[Week 9 Update] Still Recovering

[Bruce]

Hello,

This is the month I’ve been dreading to write about as it is my third month still on this forum. Today marks 3 months since my crash and according to the PFS Foundation, it is now considered a persistent/chronic condition. Honestly, I’ve been anticipating this for a while considering the incredibly static to minute improvements in my most bothersome symptom, genital anesthesia. I will list my initial conditions I had at the beginning as well as what has improved/worsened to this point.

Initial Crash Symptoms (3/18/21):

• Burning sensation in/around urethra
• Severe loss of sensation on glans and base of penis
• Loss of libido
• Erectile dysfunction
• Muscle wastage around arms
• Watery semen
• Slightly low semen volume
• Moderate sexual anhedonia
• Moderate general anhedonia
• Severe anxiety
• Severe depression
• Suicidal ideation/thoughts
• Hard flaccid
• Involuntary genital arousal

Newly Developed Symptoms:

• Frequent urination
• Yellow and narrow stools
• Stomach pains
• Stomach gas
• Constipation

Current Symptoms (as of 6/18/2021):

• Mild/moderate loss of sensation on glans and base of penis
• On/off frequent urination
• Hard flaccid that comes and goes
• Constipation and irregular stools

I have improved significantly as you see since three months ago. However, I am not fully recovered yet as I still suffer from numbness in my genitals. They haven’t bothered me as much as they have at the beginning, but I’m still holding out that I will continue to get better. My visit with the urologist was a waste of time; his response after our 5-minute appointment (pissed me off) was that he couldn’t help me and it’s likely to be permanent or improve gradually over time due to the hormone effects of Finasteride. He also told me food cannot worsen my conditions, so I guess that’s a positive.

I’m currently trying to shift my focus over to my space career rather than put all my energy into my condition, so my goal will be to be less active on this forum from now on. However, for everyone who’s kept up with me so far and/or has messaged me personally, I will keep in touch with you. I’ll continue to post my condition as time progresses (hopefully for the better).

Personally want to thank @Pete1989, @roy1, @LazarusRy, @finaduta, @Casual, and @M_C for helping me through my tough times. I did not personally talk with all of you, but your posts and comments have done more for me than anyone/anything else. Thank you and I love you guys! I’ll be sure to think of you guys when I walk on Mars (if only, haha)!

[Pete1989]

Bruce

Im happy to hear your report of better health. I may not actively post on this forum anymore, but as always if you ever want to talk I’m available via DM. Stay positive!

[orthogs]

@Bruce

He also told me food cannot worsen my conditions, so I guess that’s a positive.

He doesn’t understand what is wrong with you so he is in no position to make that claim.

[Bruce]

That may be true but he also knows tremendously more about the sexual organ system than most people. Although I am still cautious of what I eat, I trust his judgment in that general food (and not supplements) cannot worsen my problem. The only food item that I’ve been mostly staying away from is soy; I still consume it but in far less proportions.

[TFD]

@Bruce

** I trust his judgment in that general food (and not supplements) cannot worsen my problem…**

Man, don’t fuck your recovery.

[Bruce]

@TFD

Man, don’t fuck your recovery.

It’s not like I’m going to eat a boat load of sugar and grease, haha. My diet has been pretty clean for over several years. I haven’t actually changed my diet at all other than less soy products. I’m also staying away from all supplements unless it’s absolutely necessary, and even then I would only consider taking magnesium.

[roy1]

Keep heart. My numbness lasted for ~7 months and then suddenly it went away.

Your worry is understandable, but try to give it even more time (even though 3 months feels like a long time already).

It’s hard to say exactly when it started happening, but the morning wood came back a few months before the libido or sensation or being able to get an erection out of arousal.

Advice (aside from mere patience) is hard to give because of how ambiguous this condition still is. but I’m of the opinion that blood flow to the area helps with healing. So maybe try to warm your genital area up daily or massage, etc.

I wonder if maybe the hormonal receptors in our brain get blocked/switched off for much longer than doctors think happens. So our body naturally clears away the blockages but it takes time. And then once those final blockages start to dissapear, things start to seem normal again.

Admittedly throwing shit against a wall. But that’s what we’re stuck with. Look on the bright side: at least a bunch of pharma executuves at Merck are getting filthy rich /s.

[Bruce]

I’m contemplating on trying the three-piece Nioxin system to promote hair growth. I’m afraid of using more chemicals but I’ve read that it’s just shampoo/conditioner and isn’t absorbed into serum. Any thoughts?

