Mother seeks advise for 19 year old son with pfs

My 19 year old son has been off of finisteride for almost a month and he was on it for about 1 1/2 years and and I am very worried, he has had various problems like: loss of libido, brain fog, depression, stress, anhedonia, fatigue, sometimes sleep problems and joint pain, sexual disfunction sometimes also, and testicular ache.
Please I would appreciate advise on how to help him through all of this

Any thoughs about trying or has anyone tried Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) helmet with out implants to try depression this would be 20 sessions and could someone please comment about this treatment

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Hi, @9999,

Sorry to hear that your son is going through this. Is it possible that he can post for himself? It could be useful to have his account and description of events.

Lots of people, including myself, find that stress is a great driver of symptoms. As such, I would suggest that your son try to avoid stressful situations for some time. I took 2 months off work when I was struck with this, I don’t know if that helped me, but I don’t think I would have been able to just carry on. I try to keep my stress levels as low as possible.

The good news is that lots of people report symptoms improving with time.

The bad news is that there is no treatment that anyone can point to that will guarantee you an improvement.

You will be able to find people on the internet who will try to sell you a series of products. This could be harmful at worst and is likely to be ineffective.

The things you should do: file an adverse reaction report with your local health authority.

Give your son some time. I believe that most people improve within a 3 month period, others have improved more slowly.

Do not use Finasteride or other 5AR inhibiting drugs ever again. Many people have got significantly worse following subsequent exposure.

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Thank you very much greek for your reply it is of great comfort, is there any other advise as how to support him during this time?

Just want to say you’re a great mom for researching this and being there for him. A lot of us have families that don’t even believe there’s anything wrong with us because post finasteride syndrome is not yet a largely acknowledged medical problem.

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I don’t personally think that you can do much, unfortunately. Try to have him rest, eat well, listen to his body would be my suggestions but other people here may have other ideas.

Unfortunately, lots of people have experiences that are not replicated by others - what helps some makes others worse.

One thing that I think would benefit all people affected by 5AR inhibitors would be to avoid further inhibition both through drugs and through food. Some foods can have the effect of reducing 5AR production and lowering DHT (A type of testosterone).

I would suggest avoiding anything that this article says to eat:

https://theheartysoul.com/hormone-causes-hair-loss

To reiterate - do not do what that article says. Again, some people might disagree.

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One of the most important aspects is emotional support, even though it can be very tough at times for those who are giving. On top of their already wrecked health, many PFS sufferers additionally face disbelief among everyone around them, including doctors. Your support will mean the world to your son, thanks for giving yours to him.

As hard as it may be, it is important to realize that there unfortunately is no reliable quick fix to this. Healing will take time, many months or even years. The good news is, as has been said before, at only one month off the drug, the odds are on his side. Coming off the drug, most men will return back to normal. At this point, his endocrine balance is very fragile and can be put off by various substances which have a similar effect as finasteride, including many natural ones. @Greek’s post above is a great starter, but there are more. When in doubt, let us know, and we can try to help you.

A last note about doctors: Doctors are multipliers of existing medical knowledge. They work by applying known solutions to known problems. As PFS is not well enough understood at the biological level, and there isn’t any out of the box (as in pharma product) solution, doctors usually don’t perform well with PFS patients, and often end up being very counter productive. In particular, be very careful with any advice to put your son on antidepressants. We’ve had many cases around here who got significantly worse by taking them, some persistently so. The reason is, that antidepressants also have anti-androgenic effects and can cause something very similar to PFS called “PSSD”.

The best thing you can do is to just give it some time at this point. With some luck, things will improve considerable over the next few months.

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Why are such young people taking this?

Here’s a PH post from someone who reported recovery and also emphasizes the gut My Experinces with PFS and potential Treatments

This is better, from the same person as the link above, but a year later and with them fully focused on the gut A Potential Cure/Treatment

Any thoughs about trying or has anyone tried Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) helmet without implants to try depression this would be 20 sessions and could someone please comment about this treatment

I have considered DBS myself. I have the same symptoms as your son plus some. I tried Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) after I got this. It helped relieve the derealization but did nothing for the anhedonia and emotional numbness aspect. Same for the sexual symptoms. I have read DBS might work for anhedonia so idk. I’m sorry your son is going through this.

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Just want to say that you are a great parent for being there for your son, not being sceptical, and for trying to help him.

There is nothing worse than being trapped in this situation with loved ones who treat you with disrespect and disappointment for something you have no control over.

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@gents93

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other symtoms.

just wait for him to chime in, i think he’d know if it’s dangerous or not

I am the same age as your son but I didn’t dare to tell my family about it, he is brave.

Unfortunately, many young people have these problems and there are no miracle solutions.

what problems ? cognitive dysfunction to the point that your career is over with 21 ? i doubt that