Where are you from (country)? Belgium
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? 32, 186cm, 74kg
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.)? Around 400mg/day for about a year.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair loss.
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 1 year
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 30
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 31
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? Never noticed any, maybe some ball ache when ejaculating.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[? ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] 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)
[X ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[X ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] 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): Not really numbness, but sometimes the same rubbery feeling of skin all over my body, which comes and goes.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Proxerex, daily cialis, L-citrullin and L-arginine
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)? Only blood tests after, which were all normal.
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Hello everyone.
Ever since experiencing hair loss, I’ve been on minoxidil for about 9 years. Never had any side effects on it. Not too sure it actually did anything.
My hair loss started accelerating and, being afraid of taling propecia, I decided to give Saw Palmetto a try. I took it for about a year, but aside from some ball ache when ejaculating, I had no symptoms whatsoever.
I remember reading about possible PFS on SP, panicked a little, and quit taking it a couple of days later. Then all my symptoms began. Which sounds like I talked myself into it… but whatever it is, I’m dealing with it.
My penis started looking weird. It became harder and smaller, and stuck out more, instead of the usual floppy hang. My dorsal veins started bulging. I also had a slight curve when semi erect. The first days I couldn’t achieve erections. I thought I had “hard flaccid syndrome”. But after some days, it seemed to resolve. I visited urologists, neurologist, endocrinologists, but they couldn’t find anything wrong and suggested psychosomatic illness. I accepted this because I had been severely depressed since a breakup 1.5 years prior. I never took an SSRI but I was on Wellbutrin 150mg XL (bupropion).
A month or so later, I thought I was cured. I was taling proxerex which the endo prescribed but always figured he did it to give me a placebo. But my erections were back. The hard flaccid was mostly gone. My libido was high again.
Then, out of nowhere, it all died down again. This time, I also had severe penile numbness which even seemed to spread to my back en thighs. Before this crash, I had upped mu bupropion dose to 300mg. I quit cold turkey after this crash, though.
Blood tests were normal, ultrasounds were normal, MRI’s were normal.
I was pretty sure I had a muscular problem that was pinching my arteries and nerves (hard flaccid syndrome), and went to an osteopath trained in treating chronic pelvic pain with internal massage.
Numbness seemed to go away. I was convinced this was working. But my symptoms would wax and wane. I was put on cialis 5mg daily. Periods of extreme horniness (just thought induced strong erections) followed by periods of extreme anxiety and worsening of symptoms.
I was pretty sure my problem was a mental one. And I’m still sure anxiety and dysfunction of the nervous system plays a big role, but it’s been 7 months and if I’m honest, I’m nowhere near healed.
I’ve come to the only conclusion left (besides the diagnosis of conversion disorder which I’ve been given at one point)… that I suffer from the very thing I was trying to avoid all this time. PFS.
And I’m at a complete loss.
Trigger warning
The thought that I have fucked myself up beyond repair is becoming too much to bear. I’ve been under extreme stress because of this for the past 7 months, I’ve cried for help everywhere but. And as the days progress, I’m becoming more and more suicidal. I can’t live like this anymore.
I know it’s bad form and silly to ask for this here, but this my last cry for help.
