Road to Recovery without any medicine - Others to validate

I am so happy that i will first jump to the solution. I will brief my story of having side effects from Finastride for last 4 years after I document my regime and would want other members to try and post your experience (believe me it is ZERO cost and I think it is working for me). Please excuse my English as I come from eastern part of the world.

COVID-19 has been seen as an overall dark cloud over the world. However, it has been a blessing in disguise for me. I will be happy if this helps at-least 1 member out there.

My Regime:

A simple answer “SPRINT”. You heard me right “SPRINT” I will go in details down below on how I am doing it.

This started back in Mar’20 where i am lucking few ones where my jobs enables me to work from home as a part of COVID-19 and I was asked to support from home. Prior to that I have been visiting group exercises classes for 6 months but with inconsistent regime which may be 3 days a week. It helped with overall well being but I have all the side effects of Fin as you all have and this always plays on back of your mind (panic attacks, wake up in midnight to touch a cold penis, no nocturnal erection and obviously no spontaneous erections, no sensitivity, no motivations etc).

The blessing in disguise was as a part of lock down announced in the country, all the fitness training centers were shut. And as a lazy person i was just working from home with increased productivity and no exercise to do. By the end of Apr’20 I understood that even though the lockdown is lifted, there is greater risk in going back to fitness training centers but unfortunately the lockdown was anyways extended. So, this made things simpler and I start to walk for 3-4 Kms a day within my community.

I have had experience Sprinting earlier but never continued more than a week and I have read that it increases testosterone (more on this when I brief my history and how long I have been suffering). So, as a part of the daily walk which I do at 9:00 PM after i complete my work (as I am a person who do not wake up early), I have started to Sprint in between and I always followed this routine as below

Brisk walk for 1.5 to 2 Kms as a warm up. Then you start your SPRINT (not jogging or running), you can start of slowly by jogging/running for 20 meters and then you Sprint (as fast as you can) for next 150 -200m which will approximately take 45 sec to 1 minute. At the end of the SPRINT you can no longer breathe and will be out of breath, energy exhausted. At the end of SPRINT, you start to again walk for 200-300m until you get back your breath and energy to start the next SPRINT. This will be repeated 4 to 5 times, as illustrated below

  1. Walk 1.5 to 2 Kms —>
  2. 150-200 meters SPRINT —> 200-250m Walk
  3. 150-200 meters SPRINT —> 200-250m Walk
  4. 150-200 meters SPRINT —> 200-250m Walk
  5. 150-200 meters SPRINT —> 200-250m Walk
  6. 150-200 meters SPRINT —> 200-250m Walk

So, at the max you would do a 4 to 5 Kms based on your ability. Please adjust the distance for SPRINT as it deems fit but the most important is that each SPRINT should take you to point of failure but do not over do it.

When I first did this in Apr’20, I was exhausted and my sleep improved that night but do not expect miracles and the other side effects still persisted. AS a soul lacking motivation, I continued the exercise the second day as well and only sleep improved due to exhaustion. It is always advisable not to run or perform cardio all days in a week (which I think most members in forum advocate), so I skipped the third day and the sleep was good but with nocturnal erection (however no sensation) and the good thing stopped there, when I woke up the sides were the same. Again on 4th day, I skipped the sprints due to work and the sleep was good but the nocturnal erection was not great. Again on 5th day, I skipped the sprints due to work and I am back to my sides with no nocturnal erection.

So, I made a point to follow a 2 day SPRINT (may also do 3) regime explained above and then take two days off and repeat the regime. This started to have good effect on my mood and my sleep as I was exhausted when I did my SPRINTS and allowed my body to recover the next 2 days and some time 3 days. Now I have completed 2 months of this regime and I have something surprising that I wanted to share, my penis structure has changed and looks like it back to pre fin and my penis is always warm and sensation is back although not 100%. Overall I have a great mood and I am spending time with my family, reading books, watching movies and over mood has significantly improved. The most important is my nocturnal erections are very strong after two months (I have had ups and downs through 2 months but for last 10 days they are consistent and I have it everyday). My spontaneous erections are not great but I have sensation due to which I crave for masturbating (which I never felt during 4 years of having side effects)

I forgot to tell you one thing. During the 2 months, I did masturbate and there were MANY times I did not force myself but still I did it only to ensure that blood kept going. There were couple of instances where I over did it due to frustration and it back fired. So, keep your masturbation regime simple to do it on the rest days. But from the last 10 days, I am masturbating everyday and I enjoy it (the reason being that sensation which is more important is back). Post masturbation, my penis do not go back placid (which is side effect of Fin) and I have mood throughout the day. I am worried not to overdo it but I am enjoying it. I was so happy that I wanted to write this and share it to see if it helps anyone.

