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)?
USA
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?
26,5’6’’,150
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
DHT Inhibitor Blend that contains: Saw Palmetto(main ingredient), Green Tea Leaf Extract, Stinging Nettle Leaf, L-lysine, Grape Seed Extract, Pygeum Bark, Pumpkin Seed Extract , Zinc
- It also contains an Immune/Digestive Proprietary Blend of Lactobacillus Acidophilus Complex, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Chicory Root Extract
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 sample = 4 Capsules = 1365mg of DHT Blocker Blend + 525mg of Immune Digestive Proprietary Blend.
I took 2 capsules every other day and on the last 2 days I stupidly took an overdose of 8 capsules and thats when I experienced all of side effects.
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Hairloss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
I took it every other day for 11 Months.
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
23 Years Old
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
24 Years Old
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
As I was taking it consecutively for 11 months I notice a decreased in libido but I still had to rub one off at least every 4 days but I stupidly took two overdoses at the end and that’s when I experienced 0 libido and major side effects.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Burning sensation on genitalia upon taking 2 overdoses of DHT blocker. Low Libido, Erectile Dysfunction, Brain Fog, Depression, An ache on my left genital and possibly prostate, Night Sweats, Panic Attack, Reduced Thickness of Armpit Hair, some Under Eye baggage, and frequent urination,lost brain to Penis connection, less oil on my face, muscle gains went away quicker.
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
[ x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[x ] Confusion
[x ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x ] Testicular Pain
[x ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ x] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[x ] Prostate pain
[x ] 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?
I Black Maca- Helps a bit with attaining a firmer an erection for first days of usage but effect fades away. Did increase sperm volume permanently.
Accupunture- it helped with anxiety(temporarily) but not with libido or sexual dysfunction.
Vitamin C - Did not notice anything.
Vitamin D- Did not notice anything.
noFAP - during first few days after I discontinued DHT blocker I Did not experience heightened libido like I used to when i did noFAP. I only experienced agitation and inability to sleep when doing it.
Working at Fedex for exercise - some improvement in getting an erection while sitting after a long shift of physically demanding work. Improved sleep so I felt less depress during the day.
Betaine Anhydrous - Helped with increase ejaculation volume and temporary took away depression.
6 Day Water Fast + noFAP - AFTER several days of completing this I regained some mind to penis connection and was able to get short lasting erections after fantasizing while sitting. This was a permanent positive effect.
vitamin b3,b6,b12 - no noticeable effect
-l-carnintine- no noticeable effect
choline- stopped night sweats permanently
sprinting 10x/day- i sprinted 10x/day almost everyday for a month and i stopped temp.
because i went on vacation to Caribbean and took in a lot of sun. Now on my way back during the plane trip I experienced a small but prominent sensation of libido on my testicles. I had not felt that sensation in a while but it eventually faded after a week of returning because (I suspect) I started pmoing + taking vitamins. I believe the sprinting 10x/day had something to do with it somehow + the excess sunlight I got too.
Sex Therapy - does not really help with sexual dysfunction (as i suspected) but It helps cope with it…
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)?
Blood Test on 2/26/2019 at 10am with Urologist:
Test Result…Reference Range
FSH 5.3mIU/ml…1.5-12.4mIU/mL
LH 6.4mIU/ml…1.7-8.6mIU/mL
PROLACTIN 10.0ng/ml…4.04-15.2ng/mL
FREE TESTOSTERONE 17.43ng/dL…4.60-22.40ng/dL
ALBUMIN 4.98g/dL…3.97-4.95g/dL
TESTOSTERONE 741ng/dl…249-836ng/dL
SHBG 24.9nmol/l…16.5-55.9 nmol/L
Blood Work on 05/02/2019 with endocronologist @ 8AM
LH: 8.4mIU/ml…1.7-8.6
FSH: 4.0mIU/ml…1.5-12.4
Testosterone, Free and Total: 901ng/dL…264-916
Free Testosterone(Direct): 26.7pg/mL…9.3-26.5
DHT: 51ng/dL…30-85
Cortisol: 26.1ug/dL …Cortisol AM: 6.2-19.4 Cortisol PM: 2.3-11.9
TSH: 2.410uIU/mL…0.450-4.50
ACTH, Plasma 61.1pg/mL…7.2-63.3
Prolactin 16.6ng/mL…4.0-15.2
Estradiol 38.2pg/mL…7.6-42.6
Prostate -Specific Ag, Serum 1.8ng/mL…0.0-4.0
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Firstly, I’m writing this as a message of hope to myself and everyone who is dealing with sexual dysfunction and or poor cognitive/psychological/general health from whatever substance that caused it(finasteride, saw palmetto, SSRI, Accutane etc).
One thing we should not forget is that a recovery is not possible unless we believe in it.Never lose hope and believe with all your soul that one day in the not so distant future you will recover AND IT WILL BE SO.
