My hidden problem

Member Stories
#1

  1. How did you find this forum?
    I believe there was a link to here from a hairloss forum

  2. What is your current age, height, weight?
    I turned 20 very recently, 6’1, about 145-150 pounds

  3. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
    I try to lift dumbells about every other day

  4. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    I eat a lot of meat and fast food, but I am working on changing this…

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    Hair

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    I only took it for about a week and a half before it started bothering me, I then stopped for about a week and tried it again at a reduced dose every other day, this lasted only for about a week or two before I quit again.

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride?
    19

  8. How old were you when you quit?
    19

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
    See above

  10. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    Propecia

  11. What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
    First week was 1mg a day, at my second attempt it was about 1mg every other day for the first week, and .5mg every other day second week

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    It only took a week

  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[X] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
    I’ve tried taking plenty of nitric oxide enhancers like L-Arginine. I have been taking the GNC sport vitamin package which is about 7 capsules daily. I have also begun taking Siberian Ginseng Root which is supposed to help boost testosterone levels.

  2. If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

16Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  1. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

To begin the story lets go back to about December or January (I’m not sure which). I was noticing some very slight recession and thinning around the temples and sides of my head so at my regular checkup with the family practitioner I asked if I could get a prescription for Propecia. He gave it to me, I asked him if any side effects I could get while on it would go away after I stopped taking the drug, and he said not to worry about it and that usually it’s “very mild”. Okay… so every day after I started taking it I made sure to give myself a good whacking session in front of the computer just to see that everything is alright. For about 4-5 days it was… and then I started noticing a subtle pain in my testicles and my groin, I event went as far as to tell a close friend about this, and he recommended that its not worth taking any risks and I should stop it, but the text says that side effects go away after continued use so I kept at it thinking perhaps my body will adjust to this. I started noticing that when I went to urinate, my piss would come out at a low pressure and it would take longer for it to start coming out. And very soon I noticed that I didn’t get hard as I usually did without even thinking as I did every night when I went to bed, and morning wood was gone. I also tend to enjoy a bit of alone time with myself and my thoughts when I’m in bed and before I go to sleep. No matter how dirty my thoughts and my hand motions were, I just could not get hard or pleasured… around this time was when I stopped taking it. When I stopped my sex drive came back at full force, perhaps even stronger than before I ever took the drug. About a week after I quit I looked on the net and some people said that I could avoid side effects if I reduced my dosage, so my stupid, stupid vanity led me to to try it again at a pill about every other day. I was not long before the same side effects came back, and this time I had some gross chunky semen as well. I thought it might be a good idea to taper off a bit and reduce it to half a pill every other day, looking back maybe I should have done this for longer than I did to reduce shock to the endocrine system… Anyhow after I stopped things came back to working order but slowly declined to a point perhaps better than when I was on the drug, but still far from how good things used to be before I ever took it. Over the course of the months my semen has recovered to being normal like how it used to be, I have regained the ability of spontaneous and morning and nocturnal erections, and I am pleased to say that my penis can become as hard as a rock sometimes, and I can still indulge myself in the pleasures of masturbation (though still not like I used to). When it comes to being with an actual girl, things are just not the same anymore. My cock generally only gets about half as hard as it used to, and I just don’t feel that intense euphoric masculine feeling where nothing else is on my mind and my heart and breathing is very fast. Instead, sex has become something where I’m just angrily smacking my halfie dick against her wet vagina in hopes of achieving what once came with no effort at all. Impotence is never something I thought I would have to deal with at an age as young as 20, and this has become something both frustrating and depressing for me, but I am doing my best to not let it get to me and hold my head up high, and I am faithful that there is a very orgasmic light at the end of the tunnel.

