Resolved question:
I have quite a complex problem which is difficult to explain well but I will try to be as concise as possible. Basically I have been suffering with tight/stiff muscles/joints and with an overall lethargic feeling for the past 8 years which I am now sure is a sexually related problem. I saw my GP when I felt something was wrong back in 2006 and had various tests which found nothing wrong. They sent me to physio and that didn’t help so I just decided to leave it and hope it went away until about 2 years ago as nothing had changed. I went back to the doctor to have more blood tests and was sent to Rheumatology and Neurology both of which turned nothing up. I should point out I am not overweight and have never smoked or taken drugs. I am at the point now where the doctors have just said they don’t know what’s wrong so I will have to live with it. The stiffness is worst in my neck, shoulders, back, waist and legs although I would say it’s an all over feeling and get crunchy joints even in my jaw. It hasn’t changed much over the years and is with me 24 hours a day although I go through periods where it feels worse or slightly better. The only thing that affects it is when I ejaculate either after masturbation or a wet dream. This seems odd but I have always been convinced it is a chemical imbalance of some kind, that I have too much or too little of some sexual chemical perhaps. I have other symptoms which come and go including itching in small of back and around my anus and sometimes after masturbating I get an upset stomach and trapped wind for quite a while. I have tried not masturbating but after 3 or 4 weeks without I become unbearably tight and tense and my joints get really crunchy so I end up having to masturbate to alleviate it a bit. I don’t suffer from any of the usual sexual problems like premature ejaculation or not getting an erection but I wonder if I perhaps masturbated too much when I was younger or have done something else to unbalance things. I would really appreciate any ideas as I am at breaking point now because it has been going on so long and affecting the quality of my life so much especially as having tight muscles is now causing me to get other problems like achillies tendonitis as I walk a lot for my job.
Thank you.
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Sexologist
Hello.
Thanks for using DoctorSpring for posting your query.
I have gone through your query in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
The kind of symptoms that you have stated range across various symptoms and the diagnosis which can explain them is either a 1) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or 2) Somatoform disorder.
I understand that almost all of your blood reports have come normal and hence organic causes are not suspected.
You have mentioned that you have been started on antidepressants but you have not stated that since how long are you taking them. Actually antidepressant medications like amitryptyline will be a good drug for such problems. Many patients in my clinic have responded well to Amitryptyline 25 mg dose and probably you can discuss this issue with your psychiatrist. For you to be having somatoform disorder or getting well with anti-depressants, you need not be depressed.
Hope that helps,
If you have any further queries I would be more than happy to help you.
Regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Psychiatrist & Sexologist
Thank you for your answer. I have been thinking about it this week and would like to add to what I said before.
I am not sure what blood tests I have had but apparently they haven't shown anything unusual. I have read about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Somatoform Disorder and can see I have some of those symptoms but am still not sure why they seem to be affected so much by when I masturbate? I have recently masturbated about 5 times within a week and strangely it has helped my symptoms a little. Previously it always made it worse so I am wondering if the Fuoxetine 20mg capsules I am taking have changed anything? I have been taking them about 3 months but have been trying not to masturbate during that time. Is Amitryptyline very different to Fluxetine? I am just wondering what is best to do as I have started reducing my dose of Fluoxetine a week ago as I felt it wasn't making any difference.
I have also looked into what chemicals are released after ejaculation and wonder if too much or not enough of any of these could be causing my symptoms: Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Testosterone, Oxytocin and Serotonin? Thanks again.
Hello,
I will try to answer all the questions that you have put up.
Along with the neurotransmitters that you have stated, any pleasurable activity like masturbation will also cause release of endorphins (endogenous opiods) and this causes improvement in your symptoms. It causes relaxation and reduces anxiety.
Anitryptiline is different from fluoxetine and you should give it a try as you are already reducing the dosage of fluoxetine.
Its OK to masturbate 5 times a week and you need not restrict yourself or feel guilty otherwise.
Hope that helps
Wish you good health,
Regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy