Hi everyone, I'm not really sure I have a right to post here as I am only three weeks off the drug. But as I'm sure you've all experienced, it's been a hell of a three weeks and I'm sick at looking at horror stories and giving myself a negative feedback loop so I thought I'd rather preempt the possibility of this being a long term thing in the right way rather than just setting myself up for the worst in the wrong way. And before I continue I just want to add that I truly am sorry for and in awe of the people who have kept their heads held high throughout dealing with this bastard long term. Just surviving that with any semblance of normal life is a victory in my opinion.

So a little about myself. I'm a 30 year old male, extremely fit strength wise and currently studying as a mature student here in Ireland. Last October I got fin prescribed to me online after noticing a minor shed and doing some research on the stuff on Reddit and becoming confident that A. It was safe and that only a tiny minority got any side effects and that B. if I did get side effects then they would clear up as soon as I got off the drug.
Fast forward to the end of January and I'm going out that night and I decide to pop one off in the shower. Nothing much happens and I end up ejaculating with a semi and I don't think much of it as I didn't have porn to look at and just chalk it up to a bad wank. The next day hungover, and I feel different as usually I'd be very horny hungover but I'm at work and can't test the theory. On Monday, same again. It takes an age to get up even watching porn and I bin the fin. It's not worth it. Over the next few days my energy levels completely evaporated, my mood changed, I had insane levels of mind fog, blurred vision and slurring of words and I was more or less completely impotent other than when I really concentrate watching porn and even then the erections are crap. For about eight days I was near suicidal but then I get a relief from the symptoms, I feel the DHT returning and my body responding. I feel horny again! This lasted for about three days until I feel anxiousness creeping back and my erections disappearing. And other than one miraculous day last Tuesday (14th) where I was feeling better than I was pre fin many of my symptoms are back.

This is where I am 22 days after quitting the drug:

*Pretty much completely impotent with zero libido currently. I haven't been able to get it up manually since Thursday.
*I would describe my mood as severely depressed over the past few weeks but I'm open to the idea that a lot of it may be mental as before even knowing about this site I'd known of Wim Hof and practiced meditation somewhat and upon reading English's post on propeciahelp forum my mood elevated and I've managed to stay positive enough with the help of cold showers, heavy lifting, Wim Hof breathing and some meditation.
*As well as my my mood lifting this past couple of days, so has the brain fog. I'm able to talk to people and enjoy the conversations again to a degree and concentrate in class better. Again this might indicate to me that my anxiousness was exasperating the problems and that positive thinking and actions can help alleviate this.
*My genitals most of the time feel numb and I have started to develop varicous veins, particularly noticeable on my testicles but also some on my penis and I often get pains down there which are often preceded by another vein showing up. No shrinkage yet.
*Two out of the last three days I have woken up with weak morning wood. When this happens I practice kegels to try and force blood through but it quickly disappears.
*I have awful sleeping patterns, mostly waking up at least four times per night. This leads me to have very low energy most days and it does effect other areas like concentration.


I guess I have a few questions if anyone would be up to answering them. I'm going to see Dr Andrew Rynne on friday who is listed as having dealt with PFS before on the foundation website. Does anyone have any experience with him or is there anything that I should be asking whilst there? Judging by my symptoms, should I be looking to jump onto the protocol here or am I more wise to wait it out for a few weeks to see if I improve? I have a tripped booked to go to South America with a friend in August for a month, if I do get on the protocol it might be difficult to follow to a T whilst there, is there a way to mitigate the negatives that not being able to adhere to it my bring? Should I consider not going? If not getting on the protocol is my best course of action is there anything else that I may be doing to help with the numbness in my genitals other than the hot baths I've been taking. My currently taking a mixture of vitamins (B,C,D, Zinc, Creatine, l-arginine and garlic tablets) and I have tribulus being delivered today though I am hesitant to take it as I've heard that it can trigger another crash. Any advice in this regard?

Thank you in advance to anyone willing to read this and answer. I know that the amount of time I've dealt with this is tiny in comparison to some here and my symptoms currently are probably rather minor at this stage compared with what many have gone through. I just want to make the next few steps that I take the best that I can.