Well, It s been 3 years since i quit Finasteride. My side effects are just like most of you, so i won’t go through this. Here is what i ve realized after 3 years of observation, treatment attempts, sex attempts, etc…
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Nothing, absolutely nothing worked to return me to the level of sexual satisfation i had before fin. When i have sex it is now an experience just like anything else - like watching tv… yeah, that exciting. My erection varies day to day, my libido goes from 0 to 30 % of what it used to be
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I hope i am wrong, but i don’t think i will ever be the way i used to be before finasteride. So i better learn a way of being happy and have fun besides all these problems. Just in case i don’t get better, this is plan B.
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I can’t exercise or stress myself too much or the symptoms worsen. If i do weight training, if i get mad at someone, if i have to deal with a very stressful situation, if i work for long hours standing… all that makes me worse. Basically if i stress myself phisically or emotionally, my erection weakens and my libido (well, the rest of it) plummets. So, IN MY CASE, there is a clear relation of side effects and Cortisol. So i try to avoid problems.
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I have realized that depending on my lifestyle, i can still have a peaceful life from now on. I won’t have bursts of euphoria or great excitment about life, but that doesn’t mean i need to be unhappy, depressed or sad.
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I decided to do what i call “fine tunning” to deal with the mental and physical (non sexual) side effects. The goal is to return, on a daily basis, to a state of well being and balance that i used to feel my whole life before fin. Basically i observe how i am feeling everyday. If i wake up depressed (for no reason, something really physical) i eat only foods that give me great pleasure on that day. It seems ridiculous or too simple but i have observed (from trial and error), that cheese and chocolate improve my mood considerably on these days. There are other days that i feel too accelerated, as if my metabolism is going to fast. On these days i eat bread and pasta and that calms me down.
Caffeine helps me when i feel brain fogged or slow. This was a task… At first i tried coffee, but i felt it was to strong and left me accelerated, so i chose one can of soda as the measure of caffeine that i need. And before anybody say “this is not healthy”, i try to balance this by eating salads and running. -
I have done tremendous mind changes to live peacefully with who i am after Finasteride. This is essential and i recommend to anyone on this forum. It really helped going to a psychologist for a year, reading a lot, observing other people, searching a meaning for life, spirituality and a lot of time thinking. After all that, i can say i am proud of myself when i look in the mirror, i don’t feel inferior to anybody because of what happened, and i have realized i am very, very, very strong.