Well its my first post so I figured I would introduce myself and tell my story:
I am a 24 year old male. I started using Finasteride back in May to combat some front hairline hairloss I had going on for the past year. I initially started off at 1.25mg per day, and didn’t really notice any sexual dysfuncton. About two weeks into using the drug I started experiencing some depression which I just attributed to things that were going on in my life. A couple of weeks later I had a flight cross country and I noticed that I had anxiety on the plane and could not sleep at all - something I’ve never really had before. I continued taking the drug not really connecting this as a possible side effect of the Fin.
In July I begin to develop a stomach condition. It was an excessive amount of bloating (I have always had some) and indigestion. It would be the worst at night and I would constantly have to sit up in bed to belch gas out. My sleep at this point was hurting because I would spend hours trying to fall asleep but could not due to the increased heart rate due to the gas build up.
In August the stomach was just as bad, and I had my first case of pure-o. Pure-O is a form of OCD where you begin to obsess over terrible things however you have no compulsions. I had no idea what was going on (I have no history of OCD, depression, only mild anxiety). As the months went by the OCD would come and go… only until October when I would have the Pure-O attacks on almost a daily basis. The problem with Pure-O is when you start having the obsessive thoughts, you go into an extreme state of depression and anxiety. I was having panic attacks almost on a nightly basis. October I cut the Fin dose in half, not really sure if it was causing my problems or not, but I continued on the drug.
November my OCD and stomach issues peak and the anxiety and depression became absolutely unbearable. I had constant thoughts of sucide going through my head and didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was having terrible thoughts accompanied with nightmares at night. At this point I started reading some more on finasteride and depression and decided to cut the drug out all together. A couple of weeks of stopping the drug I felt the same, so I went to my Dr. who first told me nothing is wrong with me except for some stress and prescribed me Paxil 10mg. I started using the drug at half dose (5mg) and almost instantly noticed a little bit of stability in my emotions. So I continued on the Paxil.
December, a few weeks after coming off the drug, I noticed I had no libido what so ever. I was constantly fatigued, had no motivation, and had incredible brain fog. I couldn’t think for the life of me. It started effecting my work real bad as it was hard enough for me to even read an email on my computer. I wasn’t sure if it was the paxil or some sort of drug after effect.
January I discovered this site and and started reading the horrible effects finasteride can have on one’s endocrine system. So the first thing I did is paid $50.00 to LabSafe.com for a Testosterone test and the results were low - 239ng/dL - very low for an otherwise healthy 24 year old. A week later I setup an appointment with a new DR. and the first thing he did is changed my medication. I got put on Prozac 20mg (lowest dose) just to keep my emotions and OCD at bay. We also did some addition bloodwork to see how the rest of my body was acting and another check on my Testosterone levels. All of my blood test came out flawless except for Testosterone which actually went up slightly to 271ng/dL. So he said lets wait in this for a bit and we will check it out again in a couple of months.
So after this visit, I took the matter into my own hands and did a month cycle of Tormefine at 60mg a day for 30 days. A couple of weeks into this I started noticing a change in my libido. This was definitely kicking my testerone levels up. My nut size (which was quite small coming off of Fin) was now feeling somewhat normal. So towards the end of my cycle I went back to my Doc and told him lets do another blood test, he was cool with it (didn’t tell him about the torem though). This dr has been great and really listens to my suggestions. He has even heard of low testerone levels post finasteride so he was willing to help me out. He gave me a blank hormone test and told me to test when I felt when the time was right and a week later we would come back and discuss the results. So that brings me to today. Taking this blood test tomorrow morning so we will see what kind of progress I have made…
MAKING MY RECOVERY:
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Toremefine - This definitely helped out in the libido department. I also started getting some motivation back after taking this to get my ass into the gym. I used 60mg a day for 30 days. My nuts feel a lot fuller and we are going to see what the bloodtest says after being two weeks off.
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Betaine HCl - I started using this to test my self to see what the hell is wrong with my stomach. Basically the Betaine test is a test where you supply yourself with additional HCl (stomach acid) to see where you stand in stomach acid production. If you take one tablet and immediately start noticing heart burn that means you are hyperacidic and you should stop using the betaine immediately. Myself, I have worked up to 1500mg of Betaine HCl per meal and still have not noticed any heatburn. I am working on getting a pH test done on my stomach to see where I stand. My theory is that the finasteride shot up my anxiety to such a level where my body was so stressed that it stopped producing stomach acid, leaving me in the condition that I am today. Read more about it: t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1257805
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L-Tyrosine & GABA - Started taking the Tyrosine in the morning and GABA at night. The GABA definitely is dropping the anxiety… not much effect from the tyrosine. Just started this a few days ago so its hard to say yet…
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My sleep is still pretty bad… I wake up multiple times through out the night. Somehow (I am thinking of #5 below) I still am pretty energized through out the day. Hopefully this GABA helps out a little…
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Dr. Sears Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil - This stuff deserives its own thread (and I will give it one). I started taking this three weeks ago and the effects have been incredible. After reading articles on how EPA/DHA consumption can help rebuild the brain (the brain has a high concentration of EPA/DHA) I started using this. Doing more research I am across the Zone Diet and Dr. Sears’ product OmegaRx. If it sounds like I am pimping this stuff, its cause I am. Dr. Sears has done an incredible amount of research and its effects on the human body and neurological problems. He even has a research facility dedicated to the studying of Omega-3’s. But anyways there is a wealth of information posted on the web and www.drsears.com. I started using 5ml a day and in a few days I noticed a difference in energy levels. A week later I bumped it up to 10ml a day and it has made a world of difference. 10ml has cleared up my brain fog by 80%. I am able to work and function like I did prior to the Fin. This stuff guys is the CURE you are looking for. My depression and anxiety are starting to calm down quite abit as well. The Harvard study done on this showed a SIGNIFICANT amount of improvement in bipolar patients using 10g EPA/DHA per day.
10g EPA/DHA per day = 16ml of Sears Pharmaceutical grade fish oil
or
30g standard fish oil per day.
I would recommend against using standard fish oil because of the heavy metal content. A dose that high can worsen your symptoms.
But I am serious guys, ever since starting the high dose omega-3 supplementation, I have improved in nearly every aspect of my life. Stuff is incredible.
Well thats my story… I know its long but I hope there is some insight ful information for you guys. I will start another thread “pimping” fish oil but trust me, its worth a shot.
If you have any questions, shoot away… other wise I will update the thread once I have the blood test results.