My story - yes, it was messy and yes, I am fine now

Member Stories
#1

Hi

I wanted to quickly share my recovery story with you guys as that’s something I was hoping to read while going through this mess.

I started taking Propecia in November 2008 (age 23) and increased to half a proscar (2.5 mg Fin) daily after a while. The success was crazy at first: after around 7 to 9 months I had the best head of hair. Better than when I was 18 when balding started for me.

The side effects didnt come right away, they arrived gradually: loss of libido (I could make out with someone extremely hot and not get horny and/or hard at all) and difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection as they call it. When I jerked off (which would still happen a couple of times a week - in retrospect I think out of habit and not because I was horny) I wouldnt get hard without constant manual stimulation and orgasms would feel rather bland.

And still I wouldnt even think for a second that Fin could be the cause of it. It was kind of normal because it came to gradually after over a year on Fin. I thought it’s stress (which I didnt even really have tbh) or whatever.

Well, things kept getting worse. After 2 years I had absolutely NO morning or spontaneous erections anymore. My dick was small and super limb all the time and sometimes even contant manual stimulation and hot porn wouldn’t even get me semi-hard.

It took me another couple of months before I read about the Post-Fin Syndrome and decided to quit. And that’s when the craziness started. My hormones went crazy, up and down. I was the horniest beast one weekend and completely limb the following week. After 2 weeks I was fine and recovered. But stupid me couldn’t live with the hair loss the started again and so, after like 6 months, I started Fin again, 0.05 mg a day, and that was enough to mess things up. After a week I was back at my worst and even after quitting gain I wouldnt get back to normal. The opposite happened actually: things got worse and worse. That was last February.

(Almost) No erections, no libido. Even Viagra wouldnt get me hard.

I really tried everything from Zinc therapy, test booster, kettle workouts, VitaminD in high doses, …

I got tested for my hormones. Total testosterone was way too low, free testosterone was low but (barely) within range, Estradiol was just a little too high but overall/total Estrogen way too low, SHGB was extremely low (thus the in-range free test despite extremely low total test), Prolactin was ok,…

I tried several post-cycle therapies for bodybuilders to boost hormones. They always gave me a quick boost (with morning erections) for one or two days, with the crash right after.

After 4 months of no progress whatsoever I tried the regimen that saved me - at least that’s the only explanation I have. My hair loss is back full force, but so is my libido and so are my erections.

Here’s my regimen that I did for 6 weeks along with strength training / bulking up 5 x a week
(I was fine after a few days but continued because I simply afraid to stop and I think that was a smart decision):

[list][*]I found one of the very few test boosters that does not have Anti-DHT ingredients like saw palmetto and that is with Avena Sativa: Controlled Labs, Blue Up, Natural Test Booster which I got from iHerb, goo.gl/vNBhW - I took 2 capsules before my daily workout at around 6pm and another 4 capsules 20 minutes before bedtime. That is 3 times the recommended daily dose.

[*]I took a prescription-strength anti-estrogen, Tamoxifen 10mg, twice a day: one at around 3pm and another one together with my test booster before bedtime. After a bit over a week I decreased the dose to 10mg before bedtime and none in the afternoon. I got it from one of the numerous bodybuilding online stores, not sure if I can post the link here?

I hope this helps those of guys who are struggling to find help. I know how messed up this situation feels but I also know that there’s always always always always hope. Any questions you may have, I am more than happy to help!!

1 Like
Success Stories Compilation
#2

Congratulation.
I did not know it was that easy. I will go and buy these all.

#3

Sarcasm? Because lots of people have done the same and not seen recovery.

#4

No erections, no libido. Even Viagra wouldnt get me hard.

Stole that quote off my story?

#5

No idea why this worked for me. I tried really everything - including prescription anabolic recovery drugs like Chlomid and Triptorelin. NOTHING worked. In some cases I had no effect whatsoever, in others I got an immediate high followed by a crash 2 days later. Nothing improved naturally for almost 3 months until I tried the regimen above. I expected the same crash as with the others but for whatever reason it never came and I am fine.

#6

Thanks for posting and I’m glad you recovered. I do think it’s possible you just had a natural recovery, or sped up a natural recovery with your regimen. But it’s still good for people to see this- particularly those who just recently have been affected.

#7

Could you post with the new member template?

Hard to tell if OP is suffering the same persistant condition as many of us have. I’ve yet to see anyone with the extreme overnight penile shrinkage alot of us had recover yet.

#8

It really happened almost over night as soon as I started the regimen without ANY progress before whatsoever. Maybe it’s natural, I’m no MD… but I’d be really surprised

#9

To add to my post:

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
[X] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

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

Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

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

tried EVERYTHING from natural supplements (vitamins, oils, zinc,…everything you can think of), most Test boosters on the market from bodybuilding.com, Chlomid, Triptorelin,… nothing worked

  1. If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

I can’t upload screenshots for some reason but I had very low total test, very low total estrogen, but high estradiol. everything else was more or less within range.

  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  2. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

see original post

#10

oh look here comes spstriken’s FAKE RECOVERY IF I DON’T RECOVER NOBODY ELSE COULD HAVE post that he makes in every single recovery thread

#11

holy shit you guys are paranoid

#12

Prob just sick of the bullshit. If he responds might believe it :slight_smile:

#13

Not as bogus as the guy who told me he recovered through his “faith in god” at least.

#14

One Guy told me he recovered after taking Saw Palmetto. Do you wana believe that too?

#15

Right and clearly because one person claimed a recovery that seems unlikely the logical conclusion is that everybody who claims recovery is automatically lying.

#16

@Taca - Calling someone paranoid for asking questions of a first time poster claiming recovery for a condition which for 10 years to date there has not been one solid documented recovery shows an almost immeasurable degree of naïveté on your part. It doesn’t take too much thought to realize there are parties involved now who have serious reason to try to shed doubt on the fact the PFS is a permanent condition.

@mutlispeed27-- Thanks for filling out your member story template. I’m glad you’re feeling better and I look forward to getting to know you better and learning what we can from your experience.

#17

I was referring to the accusation of “copied quote from my profile” part on the basis of describing a similar symptom with roughly the same sentence structure. Not questioning of the recovery itself.

But yeah at the same time the whole MERCK REP thing that pops up is pretty paranoid. And accusing people who posts recoveries of being them strikes me as a mixture of bitterness and disbelief about 90% of the time.

#18

Hi multispeed, congrats on your recovery. I was just wondering- Am I correct to assume you ordered the “stimulant free” variety of blue up? I only ask because the link you posted is to the stimulant containing version and you said you took it at bedtime.

#19

I think it may depend on that individuals own body.

#20

I havn’t met anyone on this forum in two years who would be bitter about another member’s “recovery”. Quite the opposite. By the same token I’ve never witnessed a documented recovery backed up with labs, doctors notes, etc. Believeing without question every word you see on the internet is pretty naive. In the meantime what I said about OP stands… I look forward to hearing more from him and I’m glad he’s feeling better.

ps-- You know who visits this forum daily. Not paranoia, fact.