As of now I don’t really have the money for health care so I am waiting for my next doctor’s check up to ask for the hormone tests, a sperm count, and possibly a prescription to viagra, cialis, or levitra to hold me off until I find a more permanent solution. I just hope that I can find a solution that won’t be expensive to the point where I’ll have to tell my parents about my problem, because this is not exactly the sort of thing I’d like to tell them about. I also think that I will quit smoking cigarettes and pot and drinking alcohol for a period of at least about 6 months to see if that will help at all. Also I will quit masturbation to let it build up and see if I will get any benefits from that.

Well there is my story…

Full recovery and beyond
#2

Well here’s a little update for anyone who cares. Since quitting both smoking and masturbating things have been getting better but still nowhere near where I’d like to be. My theory is that this is not so much a hormonal deficiency sort of problem for me. I don’t get anxiety attacks or abnormally anxious, I don’t have muscle wastage, I feel full of energy, and I still get nocturnal, morning and spontaneous erections, although they are much weaker.

So far the bags under my eyes have disappeared which I am hopeful is a good sign and things are better. My opinion on the matter is that this problem is pretty much solely on the prostate. I fear I may have brought on a case of protatitis or BPH on myself with the irregularities I’ve caused on my blood DHT levels. I have actually noticed that I still do in fact get slight pains in the prostate and that when I pee not all of my urine is expelled like it used to. I remember back before I ever took finasteride that I would usually need to give about 2 or 3 pushes at the end of my pissing session to get everything out. Now I can only do one more push and it is usually very weak and I can’t help but feel that something is not normal when I piss.

Very soon I will be getting a full hormone analysis done (which I will share) and I am thinking about perhaps getting a prostate examination done but I just don’t like the idea of having the doctor stick a finger up my ass. I guess I might just have to bite the bullet for this one…

#3

I can identify with most of what you wrote except I did not quit the drug and restart it… however the above quote certainly sums it up… I know where you’re coming from with regards to sex, its like the primal desire to fuck a girl has been drained from your body, your lust is gone and you are indifferent towards sex. This is not how things used to be, I can assure you that.

The good thing is the “half hard” and floppy erections, at least for me, have improved over time and now 20 months since quitting I can get and stay hard enough for decent sex. Towards the end of my 11 months on the drug and the first 6-8 months off it, I could only get floppy erections which wouldn’t stay erect without continual physical stimulation. I am now able to get it up in anticipation of sex with a girl, though my libido is still pretty much non-existant.

You might want to try the Brocolli Treatment (see Naturals section of website) as a first step to treat the Prostatitis you believe you may have.

Keep us updated as to your progress, best of luck.

#4

I had the exact same thing. I would still look at women, but the urge just wasn’t there. I could take it or leave it.

For me, I was totally oblivious to this for years! I’ve been off propecia for less than a week now and have felt the burning urge that I haven’t felt in years.

My erections also weren’t as big and I didn’t get “hot” for a woman, although I could perform.

#5

I hear that it happens to some people (increased libido after quitting) because your hormones are restoring themselves. I think it also happened to me. Dude! Why did you go back! You should have cracked open a bottle of Rogaine at this point. :laughing:

As I said in a previous post, 0.2mg of Finasteride for hair loss does not prevent or reduce the possibility of side effects. You’re still lowering your DHT to the same level, and it’s the continuance of the drug that increases your risk of sides wether they be temporary or permanent.

Hot. :stuck_out_tongue:

#6

It’s been a hell of a long time since I stopped taking the god-forsaken pills but I feel very confident in saying that I am fully recovered. As to how I did so you can look through the posts that I’ve made. The key to my success I think was just time and the use of dermacrine sustain. I’ve come to a point where I can go on for about 3 hours before busting a load, 3 hours of intensified sexual pleasure might I add and when it comes to the point of orgasm I seriously almost faint. After this happens I quickly recover and I can keep doing it. And lord have mercy if I happen to find an Aspire Lite capsule hanging around.

