New Really Desperate Sufferer

Member Stories
#1

Where are you from (country)? Italy

How did you find this forum? Google

What is your current age, height, weight? 31, 1.74 meter, 57 kilograms

What specific drug did you use? Finasteride in 2019 and Saw Palmetto (Serenoa Repens) in 2020

What dose did you take? 5mg/day for 60days of Finasteride in 2019, 320mg/day for 26 days of Serenoa Repens in 2020

What condition was being treated with the drug? Prostatitis

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Proscar 5mg for 60 days in october/november 2019; Serenoa Repens for 26 day in September 2020.

How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 30. Proscar in October/november 2019; Serenoa Repens in September 2020.

How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 30. Proscar in October/november 2019; Serenoa Repens in September 2020.

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? During finasteride in October/November 2019 I haven’t experimented any side effect; During Saw Palmetto in September 2020 I’ve experimented weak erection, loss of libido.

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Now I’m experimenting a complete impotence

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
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[X] 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
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] 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)
[ ] 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? None at the moment

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)?
I’ve not got pre-drug blood tests. Up to now I tested Testosterone, FSH, LH and Prolactine.
Testosterone: 733 ng/dL (range 165-753)
FSH: 4.5 mUI/mL (range 0.7-10.8)
LH: 3.2 mUI/mL (range 1.2-10.6)
Prolactine: 21.8 ng/mL (range 2.1-17.7) -> I then tested with 3 samples distanced one from the other of 1 hour and it was totally ok.

My story:

In october/november 2019 I took for 60days 5mg of finasteride (Proscar), for a supposed prostatitis. No side effect at all. Also after quitting it, I was horny as always and able to get an erection just with texting to a girl during quarantine.

In September 2020 I had some burning in perianal area and I thought it was my prostate. So I took some pills of saw palmetto/serenoa repens, which I usually used in these cases in the past with no side effects.
I took them for 26 days, from 2 to 28 September. I started to note some symptoms on 20 September. In particular I needed more time to get an erection with a girl and I lost it during the third shot (first two went well) and stop the sex.
One week later I have to masturbate for a sperm exam and it remains totally flaccid.
In the next week I’ve never been able to make it up anymore.
The last erections I had are due to a kiss with a girl (mild erection istantly disappeared after the kiss) and two nocturnal erections I noticed because I’ve woken up to pee and my penis was quite hard.
A part for these events, my penis is totally dead from a month now.
I’ve seen 3 different andrologists + an endocrinologist. All have said that my problem is phsicological. Finasteride of 2019 cannot cause effects one year later and Serenoa of September 2020 cannot cause these side effects at all.

In addition to the above blood test, I’m waiting for more hormonal test (a complete panel, I guess).
I had a magnetic resonance in the pelvic area (nothing to report) and an ultrasound to the penis (good state of tissue, no white area, corpus carvenosum seem ok and the general physical status of my penis seems OK).

I’m getting mad. I’ve no other side other than severe ED and may loss of libido (don’t know if mainly phsicological do to this situation). My brain is OK and well focused, I don’t have panic attacks even if obviously I’m quite depressed due to this situation. I sleep almost 6 hours/night.
I’m trying to staying calm but the thought that my life is ruined and that I’ll never have a relationship is always in my mind.

Two of the andrologists prescribed me Cialis 5mg to be taken almost daily. I didn’t take it yet: I’m scared to take other drugs and I’m scared also that wouldn’t work.

Unfortunately I don’t have any relationship right now, so I cannot test my response with other sex (but I’m afraid that it would be very bad).

What can I do?
Do some other exams?
Take Cialis 5mg doctors prescribed to me?

Help me, please.

#2

Dude if you have 0 mental sides and no genital numbness, you mostly dont have PFS…Its probably just the prostatitis which isn’t always easy to be diagnosed or treated…You are probably fine…Just wait it out.

#3

Dear Silentpain89, thanks for your reply.

