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Try not having ANY sexual activity for a week or two to reduce anxiety and get your head together. It also helps with the shrinkage.

I have great confidence in medical/technological progress. Medicine as we know it is going to change - a lot. For the better. To our benefit.

Ok I will try that.

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Hang in there mate, in a similar situation to you (though not the girlfriend bit) Luckily right now uni is not that demanding…yet. If i had taken this before my a levels i would have been completely screwed. Try and focus on what you have got. I mean, that’s exactly what we all should have done before taking this drug in the first place. Also if you can find another girl that will help alot. At my lowest points three things have stopped me from giving up, forums, friends, and a girl. I’ve been where you are now, and may be there again in the future i don’t know… but i think i’ve finally written off suicide completely… hope so anyway. I’d rather suffer in silence for my entire life than do that to my mum.

Hey UK,
I’m only 23 and have been off fin for almost a year now.
My girlfriend of 2 years just recently left me and my lack of emotions and inability to maintain connections with people have left me with no friends.

It really sucks and the stress from it all is horrible.

My sex drive is next to nothing as well. Bad ED and no libido most the time

Hang in there!

We’re both going through something similar. Merck owes us big time for this shit. Don’t kill yourself . That’s what they want you to do so they don’t have to compensate you for all the pain and suffering.

Sorry to go slightly off topic, but how have u guys gone about getting a new girlfriend, i mean, breaking the news to them about our problem? I am so scared to face this moment, as i have no idea what to expect. And so many of the female friends i have all just talk about sex, they all love it, so for a lot of girls i can see this as being a pretty important issue… or have you guys found that they are understanding and can deal with it?

I think you will find that women think your problem is their fault, that they are not attractive enough, that you’re not into them. If you find a girl you really connect with try telling her openly and honestly about what happened and why you’re suffering, that you really like her (if you do), and she just needs to be patient, it’s not her fault, and that you will find other ways to please her. From talking to many people the response seems to be that most girls will trade a good hour long foot massage for sex anyway.

I’m finding it increasingly difficult. It’s starting to disrupt my normal life now. Before i just bottled it up and go on with things as well as i could.

Now, the constant mental toll this has taken is building up. Waking up with a dead penis. Waking up at night and having to literally check if ive got a semi (that’s how numb it is). Narrow penis, tissue change and low libido. Sexual death it often feels like. This is 14 months off propecia. Things have got WORSE. It’s difficult to see the light right now. Lets hope this levitra works to keep me half hopeful i can lead a relatively normal life.

Managing side effects from Propecia gets overwhelming. The worst part is you can’t just take things at a loss because you have to actively deal with the uncomfortableness of shrinkage and the other side effects. So it’s not just that you lose function but you gain a burdon of dealing with the other problems this drug causes…

Every girl is different. You just need to find the right one for your situation, sounds easy

I also feel like giving up. I can’t sleep. My physical and mental is poor. My career and marriage is being affected. I feel so down and out

…

Joe, keep the faith man.

I know its hard but as i keep telling you- YOU’RE 20!!! 20! You shouldn’t be thinking like that.

You flucutate and have done. Believe it or not this is good. Keep doing the right things. You know the story…keep in contact.

UK,

I read some of your posts, but, man you have a lot. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t see any improvements until I started to get some sleep… even if it wasn’t 8 hours… but, 5, 6 hrs in a row.

Scanning a few of your posts you said you had a period of good sleep… what supps/meds/vitamins etc were you on at the time?
I think the best way we can help is to offer suggestions to help you sleep. I took some zma for a while… magnesium+vitamin c+vitamin e seemed to work pretty good, too. Later on I took ashwagandha before bedtime and that helped me sleep also.

It has to be high cortisol keeping you up… vitamin c supposedly lowers it. Lay off stimulants like coffee, energy drinks, etc.

I know it’s impossible, but, you have to lower your stress. I’m in the same boat, I want to be 100% and want it now. When I had just quit in june/09 I thought I was fucked forever.

Improvement starts with sleep, I’m almost sure of it. Maybe the guys can add suggestions…

Hang the fuck in there, man. I’m sure all of us wanted to throw in the towel at some point.

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UK, judging by what you have said in previous posts, you still have the ability to have sex. You still think all is lost?
As far as suicide goes… I have been to that point and back again and realized if I am going to leave this world it would be best to at least throw my life away for the cause…
This doesn’t have to be a big secret. You will probably be surprised how many friends, family members, and co-workers will believe you/be on your side, especially if you explain to them how propecia has been proven to fuck with hormones. Might as well spread the word if you feel like you have nothing left to lose at this point.
Hope you ultimately decide to stay with us.

…

Even if it was not helping the cause, I have wanted cold revenge for what has been done to me, hopefully sending a very public message and ending my pain at the same time.
I’m pretty much over that now and more or less in the same predicament you are. Just wasting time until some real research finally reveals useful information and trying to stay sane and keep my life together in the meantime.

Even if there is a snowballs chance in hell of finally feeling better it’s worth sticking around for.

Dubya, didn’t you take accutane and no finasteride?