Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)? Canada
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 search
What is your current age, height, weight? 46, 5,4, 142
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?saw palmetto capsules
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 160mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? BPH
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 5 days
Date when you started the drug? October 11, 2025
Date when you quit the drug? October 16, 2025
Age when you quit? 46
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 days
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
[x ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[x ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] 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
[x ] Prostate pain
[ ] 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
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? None
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)? Still waiting for results.
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I started having difficulty urinating and remembered that saw palmetto can help with that. So I purchased a bottle of saw palmetto at my local pharmacy (stupid mistake). The bottle labelling was strange because it said 1600mg raw herb but the ingredients says 160mg of serenoa repens. After the 2nd day of taking it, I had a dry mouth and noticed my libido was already off. After 5 days, I noticed I could not get any erection so I stopped taking the supplement immediately. After I stopped, my genitals started to shrink and felt numb. This latest for 10 days. After 10 days, I had strong libido and I was able to get a strong erection and had no issues sexually. But then I started to have lower back pain, difficulty sitting, prostate spams, more numbing in the genitals.
I started pelvic floor physiotherapy but it doesn’t seem to help.
I am now a month off the supplement, I have zero libido and I am impotent.
I had really bad insomnia and anxiety because of this. But I am taking magnesium with melatonin to relax and can get 4 hours of sleep.
I went to the ER and the doctor did not even know what that herb is. They gave me a antibiotic called Cipro for the prostate but I am afraid to take it since it can also cause very bad side effects.
I guess the reason I am here is to get some tips on what I should do at this point?
I can’t believe that those supplements are unregulated and have no warnings on them.
This is seriously frightening for me and feel like my life is over.
Thank you for reading my post.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]