By the way Tryptophan didn’t work for me either.
But I’m having success with 5-HTP 100 mg in the morning along with 500 mg of Tyrosine.
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Hi Scott, did this have any positive or negative effect?
Have been on it for two months, haven’t felt anything good or bad. It takes a while to build up in your system to have any effect, around 2 months supposedly. Haven’t had any effect. It apparently works on some people, while others feel nothing.
Hi @Scott.H
What did Goldstein tell you about what you explained before, having the first half of the penis normal, and the other half numb?
Is it Peyronie or something else?
Which half?
I stopped Finasteride in 2015 (I just took it for a few months).
Since then, the proximal part of my penis (“first half”) looks normal, even in erection (difficult to get and maintain, anyway).
Whereas the distal part (“second half”, between midshaft and glands) is impaired for some strange reason. Smaller, weaker, much slower to fill with blood.
I also have hourglass in flaccid and pre-erect state sometimes.
There must be something damaged at the blood vessels level, maybe in the mid-shaft, which prevents the normal blood flow.
Like a sort of Peyronie, but without plaque.
I saw 2 urologists and they are clueless about this.
I had an MRI and normal.
I had echo doppler and showed venous leak with a few micro-calcifications (2mm).
Hormones all normal.
So I guess the answer comes from an impaired ratio between elastin/collagen in smooth muscle (perhaps following apoptosis and fibrosis/scarring, but not like Peyronie, because there is no visible plaque).
I have been on daily Cialis for 1 year and noticed a slight improvement, but still far from what I was before Finasteride.
Anyone experiencing the same?
What you exactly meant by “base of the penis starts further away” in your old posts? I think i have a similar feeling but im not sure what you felt and whether is the same thing or not. When i erect, there is a sharp tight feeling at the lower middle of my penis. (Especially when i squeeze my pelvic floor musclez, tilting the penis upwards) Do you mean that thing? Im curious.
@aldo This is precisely what I have as well, very good description. The base of my penis is as it has always been, then the distal half (between mid-shaft and the head/glands) has atrophied. This leads to an hour glass like shape when the penis is flaccid, and general weaker erections.
Goldstein told me this has to do with two things:
- the smooth muscles in the penis being deprived of DHT.
- The lack of spontaneous, morning, and nightime erections. These erections are important exercise for the penis, much like lifting weights for the penis, and are important to maintain smooth muscle and erection health.
Additionally, this leads to lack of general blood flow to the penis. I imagine this must have something to do with lack of sensitivity in the area as well.
I’ve thought that putting andractoral (synthetic DHT) directly on the area that is affected might alleviate this issue. But I’ve only done this a few times as I’m hesitant about really cycling DHT cream as it could make the issue worse at the receptor level.
Any ideas on how to potentially address this issue? Interesting thought on impaired ratio between elastin and collagen.
I don’t really think blood flow is the issue… unless blood isn’t the same as raging hard on. Because I can get those… but sensitivity still sucks.
Or maybe it is somehow. I have no idea really.
Current research is not paying enough attention to what is going on in terms of the penile tissues.
In my case, this was the reason why the PFS was persistent after I stopped finasteride.
Depression, insomnia and other typical sides came as a consequence (I started to see fewer people, to stress a lot, to worry about the future, libido became very low, I was seeing attractive women and I didn’t understand why nothing was happening in my body as a result, which gave me a lot of anxiety, etc.).
I knew something had changed in the erections mechanism, but it was difficult to understand how/why. At the same time, doctors tended to say “it’s all in your mind”, which made the side effects worse.
The only doctor that was honest enough said “we don’t know what is happening” and he suggested that I took low dose Taladafil 5mg (Cialis or other brands) for at least 6 months.
I immediately got better erections but sensitivity was missing. Now, after 1 year, sensitivity is coming back, slowly. Strangely, the tissue seems to be healing from the top (glans) to the midshaft (I would have expected to start from the midshaft to the glans, since the proximal part is fine).
That doctor said he supposed all this was related to some kind of contracture (high adrenergic tone) of the penis that takes a long time to heal.
So: I think it’s good that current research on PFS studies epigenetics, gut flora, neurotransmitters, androgen receptors, etc.
But if we don’t pay attention to the histological changes (tissues) happening in the penis, we may be making a huge mistake and wasting a lot of time.
Maybe I can start a new thread on this topic?
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Did this medication affect your orgasm quality at all?
I’ve been thinking of this for a long time, it’s great you have some doctoral insight into that particular issue. The part that has always been such a clear and obvious physical change has been the shaft of my penis, when the hourglass goes away, it seems other symptoms go away as well. It’s such a cornerstone issue of this syndrome for me that I feel it really can provide some direct insight into our issue. I’ve tried putting andractorol liquid directly into the shaft, but haven’t noticed much immediate difference.
In my experience changes in penile tissue are not pesistent and are caused by either lack of hormones or neurotransmitters which controll sensitivity and bloodflow obviously. When I have my 3 day improvement caused by supplements or whatever my penis is pretty much normal regarding size and form.
I don’t know if anyone else is like me but I never have these three day or week improvements that everyone talks about. My sexual symptoms are always the same. Only thing I get improvement from is sometimes fatigue and anxiety
Have you tried any supplements?
Tribulus, amino acids, ginkgo, iodine, 5htp, horny goat weed, maca, r-alpha lipoid acid, magnesium, dhea, pregnenolone, ashwaganda, phosphatidylserine, broccoli sprout extract. Just those off the top of my head but I’m sure there’s been more over these last 6-7 years
This is strange indeed because I get those improvements somewhat reguarly every 3-4 weeks for 3-4 days by supplementation. And the improvement is acutally different depending on the substance that I take.
Only time I ever get improvements sexually is when I consume a lot of marijuana in a day but it’s not long lasting