29 years old - Severe PFS

Member Stories
#1

Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.

Where are you from (country)?

Netherlands

How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)

Google

What is your current age, height, weight?
29 years old, 1.75M, 84 KG

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?

.5 every day

What condition was being treated with the drug?

Hairloss

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?

1 year

Date when you started the drug?
14 July 2022

Date when you quit the drug?
August 2023

Age when you quit?
28
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Tapered off
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
3-4 months

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

  • complete incompetence
    **- libido 0 **
    - depression
    - sometimes panic attacks

Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ x] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[x ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ x] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ]x Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ x] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?

Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

I started the drug on July 14 2022. After a month I recognized a bit softer erections (90%), but I thought everything will subside when quitting. I was also on SSRI’s so had low libido.

Then in October 2022 I recognized that my boners were not that very good. But I don’t know what I was thinking and kept taking the drug. I confered with my GP and she told me everything will be fine and just keep taking it.

Then in June 2023, i developed gyno and severe depression. In this time, I also gained 15 kg of weight. Prior to starting fin, I was 10% bodyfat. Went to GP again and she told me not to worry.

Then, I started having panick attacks and problems with my heart. Went to GP again and she blamed smoking.

The depression was related to hairloss and that’s why I kept taking fin, without knowing the damage is was doing in the meanwhile.

I tapered off in august 2023 after realizing that fin caused the Gyno and the ED wasnt going away.

Weekly tapering off until october 2023.

Since november 2023, I had morning wood 30-40%, and could jack off with 50-70% erection quality.

Then in August 2024 I crashed hard. My complaints are as of now;

  • complete incompetence; can’t feel my dick anymore. Even with cialis 5mg, I can only get 70% erection quality
  • smaller balls
  • varicose veins
  • smaller penis while erect and while non erect.
  • less grith
  • anorgasmia, feel nothing when orgasming
  • less sensitivity on the tip of my dick.
  • semen quality is strongly worsened. Would need further treatment in order to get kids.
  • 0 libido
  • depression
  • suicidal idealation

Im remembering the days I was happy pre fin. Could get rock hard when looking at a girl. Sex was always soo good. I was fit and had everything I basically would need in life. Own home, nice car and even a nice gf.

Now I feel my life is over.

Did anyone recover from the abovementioned symptoms?

#2

I failed to recover, but some people can recover within several months. you are very early stage and have a nice chance to recover. It took me one year to understand what this is. My only advice is Do nothing. Only your body itself can repair your broken system.

1 Like
#3

I feel like commiting suicide not gonna lie.

How am I supposed to live like this?

Why did I touch this fucking drug. Why didnt I quit in time. I fucked myself so hard.

#4

Can anyone ple share their experiences? Am I fucked?

#5

I know you’re pain dude I’m 33 and about 5 months into this shit.

This is extremely unique for everyone but this is what’s made me feel the most normal:

5gm cialis every other day
cardio everyday
edge/smoke/drink leading up to sex

To mitigate the anorgasmia, dont cope with jerking off, don’t give yourself any release that isn’t actual sex. Fuck hookers if you have to.

I can tell you that I’ve had a few instances of sex where I had a nice buildup and release, but right now my brain feels like it’s in panic mode and blocking out any dopamine. I plan to investigate this with some hormone modulation but yea that’s how it is for me 5 months out.

I’m fortunate in a way because I’ve already been dealing with ED since 2019, so that isn’t really a loss for me, but the absence of libido is fucked but CAN be circumvented to a degree under the right conditions.

This ain’t worth killing yourself over I can tell you that much. Be your own doctor. Be strong. Test every hormonal biomarker and see if you don’t have a deficit somewhere

1 Like
#6

How long have you been dealing with this?

Im really sad that I didnt quit after a couple months of ED. I kept taking it bro. I was so obsessed with hair that I didnt think about what it was doing with my dick. I was also on some heavy SSRI.

If i quit after 3 months, this shit would be bearable. Now its very unbearable.

I would be fine with some ed. But this is full on impotence. Cant even get rock hard with cialis dude.

#7

As I said, it’s been 5 months. I crashed may 10th. In my own experience everything for me has been all over the place. I’ve had days where I was completely normal. I’ve had days where I dip down. Unfortunately I’m really prone to neuroticism and anxiety and so I feel like my thoughts are heavily influencing how I feel day to day.

Recently I’ve smoked and drank a lot and it’s definitely caused a decline in my mental state, so I’ve stopped doing that.

My hormones:

Total test: 552 ng/dl
Free test: 10 ng/dl
Bio Avail: 285 ng/dl
DHT: 281.2 pg/mL
SBGH: 36.1 nmol/L
Estradiol: 15 pg/mL
LH 3.14 mIU/mL
FSH 2.04 mIU/mL
Prolactin 5.50 ng/mL

After browsing this thread for a couple months this is what I plan to test:

  • PFS type 1: 5AR/DHT levels are impaired but androgen receptors are still somewhat functional. (They are still abnormal though) People with PFS type 1 respond best to things like creatine, sorghum, weightlifting, etc. Basically anything that boosts 5AR/DHT.

  • PFS type 2: 5AR/DHT levels are too high relative to the sensitivity levels of the androgen receptors. People with PFS type 2 respond best to things that lower 5AR/DHT levels, such as zinc, marijuana or even things like saw palmetto and microdoses of propecia. (wouldnt recommend the last one though)

At this point my primary concern is trying to get any recovery of my libido. This is the most distressing symptom for me by far, it’s the crux of why I feel off. It feels like the engine block has been removed from the car driving my life forward so I’m going to do whatever I can to repair it

#8

Assolutamente non è così. Non è il dht/5ar ma devi considerare il lavoro degli AR. Se hai livelli ormonali ok ma hai sides non risponderai alla TRT perché hai AR sovraespresso ed in quel caso devi utilizzare qualcosa che riduce leggermente il T per progressivamente normalizzarti. Se hai ormoni bassi non è detto che alzando i livelli i recettori AR non siano sovraespressi lo stesso e quindi possano fare danni. Quindi a mio parere assumere T è sempre rischioso a meno che non venga diagnosticato ipogonadismo. Cmq il tuo LH mi sembra basso

#9

quando ho fatto il test ad agosto, il mio livello di estradiolo era 20pg/mL e il livello di testosterone era 481 ng/dl. il rapporto era 24/1. mi sentivo meglio e avevo più sensibilità. ora il rapporto è 36/1. se cerchi online, molte persone dicono che un rapporto ottimale è 18/1.

quindi, devo occuparmi del rapporto. penso che il mio livello di e2 sia sceso troppo. se sai come aumentare l’estrogeno, per favore fammelo sapere

#10

Potrebbe essere sufficiente un gastroprotettore tipo pantoprazolo per aumentare estrogeni debolmente ma ciò avverrà a discapito di T