Discomforting feeling to the penis (dysesthesia)

I'm a 35 years old man on benzodiazepines since I was 20 for anxiety and sleep disorders.

 

My benzodiazepine is delorazepam (trade name EN). Delorazepam is a high half-life drug, 1mg of which is equivalent to 10mg of diazepam (Valium).

 

Increasing dosage over the years without control (better: eluding controls) brought me to 3mg/day consumption. On August 2018 I finally decided to quit, starting my second withdrawal attempt after a failed one four years before.

 

This time I decided to do the things the proper way: consulted a psychiatrist, which I see regularly, to seek professional advice and started a slow, really slow tapering, supported by the assumption of melatonin and 75mg/day of trazodone, an anti depressant used for anxiety and in withdrawal pharmacological support.

 

I removed ~0.15mg every two weeks (gradually reducing the drops) until I reached 1mg/day five months later. At this point, I slowed down to ~0.08 mg every two weeks until I got to 0.5mg/day. Then, I slowed down again to ~0.04mg every two weeks for the final part. I understand this is a silly slow pace but I hit many obstacles during my tapering (increased anxiety, insomnia) that even brought me to a one-month stop to cope with the withdrawal symptoms, so I decided not to rush it. I'm currently at 0.25mg/day and hoping to be free by mid December.

 

In January 2019 - five months in - I started having a problem that I initially did not associate to withdrawal: a discomforting feeling, like too much sensitivity, in a specific area of the penis during sex.

This area is right under the glans on the left side of the penis, and has a diameter of about 1-1.5cm. At first I did not worry about it, I guessed it was something that could happen occasionally for a number of reasons.

 

This happened again over the following months, leading to a conditioning to "slow down" during sex. It was distressing, but I was hoping the problem would have gone away like it had appeared.

 

In September it got worse: even the simple contact with the underwear was enough to trigger the sensitivity, making even walking a discomforting task.

 

Since a few days, it seems that the feeling is present even when I'm not moving at all.

 

I went to an urologist, who found nothing. Next, I consulted a dermatologist. Nothing.

 

I was desperate and began searching online. To my great surprise, I learned that benzodiazepine withdrawal can generate such discomforting feelings, which go by the name "dysesthesia" or possibly even "paraesthesia". I did not find a single mention to this problem happening to the genital area, though.

 

To rule out all other causes, I started a series of exams under the supervision of a neurologist. I am waiting for the results but I'm pretty sure nothing will be found. I am waiting to hear my psychiatrist on the matter, too.

 

I'm exhausted, this problem is causing such discomfort that is affecting negatively all my life. I'm just hoping it will fade out once I'm free from benzodiazepine if that's the cause.

 

Has anyone had or heard of anything similar? Is it really possible that benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms affect such a single small area? Any information or input would be a relief.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Any input on the problem? Was my tapering sufficently slow? Please ):

I’m experiencing this right now. It feels like I’ve developed radiating nerve pain down the left side of the penis.  It’s just something I’m dealing with and hoping it goes away after withdrawal. I’ve never had this sensation when I’ve been levelled off, only during latest period of intense withdrawal.

Am aware of a coupe of women who have this over there entire bodies including in their vaginas.

The following links below take you to a website where this problem is being discussed, perhaps helps, my understanding is that your symptoms are likely to be related to the medications you have been taking.

 

Complex Withdrawal Model

https://rxisk.org/complex-withdrawal-model/

 

 

Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction: A Literature Review

Areeg Bala, MD, Hoang Minh Tue Nguyen, BA, and Wayne J. G. Hellstrom, MD, FACS

https://www.smr.jsexmed.org/article/S2050-0521(17)30072-0/pdf

 

I'm a 35 years old man on benzodiazepines since I was 20 for anxiety and sleep disorders.

 

My benzodiazepine is delorazepam (trade name EN). Delorazepam is a high half-life drug, 1mg of which is equivalent to 10mg of diazepam (Valium).

 

Increasing dosage over the years without control (better: eluding controls) brought me to 3mg/day consumption. On August 2018 I finally decided to quit, starting my second withdrawal attempt after a failed one four years before.

 

This time I decided to do the things the proper way: consulted a psychiatrist, which I see regularly, to seek professional advice and started a slow, really slow tapering, supported by the assumption of melatonin and 75mg/day of trazodone, an anti depressant used for anxiety and in withdrawal pharmacological support.

 

I removed ~0.15mg every two weeks (gradually reducing the drops) until I reached 1mg/day five months later. At this point, I slowed down to ~0.08 mg every two weeks until I got to 0.5mg/day. Then, I slowed down again to ~0.04mg every two weeks for the final part. I understand this is a silly slow pace but I hit many obstacles during my tapering (increased anxiety, insomnia) that even brought me to a one-month stop to cope with the withdrawal symptoms, so I decided not to rush it. I'm currently at 0.25mg/day and hoping to be free by mid December.

 

In January 2019 - five months in - I started having a problem that I initially did not associate to withdrawal: a discomforting feeling, like too much sensitivity, in a specific area of the penis during sex.

This area is right under the glans on the left side of the penis, and has a diameter of about 1-1.5cm. At first I did not worry about it, I guessed it was something that could happen occasionally for a number of reasons.

 

This happened again over the following months, leading to a conditioning to "slow down" during sex. It was distressing, but I was hoping the problem would have gone away like it had appeared.

 

In September it got worse: even the simple contact with the underwear was enough to trigger the sensitivity, making even walking a discomforting task.

 

Since a few days, it seems that the feeling is present even when I'm not moving at all.

 

I went to an urologist, who found nothing. Next, I consulted a dermatologist. Nothing.

 

I was desperate and began searching online. To my great surprise, I learned that benzodiazepine withdrawal can generate such discomforting feelings, which go by the name "dysesthesia" or possibly even "paraesthesia". I did not find a single mention to this problem happening to the genital area, though.

 

To rule out all other causes, I started a series of exams under the supervision of a neurologist. I am waiting for the results but I'm pretty sure nothing will be found. I am waiting to hear my psychiatrist on the matter, too.

 

I'm exhausted, this problem is causing such discomfort that is affecting negatively all my life. I'm just hoping it will fade out once I'm free from benzodiazepine if that's the cause.

 

Has anyone had or heard of anything similar? Is it really possible that benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms affect such a single small area? Any information or input would be a relief.

 

Thanks for reading

 

It's hard to see what is going on when you don't have a signature.  Are you on any other meds, etc.  I know for me and I was a 15-year Clonazepam user... starting with 1mg a day in the beginning... I reached tolerance and had a very alarming incident happen in 2014.  I had REALLY bad vertigo which caused me to be bed ridden for over 6-weeks.  I went to the ER, the Neurologist, an Ear, nose and throat specialist, my psychiatrist and family Dr.  I had an MRI and Cat Scan.. absolutely nothing came back negative on any tests.  Nobody knew what it was or caused by.  I only had it that one time and never again.  About four years after the incident I was reading about how Benzo's can cause vertigo.  None of the Doctors even mentioned  that possibility so my point is... yes your problem could be a side effect.  I don't know how fast you have tapered but look at my signature for example.  It took me over two years to get off of Clonazepam with minor side effects and that was with a long hold at the halfway point.  Please let us know what happens and if you could do a signature that would be really helpful to everyone reading your posts.