This is my story:
At 23(2017) i noticed my hairline was receding so i did my research around the web to find a supplement to halt my hair from falling off. I had very high libido and erectile dysfunction was pretty much unthinkable to me. I couldn’t go past 2 days without rubbing one off. Anyways, i stumbled upon finasteride online but i saw all the negative possible risks associated with taking it so i refrained from purchasing it. I tried finding alternative solutions to my barely noticeable hair line problems and thats when I stumbled upon a dht blocker blend with saw palmetto as the main ingredient. I ignorantly assumed it couldnt cause any detrimental long lasting side effects because its a herb plus i didn’t find a lot of cases of users experiencing side effects.
I purchased this DHT blocker https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Trichology-Blocker-Immune-Support/dp/B004PVLWW0/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia?keywords=dht+blocker&pd_rd_i=B004PVLWW0&pd_rd_r=2a7036bd-bac6-4c8c-bb02-6e6db4729eee&pd_rd_w=MXz3D&pd_rd_wg=E4Y2J&pf_rd_p=1cb3f32a-ccfd-479b-8a13-b22f56c942c6&pf_rd_r=W9GK2C2X8DBPAV7C30HZ&psc=1&qid=1575249648
through amazon and began taking 2 capsules every other day beginning on 09/2017 and for several months taking it i didnt observe my body(because i was a busy college student) but I do recall experiencing a slight decrease in libido and a lower reduction in girth.
Anyways, it wasnt around july 2018(11months after) when all hell broke loose. I took two overdoses( approximately 8-10) capsules on two separate days just out of straight stupidity mixed with impulse after seeing my hairline recede more. Immediately upon taking those two overdoses i felt a burning sensation on my genitalia and thats when i knew I definitely had to stop taking that supplement. I was constantly experiencing panic attacks, depression, lose of penile sensitivity, low libido, erectile dysfunction, insomnia, concentration problems etc . afterwards.
Initially i did not attribute it to the supplement because i wasn’t aware it could cause those problems. It wasn’t until i started doing nofap and noticing i couldnt get an erection and had no feelings of libido that i knew something was definitely wrong. At around Sept 2018 I immediately began doing research on the dht blocker supplement because it was the only possible culprit due to its effects on hormones and the burning sensation i experienced upon taking the overdoses. I knew upon doing research saw palmetto and natural dht inhibitors cause pfs but unlike many sufferers who suffer a “post crash” i suffered a crash immediately upon taking two overdoses of the supplement.
From Sept 2018-Dec 2019
Despite feeling the full blown effects of pfs during this time I remained hopeful and adamant by just working and believing that through time i would heal. I couldn’t get bloodwork because in America one can purchase insurance during open enrollment period around Nov-Dec.
By the end of Dec. 2019 I didn’t feel much improvement. I had no ability to get a mental erection and was only able to get an erection for a few seconds by physical stimulation.
January 2019
I did a 6 day water fast and the mind to penis connection improved if I sat down and fantasized but erection quickly went away if i didnt physically touched myself.
I did not see the improvements of the water fast immediately, it took about a month to start being able to notice improvements in attaining an erection.
**Fasting is the only thing I can conclusively say helped.
February 2019-June 2019
Went to several docs to get blood work but everything seemed normal to them. Claimed its all in my head and referred me to sex therapist -.-
Still only able to get a short lasting mental erection while sitting if I fantasized a lot.
June 2019-August 2019
Started exercising intensely (sprinting 10x perday) and went to Caribbean for vacation during my plane trip back I woke with with a prominent but minute sensation of libido around my testicle area. It lasted for about a good week until i started supplementing with vitamin b6 & choline and fapping constantly.
September 2019- November 2019
Supplemented with betaine anhydrous and felt sperm increase and sitting erections lasted longer and were easier to attain when fantasizing. I also worked at fedex for the exercise and it also helped with attaining erection faster as well…
Dec 2019( Present )
Could attain erection quicker while sitting down and fantasizing and they last long without me having to physically touch myself.
So far I’ve seen a 30% improvement because im now able to attain an erection quicker while sitting and lasts longer as well, thank God. But im nowhere near a full recover. Still dealing with low libido and less sensitivity, mild erectile dysfunction, some concentration problems, depression, testicular ache(possible prostate as well).
Currently I will continue doing more blood work to rule out the possibility of any hormonal imbalance. This time I will not do the default Roche Eclia Methodology blood tests most medical professionals administer but rather a liquid chromatography Mass Spectrometry Assay and a sensitive assay estradiol test because they are more accurate as recommended by hormone guru youtuber Derek from More Plates More Dates https://youtu.be/iYzHnYXwB90.
Will get back with blood work results in about a month.
In the mean time I will do fasting intermittently, cut out any dht inhibiting food sources, eat healthy, do noFap, apply mindfulness to any task i do + meditation, sprint 10x a day, kegals, pray, cut caffeine, participate in recreational sports, sex therapy, socialize, possibly do sun tanning, and never lose hope. Amen.
If anybody can give me some insight on any possible hormonal irregularity they find with the blood test i’ve done so far please feel free to list them.