Yes I stopped feeling like even more of a zombie than I did with pfs.
It helped with sleep and fatigue and when I came off I managed to be able to sleep more or less a full night not long after. But I don’t think this can be attributed to the drug. No other benefits in brain fog or sexual sides.
has anyone taken a dopamine receptor antagonist?
Guys these thread is amazing, continue with it pls! I will look for dopamine antagonist. ( I just bought L-tyrosine before reading this thread!, Would be experiencing with it a litle 
)
dopamine plays a major role in PFS.
sciencedirect.com/science/ar … 9302022904
sciencedirect.com/science/ar … 0811000165
all studies ive seen point to fact that during finasteride use, dopamine levels are altered and increased. i just read in a thread somewhere else here, someone mentioned that someone who took finasteride, their libido was 10/10 and stronger than it usually is. this would make sense if dopamine is increased while on the drug. however, once the drug is stopped from being used, one would think that the dopamine would be decreased. perhaps a dopamine “tolerance” was much higher than normal and that tolerance has not been adjusted after the drug has been discontinued. similar to how some recreational drugs increase dopamine, then the user needs the drug itself in order to “feel normal” again.
fasting (long talked about on this forum for it’s positive benefits) is one of the few things that increase dopamine receptors and help to normalize this system. i believe going carb free has a similar effect (2 recoveries, Chi & IHP both went carb free for long periods of time in order to treat and effectively cure PFS)
I have been on wellbutrin XL 300mg the whole time, it is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor and non-selective, also nueropenepherine, it is an amazing antidepressant. It is the only one I know of that always works and doesn’t make you numb and increases the libido, focus, makes you lose weight, gives you energy. If you take it just make sure to take brand name only or the generic that is a white round hard pill that looks just like the brand name one, the other generics do not work right at all. Not just my opinion, the opinion of zillions of people on the net, even the FDA recalled the oval generics, but they are back out there. Often when people have bad experiences with wellbutrin XL it is because they took the bad generic. If I take the oval shaped generic I feel like shit, I highly recommend this drug.
Yeah, 9 years on finasteride, towards the last 2 years of my use, I was incredibly horny, all I talked about was sex, the closer I got to crashing the higher my libido was, really incredible libido and then of course, penis goes dead, and PFS started.
i tried the welbutrin a few year back,i wasnt on it long and it started to make me feel like shite,fucked my head up,straight in the bin…
You know I was thinking the other day, I wonder if the cure for PFS is within finasteride, interesting how some people get better for a time when going back on only to get worse. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that none of us tapered off, we all quit cold turkey.
I am not advocating going back on the poison as it damaged me more when I went back on (not before improving my symptoms btw a bit only to get worse), just from 2 half pills, but I do wonder about that strange effect. The hell if I will be the Guinea pig for that though lol.
how does welbutrin XL work exactly? what i’m looking for is, is it increasing or decreasing dopamine and is it increasing or decreasing dopamine receptors?
or, is there another mechanism that you feel is the reason it is helping you?
I did 2 blood test this year.
One in februaray and one in June. Both came with the exact dopamine level 11ng/dl (10-110). Is that not curious?
I also feeling the less dopamine: Less motivation in general, less focus, less happines (but curiously my serotonin levels were ok and I feel in a relaxed and calm state most of the time).
Also I took L-tyrosine 1g to 2g / day for a week and I entered into a state of real focus and motivation for 4 days. The most focus that I had in a long long long (maybe never) time. I remember especially 2 days that I worked in my career project since the morning to the 1AM, only have rested for lunch and dinner for a maximun of 40min. Obviously after that I think I got a drawback and I could have had a brief psycotic-attack caused by it, in the form of paranoias and little hallucinations. Yes its documments that dopamine agonist could induce it (fortunatly).
