receptors on the cell membrane. Inositol, which acts at the second-messenger intracellular level, is a truly novel psychotropic agent. Chronic inositol administration has been found to induce a significant increase in striatal dopamine2 receptor density (Bmax), but not affinity, with a slight increase in 5HT2 receptor density, but not affinity. The changes observed in striatal D1-D2 balance will result in marked changes in activity in the cortical-striatal-thalamic circuit – and in the modultation of thalamic activation of the cortex and striatum. Inositol‘s effect on mGlu-1 receptors may modulate dopaminergic function indirectly and resent with biochemical and behavioral consequences of DA hyperactivity. (It is possible that Inositol and Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) converge to a common final, perhaps genetic, destination. It is also possible that Inositol actives a cascade of events (as do other antidepressants), but at a later point or a different cascade that eventually interacts of converges with the events related to other antidepressant drugs.) Inositol is a key intermediate of the phosphatidyl-inositol (PI) cycle – a second messenger system used by several noradrenergic alpha, several types of serotonergic and cholinergic nerve receptors and is a rate-limiting step in the synthesis of PI – considered a saturated system. No changes in mono-aminergic systems follow acute or chronic Inositol administration. Inositol is responsible for the production of second messengers Inositol triphospahte3 (IP3) and DAG and regulation of phospholipase C. Inositol functions as cell growth factor by stimulating fat used to construct myelinated nerve materials. In animal models, chronic dietary inositol significantly elevates cellular Inositol levels in the cortex (36%) and hippocampus (27%) but not in the striatum or cerebellum. Regional differences in inositol uptake by the brain may shed light on the mechanism of action of lithium in different brain regions. Cerebellar granule cells in culture, which do not accumulate high levels of inositol, are also less susceptible to inositol-induced reversal of the biochemical effects of lithium. (Introcerebroventricular replenishment of lithium-induced depletion of inositol reverses lithium’s effects on behavior.) Inositol also reverses desensitization of serotonin receptors.
(FYI my PSSD is manifests as genital numbness and premature ejaculation (<–Successfully treated with Tramadol, numerous times))
My Log: (Dose is 6 grams twice daily)
Jan 24-27/11: No significant effect on my PSSD
Jan 28/11: I feel able to get aroused much easier when thinking about erotica. (Before I could be watching porn and struggle to get a hard-on).”
February 2011
“[February 4] Update:
Increased dose to 18 grams at bedtime on Feb 1/2011 (Solely due to convienience of once daily dosing)
Jan 29-Feb 3/2011: I am still finding that it helps with arousal; it takes much less physical stimulation/erotic images to get an erection. Premature ejaculation is unfortunately unchanged. Side effects are just like they said it would be: gas and diarrhea (although yesterday and today wasn’t bad at all).
…
Here is the study for reference:
Am J Psychiatry. 1996 Sep;153(9):1219-21.
Inositol treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Fux M, Levine J, Aviv A, Belmaker RH.
Ministry of Health Mental Health Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel.
OBJECTIVE: Earlier studies reported that inositol, a simple polyol second messenger precursor, was effective in controlled trials for patients with depression and panic. In this study its effectiveness in obsessive-compulsive disorder was investigated. METHOD: Thirteen patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder completed a double-blind, controlled crossover trial of 18 g/day of inositol or placebo for 6 weeks each. RESULTS: The subjects had significantly lower scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale when taking inositol than when taking placebo. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that inositol is effective in depression, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, a spectrum of disorders responsive to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
What I’ve been doing is dissolving the powder in a water bottle, adding some Crystal Light and chugging it down (the powder itself has a sweet taste, but its much more palatable with Crystal Light). Side effects like I said are diarrhea and gas, but they seem to get better with continued use (I actually didn’t have any of either today). Apparently caffeine consumption lowers inositol levels in the body.
Here is a good reference about inositol use in OCD http://www.ocdrecoverycenters.com/about … sitol.html”
“[February 7] Update:
Feb 4-5/2011: Erections unchanged from last time, premature ejaculation unchanged.
Feb 6/2011: I accidentaly bought an Inositol Powder bottle with another supplement called Choline added to it. It is the same color bottle and I didn’t even notice it until I got home. Anyway, I got home and took my regular dose in the evening. An hour later I can say that my erections have been phenomenal. I can get it up within seconds of physical or visual stimulation, just like the old days. After doing a bit of reading, choline is a precursor to acetylcholine which is apparently a key player in male erections:
http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/ … 8.abstract
Cholinergic neurotransmission in human corpus cavernosum.
