This is so that we can more easily track our symptoms and hopefully find patterns in our syndrome. This will also help others understand your background, and help us try to determine what are the most commonly experienced side effects after discontinuation of Finasteride.
COPY AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING INTO YOUR OWN POST, then answer the questions.
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Where are you from (country)? USA
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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?) Saw palmetto sides
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What is your current age, height, weight? 35, 6 ft, 170 lbs
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Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise? Very frequently, running, heavy lifting
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What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)? No processed foods or simple sugars
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Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Took a Palmettoplex suppmlement for Test boost, ( I didn’t need it, btw)
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For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? Cycled product 3 days on, 3 days off, five cycles I believe.
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How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride? 35
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How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 35
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How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
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What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic? Product contained Saw Palmetto, Nettle, Pygenium.
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What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 160 mg SP powder, 160 mg b-sterol ( 45%), I think like 100mg of nettle and pygenium.
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How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? Couple of days, first cycyle, didn’t put 2 and 2 together.
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What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Sleep problems, ed, weak morning wood. Some anxiety and panic attacks.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[(Recovered] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[(receovered but, weak, 25-50%) ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ (not as frequent or hard) ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[(recovered) ] Watery Ejaculate
[ (recovered)] Reduced Ejaculate
[ (recovered)] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[(recovered) ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[(recovered) ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ (recovered)] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[(recovered) ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[(recovered) ] Slurring of Speech
[ (recovered)] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ (recovering, has improved)] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ (recovered)] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[(recovered) ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ (recovered)] Testicular Pain
[ (recovered, 75%)] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[(recovering ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ (recovered)] Prostate pain
[(recovered) ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[x ] Other (please explain) Sleep problems, no sleep drive or trigger. Never a problem before.
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? No treatments. Use sorghum and creatine regularly. Hoping for a nautural recovery.
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If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)? n/a
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride? n/a
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I’ll try and keep this pithy. Took a supplement called PalmettoPlex. I took it for the T-boosting purposes and because i thought it would be good for my prostate. I didn’t need to take it. I was a perfectly healthy 35 y.o. overgrown kid. The immediate side effects were sleep disruption, jump in libido, and ball ache. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together at the time. Just thought the jump in libido (which was always off the charts anyway) was contributing to the sleep issue and ball ache (thought I was blue balling maybe). I cycled it 3 days on, 3 days off about 5 cycles I believe starting on Jan. 5, 2018. stopped on Jan. 25, 2018. As time went on, sleep problems got worse and morning wood got weaker. At this time, I was having a dispute with a girl which I thought was leading to decreased sleep and in turn, weak morning wood. Sleep got worse and AM wood disappeared. I eventually stopped. That first week i stopped, sleep was impossible. I was up for two straight nights, tired but no sleep drive. I then passed out after being up for 40 hours. When I woke up, my penis and balls had shrunken. My penis was cold, pale, lifeless, rubbery. Could not get any kind of blood flow. Balls had shrunk about 50%. Eventually, after a couple days i was able to achieve an erection. After another 2 days, I could have an orgasm but it took a lot of work. The second week after crashing (which I consider to be my penis shrinking) my libido went sky high again. Still couldn’t sleep, but I was having to masterbate all the time. Even through out the night while i laid there trying to sleep. That lasted about a week. Then ed crept in, along with brain fog and all the mental sides (panic, anxiety, etc.). My brain fog was consistent. Pretty much, if I was awake then i had brain fog, hard to concentrate, slurring words, ect. Brain fog slowly faded to where i only got it after I worked out or after ejaculating. The brain fog has disappeared now, about a month ago (beginning of May 2018, give or take a week). This is also when my morning wood came back. Not like it was , however. I used to wake up everyday with rock hard morning wood that only left after a shower. Of course I would lay in bed for an extra 20 min or so humping the mattress beforehand. I really hope i get that back!! I did have ball, perenium, and even shaft pain throughout Feb and March but that has subsided as well. my balls are at about 75%. Flaccid penis size is smaller (screams some sort of stress response to me) but if I can get it fully erect (which is difficult) I don’t notice and decrease in size. Orgasms still feel good, just hard to get hard. Still have sleep issues. Never been a problem before. I having to alternate sleeping pills. Hoping that improves as well. Sensitivity, feels like my flaccid penis is more sensitive than my soft erect penis. Sorghum and creatine have helped. Experimented with bone broth (high in glycine, 5-ar upregulator). I’m as strong and as big as I’ve ever been so androgens are working in that regard.
PalmettoPlex contains nettle and pygenium as well. Sometimes I wonder if I tested the product if some finasteride would show up. Those over counter sexual stimulants have been found to have Viagra. It is hard to imagine a herb doing this but here we are.
Anyway, it has been three months since my crash, then surge in libido, then milder crash. What do you guys give my chances of a full recovery? I was so tempted to try tribulus or even start the SP again but am trusting my body to do this. I have had morning wood for the last month (although weak). I didn’t have it the month before that. Any advice? What’s the latest on the PFS research?
Anyone know someone with a stroy like mine? Did they fully reocover?