BibFortuna (21M, Fin) Member Story

Member Stories
#22

It’s been awhile since I’ve been here. I didn’t have anything new to report until recently. I just got over a bout of COVID. It wasn’t too bad: sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, runny nose, some fevers. Basically just felt like a weird cold-flu hybrid. It probably helped that I took meds and supplements like a motherfucker, as directed by my mom. She’s not a medical professional or anything, but she has been staying on top of the latest COVID research.

One of the supplements I took was a zinc lozenge (which also contained some vitamin c, vitamin d-3, vitamin b-6, and a “proprietary blend” of royal jelly, white willow bark extract, and slippery elm bark powder). I only took a couple, but around the time I took it, a new pfs-type side effect showed up. My ejaculatory force has decreased substantially; it just kind of falls out now instead of “shooting” out. And in the moments leading up to orgasm, I don’t even feel like I’m going to ejaculate. I feel more like I’m going to urinate. Maybe it was the zinc, maybe it’s just time making things worse, maybe it was COVID, maybe I have mild malnutrition since all I had to eat for a few days was some modest portions of soup, or maybe I just have to quit jerking off for a bit. Thoughts?

My mom also suggested that I do the paleo diet and take baby aspirins for the next few months to ensure a full recovery from COVID. Thoughts on that? I don’t think anyone here has ever had a bad experience with those before.

Edit: Also my sense of smell is gone. I’ll let you all know when/if it comes back.

Update: my ejaculatory force has been back to normal for quite some time now (a week or so, I wanna say). My sense of smell has been getting less worse, but it’s still not close to where it used to be.

#23

I don’t really have an update, just something that I needed to get off my chest.

There’s a sort of morbid irony when people from the online hairloss community warn people to avoid this site like the plague because it’s allegedly bad for your mental health. I know this site has its fair share of nutjobs, but most people here are decent and the few crazies don’t get to me. What does get to me though and is bad for my mental health, is seeing so many people from the online hairloss community confidently (arrogantly really) deny that our experiences are real. And some of those people straight-up hate us.

My mood is stable and I have no anxiety or obsessions about my health (or anything else for that matter). It’s not in my head. I’ve had extensive blood panels done that have shown no signs whatsoever of hypogonadism. It’s not hormonal. I’ve had my penis felt up by many doctors who never found any signs of plaque or structural damage. It’s not Peyronie’s or anything like that. Am I supposed to believe that my sexual functioning just hit a fucking wall when I was 21 for no reason? Is there something that I’m missing? Something else I need to get to get tested?

And a lot of those who won’t dismiss or ridicule me will still downplay what happened and act like I’m some one-in-a-million fluke. I know most people take fin just fine, but the odds of getting persistent sides seem way too high for how devastating they can be. And I wish the online hairloss community would be honest about that.

Skepticism is understandable, but when else has it been okay to militantly disregard so many people’s lived experiences? Couple that with the emerging medical literature that suggests that PFS is real, and it feels like anyone who still adamantly denies its existence is ignorant or stupid, or maybe just plain evil.

I promise you I’m not crazy. And I’m not even hoping to sue merck for money either. I’m just a normal dude who wants his dick back. And it breaks my heart when people treat me like I’m asking for too much.

7 Likes
#24

I haven’t been well lately.

I feel so… unsexual

My boners aren’t full. My penis feels so detached from my body. I rarely feel even slightly aroused

I haven’t been so scared about my condition since I first got off fin.

I don’t mean to be attention-seeking but I gotta keep it real with y’all, I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this.

2 Likes
#25

You have no idea what your talking about my friend. Everyone is effected by this syndrome differently. I have photogenic proof of how my face was effected from this shit, it’s now almost reversed. I took Fin & Dutasteride at the same time every day for hair loss. It’s called combination therapy.

I had almost every symptom when I crashed and am at about 80% recovery a year later. Some people with PFS feel better from increasing androgens and some people get worse from it. I personally used to feel better on tribulus and androgen boosters. My depression would disappear, as well as low libido, however it didn’t last when I would quit so I stopped taking it.

Im sorry you reacted that way, but that doesn’t make it factual for everyone, and it doesn’t mean that people who feel better on them don’t have PFS.

1 Like
#26

There are people who have gotten better after 6 years. It’s not set in stone that you won’t recover just because it’s been a few years. Give it more time my friend and let go.

As upsetting as it is, it could be much worse, there are people who never recover from the mental sides, and live in hell every day. Stay positive, exercise, and don’t be obsessive. Stay positive!!

2 Likes
#27

Today is the 4 year anniversary of when I took fin for the first time. There’s obviously so much that I wish was different. I’ve messaged my doctor again recently about Dr Powers’ progesterone protocol and I plan on giving it a shot if he still stands by it.

I got SMP recently, it’s kinda nice. I know this isn’t a hair loss forum but this is the closest thing I have to good news.

I’ve recently been working out regularly. I’m happy with my progress so far but I’m still a newbie. I’m dreading a potential plateau but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Also thank you @Itookfinanddutast. I appreciate your affirmations.