Having not taking it since then and now started to recover motivation and focus, but nowdays Im not eating any sugars that drive my energy very low, and I try to avoid carbs unless is the morning that somedays I take some toast with butter. Maybe I should give another try with the L-tyrosine I dont know yet.
very interesting post always thought there was something wrong with my brain since stopping finasteride. Before stopping i use to enjoy smokin pot alot, nowadays it makes me anxious and i dont enjoy it anymore. only times when i can feel my high is when im in the sun(increases dopamine). Also never have libido since stopping, but when im in the sun my libido goes up a lot. maybe an idea to increase the sensitivity of dopamine receptors by following a strict circadian rhythm because melatonin and dopamine balance each other out. youtube.com/watch?v=41XIrv0btWc maybe more dark hours per day so that dopamine gets lower and sensitivity gets higher dont know if it works that way
Pff, I find the same with weed. I used to enjoy a little in my early 20s and it would relax me. Since I took Propecia I’ve tried it again a few times and each occasion it’s caused me episodes of anxiety and paranoia. I also get anxious and paranoid after drinking alcohol. I’ve read that this can happen to people anyway, and I’ve always been a more anxious person than others, but it makes me wonder how I’d be right now if I’d never taken Propecia.
I took propecia for years and ive also wondered how dopamine is linked to pfs. Weed used to be great fun and then I got horrible paranoid. Alcohol also very rarely gives me a buzz, normally makes me slightly more anxious. When i quit masturbating and looking at porn for ages, I feel better - even able to smile a bit and be happy. I smoked for a while (1 year or so) and it definitely improved my mood. Feel better from exercising. Not sure how its related but I do wonder.
Exact same for me. I used to love smoking weed, than afterwards I could no longer smoke it. It definitely indicates there is a problem with dopamine. But the question is whether the problem is dopamine or whether it is dopamine signalling in certain areas of the brain. For instance, it was found that there is a difference in the expression of proteins in the nucleus Accumbens of PFS sufferers. This could mean that even if dopamine levels and dopamine receptors were normal, the signal could not be propagated as the brain structure has a malfunction.
Its interesting as it certainly cannot be related to dopamine across the entire brain, as this would mean it would also affect the nigrostratial pathways associated with movement. We all have normal movement. It seems highly plausible that there is a problem in the mesolimbic pathway which includes the nucleus accumbens, as this pathway is associated with pleasure including sex etc.
Have any brain scans been taken of PFS sufferers after taking a dopamine agonist? It may reveal, a lack of activity or firing in a brain region which is normally active/hyperactive under the influence of dopamine agonists.
More money and studies need to conducted asap, there is no time to waste. The sexual dysfunction caused by this are unbearable to live with. Every day counts.
Hi everyone,
I found this video about “detoxing” dopamine. It may potentially help some people to battle couple symptoms of our conditions - like depression and boosting motivation, maybe beyond? The point is to make a super boring day without any stimulation at all (no electronics at all that day, no sugar, no tasty food, no music,…) like once a week maybe (more often/less often?) - to help reset dopamine in our brains. There may be some tweaks with this method and applying it into everyday life for dopamine acivities in general that may be beneficial. Check the video out for more details and inspiration if You like. I hope it will help at least some people, good luck
Very interesting hypothesis, indeed. I always say that at the end of the day only Dopamine and Serotonin matter. Just attempting some black comedy, btw. At any case, Dopamine and Serotonin (This is true for all neurotransmitters and body chemicals) are strictly controlled through various feedback loops. Antidepressants, for instance, bypass all body processes leading to increased levels of these neurotransmitters (i.e DA & 5-HT) in the synapse. However, the body ever loves the so-called “state of homeostasis” and will always neutralize “novelties” or should I say surprises. Antidepressants or directly supplementing precursors (e.g L-Dopa) will result in elevated DA levels, BUT the body posses other weapons in its arsenal to mitigate this unwelcome change (i.e reduce number of receptors mainly D2).
I’ve used Tyrosine and L-Dopa with varying success and continuous intake usually leads to diminished returns probably due to reduced D2 receptors OR via depleting other chemicals (e.g Serotonin).
There’re other crucial things to consider because whenever we hear Dopamine we think Motivation/Reward/Libido/Pleasure, etc. While this is partly true, Dopamine serves numerous bodily functions. The Reward/Pleasure happens when Dopamine travels across certain pathways in the brain (e.g Mesolimbic). I was surprised to learn that other neurotransmitters and hormones are also needed to make this happen.
I think noradrenaline also plays a role, I am on Ndri and it definitely gives me ed and dull orgasms…