Former Finasteride User, Need Improvement

[fever257]

Hi all,

so i know i’ve mentioned that i previously took finasteride. my health crash is what initially got me into peating and i’m honestly so thankful i did.

through meditation, niacinamide and pregnenalone, i believe i’ve gotten my mental health under control and am operating much better than i was on the drug. overall i’d consider myself content in that capacity.

that being said, i still have sexual side effects that i feel very awkward, insecure, and concerned about. i’ve experienced pretty much everything, including the following:
- ED
- premature ejaculation
-loss of libido
-reduced sperm count and liquidy consistency
-ED again
-weird sensation where when flaccid i feel like my genitals (shaft and scrotum) just wanna recede into my body
-weak erections
-reduced size (mostly girth, huge disappointment)

anyway, i’ve been off the drug for about 8 months now and i’m starting to get really concerned. does anyone here have any ideas? am i kinda screwed for life?

i did. actually read somewhere - come to think of it, it was in video format - where a guy explained how he’d taken finasteride for research and it simply lowered his T and DHT levels, and all of his side effects diminished after he increased these levels. this is the link:

if that’s the case, should i try TRT or 5a-dhp to increase the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which was blocked by the finasteride?

i did actually get blood work done, with my total T coming in @ 626(range 250-827). that seemed low and not optimal from my judgement. Estrogen cane in at 147(range 60-190) . free t4 was 1.2 (0.8-1.8) and TSH was 2.79(0.40-4.50).

so should i work on increasing my male hormones? does anyone have any advice or anything? i feel i really need to get to work on fixing these sexual side effects so that i can actually have a sex life.

as always, any and all advice is welcomed! @haidut please give me some feedback.

 

[PleaseDoo21]

you should also try and get your DHT tested.

regardless, depending on your age I'd say TRT is a good choice.

 

[Hans]

Hi all,

so i know i’ve mentioned that i previously took finasteride. my health crash is what initially got me into peating and i’m honestly so thankful i did.

through meditation, niacinamide and pregnenalone, i believe i’ve gotten my mental health under control and am operating much better than i was on the drug. overall i’d consider myself content in that capacity.

that being said, i still have sexual side effects that i feel very awkward, insecure, and concerned about. i’ve experienced pretty much everything, including the following:
- ED
- premature ejaculation
-loss of libido
-reduced sperm count and liquidy consistency
-ED again
-weird sensation where when flaccid i feel like my genitals (shaft and scrotum) just wanna recede into my body
-weak erections
-reduced size (mostly girth, huge disappointment)

anyway, i’ve been off the drug for about 8 months now and i’m starting to get really concerned. does anyone here have any ideas? am i kinda screwed for life?

i did. actually read somewhere - come to think of it, it was in video format - where a guy explained how he’d taken finasteride for research and it simply lowered his T and DHT levels, and all of his side effects diminished after he increased these levels. this is the link:

if that’s the case, should i try TRT or 5a-dhp to increase the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which was blocked by the finasteride?

i did actually get blood work done, with my total T coming in @ 626(range 250-827). that seemed low and not optimal from my judgement. Estrogen cane in at 147(range 60-190) . free t4 was 1.2 (0.8-1.8) and TSH was 2.79(0.40-4.50).

so should i work on increasing my male hormones? does anyone have any advice or anything? i feel i really need to get to work on fixing these sexual side effects so that i can actually have a sex life.

as always, any and all advice is welcomed! @haidut please give me some feedback.

Finasteride lowers DHT and dopamine and increases serotonin, cortisol, estrogen and prolactin.
Your estrogen is rather high, which indicates increased conversion of testosterone to estrogen and that might be driven by cortisol, inflammation and insulin resistance.
Because fin can reduce dopamine and estrogen can stimulate prolactin, I wouldn't be surprised if your prolactin is high as well.
So high serotonin, estrogen and prolactin and low dopamine and DHT might very well be the culprits of your issues.

Taking TRT won't help much if it doesn't convert to DHT and keeps on converting to estrogen.
You want to shut down estrogen, prolactin and cortisol as they are the main inhibitors of testosterone synthesis.
Men with PFS usually benefit a lot from taking niacinamide, caffeine, glycine and 5a-DHP for cognition, but maybe something like 11-keto DHT or andro might help more with the other issues.

 

[fever257]

Hey Hans,
Thanks so much for shedding light on everything. Niacinamide has worked wonders for me and it’s definitely a staple now.

