59-cael-lexapro-cymbalta-numb-detached

“Within a few days, I noticed all of my emotions had gone away. I was numb. I no longer felt like a human being... I could watch a whole movie and have no idea what had happened or what I was watching... I no longer feel love for those I once did, such as my parents and siblings. I also cannot enjoy music anymore.”

Cause

escitalopram (Lexapro) at 19 for anxiety, then Effexor, then Zoloft, then Pristiq+Seroquel, then Cymbalta ~days at 20mg (Genesight-chosen). Attributes final numbness to Cymbalta; PSSD diagnosed by a urologist plus idiopathic neuropathy.

Duration

~3 years of successive drugs from age 19 to 22; ongoing at writing (age 22)

Recovery notes

Had a genuine window: after stopping Zoloft cold turkey at 21, 'I was able to feel emotions again, and my sexual sensations returned to how they were before medication' — then 3 months of insomnia/panic, restart of Pristiq/Seroquel, then Cymbalta, after which numbness became permanent-feeling. Now: no love for parents/siblings, cannot enjoy music. ADJACENT: cognitive pole is detachment, memory loss and inability to follow a movie ('disconnected from my emotions and thoughts'), not an explicit blank mind or lost inner monologue.

Source URL

https://www.pssdnetwork.org/patient-spotlight/cael