You might have questions on the food and medicines or supplements I have been using. Simple answer is nothing. No changes to diet, we eat carb heavy diets in this part of the world. For non-veg it is chicken or mutton and would generally be on a weekend. Rest of the week on rice, curry and curd. No specific greens, just ensure a balanced diet with any greens available and fruits as snacks. I drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and 1 cup of tea in the evening. We do not have access to some of the fruits that the west has and all I had was simple cost effective ones - Banana, Papaya, Watermelon, Sweet Lime which are most had in eastern part of the world. I did not have any regime for the fruits as well but just have a serving of it (any one or two) everyday in any sequence.

One specific thing I read is, watermelon combined with celery will have great effects on testosterone (but do not over do it). As I do not have access to celery, I did have watermelon in the form of juice this summer whenever I had stock in my house as a summer drink. So, I do not recommend overdoing anything but wanted to brief my diet.

Also, as my mood improved I had the guilt to drink alcohol (this was because of improvement of mood), to test if I will be the same after it. I had this within the last week and i did drink 5 pegs of Blended Whiskey (JW) and was out. But to my surprise I had nocturnal erection and my penis structure which improved is the same after 5 days I drank the alcohol in excess.

I am really grateful where I am now and the trauma I have been going through the last 4 years. It feels as if this has been the best 10 days in my life and I am literally crying writing the post. I know the forum rules as this is untested but I do not want to delay and wanted others to test as this is a unique opportunity for you to have healthy home food and exercise. And more importantly, it is 0 cost, 0 medicine, 0 specific food sequence I am suggesting. Please stop all the medicines you are taking slowly during this regime as I did not take any (except that I tested 2.5mg of Cialis for 5 days when I started my regime just to test how this medicine works as I never had this during my 4 years of side effects where i tested numerous other medicines). So, I do not think any medicine will have any impact in my regime. But thats your call as it may not have any negative impact as well (as I did have alcohol remember and that to way out of limit. Please note it was tested once and I am not a heavy drinker)

History of how I was introduced to Fin and the duration of my sides:

I am old and now in my late 30’s. I do not have balding but just thin hair due to hereditary and thought to improve my hair volume. So, I visited a hair specialist who prescribed Finastride and Minoxidil 5%. I knew the side effect before I took the medicine and I thought I will take the risk.

The worst day in my life when I took the tablet : 17th Aug-2016
How long: 4 days
Side Effects : You name it I have it except vision issues.

After 4 days, I felt guilty of taking it, wanted to see if I had sideeffects and I stopped cold turkey. The very next day my penis size was just half and I did not have any sensation. I was worried and I ran to the doctor who prescribed the med (we do not have appointments here and will get an immediate appointment). He asked to stop Fin and I will be normal in 15 days as I read in the forum too as 4 tablets are very less to make any harm. He has prescribed Zinc tablets this 15 days (to be used on alternative days). 15 days has passed but nothing has improved and I gave a week more. This is when things changed and I felt I was back normal. As usual I masturbated a couple of times a day (which I did pre fin on most days). This is when things when wrong and there was crash. I never recovered till date, there were days where I felt great due to various combination of med but overall I was in the same boat as you all are with side effects (except for vision issues). Below are the medicines I used for brief instances as prescribed by doctor (they are inline with what has been suggested in the forum)

– tamoxifen (10mg, 2 times a day for 2 months)
– Clomid (25 mg, 1 time a day for 3 months)
– HCG (4 injections of 5000 IU, weekly once for 1 month)
– Armidex for controlling E2 when I was on Clomid
– Zincovit, D3 tabs, ON Whey protein (for Amino acids as some pointed in forum when I was exercising), Sorgum etc

None of these helped. I also was exercising and to an extent it helped with mood and during rest days I did have nocturnal erections and thats it. Most of the time my penis was placid and can rotate on axis, Very cold to touch. I know my usage of Fin was very less to many who are on the forum but the side effects were the same as others who were extensively on Fin.

