My Long PFS Journey

I did 1600mg per day (i.e. 600 every 8hrs)for 7 days as per a study done on SIBO patients. You can find it on NCBI. Did you get the breathing test done?

I couldn’t find that test in the area I live in. However, in general my digestion, bowel movement have been kinda bad since PFS. I am planning to use 200mg per day /week.

The lowest dose I’m aware of is 200mg 3X day (i.e. 600mg). SIBO can definitely wreck havoc but it’s in my understanding a symptom of something else. Small Intestines Bacterial Overgrowth isn’t supposed to occur in first place if gut transit time is normal. Yes, I think finesteride can certainly cause it.

Go for it and see if your IBS symptoms improve. In the meantime, avoid dairy/gluten/lactose/High FODMAPs.

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This is interesting because aromatase inhibitors are sky rocketing interleukin 6 weird.
Btw I have recovered from aromasin withdrawal my libido normalized but orgasm intensity returned to pfs levels no joy :frowning: daily pde5 inhibition works well especially nocturnals are normalized but I lost spontaneous erections and visual lust.

This is far too complicated, I wish there was an easy fix. I’m now more convinced than ever that inflammation (mainly in the gut) is a major component since my bowel movements (frequency, consistency) always correlate with my symptoms in terms of erections and libido. Gut governs many inflammatory markers. Histamine should also be at a balanced point to produce a desirable effect. I’ll try very low dose pde5 inhibitor and see if they help with inflammatory markers while I work on stabilizing my gut using most-researched probiotics.

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It seems like this guy recovered with healing his gut;Story from Jorden

He used canxida

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Thanks for sharing. I’ve gone through his journal and it seems he was on high dose vitamin c; anti-fungal; HC; T3; progesterone and clean diet. There’s some logic behind his treatment.

Vitamin C: potent antioxidant and lowers inflammation
HC: supports adrenals and suppress immune system/lower inflammation.
Progesterone: may balance high E2. I’m in the very low E2 crew.
Anti-fungal: I’ve tried Rx brand before but I think having healthy gut microbiota should take care of it.

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hey , you know my story right??

Interesting because I saw 4 or 5 endos and all said everything looks good. One of them said my shbg is too low and that it could be an issue

Bro, Just a piece of advice, over the past three years with PFS i have been to around 10 - 12 endo, 3- 4 urologists, one neuroendo and none of them would even believe finasteride could cause such damage, after a plethora of tests all they would say i psychological. Reality is majority tolerate finasteride well and we are a small subset of unlucky folks. Three months into PFS, out of desperation, I visited an endo and given the low level of total T, he prescribed Clomid, I still believe it would have been better off without. Stay away from doctors.

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Hey Bro! Strange but i have had a similar pattern since finasteride, bowel movements are very irregular and the erections/brain fog are worse after a meal. I am yet to start Rifaximin, meanwhile i got some inflammation marker tests done.

C- Reactive Protein : 3.37 mg/L < 6.0mg/L
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: 04 mm/hr 0- 9 mm/hr
Immunoglobulin E ( IgE): 2102 IU/ml 5-393 IU/ml

IgE levels make complete sense as i have has eczema for years and even have it now. Do you think there is a correlation between Inflammation/weak immune system and finasteride ?

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@5alphaVictim

You mean you developed the eczema when you crashed?
It could be caused by Candida?

I have had eczema even before PFS. So basically my immune system was weak/ high inflammation already.

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I had fungal rash my whole life… Even since I got these symtoms (never took fin/accutane/ssri) the rash has completely dissapeared?

True cause(s) for eczema are hard to diagnose. However, I’ve learned about it the hard way. See I never had eczema my whole life but then I started this one probiotic containing L. reuteri strain which is histamine producing. It appears as if my immune system was triggered somehow and I begun to experience high histamine symptoms (among which was itchy skin rash, anxiety and absent morning erections due to increased inflammation) that were also new to me since I never had them ever before.

I didn’t suspect the probiotic until I did more reading. So it appears that people with over-drive immune systems (i.e. inflammation) are likely to have gut dysbiosis leading them to have many allergies and sensitivities. The key is to calm down the immune system and the way to do that is to treat gut dysbiosis. In the meantime you may consider anti-inflammatory stuff such as Vitamin C, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, Calcium, CoQ10 & B Vitamins. You can get them through diet alone except CoQ10.I take it in small doses of 30mg/day.

For inflammation and or immune issues, try low dose naltrexone.

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I read it blocks the effects of opioid medication. Care to elaborate how it works to our advantage?

I have to get some blood tests first, then after that will start the LDN.
It has something to do with endorphins acting inside the brain that can help many diseases that are neurological based.

I have just had my first dose Rifaximin 200mg. Will be using it for a week 200mg 3x a day . Hopefully things work out as it did for you. There are no major sides with this drug right?

I have taken rifaximin several times–it really helped my diarrhea and SIBO. There are no side effects since rifaximin is not absorbed through the intestinal tract. It is amazing. It stays inside the intestines to take care of any bacteria in there that can be causing gut issues. Since there is the gut-brain connection it may help a lot of people out there.

Low Dose Naltrexone also works with the gut-brain connection, but it works in the brain first, whereas rifaximin works in the gut first.

Keep us posted!!!

Quick update:

So I’ve been on DHEA (20mg-25mg a day) for 3 weeks and while it did raise both my serum DHEA-s and E2 considerably (confirmed by tests), it lowered my Cortisol judging by symptoms.

Low Cortisol symptoms:

-Lowered blood pressure. I get head spinning when I stand up too quickly or when I use Sauna.
-Stomach ache
-Slight nausea
-Night awakenings
-Slight headaches
-Salt cravings
-Mild joints ache
-Mood swings
-Morning tiredness despite getting enough sleep
-Blood sugar changes
-Night sweats (from blood sugar changes)
-Metalic taste in mouth
-Feeling burn out post heavy workout
-Decreased appetite
-Frequent urination

Btw, my libido & erections were also negatively impacted. I did a small topical cortisone test the other night and woke up feeling 100% and this confirms my suspicion. I’ll get tested for Cortisol (AM & PM).

In light of the above, I stopped DHEA for now and will try to balance both DHEA & Cortisol back to normal range. The ideal ratio should be 4:1 (Cortisol being 4). If you have low DHEA that’s confirmed by testing and must take it then aim for no more than 5mg/d.