Hi everyone. It’s been a while since I posted, so I thought I would update on what I have learned so far…
I’ve been on a fascinating journey looking into functional medicine approaches to treating my symptoms (which are basically the same as most of us on here - low sex drive, poor sleep, poor digestion etc-). My interest in this approach developed from seeing that most people on here that have recovered or had an alleviation in symptoms have essentially followed the tenets of a functional medicine approach (ie treating hypothyroidism naturally, treating fungal infections, eating a paleo diet etc-).
So, this is what I’ve learned about what is definitely wrong with me:
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Low body temperature/hypothyroidism - Mine temp is stupidly low - around 96.3 degrees farenheit upon waking, and peaking at around 97.5 mid-afternoon. This is considerably lower than where it should be, and a clear indication of being hypoT. This is supported by my very low metabolism (my pulse rarely gets above 55, and it should be closer to 70) and test results showing very low T3 and T4, and elevated RT3
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Candida. This isn’t some made up infection, as some conventional docs would argue; this stuff is real. I’ve been following a lot of the discussions that have been going on at the Candida Diet Forum and the Curezone candida forum (I highly recommend these btw). I found that the way most people have had success in beating candida, which seems to be a really hard thing to kill, is by taking regular anti-fungal enemas. I did this for a while (using Nystatin), and saw a whole load of candida coming out of me (long, stringy-like things). It’s disgusting, and now I understand that this is what is behind the sugar cravings that I have, and severe intolerance to wheat, gluten and dairy that I have developed post-finasteride.
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Leaky gut syndrome. Again, this is very real and really very damaging. If you have candida, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have this. It means that there are holes in your gut, caused by candida boring through your gut lining, which means that bits of food make it out into the blood stream (where they should not go) and cause you to have allergic reactions. Now I understand why I break out into loads of spots whenever I eat wheat/dairy/gluten and some other foods. Leaky gut essentially gives you allergies to these foods, and my allergies have worsened significantly since taking Propecia.
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Shockingly low stomach acid. This is another reason why I struggle with digestion. If you want to check if you have this problem too, take the hydrochloric acid test. This entails eating a meal with some protein and taking some HCL with the meal. If you have normal stomach acid you should feel a burning sensation in your stomach when you supplement with even one HCL tablet. But if it’s low then you will not. The idea is that you add more and more pills until you do feel the burning sensation that a normal person would have. Well, it takes me at least four pills with any meal until I even feel a hint of burning sensation. Clearly I’m producing very little stomach acid.
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Dry skin. I’ve noticed that my skin get’s a whole lot worse if I eat things that I shouldn’t (wheat/gluten etc-). But if I eat well then it tends not to become dry. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in this since really refining my diet to be totally paleo (as I have for the last 6 months).
So what does this all mean? Well, essentially the more that I research, test, theorise, I believe that the root of many of our problems are digestive. And the more I research the more I realise that it is quite possible that finasteride has simply trapped us in a severe, viscious cycle of the symptoms I describe above. What’s really interesting is that, as I peruse Curezone and listen to loads of functional health podcasts, I realise that our symptoms are actually not dissimilar to those of many other people who did not take finasteride, but, due to other reasons, have developed the same problems. The difficulty is that these problems tend to perpetuate each other and therefore make it very difficult to recover. Th visicious cycle (in a simplified form) could work as follows:
Candida causes low stomach acid, which means you can’t digest food properly, which means you don’t get the nutrients you need to support your adrenal function, which causes your thyroid glands to deteriorate, which gives you low body temperature and creates an environment in which candida thrives.
This is a simplistic portraytal of the cycle, but it is very real problem, and I absolutely refute doctors, and some people on this site, who suggest that these issues do not at least cause some of our symptoms. I KNOW I have these problems, as I have rigorously tested myself for them, and I’d be surprised if many others don’t share them.
And, if you look at those people who have recovered/improved significantly from finsteride, they have all treated at least one of the problems I describe. Some have taken natural thyroid/adrenal glands, some have tackled fungal infections, some have eaten a very simplistic paleo/probiotic diet to boost gut recovery. My belief is that breaking this viscious cycle offers us all hope of at least significant improvement.
So, after all the research and testing I’ve done, my theory is that I already had a candida infection prior to taking finasteride (I’m confident this is the case as I had rosacea and minor food allergies since the age of about 10 - which is a common symptom of candida). So the preconditions for a major infestation were already in place. Then, upon taking finasteride, a major candida infestation resulted, as my body temperature dropped suddenly due to reduced thyroid function, trapping me in the viscious cycle I have described. I am not certain this is the cause of all of our problems - I could be wrong. It could be, for instance, that we have permanently reduced ability to create certain hormones. But I am a believer and I like to think that trying to break this viscious cycle could resolve symptoms for some, if not all of us. But it is very, very hard to do and, I believe, requires a targeted supplementation programme and a very strict diet over the long-term (1-2 years at least).
This is my plan for the next year or so:
- remove my mercury fillings. Looking back, my first candida symptoms coincided with having a mercury amalgam fitted at the dentist, aged around 10. I think mercury toxicity may be preventing me from being able to recover from candida
- treat leaky gut/candida in symbioisis by adhering to the GAPS diet. This is thought to be the best diet for leaky gut and, I believe, could really benefit us. Look it up. I will also take antifungals, as I have seen some of my candida being killed off after taking them.
- supplement with natural thyroid hormones and some adrenal glandulars. I have already seen my body temp and metabolism rise a little when I supplement with these, but I think they would have a greater effect if my digestion improves.
- take supplements as directed by a functional medicine practioner. I am already seeing someone who has helped me. For instance they recommended that I take magnesium before sleeping, and this has led to me waking up in the night far less often, and has really improved my sleep (which is vital). It’s only since taking magnesium that I realise how bad my sleep has been for the last 5 years.
Will this work? I hope so. I have already seen some improvements in following some of these treatments. Given that I now KNOW these problems exist, at least I feel that I can actually take some targeted treatment rather than just shooting in the dark in the PFS battle.
I will report back in around 6 months time with an update.
One final thing… I used to be very sceptical of ‘alternative’ medical approaches and talk of leaky gut/candida etc- But over the last 5 years that has all changed. The more I have researched and tested, the more I have realised that these are significant problems that are affecting me and probably many of us with PFS. If you don’t believe me then start researching and testing yourself, and I am sure that you will change your mind. The moment I saw loads of candida literally coming out of me, that was when I realised that these issues are real.
I’m as well going to do this as my money permits (i’m there 50%) so naturally, i hope you post time to time. I don’t want to speculate if this is a good theory, i’m just following my body - any time i’ve reduced carbohydrates, my listnessness (huge problem if you want to do school or a job… to gain money to eg. fund recovery or research or anything) and brainfog gets so much better. So we shall see if we improve our lives, right? Good luck.