Hi there guys,
I am soon approaching 5 months off Finasteride.
It has been a very difficult time over the past year but in some ways also a very rewarding time too where I have looked at ways to improve my life and have now put things into practice.
Started with several of the common symptoms of this illness back in early to mid 2019. I have had tinnitus, unilateral gynecomastia , Erectile Dysfunction , yo-yo Libido , anxiety attacks , severe Health anxiety and perhaps the 2 hardest ones for me : Severe Insomnia and anhedonia / feelings of absolute nothing / emptiness .
Some of these things I think are direct PFS , some could also be attributed to external factors as well, like life situations, work , relationships, depression etc
The insomnia really affected me- it started coming on slowly while I was still on the drug and then increased 10 fold in the weeks after I quit. It was so severe I had several of the ânights of zero hours sleepâ so many of you guys experience and suffer with here too. It got so bad sometimes I started wondering if I was never gonna sleep again type thing which of course makes everything worse and in a circle of anxiety itself.
I was in LA at the time and had a doctor who was not very helpful, all he did was supply meds from Trazodone , to Lunesta 2mg to Belsomra (the new Orexin receptor agonist from our friends at Merck)
In the end I only seemed to get sleep on lunesta 3mg which I took every night since and then had another problem of being dependent on a Z drug.
Anyhow I wanted to encourage those who have had trouble with insomnia lately , it does get better with time. I am since sleeping a lot better - not quite 8 hours of course but the improvement is there. I am also descending my use of lunesta and have gone from 3mg to 1mg with no further loss of sleep or withdrawals as of yet . Soon I will taper over to Melatonin and Magnesium only , ultimately the plan will be to use nothing and just naturally reset the bodies endorphins, endocrines and circadian rhythm.
My game plan has been : (and I appreciate that everyone here is different and one persons game plan may do nothing for another persons!)
- I eliminated all stress from my life , I quit my job which had been 50 hours a week and had a rethink with family to reset my health and my life back in UK. I know some people are not in a position to do this, I know I am lucky here to be able to and it has been key.
- resetting endorphins naturally with cardio exercise where I have been running 3-4 times a week whilst also using the exercise bikes as the gym . On the bikes I go short and intense and it really works. Some days you feel fatigue and the mind is not there but when I force myself out and to continue I feel better.
- resetting endocrines naturally withy weight training. I was never much of a weight lifter and have always had a very skinny body! Taking on weights has really improved my body shape , muscle development and also is helping with endocrines . It is helping me feel sleepy at the right times and is affecting my libido to return . For me it is paramount. Again I have pushed through days of PFS muscle atrophy and the carried on until it hurts. I disclosed to my brother what PFS is back in 2019 and he is by my side 4 nights a week at the gym , pushing me through and with me every step of the way. He is a total hero to me .
- healthy eating , no alcohol (not forever, just for now!) daily green tea (the L Theanine helps with anxiety and sleep )
- resisting the temptation to use supplements, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. My plan is to use as close to nothing as possible, just natural healthy eating , exercise, sleep and spirituality.
- this forum is fantastic, I love hearing the stories and the support we have for each other. My plan has been to stay away from the âmy life is ruinedâ âmy life is doomedâ type posts. I sure as hell have felt that way more than half the days, but mentally I block that all out and it is another key to my success so far. I will continue to only encourage people on here and to be encouraged!
- a big struggle has been also the feelings of emptiness and zero motivation for creativity (Iâm a songwriter by trade) and PFS has left me with not much to write about or even feel. Iâm hoping that over time and pushing myself forwards when I feel ânothingâ will lead me to being creative again and soon I will be back to where I was with music !
Best to all