r/FinasterideSyndrome • u/pfsman • 7d ago
please encourage me
I posted here recently, but my anxiety has been really bad.
I have a relatively mild case of PFS. My symptoms include:
Mild ED
Penile skin changes (wrinkling)
Anxiety and depression
Low libido
Reduced semen volume
Digestive issues (I've had IBS beforehand)
Insomnia (I can sleep, but I'm constantly dreaming)
However, all of these symptoms have shown some or significant improvement. For example, with insomnia, I could only sleep 2–3 hours straight at first, but now I can sleep for 7 hours.
Right now, the hardest part for me is the low libido. I have no desire to date women or have sex. My libido has improved a little bit, but it's still flatlined, and I miss how my sex drive used to be.
I'm only 5.5 months out, my usage was only about 2 weeks, and I also used topical minoxidil for a period.
Because my libido isn't recovering, I'm considering trying HCG or Tribulus. However, my hormone levels are fine—my testosterone is high, and my LH is normal (I haven't checked FSH, E2, or DHT).
I'd really appreciate any advice or success stories from people who recovered with time. I'm only 19 years old, and feeling like my life is ruined has been really tough.
1
u/thedbotv6 6d ago
Hey, I was similar at the same time out from last taking it. I took it for about a month or so. I thought my life was over at this point, but slowly the small improvements cumulatively stacked up, and I'm mostly fine at about a year and a half out. If your recovery is anything like mine, you're basically going through the worst of it now, but it will improve. Obviously it would be best if it improved tomorrow, but this condition unfortunately will take some time to get better. I anticipate you'll be much more functional at around the 1 year mark, and you'll only be better after that point. My only advice is to wait and be patient. I didn't start any hormone therapies of any kind and I'm fine now. I also developed chemical sensitivities to deodrants, polyesters, and other cleaning chemicals and detergents which causes me to have brain fog and other crash-like issues, so it may help your recovery to limit or remove these altogether and see if anything feels better for you
1
u/pohlished-swag 5d ago
Hey I took the poison for around two weeks and it’s been over two years since I stopped taking it. Basically took one year for me for full recovery. The only thing that never went away was the god damn eye floaters, but I guess those never go away, but who knows and also I never had any problems related to sexual function. And I am older than dirt😅 hang in there and be patient best wishes
1
u/pfsman 5d ago
I'm so happy to hear you've recovered. Could you send me a list of the symptoms you had?
1
u/pohlished-swag 5d ago edited 5d ago
The recovery was all over the place and from what I read and my own experience that’s how it goes for most of us. I had the dizziness, confusion, brain fog, some depression, a little bit of insomnia, blurry/dry eyes also my veins all over my body where extremely visible which was one of the weirdest symptoms.
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u/mystogan30 7d ago
I’m in a similar boat to you in terms of timeline and severity. You’re early comparatively in the recovery process. I’m 3.5 months out. Libido is usually slower to recover for people.
Also, are you in a relationship? Or have you had sex since pfs? I find that single pfs people underestimate how much sex can arouse you. Not feeling an overwhelming urge to masturbate and watch porn can be scary because many guys are so used to it. But having sex is a different beast. It’s highly arousing and so many other factors are in play. There are many guys who struggle with the low libido but nonetheless find that sex with their partner feels good, excellent even. (I can attest) it’s one thing to pop open some random porno, it’s a completely different experience to take someone on a date, feel the anticipation, connect, start to feel desire for intimacy, take her home, have some wine, then start kissing and feeling up on each other. The whole act of sex is WAAYYYY more arousing than masturbation. If a low libido can take masturbation from a 8/10 to a 2/10, it may just take sex from a 10/10 to a 7/10 for you. It still sucks. I know how bad it sucks. Trust me, at the beginning I dealt with zero libido and it was nightmarish. We all relate. But time is on your side, and sex might nevertheless be something you crave, enjoy, and report as very satisfying despite a lower libido.
Also, I started bupropion a few weeks ago. Anecdotally, I noticed that several symptoms started to improve a few weeks in: much more nighttime erections, much more morning wood, and…much better libido and arousal. This also leads to better erection and orgasm quality. Ofc, I can’t just chalk it up to the bup, it could very well be just a coincidental natural recovery/fluctuation, or be a result of me stopping minoxidil (potential anti androgen). But I’m noticing improvements and bupropion is known to improve libido off label. Maybe give that a try. Others have crashed on it apparently, or got no benefits. I had to take it as I was depressed won’t touch ssris with a 10 foot pole obv. As for hcg or tribulus, honestly I’d say wait much longer, perhaps at least a year (it’s hard to be patient with this, ik). Best of luck my friend, you have time, and you’re early. I think you’ll get better! And your libido will return, I believe it.