Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)?
Ireland
How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
Google Search
What is your current age, height, weight?
25, 6ft, 70kg
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hair Loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
17 months
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
23
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
24, quit in June 2018
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
3 months
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Felt fine for 3 months after quitting the drug and then started experiencing sexual dysfunction
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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] 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?
Followed a regimen posted by Abctruck here Do I definitely have PFS?
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)?
No blood tests yet
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Will explain in next paragraph
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I came on here before and I came across a regimen posted by a user called Abctruck here Do I definitely have PFS?. I immediately tried his regimen and saw promising results. I have stopped and restarted the regimen several times over the past few months for various reasons and I think I have finally realised exactly what is needed from it.
My current regimen is:
- 2,000mg’s of L-Carnitine 3x’s daily (morning, afternoon, night)
- 2,000mg’s of L-Arginine 3x’s daily (morning, afternoon, night)
- Lifting heavy in the gym every day (this seems very important as I tried the regimen without doing this before and it didnt work)
The timeline of Abctrucks recovery matches mine. 8 days into the regimen, I already feel much better. Similar to abctruck I am now getting nighttime, morning, and spontaneous erections as well as some libido back. I have no brain fog, sleep problems, or any negative cognitive effects to speak of. But when I ejaculate, I don’t get libido / erections back for a solid 36-48 hours. My penis does get thin and cold during this 36-48 hour period. After 4 weeks of this regimen, Abctruck claimed to be back too 100% which I really do believe.
Unfortunately he does not log on to the platform any longer and I cannot ask him whether his recovery was permanent or whether he needed to stay on the regimen for life. Is there any way of getting in contact with a user who has disapeared?
Seperately, does anyone have any idea as to why this regimen works so well? Would anyone be able to speak to whether or not the recovery might be permanent or only while undertaking the regimen?