When you talk about genital numbness, what do you mean? I’ve read it many times on this forum, but I haven’t understand yet what does it mean/what one should feel.

Maybe it depends from the fact that I’m not an English speaker :man_shrugging:

#4

Trust me man…If you have it, you would know it…It literally feels like someone gave you a local anesthetic in your penis…I suppose you know how that feels through your dentist…If not…When were you the last at your dentist :D?? Just kidding.

1 Like
#5

Ahahaha I got it. Well, I fell all dead down there, so maybe this is the genital numbness you all speak about

#6

Genital numbness is when you cannot feel any sensation when you are touching your penis. There is NO feeling at all, it’s like touching a piece of wood.

#7

Do you intend no tactile response at all? Because of course I have no erection but if I touch it I can feel something if I press it or squeeze it or pinch the skin.

Maybe not a great feeling but not 0 feelings at all. Maybe feelings/responses are reduced…

Are you Italian Mario1234?

#8

Numbness is no feelings at all. I was suffering that for a week, and it was scary as hell. A week later I had severe pain down there, and after a month I was fully normal again.

I’m Danish/Turkish :slight_smile:

#9

No feelings at all means that even a kick/punch there would not cause any pain?

How are you now?

Sorry for the question about your nationality, Mario is quite common here in Italy.

#10

Exactly no feeling at all…Like nothing is touching…Trust me, if you have, you wouldnt be asking questions. You dont have it, so you have no PFS and you most probably will be fine (This is an assumption ofcourse, that i got after hours of reading and following every little story on the internet on PFS)

#11

Dear Silentpain89, thanks for your clarification. Maybe you’re right. But I in any case feel like a Sleepy Beauty down there.
Furthermore, numbness is necessary for having PFS? I couldn’t explain this drastical drop of libido and erection in one month, oddly after having assumed finasteride (last year) and serenoa (in September 2020)…

#12

I’m pretty much back on tracks. My sexual function is just like it used to. However it’s been a wild rollercoaster, I was basically impotent for a week once, and couldn’t walk because of major testicular pain. Finasteride is literally dangerous.

#13

Very happy for you Mario! Only one week of impotence?!? I am at one month yet.
Only time or do you use drug/intrgration/whatsoever? How much time?

I’ve not testicular pain btw

#14

I had major pain down there for 2 months, and ejaculation was painful too. 3 months after quitting, I was fine. Worst 3 months of my life. I took nothing though, and I don’t believe that taking anything will help. The body is much more capable of dealing with this thing than nutrients. I did however take multivitamins and probiotics.

#15

Another thing I noticed is that my scrotum is limp and sagging like the one of an old man (or as I supposed it may be).
I remember a more stretched skin of the bag down there…

#16

Hey guy, I’m trying stamp test to verify if I’ve nocturnals and it seems I’m not having them.

This week, one day I strangely succeedef in masturbation (after one month) as it reached an almost complete erection (and I masturbate 3times that day because I was stupified). Now it’s returned dead.
Getting more and more worried…

#17

In the last week I’m experiencing insomnia. Can’t sleep for more than 4 hours at night… it’s all worsening so fast!

#18

Is there anything I can do for insomnia?

I used to sleep 7-8 hours every night.
Now I fall asleep quite soon but I can’t sleep more than 4 hours.
Strangely during the day I don’t feel too much tired, bit quite mental active instead, even if I do know that it isn’t good a 4 hours sleeping all nights.

I’m trying with chamomile with no significant effects.

#19

I listen to some 8 or 9 hour binaural beats on YouTube which helped in the beginning. I also have a mini diffuser I put lavender oil in and it calms me down and helps to a certain degree I think.

#21

It’s false that numbness means no feelings at all.
After quitting finasteride I started having genital numbness that means that my touch is not felt in the same way than before and my penis remains soft with my self-stimulation. Also sex doesn’t feel the same way due to genital numbness and take much time to have an orgasm.