Hi Guys,
Below is my story of being a Post Finasteride Syndrome sufferer, and I need some advice
I think I have been suffering from some sort of Post Finasteride Syndrome since the early 2000’s. Things from then are a little hazy date and duration wise - no internet at home to look things up and I was just led to believe what Drs told me about side effects. I may also have taken Fin on and off a few times - I cant really remember.
Looking back, the first symptoms was a dramatic drop off in athletic performance - I wend from being a national level Track and Field athlete to an ordinary club athlete in the space of about a year. However , it wasnt I met my now wife in 2003 that I realised I was experiencing some of the common sexual side effects. I also realise now that I had also experiencing some of the other side effects - bit of brani fog/concentration problems, depression, anxiety, lack of emotions etc that I rarely noticed or put down to circumstances.
Since then I have been on a mission to find a treatment, or something else to improve my condition, particularly the sexual problems ( I can live with the other side effects, but the sexual ones have put a massive strain on my marriage).
Many things I have tried have improved things for a while- supplements, Shock wave therapy etc. Around 2 years ago I even purchases an online wholistic ‘Improve your erection’ style program which saw some good improvement (again for a while).
Throughout this time 've regularly had my hormone levels checked, with my Total and Free testosterone levels usually at the low end of normal range. I had been very loath to start TRT, fearing side effects such as acne and further hair loss. I have also seen arguments on both sides about whether TRT would be beneficial. However, 12 months ago I took the plunge and went onto a chemist compounded testosterone cream through an online TRT Program
I didnt see much improvement at all on the lowest concentration (10%), however blood tests showed an increase in Total and Free Testosterone. Upon doctors advice I increased the concentration to 15% and within a week noticed an small increase in sexual function. This lasted around 3 months before it slowly started to wane. A couple of weeks ago I had my bloods done again and Total and Free Testosterone are lower than when I started, plus estrogen is now lower than the ‘normal range’! My doctor has upped the concentration again around a week ago and have started to see some improvement again.
Im hoping someone can help explain things to me in laymens terms. . I am now concerned that I have stuffed my hormones up too much , or is it something to do with Angrogen receptors- I was happy with the improvements seen but dont want to make things worse in the long term.
Any advice would be appreciated