My story with topical fin

Member Stories
#1

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)?

United States

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 Search: PFS
What is your current age, height, weight?

Age: 21, height: 6’0, weight: 154 lbs

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?

finasteride

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?

topical spray

What condition was being treated with the drug?

male pattern baldness

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?

3 days
Date when you started the drug?

Oct 25, 2022

Date when you quit the drug?

Oct 28, 2022

Age when you quit?

21

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 days

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

penile shrinkage, pain in penis, low libido, ed
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
[ x] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[ x] 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
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

supplements, exercise

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.

I ordered the topical spray from Hims in Oct 2022. I used it for 3 days. 2 days in I noticed severe pain in my penis. I went to urgent care and they told me to stop using the medicine and that it should subside within a week. It seemed like it was getting better for about 3 months or so. Then last week happened. I completely crashed. Severe depression, memory loss, crying, etc. I feel like a shell of my former self. I am currently doing school online, living at home with my family. Having trouble moving forward. I want my old self back.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY

  1. Name of the therapy/substance:
    • Dosage:
    • How often you took it:
  2. Status
    • Still using [ ]
    • Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
    • Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
  3. Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
  4. Response when you started:
    • Greatly improved [ ]
    • Slightly improved [ ]
    • Stayed the same [ ]
    • Slightly worsened [ ]
    • Greatly worsened [ ]
  5. 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 [ ]
  6. 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 [ ]
#2

Sry for my english…but since u crashed i wanted to ask you if were taking any suplement…Or using other things like champo for hair lose/Minoxidil, etc

I Hope you recover and improve fast, man!

#3

I’m taking Zinc, Pregnenolone, Vit D3, Ashwagandha. Trying to eat clean and exercise daily, as well. Nothing for hair loss at the moment. Don’t really care about hair at this time, honestly. Just want to feel better.

#4

Sry if i didnt was clear, i know.that a pfs sufferer doesnt care about his hair annymore. But some ppl keep taking Minoxidil or other things and they dont know that its also harmful thats why i asked, trying to see if there was something there that made u crash again.

Sry if my msg was not well written, and you get better!

1 Like
#5

I’d be careful with these. Zinc is antiandrogenic, ashwagandha can cause PSSD etc.

1 Like
#7

As a newcomer you get then through all the other chats and groups in panic, hear the “absolute true” and “only” theories about microbiome disbiosis and allopregnanolone deficit, ace2 autoantibodies like long covid and pfs is an autoimmune disease, hormon axis and hrt, neuroinflamation and laking zink and D3 as anti inflammatories and all the recovery protocols, maybe you feel forced to act and to do something, but as the others said some substances can be dangerous!

#8

And it’s not to late to give up hope, I know a similar case who recoverd. And as I said to another newcomer in this club, no one wants to be on the guest list, there are first year recoveries documented.
But no guarantee.

1 Like
#9

I’m new to this, can you please explain what you meant by feeling better? Like your sexual side effects were all gone and then all of a sudden after 3 months you became impotent again?

#10

There have been a really similar case. Im going to contact him.

#11

Forgot to update this.

Little to no improvement in my symptoms as of now. Taking it day by day but it’s very very difficult. The anhedonia is the most difficult thing right now. It’s hard to cope when my old passions don’t really give me any sort of spark.

Gonna keep pushing and fighting.

2 Likes
#12

Basically, after I stopped the medication things looked to be getting better for three months or so (nocturnal erections, morning wood, etc). And mentally, I wasn’t great but I was functional.

In January my sexual symptoms got worse- any sign of improvement was gone. My mental/cognitive state also deteriorated

1 Like
#13

fwiw, my PFS onset in a similar time frame. things have improved with time for me and I’ve also gotten used to managing my symptoms.

you jumped into taking a lot of supplements very quickly. I’m not sure if you’re working off of a doctor’s recommendations here, but I’d caution against doing too much too quickly.

also, it may comfort you to know that a lot is being organized behind the scenes to better understand the condition.

1 Like
#14

yeah, I’ve eased off on the supplements and I’m going to let time (hopefully) do it’s thing.

any tips for dealing with symptoms?

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#15

unfortunately not. everyone’s different. for some exercise helps and for others it makes them feel worse. it’s frustrating but you kinda have to relearn how your body works.

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#16

Some slight, marginal improvements this week. Some of the anhedonia has lifted, as there’s some small things I can get enjoyment out of. I went for a walk today and I think that helped a bit. Still can’t enjoy music and other things I used to love, though.

And god, I really miss my sexuality. Everyday I’m kind of in denial about that just being ripped away from me.

5 Likes
#17

Yess!! Thats It. Step by step. You Will improve my friend, keep pushing, stay as healthy as posible and be patient.

3 Likes
#18

Thanks HH. I hope you’re well man!

2 Likes
#19

Wait you crash three months later, is that possible?

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#20

Three months is the longest I’ve heard of, but it seems like lots of people had their crash after they quit. My understanding is that fin permanently binds to 5ar which takes months to regenerate. We all were DHT depleted for a long time after we stopped.

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#21

Not sure if I crashed three months after, or if I hadn’t realized what had happened until three months after. I had sexual symptoms right off the bat, but the mental symptoms didn’t kick in immediately. I was already depressed due to the severity of the sexual symptoms, but I remember one day just sitting in my room and it occurred to me how bored, beat down, and anhedonic I was, all the time. I probably crashed much earlier, but that day was when it truly set in, I guess.

Thought I’d provide a little update. Little to no improvement with any of the symptoms. However, I’ve established a bit of a routine for myself and that has been helpful. One of the challenges right now, apart from the symptoms themselves, is the sheer trauma of this experience. Not to sound dramatic, but I’ll hear a song from my “pre-fin” life, and it’s just like a punch to the gut. That trauma follows me everywhere.

There are some little moments I appreciate, though. Today I caught up with an old friend and saw the new Dungeons & Dragons movie. I highly recommend, by the way. It truly took my mind off of this shit for 2.5 hours. It was hilarious and thrilling. I think I’m going to try seeing more movies in the theater. It’s a good distraction.

3 Likes