Based on your info, I need to incorporate prolactin, cortisol, and estrogen antagonists into my arsenal. With that being said, what are the best aromatase inhibitors and cortisol and prolactin inhibitors? Side note: (i don’t think that salt is an issue for me, i know that low salt stimulates prolactin release). OH and i think i’ve got serotonin covered with cyproheptadine

Also, how can i increase conversion of T to DHT as opposed to T to E? how do i increase 5AR enzyme activity?

caffeine, niacinamide and glycine (chamomile), check.

Additionally, i can’t find anywhere to buy 5a-dhp on the web. i’ve never heard of 11-keto DHT but i’ll look into it now. Thank you so much for all your help!

 

[TheBeard]

regardless, depending on your age I'd say TRT is a good choice.

What do you mean exactly?

 

[PleaseDoo21]

What do you mean exactly?

well considering testosterone is a potent androgen, regardless of whether ot not he is deficient in 5ar enzymes, he will most likely be able to return to his former self pre-finasteride therapy.

 

[Hans]

Hey Hans,
Thanks so much for shedding light on everything. Niacinamide has worked wonders for me and it’s definitely a staple now.

Based on your info, I need to incorporate prolactin, cortisol, and estrogen antagonists into my arsenal. With that being said, what are the best aromatase inhibitors and cortisol and prolactin inhibitors? Side note: (i don’t think that salt is an issue for me, i know that low salt stimulates prolactin release). OH and i think i’ve got serotonin covered with cyproheptadine

Also, how can i increase conversion of T to DHT as opposed to T to E? how do i increase 5AR enzyme activity?

caffeine, niacinamide and glycine (chamomile), check.

Additionally, i can’t find anywhere to buy 5a-dhp on the web. i’ve never heard of 11-keto DHT but i’ll look into it now. Thank you so much for all your help!

Everyone is affected differently by fin so I don't know if your estrogen is actually elevated. But if DHT and dopamine are reduced, they will probably be elevated.
Good aromatase inhibitors include androsterone, the fat soluble vitamins, 6oxo, caffeine, white button mushrooms, zinc, etc. I did an article on aromatase inhibitors: Inhibit Aromatase: 31 Potent Supplements » MenElite

To increase DHT I would just continue to do what you're already doing.
Idealabsdc.com/lab sells androsterone and 5a- DHP. If you contact them through the site, maybe they can help you with 11-keto DHT as well.
Some additional methods to increase DHT include: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AhAB&usg=AOvVaw2JkfZMXViZOM400bHZ1eM_&ampcf=1

 

[TheBeard]

well considering testosterone is a potent androgen, regardless of whether ot not he is deficient in 5ar enzymes, he will most likely be able to return to his former self pre-finasteride therapy.

Not at all.
Overwhelming evidence that it almost doesn't work for any PFS sufferer. Check Propeciahelp forum

 

[TheBeard]

Hi all,

so i know i’ve mentioned that i previously took finasteride. my health crash is what initially got me into peating and i’m honestly so thankful i did.

through meditation, niacinamide and pregnenalone, i believe i’ve gotten my mental health under control and am operating much better than i was on the drug. overall i’d consider myself content in that capacity.

that being said, i still have sexual side effects that i feel very awkward, insecure, and concerned about. i’ve experienced pretty much everything, including the following:
- ED
- premature ejaculation
-loss of libido
-reduced sperm count and liquidy consistency
-ED again
-weird sensation where when flaccid i feel like my genitals (shaft and scrotum) just wanna recede into my body
-weak erections
-reduced size (mostly girth, huge disappointment)

anyway, i’ve been off the drug for about 8 months now and i’m starting to get really concerned. does anyone here have any ideas? am i kinda screwed for life?

i did. actually read somewhere - come to think of it, it was in video format - where a guy explained how he’d taken finasteride for research and it simply lowered his T and DHT levels, and all of his side effects diminished after he increased these levels. this is the link:

if that’s the case, should i try TRT or 5a-dhp to increase the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which was blocked by the finasteride?

i did actually get blood work done, with my total T coming in @ 626(range 250-827). that seemed low and not optimal from my judgement. Estrogen cane in at 147(range 60-190) . free t4 was 1.2 (0.8-1.8) and TSH was 2.79(0.40-4.50).

so should i work on increasing my male hormones? does anyone have any advice or anything? i feel i really need to get to work on fixing these sexual side effects so that i can actually have a sex life.

as always, any and all advice is welcomed! @haidut please give me some feedback.

Have you tried transscrotal Pregnenolone?

 

[lilsticky]

you could be taking too many pregnenolone