Recent History I don't want to provide any false hope to the people on this board but a Schisandra Chinesis tincture purchased from vitamin shoppe and dosed conservatively has eliminated all of the symptoms I attributed to PSSD.
Med History: Depression/anxiety treated with Zoloft X 1 year--> Escitalopram X 2-3 years.
Post treatment sexual side effects: ED, limited to no libido, psychogenic dysfunction
Products trialed: Too many to list. Virtually everything mentioned on this forum.
Results with Schisandra: Upon the initial sublingual dose I experienced an immediate calming and emotional leveling with a touch of anhedonia. A good mood followed but with definitively altered perceptions. I didn't notice anything pro-sexual for about 6 hours but when it came it was profound. Erectile capacity with manual stimulation returned to 100% and arousal was enhanced and very cerebral while my body remained calm.
I have used the tincture daily for about a month with no diminishing returns. I don't dose per any strict regimen except that it is typically closer to the evening because I notice a slight cognitive dulling after dosing that I attempt to avoid during the work day. I should also note that the emotional dulling flip flopped to major emotional turbulence at once point when I escalated the dose (I find about 0.25-0.5 ml to be best). I felt obligated to share in case this has a chance to work for any other individuals. Below is my brief hypothesis regarding the mode of action and a couple studies to get you started. Good luck.
Theorized MOA:
Potentially a combination of factors including prolactin reduction, mild estrogen agonism, and CA channel antagonism. The estrogenic activity appears to contribute to the vasodilatory effects and could be responsible for the libido increase by increasing NO in the medial preoptic area. I can't find full access to the article showing prolactin lowering activity so I cannot confidently claim that schisandra acts through dopamine agonism but few other pathways are capable of decreasing prolactin so it is fair to theorize that it may.
Resources
Extracts from Schizandra chinensis fruit activate estrogen receptors: a possible clue to its effects on nitric oxide-mediated vasorelaxation.
Lee YJ1, Cho JY, Kim JH, Park WK, Kim DK, Rhyu MR.
Author information
Abstract
Schizandra chinensis fruit has long been used for the treatment of cardiovascular symptoms associated especially with menopausal symptoms in Korea. To provide a scientific rationale for such uses, we have investigated the vasorelaxant effects of Schizandra chinensis fruit on the vasomotor tone of the rat thoracic aorta in an organ bath. The crude extracts of Schizandra chinensis fruit (SC-Ex) elicited a transient relaxing response in the endothelium-intact rat aorta contracted with norepinephrine. This relaxant effect was abolished by removal of the endothelium, and also by pretreatment with nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. We then examined whether this vasodilatory effect occurs through estrogen receptor by reporter assays. SC-Ex activated the estrogen-responsive luciferase gene in COS cells transiently transfected with estrogen receptor and reporter plasmids. The activation was maintained in the butanol-soluble fraction and further increased in the successively fractionated C(18) cartridge-adsorbed fraction (SC-ADF). Reporter gene activation by SC-ADF was inhibited by the specific estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780, indicating that the effect is estrogen receptor dependent. However, SC-ADF failed to activate the androgen receptor in COS cells transfected with the corresponding receptor and reporter plasmids. These data show that extracts of Schizandra chinensis fruit act as a weak phytoestrogen.
Abstract
Prolactin (PRL) is secreted from the pituitary gland in response to eating, mating, and ovulation. Increased serum concentration of PRL during pregnancy contributes to enlargement of the mammary glands of the breasts and prepares for production of milk. However, high PRL levels derived from prolactinoma and hyperprolactinemia induce physiological disorders such as infertility and early menopause. Natural compounds isolated from S. chinensis have been known to possess anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. In the present study, we examined the therapeutic effect of S. chinensis and its single compounds on hyperprolactinemia in the pituitary gland. In rat pituitary cells, PRL expression levels were examined using real-time PCR and western blot assay. Crude S. chinensis extract and its single compound, gomisin N, reduced mRNA and protein levels of PRL in GH3 cells. In addition, cell proliferation and PRL target gene expression in cells were modulated by S. chinensis. Similar to the in vitro experiments, crude S. chinensis extract and gomisin N reduced PRL levels in the pituitary and serum of immature female rats. These results show that S. chinensis and its single compound, gomisin N, are regulators of PRL production and may be candidates for treatment of hyperprolactinemia and prolactinoma.





