What are the core elements for the diagnosis of PFS?

General Discussion
#1

Hi everyone.

I would like to ask about the diagnosis of Post-Finasteride syndrome. Is there a set of blood tests/physical exams one can do to confirm he suffers from the condition? Besides the general symptoms described on the webpage and so forth, are there defined medical exams one can do to achieve a certain diagnosis?

As I understand it seems that the exam of 3alpha-diol G would be the key to the diagnosis. Is this the key? A problematic 3alpha-diol G level indicates a strong possibility of a case of PFS? I have seen the blood exams list, but I would like to know if the 3alpha-diol G exam is the consensus regarding the condition.

Thank you very much for your help.

#2

propeciahelp.com/endocrinology

#3

PFS is a syndrome and not a disease. So you would get diagnosed (not that PFS has a diagnoses yet) via your symptoms not lab results. There are some guys who have average and high 3aDiolG levels, so you can not just go by that. Hopefully in the near future you can get a clear diagnosis via nuerosteroid tests or molecular tests…

#4

Moonman, if it is a syndrome and there are no organic factors one can judge, how can we be sure that it was Finasteride that caused the problem, or even that is not psychological?

What I mean is: there must be some organic signals we can detect.

Otherwise it’s all very dubious, isn’t it?

#5

Iodo, what is your purpose of posting on this website? To stir the pot a bit? Review the front page of www.propeciahelp.com for what you need to know. Interesting how this type of post comes up as research initiatives are getting underway.

Finasteride is a drug which affects various tissues, organs, hormonal, neurosteroid and metabolic pathways in the body. The result of 5AR2/5AR3, DHT, neurosteroid inhibition etc obviously can wreak havoc on some men’s endocrine system and bodies. Research initiatives will hopefully uncover exact root causes of how and why Finasteride can do this. In the meantime, trying to cast doubt on the existence of persistent Finasteride side effects will not win you any favors here.

#6

i agree … my fucking dick didnt go completely numb and rubbery and shrink WHILE taking finasteride by some fluke (amongst other awful fucking problems) … if you actually have pfs, you will know it, and there is no doubt whatsoever

#7

My purpose is quite obvious and I don’t understand the unnecessary aggressive tone of your message. What I am trying to get is information on if there are reliable tests that indicate that one suffers from PFS, not something else.

If you could control your attacks and not start blaming me of not believing in PFS, since apparently this is so important to you, (that no one questions it) as it seems, I would appreciate it. I merely asked a question, I didn’t call anyone names. I didn’t call anyone a liar. I’m just asking for information. I don’t know why you have to react so offended. It seems you want to punish anyone who questions what you believe in, which is incredibly unfair and unreasonable and tends to indicate a biased view on the subject, and not an objective one which seeks the truth and hard data.

I know very little about biology and about what this syndrome apparently is, so I am basically asking for help in a simplified, easy to understand form so I can talk to my doctor about it.

Is this that offensive?

As far as my reading and superficial understanding of the idea behind the syndrome goes, it seemed to me that the 3alpha-diol G exam would give a solid result regarding the question of if one suffers from PFS, or if that hypothesis can be ruled out if the levels of 3alpha-diol G are good. And then one, with the results at hand, one would have to look for other causes for his problems, not related to FPS.

Is this hard to understand?

Lennon’s posting, which is direct, although with very little information, informed more than you did with your aggressive attempt at intimidation because I asked a question.

It seems like since it might be possible I would be questioning the syndrome, you are already preparing to attack me.

This type of aggressive, intolerant behaviour damages your credibility and therefore the credibility of your website. I hope you understand that.

Lennon, if I may ask, what you are saying is that once FPS symptoms come they are not subtle, and one immediately understands that something very different is happening and that it is very clearly connected with the use of Finasteride? There is no way that one can be in doubt regarding the role of finasteride in the symptom?

Thanks.

