US man is 'medical mystery' after anti-depressant drug changes skin colour from white to dark grey
A man has the medical profession scratching their heads after a 'mystery' reaction to a commonly prescribed drug changed his skin colour from white - to dark grey. Tyler Monk, 34, was prescribed an anti-depressant last year after consulting a doctor for his mental health. But the treatment failed to help his mental health - but did change the colour of his skin. Tyler was given Fluoxetine, a type of antidepressant known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), that is commonly prescribed to treat depression. He started taking the drug in May 2021, but within a week Tyler’s wife, Emily, 28, noticed that his skin colour was changing. Tyler, a pest control field inspector, stopped the medication after only a few weeks as it wasn’t helping his mental health, but his skin continued to darken. First, his ears started to change colour before it rapidly spread to his neck and his face - before effecting his arms and hands. Tyler also experienced other symptoms such as extremely red, irritated eyes and his skin is now very sensitive to the sun and it feels like it has been burned. He admits to being ‘in denial’ at first, but after speaking to two of his co-workers, Tyler accepted he was actually turning grey. Tyler has visited several specialists near the couple's home in Kinder, Louisiana, USA, since the discolouration, but they have all been stumped. Doctors have ruled out any serious diseases, poisoning and autoimmune conditions - but they still can't tell the monks what is causing the problems. Tyler's dermatologist has now referred him for an appointment with a team of eight skin specialists, which is an exciting breakthrough in a seemingly unsolvable case. Ahead of his visit with the specialists, Tyler is due to receive a CAT scan of his abdomen and new rounds of blood work. He said: "First they thought it was photosensitivity, so I'm having a reaction to light, but I've been covering up and I'm still getting darker. “I can’t get any answers from the specialists so we decided to post on TikTok. We thought that it couldn’t hurt to share online, so let's see if by some chance anyone else out there has had this happen or maybe has some answers for us. “It’s mainly been supportive! People have made lots of jokes. But we joke a lot so we just laugh along with them!”
2022-09-26T12:05:40Z
