…because I wanted to be who I was forever… and in the end, I lost myself even faster.
I took propecia for 1 month when I was 19 and had all the side effects. It’s been a year since I touched the stuff, but I still have some acne, facial puffiness, loss of libido, and a slight case of ED, but it is getting better.
I contribute this recovery to many things. First and foremost, I stopped drinking and taking any kind of drugs (prescription/recreational). Second, I’ve been working out. Not only has it made me feel better, but it has also given me hope.
Now, more specifically, I have adopted new lifestyles to fix specific symptoms. For the acne, I have stopped using any over-the-counter products to cleanse my face. Instead, I have found that washing my face with (this is not a joke) olive oil really helps. I thought it was strange that my skin was breaking out, although it was constantly dry and dull looking. So looking to for something new and natural, I turned to something old (the Romans actually used to bathe with olive oil). I’ve been doing it a month and have already had great success. The olive oil really makes my skin feel normal again. Also, sometimes I use honey to spot treat pimples and to help get rid of acne scars. If you do some research, you will actually find that honey, and olive oil have been used by humans for thousands of years to treat the skin all the way from preventing infection from cuts to making it look smooth (research it if you don’t believe me) . I also occasionally use pure (as in no alcohol or other ingredients) aloe Vera on my face. Look at these sites for some tips on how to start:
For the facial puffiness, I’ve been trying to lower my overall body fat through working out. As well as, doing facial exercises. Yes, I know, it sounds stupid… BUT I admit, I have been doing them religiously for about 3 weeks now and my face has been getting more toned an masculine looking. The saggy, puffy skin is fading more every time I look in the mirror. Check out this site made by a 74 year old man named Tom Hagerty (who looks like a healthy 65 year-old and attributes his youthful facial appearance to these exercises which he’s been doing since he was 19). For more info on this go here:
Lastly, for the loss of libido and ED, I’ve been taking a multivitamin every morning, eating high zinc food (zinc boosts testosterone by adding in binding free testosterone to your cells, or something like that), and eating lots of FRUIT (usually I make smoothies that contain milk and a huge concoction of fresh fruit ranging from apples to blackberries to kiwis. I try to also eat fruit that is high in “Quercetin”. I attribute a long-lasting, rock solid hard-on I got a couple nights ago that kept me awake until I ‘got rid of it’ to these high Quercetin fruits, since that was the first time in a year that this has happened to me). Also, when I work-out I’ve been doing lots of Power Lifting (1-5 rep sets of heavy weight), which supposedly boosts testosterone. Check out these sites on “high-testosterone food” and the effects of quercetin on lab rats:
In the end, I’ve come to terms with my mistake of trying to change my fate through eating poison (Finasteride). It gave me every single symptom listed on this message board. I was 19, but I felt like I was 60. Now, I’m twenty and I’m beginning to feel like my young-self again. My advice to anyone reading this is to be patient, live healthy, and stay natural. And hopefully, you will come out of it close to where you were before you even came into it.
Finally, remember that you did this yourself. No one forced the pill down your throat. It was your desire to make yourself something you should have never been that got you here. Accept it. Live with it. Hope for the best. And please, please don’t make the same mistake twice.
**PS: F Merck!