I have read some members recovered with Amino acids. I was losing hope and was about to start before COVID-19. These amino acids are costly back here in my country and there no regulations on the QC of them. We get unbranded stuff, I am thankful I did not start it.

I am so thankful to the almighty that I may not be normal yet but I feel normal which in itself is a great feeling.

The only investment you may have to have is a good pair of shoes. As I run on concrete in the long run it may be detrimental to your knees and back and I being in late 30’s should be careful. However, the joy of recovery or improving my mood supersedes any other thoughts as of now. I will continue to Sprint.

I am sharing my journey just to see if it help anyone and if you have already tried it, I am sorry it did not work. But make sure you have done it continuously for significant time (in my case 2 months is where i see it). But the first sign if the regime work after a month or so is the nocturnal erections that you get in the sleep.

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Hi,

I remember sprinting one day and feeling a bit of libodo on the next day but couldn’t repeat these results when trying again. But seeing that you are having success makes me want to try it again.

Thank you very much for sharing. I will try your regimen and report here.

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How long ago was it you were taking clomid, hcg?

Wonderful , thnks for sharing ,
I’m 4th yr running , suffering from PFS ,
I tried Ashwagandha , Ginseng , Tongkat Ali , nothing helped , I went to an urologist , endocrinologist , they gave Tidofil ( ED medicn ) didn’t hlp , one gynecologist prescribed me anxiety medicn , didn’t help ,
I lost everything , too much sad .
Thought to suicide .
But I didn’t do…
I bought metal plates and a rod , daily doing weight lifting and run .
I’m not recovered , but yes my mental health and energy is superb , at least far better than last yr …
Exercise can help us …

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I took clomid and HCG back in 2017. I never cycled them with the fear of other health issues like cancers, vision problems. They never helped me.

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Very interesting report! Thank you

This is great experience, thanks for sharing! I have also noticed that sprinting might have some impact but I have never done it continuously. Maybe sprinting have affected to nocturnals but I have never connected it to that. This time I should also test this regimen for several months.

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It would be really great if you could give us a weekly update if you are still recovering. I just had a small recovery, probably due to using probiotics that is almost faded away after 4 weeks now. So now I feel worse then before because I had the hope of getting my old life back. I hope you get fully recovered and keep sharing with us.
Thanks!

I will keep updating.

One of the experience you would have after sprinting is cold penis and shrinking. But it improves in the forthcoming rest days before you may feel the effects taper off. And this when you again start sprinting (2 days sprinting hard and 2 days rest). So, based on my experience I have given the regime

I do sleep well too and have experienced less panic attacks due to anxiety. This may be because I would have been exhausted after a extensive sprint and harmonies doing Thier work during sleep. Please remember not to over do it, have a balanced sprint regime.

More background on my history:

When I was first faced with side effects, I did do the tests which everyone on the forum recommeded and my doctor always said that free testosterone is the most important. So, when I had my side effects, before I went to andologist, he has order for free testosterone which was more than the upper limit. We have a range of 4-30 and it turned out to be 31 which was very good as per my age. However, the problem was with E2 which should be less < 40 but mine turned out to be 57. That is when the doctor prescribed Tamoxifin for a month but unfortunately the E2 (estrodial) did not reduce and it stayed the same. During the period of use, I did feel good and normal and when expressed the same, the doctor said it would have reduced during usage and rebounded back.

This is when the doctor prescribed Armitose inhabitor to reduce E2 as others harmones are good and more importantly Free T. This is when the problem started as he has prescribed 1mg to be used daily for a month. I just blindly believed and used it for 15 days but i felt horrible during usage. That is when I noticed that some of the member in the forum warned to be careful while using AI. Noticing this I immediately took E2 test along with Free T and I was shocked to see that my Free T tanked to 6 and E2 was not even detectable as anything <10 cannot be detected here. So the report says less than 10 but the worst part is Free T which tanked. Prior to use of AI although I had side effects during the day I used to have nocturnal erections.