Department of Urology, Boston University Medical Center, Massachusetts02118.
Abstract
Physiological and histochemical evidence indicates that cholinergic nerves may participate in mediating penile erection. Acetylcholine synthesis and release was studied in isolated human corporal tissue. Human corpus cavernosum incubated with [3H )choline accumulated [3H]choline and synthesized [3H]acetylcholine in a concentration-dependent manner. [3H]Acetylcholine accumulation by the tissue was inhibited by hemicholinium-3, a specific antagonist of the high-affinity choline transport in cholinergic nerves. Transmural electrical field stimulation caused release of [3H]acetylcholine which was significantly diminished by inhibiting neurotransmission with calcium-free physiological salt solution or tetrodotoxin. These observations provide biochemical and physiological evidence for the existence of cholinergic innervation in human corpus cavernosum.
Not only that; I felt really relaxed and comfortable when I went out with some buddies from work for dinner. With my social anxiety disorder, I would always sit there and feel like people are looking at me and judging me, but I amazingly felt no anxiety this time around. This is a feeling that I have never felt before. I know this could all be a placebo effect. I’m really tempted to continue my experiment using the inositol/choline combo, but I won’t, for the sake of evaluating inositol by itself. For reference, the dose of choline that I took was 1500 mg.”
“[February 14] Feb 6-13/2011: Still doing OK with 18 grams once daily at bedtime. Erections have stayed the same since last update. Premature ejaculation unchanged. Libido unchanged. Social anxiety disorder has massively improved. No side effects to report. I’m going to continue on for one more week before calling this one. But until now, I’ve noticed a modest improvement in erections.”
“[February 21] Feb 14-21/2011: No change since last update.
After 4 weeks on 18 grams of Inositol once daily, I only see a modest improvement in enhancing erections. No increase in libido, no relief in my symptoms of premature ejaculation.
Things that have also improved include my social anxiety and my sleep. Remember, it has been studied to treat OCD and anxiety for about 4 to 6 weeks, but there is no data on how long it takes to resensitize serotonin receptors. I will keep everyone posted on any changes.”
March 2011
“[March 17] Feb 22/2011 – March 16/2011: It has been 7 weeks and 2 days into my inositol experiment (Maintinance dose is 18 g once daily at bedtime)
2. My memory has turned to crap. I can barely remember something I did 5 minutes ago. I have to check if I’ve turned off the iron 5 times before I leave the house. Just stupid little things that I NEVER ever used to think twice about.
3. My erections are much better than last update. I even get anticipatory erections before I open porn sites. Something I haven’t had in a while.
My theory: I think that the inositol has successfully resensitized a subset of 5-HT receptors (5-HT2A or 5-HT2C receptors, not sure).
Clues:
1. Antagonists at 5-HT2A receptors suppresses appetite. Upregulation would do the opposite.
2. Increased availability of the 5-HT2A receptor in hippocampus is associated with poorer memory function.
3. Could be my body telling me that I am low on serotonin now that the receptors are resensitized? The most immediate way to raise neural serotonin levels is to eat a high carbohydrate meal. (The insulin released lets more tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier)
As a side experiment, I took some tramadol and it effectively suppressed my carb craving. Could it be due to its serotonin releasing nature? Or 5-HT2C antagonism? Who knows…
Whatever it is, I can’t continue with my memory being like this. I will stop inositol for a few days and see how it goes. I will post any updates here. ”
anxiety disorder. After a few months, I found it really hard to orgasm. I was
having marathon sex sessions with my wife. I went off the Paxil in March of 2009
(after a total of 8 months on it) and since then I’ve noticed that it takes me
forever to get aroused. I’ve also been hit with extreme premature ejaculation,
loss of libido and interest in sex.
decided to look at the matter scientifically. PSSD is most likely caused by
persistent desensitization of 5-HT1A receptors. After doing some research on
substances that reverse desensitization of these receptors I stumbled across
inositol, a naturally occuring sugar in our bodies.
and few days (Jan 24/2011 to March 16/2011) and I am happy to say that my
interest in sex has returned, my erections are back to normal, and my premature
ejaculation has returned to how it was before I went on Paxil. Never will I
touch an SSRI again.
Greg”