Some advice I can give is to just eat well, have a stable schedule, sleep and rest well, and stay away from drugs, caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Also don’t forget to eat well, if you can eat 6 smaller meals throughout the day it is better for you and your glycemic index (or something like that). So your blood sugar will stay stabler and you will just feel better overall. Also take some quality supplements and a good multi-vitamin. More specifically things such as Omega 3, Maca, Tribulus Terestris, Chrysin/DIM, Muira Puma, Longjack, Avena Sativa, Horny Goat Weed (quality Icariin extract), and of course resveratrol (stuff in dermacrine sustain). I believe that supplements are by no means cures, they are just aids to your body to restore itself. Don’t forget to get a good serving of anti-oxidants.

Next up I’m really gonna get into a good work out regimen since I have more free time this semester. I’m looking to add 15-20 pounds of nothing but muscle and power onto my 6’0 150 pound body. I’m also thinking of taking Powerfull which is a supplement thats supposed to raise growth hormone levels, and I read on this site that that could possibly make the penis grow bigger (haha). I am slightly paranoid that I may have lost some size.

Well anyways I’m looking to get some new blood tests done and see how everything is faring out, if my T level is not at least 750 then it seems I’ll have to discipline myself into an even stricter testosterone raising regimen.

Happy holidays everyone, I’ve already received my gift.

  • Big Softie
1 Like
#7

congrats dude.

i’m feeling much better after a week of brocolli treatment! :smiley:

#8

spontaneous erections and everything? Describe it for us.

#9

Now, does this mean that you have zero pain in the perineum? And no ball discomfort? See I have no problem maintaining and erection, only really had that problem for like 2-3 weeks after quitting, it’s when the perineum pain set in that I really started freaking. The broccoli thing is helping, however discomfort when I sit for long periods is still there.

Also, I was able to last the longest when I was hardcore into the drug in my mid 20’s and I know that might sound odd. But it does make sense if you still have high testosterone (get the erection yet a lessened sexual desire, etc. It was somewhat great because I’d go hours without blowing my load. Now, I am back to the good old, way I was in high school, etc. to when the vag feels tight and good I blow my load. Also, my load went from watery while on the drug, to way too thick I feel after. It’s like silly puddy some times.

Congrats though if you are 100% hope to be there someday.

#10

To be honest I never really had any pain in my perineum to begin with, the only pain I ever had was testicular, which probably felt the strongest while I was on the drug but still persisted from time to time after I stopped taking it.

As for spontaneous erections yes I do get them, I yet again feel compelled to touch myself if I’m laying down on a couch alone in a room as I’m pretty sure any normal man in the world does. I even get turned on if I see hot chicks on TV in a bikini or something (usually really hot model kinda chicks). Sexual desire is back and so is my erectile capability. I’ll have mild fits of silent anger if I haven’t gotten laid in a while.

I can last as long as I ever did, and a good orgasm does feel mind-shattering just as it should.

I take back what I said about the penis size, it’s as big as it ever was. Especially when filled with a good amount of blood.

And now that school’s off I feel less stressed out than ever and it feels great.

#11

Thats great man. It really is! Thats how it should be too. You described things to a T !!!
Good job man!! Enjoy the holidays now! And dont get into too much trouble, chasing pussy! :smiling_imp: :laughing:

#12

Softie,

First of all, congrats for your recovery. Second, I have some few simple straight questions:

  • How long were you on propecia?
  • For how long did you suffer from side effects?
  • What were ALL of these sides? Were they mild or severe?
  • MOST IMPORTANT, what was your recovery method? Please be as specific as possible.

Congrats again, I have been off that poison for four years and three months and I still have sides. To be truth, I have recovered from a lot of side effects (brain fog, dizziness, stuffed nose, curved penis, low hanging testicles, etc.) but the sexual sides are still with me, yet they have improved over time. Thanks for your response.

1 Like
#13

His history is in the Member Stories section. Details of his various recovery methods can be found by searching his post history:

propeciahelp.com/forum/searc … Big+Softie

#14

I was only on propecia irregularly for about 2 weeks worth of pills. I took it for one week straight 1mg daily and started getting testicular pains which then rapidly turned into impotence. It was a tragic experience. While still on the pills I just didn’t get any sexual thought, absolutely no nighttime erections. So I quit taking the pills, but thinking I might still be able to thicken up the mop while dodging the side effects, I started taking the pills again one every other day after the two weeks it took me to recover (to a point higher than before finasteride). Even at the lower dosage I still got the side effects again, I even tried lowering the dosage to half a pill every other day, to no avail.

