Of course not. I’ve had several spikes before. However, this time seems different somehow. I feel complete, in peace. Besides, the sexual issues are resolved. I still have some other problems, like blurry vision, for example. Lets give it a little more time to call it “recovery”, maybe 4-6 months, but I wanted to post my condition anyway.
Congrats! Hope the changes stick for you. Just goes to show recovery can always be right around the corner.
Hi, folks. Something happened and I lost my partial recovery. I’m just glad depression and fog haven’t returned so far.
I should be bad right now, but I’m already used to these ups and downs.
Somehow I think I’m closer to my recovery.
I think if it all resolved by itself out of nowhere (and part of it remains resolved now, your brain fog) it has a chance of happening again. One consistent thing I’ve read between recoveries is they are a real rollercoaster ride. You have an awesome period, then a longer shitty period, over and over until that pattern reverses itself. The fact that it’s happening at all at least shows your body is attempting to correct itself.
Yeah, that’s what I think. It’s hard to describe. While I recognize that several issues are back: like genital numbness, they are not as strong as they were. My libido is low again, but is different from zero (maybe 15%). ED doesn’t seem to be a problem, etc…
The overall score is positive. I feel I’m better and that’s what counts. Last week was really like pre-fin in all aspects, except for the blurry vision.
Lets keep fighting.
Well, today I feel like shit again. I just came back from a meeting where I could barely understand what was under discussion because of anxiety + brain fog + depression.
Same old same old. It’s amazing how this fucking sickness is unbeatable.
I still have hope, though. I will get better, it’s just a matter of time. These mood swings tell me that something is happening inside me. I was able to be completely fine for 1 entire week - this has to mean something.
Take a look at Chi’s story. He went through the same thing. He’d have a week where he felt totally cured and would actually post here, saying he’s better now and he won’t forget us, then he’d post again a little while later saying he relapsed. But he kept fighting, and now he’s almost cured. Sadly, it’s just going to take time.
I have a little collection of recovery stories saved that I read pretty often to make me feel better. Here’s one you might like. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=695 This guy had it pretty bad (gyno, zero libido, fog, etc) and one day about three years later it just cleared up out of the blue. He did absolutely nothing to fix it. If anything, it shows the body is always fighting, trying to restore balance to itself, even when it doesn’t seem like it. Unfortunately, everyone is different and we don’t know how long it will take for each of us. For me, that has been the hardest part. If it commonly took a year or two, it wouldn’t bother me. I would just forget about my dick for a year or two. But for all I know it could be 30 years, or never. You just have to do your best to be healthy and stay positive. I definitely think the mind plays a large part in recovery. My friend, who works in the ER, told me when people are told they have X amount of time to live, the ones who stay positive and try to make the most of it always seem to squeeze out more time. There must be something to that.
Hope that helps. Ironically, it’s very difficult for me to follow my own advice.
Thanks a lot, Cap. I feel more “stable” right now. I just had sex and the sensitivity was fine, although the orgasm wasn’t as intense as it should have been.
Believe it or not, I’d rather have these fluctuations than be stabilized at some “bearable” point. It means that my body is trying to find its way to recovery - at least that’s what I feel. I did read a few recovery stories and they all went through bumpy roads.
I feel like everyday is a battle. Every single day. Sometimes I find myself crying for realizing how strong I had to be all this time. We’re all fighters.
In spite of what happens in the future, I’ll keep the donations to the foundation.
See, the sensitivity already bounced back. That’s good news. It’ll probably go again, but take it as a good sign. Like you said, fluctuation indicates your body is trying to rebalance itself. It’s also good to hear this is all happening after 5 years of use and 14 months off. It gives me some hope. I don’t feel like I’m improving most of the time and I get in a terrible, doomed line of thought about my future. But I guess recovery can come at any time. I just hope it comes soon.
Anxiety back. I’m under the impression that the crash comes right after the recovery. Looking in retrospect, it’s always been this way. This is bad because it makes me afraid of the next recovery.
Lets keep fighting -eyes of the tiger.
Good thread, thanks for all the info mate. I haven’t been on here before, but ive been off propecia for about 4 years (i think), was on it for 11 years. You can check my story is on here. Just to let you know, my brain fog and anxiety basically entirely went away. When i was on propecia, i used to consume self help books and even go to an anxiety group. After quitting, within 1 month i felt better, then i had the waves of crap that we all know about. In the past year ive really flourished work wise, my confidence and cognition has cleared up. Before i was only an average worker in the jobs ive done, but due to things clearing up ive been able to excell.
If you’re curious about libido / erections etc, still a little low but definite improvement. I would say ive also seen a positive trajectory except a little slower than the cognitive symptoms. Could prob have sex ok now actually (did have decent one night stand last year) but im holding back for a little longer.
