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? 27,1.78m,57kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Saw Palmetto
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
320mg a day per 2 months for the first time. For a month the second time.
What condition was being treated with the drug?
LUTS (urinary track infection)
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
First time 2 months (2020)
Second time around 1 months more or less (2022)
Date when you started the drug?
Early 2020
Date when you quit the drug?
Last time between October and November 2022
Age when you quit?
26
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Since April 2020
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
During the same period I’ve put all the causes of my symptoms to an antibiotic and once I’ve taken that pills for the second time I’ve noticed that the cause was Saw Palmetto.
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
[ X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ X] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[X ] Watery Ejaculate
[X ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ X] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[X ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ X] Confusion
[X ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] 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
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ X] Prostate pain
[ X] 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
[ X] Other (please explain)
Painful Ejaculation
No pleasure at all
Suspected Lichen sclerosis
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I’ve lost the trust in doctors for a while…
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)?
During the last period of Serenoa I’ve encountered lowered levels of both free and serum testosterone ( LH low)
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
I’m positive to recover at least some of these adverse effects…
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Long story and very sad. My glans became irritated. A month later I decided to go to a doctor…
I’ve made all the exams before that appointment and some very common bacterias appeared in the semen and the doctor gave me an antibiotic ( Ciproxin:very dangerous) and a supplemen Serenoa Repens 320mg.
When I started to take these medicines Covid was going to spread and my country decided to execute a lockdown ( the first one)
In the same horrible period many symptoms started to appear and It was so horrible because I couldn’t imagine what is going to happen to me.
My penis became very dry and my all my penis became to waste his skin.
I noticed a change in colouration of my semen and I felt pain during masturbation.
Many symptoms arrived slowly and adter some weeks I crashed literally…
I couldn’t maintain erection and I couldn’t have normal sex. It became a nightmare and it is still a nightmare.
As i mentioned before I always thought that my problems were caused by antibiotic that it is famous to be very dangerous…
For an entire year I didn’t want to go to anyone…
Last year on June i decided to solve all my problems.
All visits are useless and the protocol was always the same (Antibiotic+Supplement with Serenoa)
Last time I experienced serenoa, I’ve made the link with my symptoms and I noticed I worsening of my symptoms with a total loss of libido and interest to women…
Between November2021 and April 2022 I’ve experienced and worst period of my life… extremely depressed.
Now I’m here and I’m going to understand and improve myself and my symptoms and bring my story to the community.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]