After the second and final time that I quit I bounced back to feeling ok for a bit, but not as good as the first time I quit. Soon after things just went down the drain for me pretty much. I was in denial for a long time believing it was impossible for me to still have side effects after quitting the drug. I really pretended to be alright, trying to persuade myself that something this bad couldn’t happen to me at the age of 19. The funny thing about this time period, is (believe it or not) that being fucked up like this made it easier to have girls like me. Since my innate sexual urges were non-existent, I would never get anxious or nervous around women, since there was already nothing positive that I could expect out of the encounter. Well who can resist a calm yet confident, finasteride-zombie anyways?

It gets to the point where I’m having sex with this chick and my shit’s not working. It sucked but I did my best with my fingers to not leave her unsatisfied. Keep in mind this is taking place about 2 or so months after I quit. I started regularly visiting this site around then. Soon after I got blood tests drawn, my T wasn’t as low as some of the other guys on the forum, but it was still low. Somewhere in the lower half of the 500s. At the same time progesterone was 3 times the top of the physiological range. Things were not right. I was very, very slowly recovering on my own and sometimes it felt like I wasn’t recovering at all. I read about Dr. Crisler here, so I thought I might as well check out the popular bodybuilding forum he runs, anabolicminds.com. It’s full of a bunch of guys who know a whole lot about funky hormone levels because of steroid use and whatnot, they helped me out a lot!

Oh and by this time I had tried, and still pretty much own an unfinished bottle of just about any supplement, herb, or vitamin you can imagine. I read about steroid-using guys using dermacrine sustain which has it’s main ingredient as resveratrol for post-cycle therapy. It definitely seemed like a powerful product capable of normalizing hormone levels, and men were posting that this stuff is just as good as, if not better, than meds like clomid or nolvadex. The stuff takes a while to work tho, I had to take it for a month to start feeling anything, I only started feeling confidently normal around the time of the 3rd bottle. I also took some things like multi-vitamins, ginseng, ginko biloba, Reset AD (adrenal formula with pregnenolone and bovine adrenal gland as ingredients). For a little while I also took a bottle’s worth of tanalbit just in case a candida infection had anything to do with it, I did this while discontinuing every other oral supplement). I took paravol for a while, but I wouldn’t recommend it anymore since it is a pretty weak product with dosages that are too low. I would recommend a product called Diesel Test:

http://www.nutraplanet.com/product/get-diesel/diesel-test-hardcore-120-tabs.html

Notice how it says “AKA Grande Bolas” haha. I will definitely have to order a bottle of the stuff and see for myself how it is. I’m sure that after about 3-4 months of using this stuff combined with dermacrine sustain you just might become invincible. It is also reportedly safe for everyone. Increasing natural testosterone levels has been great for me. I am stronger with improvements in muscle fullness and vascularity, along with a strange tanning effect which has my skin looking pretty nice compared to everyone else who has become completely pale because of the winter. But then again I was fucked up pale looking with bags under my eyes while suffering from impotence, even with a decent summer tan I still had bags under my eyes, though less visible.

As of now I am definitely capable of busting a nut at least 3 times within 5 hours, without losing much or any of the hardness for each session, and thats only with whacking off (which I was only doing for testing purposes of course :wink:).

I really hate to sort of sound like an infomercial for these products, but without them I might still not be able to get hard. All in all it was a massive lesson in how fickle and frail life is and absolutely not to take anything for granted, as well as to make use of what you have in life as much as possible. I still feel like I might need help recovering from the sheer psychological shock this whole 8-month ordeal has given me. I really feel like I need to go out and have sex with multiple women to make up for lost time. The fact that my balls are continuing to get physically larger doesn’t hurt at all. I plan to take advantage of this extra amount of testosterone by working out and adding 10-15 pounds of lean muscle on myself.

