My skin turned black from horrific reaction to common anti-depressant

It was a dark and depressing tale.

A Louisiana man’s attempt to cure his anxiety with a common anti-depressant backfired horribly due to a baffling side effect that turned his skin completely black. A video detailing the pharmaceutical fiasco currently boasts 8.3 million views on TikTok.

“The fact is they [doctors] don’t know why I’m changing colors,” Tyler Monk, 34, lamented while describing his shady skin condition on camera.

The epidermal calamity began in January 2021 after the pest control field inspector started taking an anti-depressant that his doctor prescribed to treat his depression and anxiety. The Kinder resident was given a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) known as Fluoxetine, known by its brand name Prozac, which is commonly used to treat depression, anxiety and other mood disorders.

Unfortunately, not only did the mood booster fail to remedy Monk’s mental health issues, but within several months, the father-of-two’s complexion mysteriously began to darken, per the aforementioned TikTok video.

“By March 2021, he started turning a greyish blue color,” described the exterminator’s aghast wife Emily Monk on camera. In other words, the alleged mood booster had literally turned him blue.

Tyler ceased taking the medication after only a few weeks as it wasn’t helping his depression, however, his pigment affliction continued to snowball over the next few months until his skin had become a “dark blackish color.”

Accompanying videos show Tyler’s arms and face, which appear dark bronze as if he had smeared on blackface or had gotten trapped in a tanning bed. Interestingly, the ailment only affects the fellow’s face and arms with the color discrepancy between those parts and his legs literally looking like night and day.

“It’s everywhere that the sunlight sees,” Emily described. “He wears pants everyday for work so his legs aren’t affected.”

The complications weren’t merely cosmetic: Tyler also suffered from extremely red, irritated eyes and skin sensitivity so severe that he feels like he has a perennial sunburn, SWNS reported.

Tyler was initially “in denial” over his accidental tans-formation, but after speaking to several colleagues, he finally accepted that he was turning black.

Unfortunately, Tyler’s malady has left the medical world scratching its head. Despite visiting multiple skin specialists near his home, none could diagnose his dermal discoloration.

“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,” said Monk, who has since been referred to a team of eight specialists to try and get to the bottom of his blackening. Ahead of his visit on November 21, the pest specialist is slated to receive a CT scan and bloodwork, SWNS reported.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of insurance, the couple’s medical and other doctor’s visit-related expenses now total $5,000, prompting them to start a GoFundMe page to help alleviate the financial strain.

In the interim, the stumped couple is imploring the TikTok commentariat to help them diagnose the condition, which has made them the brunt of multiple jokes.

“It’s pushing his sadness out. It’s doing it’s job,” quipped one TikTok wit. “Went from Tyler to tyrone,” joked another in reference to the Blackface-evoking effect.

Another social media comedian wrote that Monk had “pulled a reverse Michael Jackson.”

Fortunately, a few TikTok sympathizers attempted to offer some actual helpful theories. “It’s because fluoxetine has an ingredient that increases melatonin which is why parts of his body exposed to sunlight are the ones being affected!” postulated one armchair physician.

Indeed, certain SSRIs are known to cause increased severe sun sensitivity. The National Library Of Medicine cites a 1998 case concerning a North-African man “who developed a severe photosensitive reaction after sun exposure during therapy with fluoxetin 20 mg bid plus alprazolam 0.25 mg bid due to depressive disturbances.”

Emily ultimately hopes that her husband’s plight can serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of taking medications without knowing all the side effects.

“For me and the children, we just worry about his health,” said Emily. “We really don’t mind the color change as long as he’s healthy and okay with it. We support whatever he chooses to do about it.”