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)? NJ
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?) PFS Google search
What is your current age, height, weight? 28, 6’6”, 230lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Topical Saw Palmetto 1month (2021), Rogaine (2019).
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? I was extremely athletic before and worked out twice a day. I would apply topical Saw Palmetto twice daily.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hairloss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
1month
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 28 (Saw Palmetto), 27 (Rogaine)
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 28, I quote one month after use, approximately November 17th.
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Felt depressed, but didn’t know it was from Saw Palmetto, then got chills, then when I stopped. Two weeks later I crashed…HARD
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
No libido, inability to get an erection (can manual stimulate to Orgasm but it feels like it’s not even my dick anymore)
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
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] 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
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[x] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[x] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[x] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature
[x] Other (please explain) - insomnia
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
Was in the hospital and took several SSRIs which made things waaaay worse. Remoran, Effexor, Gabapentin, Trazadone, and some I don’t remember.
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)?
Lost about 100ng/dl to TT, and 100 point drop on DHEA levels
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.
Oh jeez, I really wish I hadn’t been so vain and let my hair go. In 2019, I was a 280lb brick shithouse of muscle, with a decent libido to match. I could bench over 300lbs and still run 3 miles at 7.5 minute pace. I took pregnenolone and DHEA at the time because I believed they were hormonal precursors that didn’t have negative feedback (I would much later realize this wasn’t the case). I noticed that my hair was falling out so I used Rogaine to try and hold onto it. I got a slight headache every time I applied it but it went away soon after and I didn’t think much of it. Then I started having panic attacks in my sleep and then had my first crash. I lost a lot of weight and muscle. Dropped down to 215. My gf at the time was very supportive and helped nurture me back to health. We had some issues in the next year and split up, but by then I was back to maybe 60% health. Sex drive was lower but no biggie we can work with what’s left. And I did. Dated a few girls. Then one day I noticed I had DHEA in a box upstairs. Forgot about how it might have contributed to my crash but started taking it. My workouts were getting better, I was gaining more muscle. I was getting back to a respectable fighting shape, and my sex drive ramped up a bunch too. Then, I started having some anxiety and depression and noticed my hair loss was progressing quickly I stopped the DHEA and started applying topical saw palmetto. This is the worst decision I ever made. After about a month of application, my depression was getting bad, like lower than ever. I suspected it was my body readjusting to the low DHEA values (negative feedback?) but I’m now confident looking back that this wasn’t the case. It was the SP. one night my roommate was having a party and I was depressed and went to my room to just be alone. A friend stopped by to check on me and suddenly I started getting a weird chill. Like I’ve just flew through my body. The next day I was just hangin out watching tv and suddenly it was like somebody pressed the flusher on a toilet, my body just went flat, I had diarrhea and was like “okay that was weird, glad that’s over”…it was just the start. When I went to bed that night I woke up to a panic attack. Very unusual for me, I wasn’t stressed at all, and hadn’t had one in years. I also couldn’t really sleep that night. And then my brain just shut the xxxx off. Foods tasted the same, I was severely depressed. I couldn’t think, read, all I could do was cry. I had my ex drive me to the hospital. It was there that I proceeded to endure the “crash” I had insomnia for four days straight, was put on a bunch of different psych meds, drastically lost weight, was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. Had crying episodes, panic attacks and felt jolts of electricity going through my body. It was hard to tell what was the PFS crash and what was the SSRIs at this point but in the hospital, that was when I realized my dick was broken. I might have well been pulling on a limp rope. I did my best to facilitate things, and was able to finish a total of two times in those 10 days. I got cuts on my penis from trying and was scared they wouldn’t heal since I wasn’t sleeping. Finally melatonin helped me get one night of sleep, maybe 6 hrs. The erection I got that morning would be my last. It’s now been about 2 months since onset of symptoms perhaps a bit longer, and the mental side effects have been the worst. very suicidal, depressed, anhedonic. I did hormonal blood work but everything has come back fairly normal. Thyroid, testosterone, and DHEA are within mid-low range. I told my ex and parents I wanted to kill myself today. I’m fighting but really could use some hope. I’ve been working out and doing my best to eat and sleep well, but I’ve lost a lot of muscle, my skin is so dry, my body is freezing, and I’m weak.
Self-reporting template - ONLY USE FOR FUTURE POSTS TO REPORT ANY TRIALS OF TREATMENTS, NOT YOUR INITIAL MEMBER STORY
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Name of the therapy/substance:
- Dosage:
- How often you took it:
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Status
- Still using [ ]
- Stopped with no lasting change to initial symptoms [ ]
- Stopped with persistent change to symptoms [ ]
- Duration of use: Days [ ] Months [ ] Years [ ]
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Response when you started:
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Current response (if you’re still using the therapy/substance) OR Response in the time before you stopped the treatment
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]
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Lasting changes to initial symptoms after cessation (if you have stopped for more than 3 weeks)
- Greatly improved [ ]
- Slightly improved [ ]
- Stayed the same [ ]
- Slightly worsened [ ]
- Greatly worsened [ ]