PS: My hair fucking looks great.

#15

Thats great man!

So it sounds like you started suffering around the same time, or shortly thereafter, as I did (last Febuary)…

So, you were impotent and in denial for about 2 months.
Then for about 5-6 months you were taking the supplements, and it took you about 2-3 months on Dermacrine Sustain??

So, if you had to recommend (and great job on the detail and explanation already above btw) a simple protocol, such as :

DAILY
-one once daily Men’s Multi-vitamin from New Cahpter Organics.
-three Dermacrine Sustain pills
-one 45mg zinc tablet
and
-1,000 extra mg of Vitamin C

Along with increased exercise, and plenty of water.

What do you think??

#16

Btw, I think Mew is onto something with his latest finding…

…something I’ve suspected also all along (do ya’ll recall I kept using the expression, “to pump up your prostate again”) propeciahelp.com/forum/viewt … =4796#4796
I think we may be on to something guys!!

Mew, what are your thoughts now on re-vascularizing??

Come on man… go out on a limb here, its Christmas!!

#17

Dermacrine sustain is a topical product, not in pills. It absorbs through your skin and bypasses your whole GI tract, it also has a “side-effect” of making your skin a little darker colored, not the same as a full-blown tan, but enough to add a touch of sexiness.

I highly recommend taking diesel test as well, 6 times a day at 3 different intervals if you can.

Things are seriously going great though, I’m physically stronger, I feel like I’m more energized and confident than ever before, not only that but I find myself obsessing over girls like I’m in high school all over again. But of course I know what I’m doing way better than when I was in high school so I’ve already gained some admirers, even ones that have boyfriends haha.

In all honesty, I think you over-emphasize the prostate boston. I feel that there is just a persisting imbalance within our endocrine systems not unlike what happens to anabolic steroid users once they come off cycle. A fucked up prostate could be a side-effect, and your immune system does get compromised.

Happy New Years.

#18

Looks like Primordial Performance have updated dermacrine sustain and changed the name of the product to sustain alpha, with an updated list of ingredients to go along with it.

I will have to try out the new and improved formula. They also have a new product that claims to be clinically proven to regrow hair while at the same time improving libido with a vitamin E complex. Seeing as how effective dermacrine sustain was I will have to try this stuff out. If this stuff works in improving my libido even further as well as stopping hair loss I will have come to the conclusion that whoever is running this company must have sold their soul to the devil.

Here’s some info on the changes for the new Sustain Alpha formula:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/supplements/82021-new-products-primordial.html

Also here is an article from the economist stating how resveratrol can make one live longer.

http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10423439

#19

Hey Big Softie

If you’re better why are you still taking the Dermacrine Sustain? What would happen if you stop taking it? I mean surely after a month or so of not taking it you’re testosterone levels would fall and things could go back to square one. Maybe you should see.

#20

I stopped using it for a whole month without losing any progress in libido gains. Not only that but I’ve gone for like 1 or 2 weeks at a time without using with no effect whatsoever. Eventually I will see how things are without using the product, but I will have to try the new and improved alpha sustain formula first. I am 99% positive that I will not go back to how I was before using the product though. Just because this isn’t the sort of thing you build a tolerance to like the dopamine boosting protocol someone else posted earlier. Sustain actually has stuff in it to make your nuts have more FSH receptors to make more testosterone. I think that might be a huge thing and I have a hunch that androgen receptor sensitivity is a huge factor in our problems for a lot of us here. Think about it… you take out DHT from your body for a while, so your receptors get more sensitive to it since theres less of it. When you stop taking the drugs it all rushes back and I would think that it has a negative impact on receptor sensitivity.

Even with adaptogenic things like ginseng though, it is recommended to take breaks from it here and there to get the most benefit out of it. So I will have to at least take a break eventually, but I’ve got loads of the stuff left.