Post this my doctor noticing it (low t and low E2 means your HPTA needs to restart) he suggested Clomid, HCG to restart HPTA axis. This just made things worse or kept the same. I was not able to get my Free T more than 10 (range being 4-30). All these taken during 2017 & 2018.

Fed up with use of all medicines (I was worried that these did more harm), I started to hit gym (take ON whey) and some times sprint (never continued long) based on the general suggestions here. However, I used to sleep well but never felt normal. All sideeffects are same except vision and migraine problems.

Even today I repent to have used Armitose inhabitor as I feel my sides are because of this instead of Fin. Although fin has messed up my harmones with high E2 it did not impact Free T (which is critical for normal functioning of penis). I should have tried natural methods to reduce my E2 instead of AI.

I have recently take Free T in Mar’20 after 4 months of gym with moderate exercise and before Covid19 (i.e before sprinting regime). Free T for the first time after long time was above 10 at 15 but way less for my age. The ideal Free T should be in upper range of (4-30) with E2 controlled less than 40. My E2 is however is in control at 16. I hope sprinting improves my Free T.

Also, I started not to follow the forum these months and divert my focus on other things. These also helped to some extent.

I hope this helps and gives a brief of my history on use of meds. I am currently no more using any meds. I even suggest being in Sun for 20 mins early day helps more than taking 60k IU of D3 tablet a week. I am staying a at from but when I tried some vitamin tablets during the sprint regime to check my sensitivity, I was ok nothing drastically made me worse.

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We have Free T & E2 measured in pg/ml incase you are curious about the ranges. As I see many speak in mg/ml on the forum.

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Hahahaha I love you!!! . I’m sort of speechless but welcome to the world of exercising!!

I literally laughed at this post because it’s the most beautiful and yet ridiculous lesson ever. I’ve been here for many years and I personally feel like I’ve recovered 95% from whatever disease I’ve had. I believed I was PFS myself and I think finasteride caused me many problems. I actually thought I also had CFs too!

I Visit this forum from time to time to Help where I can but after many years I’ve decided that a great majority of the people here are NOT PFS. I really truly believe in PFS and I think finasteride really screws you up but I also believe that of the millions of Middle Aged men out there losing hair … many are not in great shape. Half my 45 year old friends are in a sad state. I’ve seen so many guys here that were “athletes” When they were young and are now middle aged fat and suddenly wonder why their dick doesn’t work Or their dick is cold and lifeless or they “feel” lifeless. I have literally had weird fat guys here sending me pictures of their penis to give advice on what they think is going on. That’s crazy!

My journey to wellness began in my late 30s. I was fat. I had classic PFS but also classic hormone issues. I started exercising and lost 30 lbs in 3 years (mainly because I still enjoy having sex :slight_smile: I added in hormone replacement therapy with testosterone and I’m better 5 or 6 years later. I think fin wrecked me but I think there is a way out. Sadly some have killed themselves …

Thousands of people come here as they reach their late 20s, 30s or 40s and they think have PFS symptoms! Some really do but So many just have real medical issues. You actually can see this “bro science” play out with hydroxychloriquin and covid. I’d say 75% of the people here have never had PROPER blood tests like estrogen ultra sensitive, sbgh, free testosterone, etc … many live in countries like Canada or the UK or Europe with “basic” health care that does not treat these things …

I always ask for blood tests when people join here and most never hate them. They show up and self medicate. If anyone ever feels like they have PFS they should get a full blood work up including prolactin, shbg, ultra sensitive estrogen, free testosterone, thyroid markers and then let’s talk. If you don’t have those tests and you are here then you should not be here asking advice

I love that exercise cured you. It was the path to my recovery also

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What exercise did you? We mostly hear about lifting weights when speaking about exercise and pfs but running/walking/intervals we dont have many reports on so all these reports about running are very welcomed, atleast for me.

I did the same exercises most of them recommended here. Heavy Lifting focusing more on Core exercises such as Squats, Dead Lifts, Chest Press, shoulder Press, Abs etc and focusing minimum on single muscle exercises such as biceps, triceps.

When exercising during rest days, I did have nocturnal erections but they were not consistent. I did have panic attacks to wake up in the night to touch and feel cold penis. Exercising helps but not to an extent of Sprinting from the last 3 months where my recovery symptoms are more consistent and controlled.

