Fluctuations in Most of the Symptoms **IMPROVEMENTS!

Hello everyone,

I have been all over the place these past 9 months (maybe 10 months, I quit in beginning of December 2013 so I didn’t do the math but its like 9 or 10 months). I have been wildly depressed, then feeling fine, then depressed again. Well since I am always on here to check other people’s progress I guess I should post my own.

The last month has been a bit of an up for me on the whole. To summarize I would say it has gone like this:

First week of July- Not much different than every other post since I came off in December, tonnes of ups and downs and one side would get better while others worsened. Felt 20% of my normal self I would say (fluctuated alot day by day so some days I may have felt 25-30% and others 5%)

Second week of July- Felt great in many regards, felt maybe 50-70% back to normal (hard to remember but I felt better than usual)

Third week of July- Felt down again but not as bad as when I was at my worst, maybe felt about 30% normal

Fourth week of July- Felt amazing in almost all respects, the most I have felt like my normal self since quitting (still a few minor issues) but overall I’d say this week I felt maybe 80-90% back to my old self!!!

So these changes may have been temporary and may not last, but the one thing that is great is that for a change I have actually managed to have periods of relative normality (excluding semen volume). I have never been able to have more than 3 days of normality throughout this whole ordeal, so to have had these fluctuations last for a week at a time has been great. Honestly this past week I felt like myself again. I even woke up with a semi erect penis a few times (not fully hard and goes down quick but I had maybe only had this happen 2 times in 9 months, and now it has happened two or three times this week! My libido has been great and I was even able to have sex with my girlfriend last night without viagara. I have been getting stiffys randomly again (maybe not as hard as they used to be but at least they are sort of coming back).

Anyways I know this could all crap out and I could be back to square 1 at any time but I felt the last few months I was making no progress and even getting worse in some areas so I am hoping that if nothing else this past month of fluctuations becomes a sign of things to come. Even if I have bad weeks most of the time I can live like this as long as I get a good week here and there.

Anyways I just wanted to post because I am happy and wanted to share. I am by no means cured, as my semen volume is still much lower than ususual (although I have been regenerating it quicker these past few weeks, and even after masturbating twice a bit will come out on the third time!). But a number of problems persist nonetheless…my eustachian tubes were blocked for the past 6 months and the one is still causing me issues, although it has been clear for a few days off and on and before this week it was consistently crackly and stuffy. Also my bowel movements continue to remain weird (I think I may have got IBS from propecia) but at least I am able to go (constipation was only a huge problem for me back in February and March).

So overall this week has been an improvement for me and I am hoping it lasts but even if it doesn’t I am glad that I am getting some sort of temporary recovery and I hope that I can continue to at least have cyclical sides instead of the slow steady downward spiral I seemed to be on.

Thanks for listening guys, and if I am back on here and depressed again in a week I apologize as I have mentally been a mess through this all.

All the best,

Brad

hi brad,

can you please take park in the studies too, baylor ist still looking for 10 patients. We will not get this cured or improved by ourselves… i also have these kind of fluctuations, but unfortunately they dont mean that we will be cured on our own. So please take part in the studies, its the best way to go, since this will enable us to sue merck for compensation and fund more research. the foundation will pay for the costs too, money is not an object.

Good news! Did you do anything special to achieve this?

Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble but I still am not better about a year after making this post. My symptoms now are, no random erections (although I can still have sex unassisted on occasion), gained weight (in my stomach - 15 lbs over past year), libido fluctuates, reduced ejaculate- this one is better than when I first came off but hasn’t really improved in the past year, and the worste of all would be my constipation/narrow stools. I had a colonoscopy and they found nothing, but I honestly have had thin stools every single day (except for days when I don’t go at all) since February 2014. I randomly had a few days of constipation, and ever since then I have had constipation, bloating, and consistently narrow stools. I have no idea what the fuck happened to my colon and since the colonoscopy found nothing I am thinking its either hormonal or something outside of my colon is pressing on the colon. Either way I am having a rough week and I am depressed again.

I have almost all the same symptoms. Clomid has helped me a little bit with most symptoms. I have that same stool issue.

No way! Almost no one here has had the same issues with going to the bathroom. Have you had thyroid checked? I’ve read that it could be thyroid related so I go in on Friday and I’m going to ask for thyroid tests.

Hope you are doing well.