-I apologize for any grammar issues as I’m Israeli and English is not my native tongue-
First of all let me begin by saying I’ve got to be the stupidest guy here - I actually dodged the bullet twice with this poison and went back for more - this time without a complete recovery. I was even vaguely aware of the existence of this site but chose not to read through it due to a childish belief that it would only serve to increase my chances of experiencing the side effects, which I then believed to be predominantly psychological.
I first began using the drug about 4 years ago at the age of 22. I took the pill for a year or so and then stopped because I was beginning to worry about the sexual side effects, which were then pretty mild (I was still contemplating the notion that it’s all in my head).
The second occasion was about six months later and lasted for several more months. Once more I eventually stopped due to the fact the side effects were becoming noticeable.
I started thinking about taking the drug again a couple of months ago after being constantly bombarded with an ad campaign promoting it (Merck is advertising heavily here in Israel). Obviously I was hesitant, but after reading somewhere that it’s possible to avoid the side effects by taking 1\2 a pill a day i finally decided 3 months ago to give it one more try. I took a total of 3 pills (!!!) over the course of one week prior to stopping and that was enough to send me to the hell. The sexual side effects all came back with force - weak erection, no nocturnal\morning erection, and watery ejaculation (I think my libido remained intact though) with an added bonus of weird sleep disturbances I’ve never experienced during my previous usage of the drug - I started waking up after 1 or 2 sleep cycles (1.5 to 3 hours) all throughout the night. I only associated that particular symptom with propecia after reading here about the potential for sleep problems. Recovery was longer this time and for about 3 weeks there was no change, until suddenly i sprung back to normality. Regretfully, that only lasted less than a week. By that time I’d read the site extensively and obviously I completely panicked thinking I had just experience the notorious crash. However since then I’ve had a couple more cycles of normal function, I guess it’s the “good days” phenomenon which some of you have experienced. Over all I’d say that since ceasing my usage of the drug about 25% to 30% of the time was comprised of short periods in which my sexual performance and sleep patterns were as good or almost as good as those of my pre-fin self.
I would be very interested in hearing from guys that also experienced good days along the way. Can I take that as a positive sign that things are going to steadily improve? did anyone reach a point where the “good days” last almost 100% of the time? any feedback would be most appreciated.