Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)? Italy
How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?) Google
What is your current age, height, weight? 53
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Saw palmetto
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 640 mg / day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Prostatitis
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 3 months
Date when you started the drug?
01/2020
Date when you quit the drug?
04/2020
Age when you quit?
49
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
2 months after quitting
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Muscle atrophy, joint pain, insomnia
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
Sexual
[ X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ X] Confusion
[ X] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[X ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[X ] Muscle Wastage
[X ] Muscle Weakness
[X ] Joint Pain
[X ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X ] Prostate pain
[ X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X
] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ X] Frequent urination
[ X] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Thanks for accepting me. I am 53 years old from Italy, I have always been an active and sporty person (I practiced boxing, running, etc.) I began treatment with Serenoa Repens from January 2020 to April 2020. After about two/three months I began to show a series of side effects which in the within a year they have significantly worsened. The first symptoms concerned the sexual sphere: lack of libido, poor erections, unusual curvature of the penis.
This was followed by far worse physical symptoms.
I started having tendonitis all over my body, especially in my hips and feet. Noticeable loss of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat, rubbery and thin skin, almost zero physical strength.
I had to significantly reduce my work activity. A metabolic collapse followed, especially at the digestive level. Any food I ate was like poison. My intestines felt crazy. I had tons of blood tests, MRIs, x-rays.
After several consultations with doctors and rheumatologists, someone finally hypothesized, without much conviction, some form of autoimmune arthritis, to be treated with immunosuppressants, which I refused.
Today almost 4 years have passed, I followed a personal alternative path (I’m not sure if it can be mentioned, as it was not prescribed by official medical protocols and I’m not sure it was what made me improve) and I had a better recovery 60% or less.
Joint problems still remain, although they are improving.
Thanks again for your hospitality
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]