A quick update from last time I have posted on the regime.
In the early part of the week, i stopped sprinting for more than usual i.e 2 days and took it to 4 days of rest. I saw my results tapper off. Since then again i started the regime as usual and I am back to my normal (not before FIN) but so much better in terms of nocturnal and spontaneous erections. So, I am able to control my consistency with the regime.

Has anyone tried it out, i know it is early but if you have done it consistently for 2-3 weeks that where you should notice something. Please share your observations

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Interesting someone else on the forum too has reported.

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Lots of people here have real PFS. I’m 17, exercise often, yet have “post drug syndrome” in full force. My hormones are in normal range, Infact my T was 895ng/dl last December. These are not normal problems to have at 17 at all, PFS is real. Of course only after you’ve recovered from PFS is it easy to dismiss it. That’s not the kind of thinking we need here, we need full 100% without-a-doubt acknowledgement of PFS. Especially from recoverers.

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I do not understand what you tried to tell in the above post. If you do not like to try. Just be out of it.

Not even a doctor can provide a 100% gaurantee. Even they take a willful no objection before they operate in you and if things go wrong it would be your decision. So coming to this forum to find a confirmed answer is not what we are here for. As we do not have medical support to solve this, all member are trying within thier capacity to see what best works and share thier experiences or knowledge.

Don’t even spend time reading my post as if you start with a negative bias it will not get you far

I am recovered and I see an significant improvement monthly and I am positive.

I am able to better control my recoveries than a month ago. My placid state of penis is now normal and is not cold. So, I see a marked improvement in my symptoms nocturnal and spontaneous symptoms. I am getting spontaneous erections sometimes which was never the case in my last 4 yrs

I am now having satisfying sex with my partner, masturbating without the fear of losing my libdo and hardness. Post that I have a fairly quick refractory period.

I have found a solution for myself atleast and I would love to hear from other. I would not have posted this if it involves medicines or other complex treatments. There is not to loose by following this regime as it only need will power to execute it.

Also, please do not over do by mixing sprinting with heavy weight lifting or exercises. Heavy lifting masks the recovery and I believe I was not able to identify it when I was exercising. So, please let go off exercises for a couple of month and only follow the regime to see if it works. Rest is primary.

I will stop posting as I do not have anything to post apart from recovering. I will clarify if anyone has a question and I would be happy if some benefits from my regime.

My erections are normalizing now also. Running helps. Weight lifting helps and so does a postive attitude that you will be ok. Im glad you saw my post about running. Reading your testament on it has given me more hope. Just ordered a really nice pair of running shoes lol. They will be here today and the moment they hit the door they are going on my feet and im going straight out the door!! This is possible to get better from. Over the past month and a half my mood has been stable , my sleep has improved, my erections have normalized . I still feel a bit off but I think it may be from st johns wort . But its not a horrible feeling . Caffeine helps me creatine helps me vitamins help me . Heavy lifting helps me and now running. We all just need to keep pushing . Ive said before I feel like symptoms are persistent not permanent. I truly belive tjat because if people like me and hope wins can make progress we all can . Its just a matter of putting in the work. Just like anything in life. You need to work hard to get results .

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Never said i did not think PFS was real. I’m sure I had it. If you read any of my posts I am a firm believer In PFS but I also think the issue with many is hormonal. Wether that’s a problem with your hormonal axis Or receptors who knows but I do know that if your 17, I seriously doubt you have had a full work up of hormones on an ultra sensitive level. Most doctors just won’t do $8000 in tests because they think it’s wasteful. I eventually could see my issue after loads of tests. you need a good endo to have them run. I stand by my point that many come here and waive their testosterone level like a flag and say that it’s immediately PFS because their T looks normal. I’m on TRT and I can tell you that your your T can be 1200 and your dick might still be cold and limp as fuck from a host of other reasons. I used to be really overweight and that made my problems 10x worse. I’ve seen people here who are thin and run daily with PFS issues but Science is science and it’s Ridiculous not to explore all options. You need a good doctor who believes in PFS and will run enough tests before you start popping pills and taking supplements. Half the guys on here take anastrizole without understanding that this will make you first feel better As it swings your hormones around and then make you feel worse for a very long time. AIs are powerful things …

Good to hear that you are recovering. Hope it stays forever

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