New here! Help please!

Member Stories
#1

After hours and hours of googling my symptoms, the only things I could find similar were 1. cauda equina syndrome 2. Low Testosterone 3. Post Finasteride Syndrome

My story begins in May 2016 when I decided to go on a diet. I was eating no more then 1500 calories a day and burning at least 800 on the gyms treadmill. About 2 months in I noticed that I haven’t been getting morning or spontaneous erections for about 2 months. I attributed this to my diet and exercise and continued thinking this would go away once I stopped. I began to have so many symptoms that in December of 2016 I decided to gain all the weight back and that I have had enough of the symptoms.

Symptoms include:

-Brain Fog
-Dry Tired eyes
-Complete loss of libido
-Numb Genitals
-Heavy Aching legs
-Dribbling Urine/ Feeling of urine in urethra
-Low semen Volume
-Anorgasmia
-Tight Scrotum
-No sweat from the appocrine glands (armpits , genital area) no matter how much the rest of body sweats
-Discomfort in right testicle/vas deferens

I have been in contact on a different forum who is going through the same thing as me after going on a diet. I have never taken any steroids or SSRI’s in my life. I have had a puffer for my asthma as well as Hydrocortisone cream for a fungal rush on my thighs and buttocks. I have taken this cream since I was maybe 10 and never had any symptoms.

Blood Levels:

SHBG 22.2nmol/l (16.5-55.9)
FSH 3.7 (1.5-12.4)
LH 5.0 (1.7-8.6)
Estradiol 13 (11.3-43.2)
progesteron 0.12 (0-0.13)
Test Total 4.61 (2.49-8.33)
Free Test 2.56% (1.53-2.88)
Cortisol 748 (171-536) Cortisol has stablilized to 350’s
TSH 2.5 (0.35-.4.94)
Prolactin 301 (73-407)

Diethylamine Salicylate is Antiandrogen?
Griseofulvin PFS interaction?
#2

Hey, Joey. Sorry to hear about your situation. Have you ever taken isotretinoin, Accutane?

#3

Hi Pete,

No the only thing I have ever taken was an antifungal cream (I think it was hydrocortisone) but I’ve been taking it since I was little. This all started the same time I got really lean I went from 170 lbs to 138 lbs at 5’10’’ in like 2 months. Im talking to another person to who believes that the ATKINS diet triggered these symptoms! Do my symptoms sound similar to pfs?

#4

Probably the cream dude. We all got messed up because finasteride messes with androgens and that cream you took messes with them too.

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#5

ya but I’ve been taking it on and off for years never any problems… All this started with a severe starvation diet and overtraining. I was yellow in the face because all I was eating was vegetables and black coffee. I had an eating disorder. Its known that drastic diets lower your sex drive but it should come back within 2-3 weeks of eating in a caloric surplus. Its been 2 years for me now…

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#6

That’s the thing with anti-androgens though, you can take them for years and be fine and then suddenly they can mess you up.

If I had to guess your diet probably weakened your body and it was more susceptible to it.

Or it could be just the diet I doubt anyone will be able to tell you for sure.

2 Likes
#7

Im in europe currently , and thought it might be a good idea to get my DHT tested. The results have to be sent to Germany so I have to wait 2-3 weeks to get them. I have no body odor, no sweat from armpits, dry eyes, numb feeling in penis , barely any semen comes out etc… this is not just in my head…

I have a minor herniation and spina bifida, as well as a leg emg done which shows a severe loss of motor neurons in the left and right foot etc. Neurosurgeon said he thinks my symptoms are testosterone related and said to finish with endo and get brain mri then come back to him. 1st endo said i have normagonodotraphic hypogonadism, 2nd said I have low hormones for my age, and to come back with new bloods in a month. When I returned he said all is normal and I should seek a sex therapist. Urologist found nothing wrong even though I have the discomfort in right testicle/ vas deferens. Doctor said to do Brain MRI, and urodynamics test. Im absolutely lost for words!

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#8

Hi Joey, I’m sorry to hear of your situation. It’s very interesting - could you talk a little more about the pattern of your dieting? How long were you going without food?

#9

Basically I was aspiring to be a professional soccer player here in Europe. I always thought that I had the skill , just my physical performance was never great. I never had a six pack. I said to myself no more excuses, if I get ripped in my head I will believe im a beast and be able to run long distances and sprints in a game. I was getting results and was sometimes not eating drinking anything until 2 in the afteroon the first thing being black coffee (0 calories) followed by a banana (100 calories) then when I got hungry I’d just have a salad or something. I was really fucked but I was so obsessed with the results. I was finally ripped, like 7-8 percent body fat.

To this day the only way I can get an erection is through physical stimulation. No morning/spontaneous erections, if I do wake up with a semi hard on I cant tell until I put my hand in my pants!?

#10

I got PFS during a calorie deficit combined with soy protein isolate, so I think its absolutely possible that you got PFS from crash dieting.

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#11

Invictus, did you post on forums before under the name of “Joe from Germany”

#12

Hey @joey10 sorry to hear you’re also going through this, the Dry eyes part is kind of weird cause from a brother helping his younger brother out, thats his biggest side effect except its from Isotretinoin, he also took doxycycline and our family does have a history of taking antibiotics, but after reading a lot of the PFS stories here i don’t recall seeing a lot with the dryness that most feel from the iso.

Interesting and I hope we can continue to figure out what’s happening.

I was recently provided this video but haven’t made any decisions yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E66mQrG35vo

#13

No, I didnt post about my PFS except here and on solvepfs.

#14

Invictus , you have numb genitals? low sperm volume, anorgasmia, dry armpits, lack of body odor, dry tired eyes, funny feeling legs?

#15

Same deal.

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#16

Do you reckon a vegan diet could put you at risk of developing PFS? I’m having a hard time trying to pin-point exactly what triggered it for me, but keep coming across numerous things that could’ve done it. But yeah, I was vegan for the last four years so drank a fair bit of soya milk and ate a lot of tofu. Still do, just not excessively. I doubt that was the sole cause of this in my case but I wonder if it put me at an increased risk.

#17

If HC lowers Hormons, then a diet will do the same. Check also your HGH.

1 Like
#18

childofsungod

What are your symptoms?

#19

Mainly sexual symptoms. I have partial ED, reduced ejaculate and really significant testicular shrinkage on both sides. I have high LH, FSH, testosterone and SHBG too.

#20

weird that you put discomfort in right vas deferens. I get this weird twitching sort of thing that happens in that area on the right side too, I wouldn’t say it hurts but I find it strange and had never happened to me before this episode