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.