#8

From my understanding, I’d say that hormone-wise people with PFS issues are far more likely to have low LH, FSH, 3-adiol g, T, and DHT, though it varies tremendously. If you’re curious, start by testing there. My best (guess-)estimate though would be that probably >1/2 of pfs patients have hormone levels squarely in the normal ranges, sothis is hardly a defnitive answer- just as it’s impossible to say that a hormonal dysfunction is attributable to past finasteride use.

Other symptoms include mental and cognitive impairment, often described as brain fog, sexual impairment, including low libido, impotence or sexual dysfunction, and physical impairment, lethargy, etc. As you noticed from Mew and Lennon, PFS sufferers also have short tempers and minimal patience for re-explaining symptoms for the umpteenth time, so please excuse their being short with you.

A big challenge is that to date, is that it is not clear what exactly finasteride does, or how it works in the body. Some of the ongoing studies will ideally provide more information on this, though it is also possible that they will reveal little…

Good luck. A little poking around this board by you will probably give you a better idea of what is known so far.

#9

Whoa thanks for explaining. From what you are saying I think we can summarize that although people who suffer from PFS are very much likely to have problematic hormone levels, there still is not a consensus on how to adequately “detect” PFS by blood/hormone testing/laboratory exams.

So if you suffer from PFS, the odds are that your hormones will be unbalanced, as the tests posted by Mew clearly indicate, but maybe they wont, they will be normal, and you still can suffer from PFS anyway. So according to what you guys are saying the 3alpha-diol G test can be useful, it indicates a lot, but it is not conclusive for a diagnosis. We don’t have the technology to do that as of yet.

I hope I got that right.

I think you have clarified my question. Thanks a lot for your input. You have been very helpful.

#10

Iodo- What are your symptoms?

A day after my final pill ( i took propecia for 9 years with no noticeable side effects), my face got bright red (thought I had lupus) had horrible brain fog and I couldnt remember simple things, tinnitus, digestive problems, my legs and upper arms looked atrophied, my skin thinned, veins bulged on my penis and it curved to the left with a kink in it overnight, my body temp dropped to 96 degrees (actaully thought I had the flu because I was shivering but it was because I was too cold), I got dry all over my body, lost all sexual thoughts, lost my sense of smell and taste, hands and feet became freezing cold like ice, gum line began to deteriorate, fatigue, creptus in my joints, gained a lot of weight in my mid section only, since that last pill I can no longer sleep more than 5 hours straight, and much more.

#11

you can refer to my post above, but i will say it again for you a little bit more in depth … if you have been hit by pfs, there is no doubt whatsoever that you have the syndrome, and there is certainly no doubt that finasteride is the culprit … again, i felt 110% for 24 years of my life, had what i considered to be great sexual functioning, i felt great, i slept great etc. etc. etc., and WHILE i started using finasteride (keep in mind i used the drug for only 80 days), my life became an absolute train wreck and remains so until this day … the symptoms are severe and will change your life in an absolutely awful and unimaginable way … again, if you have pfs, you will know it and it will eat your fucking soul every single day and make you wish you were never fucking born … trust me, you will know if you have it, and if your experience is anything like mine, your doctor (whether an endo, neuro, uro etc., and maybe even in the top of their field) will not be able to help you in any way, shape or form, and will have no useful answers for you whatsoever

a better use of your time and money would be to donate to the pfs foundation and to participate in upcoming research

hopefully this clarifies things for you just a bit

#12

Iodo, new members are encouraged to answer the questions found here.

#13

Iodo,

If you have PFS I’d be very interested in seeing your member story. The hospitals you been to, the doctors and specialists you’ve seen, any lab work you’ve had done, the treatments you’ve attempted, the supplements you’ve tried, etc. Maybe that will help us decide if you’re just another in a long line of Brazilian trolls here or maybe something more sinister. If you do not suffer PFS symptoms then what is your purpose in posting here?

Personally I’ve not known Mew or Lennon to have “short tempers” as one person characterized it. That’s a silly comment.

As far as showing a causal relationship between PFS and Finasteride that will be in the court record (in multiple countries) soon enough. At that time we’ll see where the lack of “credibility” lies, won’t we?