[TFD]

Don’t-fuck-your-recovery.

[LazarusRy]

@Bruce are you mad wanting another dance with the devil. Look what repeated use of inhibitors has done to me.

[Bruce]

Okay… Well I was hoping for non-biased responses. I’ve read every discussion thread about Nioxin on this forum and not one has mentioned it being an anti-androgen. I’m definitely not going to try Minoxidil again that’s for sure, but I’m not entirely convinced that Nioxin is dangerous. I’ll do more research before I make a decision, but I will also keep in mind of your comments.

[LazarusRy]

Our input is with the best of intentions only

[Bruce]

Just got results from my doctor to check prolactin and testosterone levels. My testosterone results from March are also provided as a comparison.

[Bruce]

Hello,

I am past the 5 month mark. I promised to not visit the website often, which has been the case. I would like to say that I’m still experiencing penile numbness and have recently started to suffer from weak ejaculations.

Funny enough, I didn’t experience strong ejaculations many times in the past, it was often rare and heavily depended on arousal. The strongest ejaculation I have ever had was 3 months post-Finasteride after receiving amazing head. It was only recently, about 3+ weeks ago that my ejaculation force has reduced to dribbling (which is uncommon, I usually have some force regardless). I’m not overly concerned about it and believe it’ll go away at some point.

In terms of my long-term symptom of numbness, the glans has more or less improved enough where it’s basically back to normal. I can feel it a lot more now than in the past months, but it still fluctuates in sensitivity from time to time.

The lower-shaft and base are still quite numb, probably a 80-90% loss in sensitivity, honestly no improvements here. I’m able to feel cold but touch is nearly non-existent (just feels like rubber).

The most sensitive area of the penis is also becoming more numb. I’m not sure if this is Finasteride related or death grip syndrome at this point. I haven’t abstained for months, which may be a factor in not seeing improvements there if it was DGS.

I’ve tried getting an appointment with an endocrinologist, but they won’t take me in without an official medical diagnosis.

[Cbrandel]

Numb penis is a medical diagnosis. Might get to see a uro rather than an endo though.

[Bruce]

Urologist told me nothing can be done. Improvements are possible but gradual. Permanent numbness is also a possibility but he isn’t sure what the outcome is. My other doctors are confident it’ll improve over time but no idea about the timeline.

[Bruce]

Hi,

I am now on my 6th month mark. Here are my improvements since month 5:

1. Penis base to mid-shaft region has gained some sensitivity although not significant.
2. Glans is mostly back to normal from what I can remember.

There are also things that haven’t improved since last month:

1. Weak ejaculation force. This is a new symptom that started 6 weeks ago.
2. Upper frenulum lacks normal sensitivity. That general sensitive area at back of penis is a bit too numb for my liking. Also a new symptom 6 weeks ago.

I’m not going to bother seeing an endocrinologist or a different urologist. I’m more or less content with what I have and just hope my new symptoms are temporary.

[Bruce]

Hello,

This is my 7th month mark. I only have two noticeable improvements since last month:

• Ejaculation force has somewhat returned. Strongly linked to abstaining for a while (not normal for me).

• Daily completely full morning wood. I would get them twice or thrice each morning.

What has stayed the same:

• Upper frenulum lacking normal sensitivity.

• Base-to-mid-shaft penis still mostly numb. Some days are better than others.

• Penis glans/head sensitivity fluctuates based on the week.

What has gotten worse:

• Burning sensation around tip of urethra has returned for the 4th time. It was my first symptom of this mess and it still lingers from time to time.

• Mental health declined. I’ve started to, again, experience signs of severe depression. I was hoping that I would see a huge recovery based from my past trend by my birthday, which is in 3 days.

[Bruce]

Hello,

This is my 8th month mark. No improvements from month 7 other than burning sensation going away again after 3 weeks.

• Glans may have become slightly more numb again
• Frenulum has low sensation and lacks some resolution
• Lower shaft feels mostly numb. I can feel cold and any rough sensations.

[Bruce]

You can delete this post if you think it’s a bit inappropriate (@admins) but I’ve decided to sketch out what I’m currently experiencing as of 11/26/21.

• GREEN means normal
• YELLOW means moderate sensitivity
• RED means little sensitivity

A mixture of colors means there’s some variation depending on the day.

BACK

FRONT

If you guys are interested, I can post ones for my prior symptoms.