2 Likes
#28

Things have been worse again. I can’t get full erections even while masturbating and my ejaculatory force is down. While I still hope for an improvement in my condition, I think I will have to accept that I am an asexual person now. Hopefully, I will still be able to find romantic if not sexual companionship.

I’ve been feeling more tired/foggy the past couple days and have had jolts of anxiety too. Hopefully, this is just some psychosomatic bullshit.

1 Like
#29

My sleep aid has been switched from Trazodone to Mirtazapine, though I wonder if it’s causing my fogginess, tiredness, and anxiety.
I have completed the new patient paperwork for Dr Powers’ office and may be getting treatment from them soon. But I think i’m going to reach out to Dr Goldstein and give HCG a shot first. Does anyone have any thoughts? I wanna try one protocol or both before I officially give up.

#30

Stay away from the pharmaceuticals man. Both trazodone and mirtazapine can mess us up.

#31

I think the trazodone might’ve worsened my sides but there’s like a dozen other things it could’ve been.
I’ve had to reluctantly take the mirtazapine for the past several nights but I’m gonna pick up some magnesium glycinate.

Also, I think I’m gonna get treatment from Dr Powers soon-ish since he does telehealth and there doesn’t seem to be any doctors in my area that treat PFS.
Btw, I finally came clean to my parents about my condition this past week. We’ve begun making donations to the network. Just 10$/month for now but we should be inheriting and making good money in the years or even months to come and more substantial donations will be made.

FFS, even the general practitioners in my area are booked up until May. This shit’s frustrating.

1 Like
#32

I would save your money and do your own research. There is no “PFS” doctor. Sure, some doctors accept it exists. But there’s no treatment they can offer, that you can’t do yourself.

Why are you interested in progesterone? Do you think you have estrogen dominance? I can’t tell by your posts if you have more physical (sexual) issues or it’s more mental/libido.

#33

You say there’s nothing a doctor can do for me that I can’t do myself, so do you know a reliable source where I can get HCG or clomid or shit like that?
Anyway, it’s not the progesterone itself that interests me. It’s just the fact that it’s a doctor-developed protocol that’s been able to help at least a couple PFS sufferers. I know nothing’s guaranteed but maybe I can be one of them. And from what I can tell, the doctor is very open-minded/experimental man who cares a lot about getting results, but I’m still trying to figure out my best option(s).

My side effects are strictly sexual. Nothing mental/emotional except the loss of libido. Physically, I have ED which is approaching total impotence, physical alterations to my penis (got girthier actually), loss of sensation except around the corona of the glans, and loss of pleasurable orgasm.

#34

HCG isn’t hard to obtain. I obviously cannot post any links. But even if you struggled to get it, if you have bloodwork to backup needing HCG. Any TRT clinic will gladly put you on a protocol.

From what I’ve gathered the past two years, for sexual physical issues, they generally stem from plaque/fibrosis built up in the penile tissue. At least when it comes to total impotence that’s resistance to PDE5 drugs. However, if viagra/cialis works for you, you generally can rule that out and something like a venous leak as well.

Physical alternations could come from the loss of 5ar activity in that specific tissue, or even lack of adequate blood flow to that region. Of course everything from everyone will always be speculation. But there’s a ton of reoccurring themes from other users to form an opinion on.

If your total T/Free T are “good” (nobody is near optimal, and a doctors “good” range is total bunk imo) you should look into your (sensitive) E2 and SHGB if you haven’t already. I get total impotence if my E2 is elevated, and loss of sensation/pleasure less orgasms. Adding high SHGB just makes everything worse.

In fact, personally, clomid provides me with all those symptoms. I wouldn’t ever mess with it.

If you feel all your bloodwork is where you should be (it’s really nice to have pre-fin bloodwork to compare) then you might be dealing with straight physical issues. “GAINSWave” (shockwave therapy), which has had success and might be viable depending if PDE5 work or not. But I would personally take large dosages of l-arginine, daily cialis, to promote bloodflow and erections constantly. Before attempting something like that.

You should also clean up your diet. Even outside of PFS, a diet goes aalllooonggg way for every aspect of your body, including sexual.

HCG could bring a libido, and will increase all downstream hormones. But there’s alot of smaller things you can do to kinda “debug” what might be your issue. Once you can narrow down what seems to work, you can move in to a more targeted approach. (Diet, exercise, pharmaceuticals, hormone manipulation, penile exercise, etc etc)

1 Like
#35

I plan on dieting. I’ve already been pretty healthy but I’m gonna go low-carb Paleo. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, I’ll be considering it.

#36

I start ketamine for depression on monday.

I also ordered some DHT gel that should be arriving some time next week.

It’s crazy to think that I could be cured of my afflictions by the end of the year. Wish me luck. Pray for my health if you’re a praying man.

1 Like
#37

Are you having muscle problems, muscles sagging and atrophying? If so, have you seen any changes over time?

#38

I don’t think the people here will give us the answer, very few people have true muscular atrophy, true Pfs are physical and neurological survival problems, they are more sexual or mild problems.

#39

did you ever do the powers protocol?

#40

I have not

Do intend on trying hCG soon. Have been donating what I can as well and will continue to do so even if I cure myself. I won’t be happy until we’re all cured