Anyway, sorry didn’t mean to hijack your thread. Its just a positive thread, and thats the main reason i come here every now and then.
See ya
Sennex, this is not MY thread, so feel free to bring any information you want. I obviously want to know any progress you made. It’s always good to know.
Believe it or not, I’m more concerned with my mental recovery than with my sexual recovery. I do, of course, know that they’re all somewhat connected - but anyways, it’s still what I think. Mental sides suck hard.
The good moments give me hope that someday I’ll finally get better, as if this was all a really long nightmare. I still can remember how I used to be.
This is really looking like a roller coaster these days.
I went jogging last Saturday afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary besides that.
Sunday I woke up with energy, some libido and, guess what, brain penis connection again. I could even achieve a full erection with only visual stimulation, good mood. Bad news is that I couldn’t go jogging on Sunday again and today I’m feeling bad: fatigued, sleepy, numbness, fog, depression, etc etc etc…
Maybe I’m now responding more to exercises than I was before. I’ll keep the routine and let you know my improvements.
Let’s keep the fingers crossed.
It’s an absolute roller coaster ride. You can go from one day bloated, depression, zero sexual function, zero libido to the next day of libido, greater sensitivity, more hopeful etc. after 10 months of this the only thing I have noticed is the cycles seem to becoming less and less intense.
Definitely keep up the workout routine. That’s one thing I’ve seen across many recoveries. I’ve been working out daily. Not sure how much it’s helping, but it certainly couldn’t hurt. A lot of guys can’t tolerate working out at all with this shit, so that must count for something.
I think I found out a workout routine that makes me feel better. I don’t know if it’s the same for you guys, but I’ll post anyway because it may help someone else.
Well, I found out that I feel better when I follow a daily routine of jogging 20-25 minutes (@150-160 beats). If I make it less than 20 minutes, it doesn’t have the same result. If I make it much more than 25 minutes - and that’s the explanation to why it took me all this time to find this out - I feel worse, really worse, sometimes it’s like I’m crashing again. The other day I went jogging at the gym for 50 minutes. It took me a few days to recover from depression.
So that’s pretty much it. I’m not 100% sure I’m feeling better only because of this routine, but it’s all I can remember I have done out of the ordinary.
Sexual sides persist, though. This is only effective against the mental sides. All in all, it’s been good to have my life back again.
Another hot flash today. It came out of nowhere. Better mood, libido… The only thing that never goes away up until now is the blurry vision… I’m almost certain that the workout routine triggers the better days… I’m not going to stop jogging this time. Maybe I can make this “better time” longer if I keep jogging.
You are very close to see the 100% recovery. Lucky you.
I am with classic crash and no improvements in any of the sides yet.
Poorvictim,
I’ve got say something with respect to your comment.
Firstly, thanks a lot. Although I don’t fell like I’m “close to 100% recovery”, it’s good to have these fluctuations to good days from time to time. It proves me that this condition is reversible.
I do think that I’m close to find out what is triggering the good days. It’s going ot be great if I manage to unravel this puzzle for obvious reasons - it’ll give me more control over this condition.
On top of that, the bad days are still really bad when they come. Not as bad as they used to be when I first crashed, though. Still have suicidal thoughts when it’s “raining”, but they seem less real or close. It’s like I think of it, but not really wanting to do.
The second thing I wanted to say is I saw your topic the other day where you tried to categorize the PFS victims into groups. IMO, I don’t think there’s a difference between us. I mean, assuming that the symptoms are present, it doesn’t matter if you got them while on the drug (like me) or after quitting.
Keep your head up, don’t give up. We are all fighters and I’m sure we (as a comunity) will look back to this time in the future and remember how WE managed to win this battle. And it’s a huge battle against many doctors and a pharmaceutical company.
We can do this.
Thanks gmmaoura for the words.
You and Cap have been very supportive here.
I know what it means to be in that bad period. But, good that you have good days too. switching between bad and good is always a good sign of recovery and one day you would have that and I am sure it will be 100% sooner or later.
I am one of the severely impacted ones with all the major symptoms. Everyday Im fighting suicidal thoughts at least for a few hours. Even If I get one good day out of 10 days, I can confidently say I will recover one day.
That day has not arrived yet. My T values are plummeting and I have extreme fatigue. Not able to work and focus. I am sure I am going to lose my job one day. Not sure how soon. but I will with the pace that I am working now.
Still, I am hoping I shall have one good day…not sure how long I should wait for that…
Thanks gmmoura, you are one of the members spreading positive message around the forum. Happy for your goods and would like o mention Cap as well here. nice job guys.