I guys, I'm new here. Here my story. Sorry if it's long, I'll try being as much short as possible. I'm not and native English speaker: hope this is clear anyway.


Who I am
31 years old, Italian, don't smoke, drink only socially (once a week), no drugs. Height 1.74 meters, weight 57 kg (BMI 18.8).
Quite reflective, emphatetic and sensible character, not the most solar guy on Earth but very sociable and funny when I'm fine. Good success with girls, more due to my head and character than my body (I'm a pretty but skinny guy).


What I took

For prostatitis
5mg/day for 60days of Finasteride in October-November 2019 (Proscar), 320mg/day of Saw Palmetto/Serenoa Repens for 26 days in September 2020


My Symptoms

From late September 2020:

a) Sexual:

a.1) ED/impotence: initially total impotence. Then a bit better. Now so-so. Anyway just a shadow of me few month ago.

a.2) Loss of Libido: some day higher, some day lower.

a.3) Loss of spontaneuos/morning erection: have some nocturnals (in particular I wake up with nocturnal and a stimule to pee).

b) Mental:

b.1) Insomnia: main mental issue. I can fall asleep quite easily, but I wake up after 4-5 hours and can't take sleep back again; the next day I am not particularly tired despite the low amount of hours slept.

b.2) Depression: Now I am quite depressed. Sometimes I cry and see my life ruined, but I think it caused mainly by my symptoms appeared overnight and not a direct effect of the drugs.

b.3) Sense of Disconnection: I don't know if it's sexual, mental, physical, but in general I feel like my head is disconnected from my penis. Also I feel like testicles insensivity.


c) Physical:

c.1) Lower abdomen pain: This is quite scarying. Every day I experiment lower abdomen pain (similar to what you feel when you're kicked in the balls, but much less intense even if more lasting);

c.2) Pain/burning in Perianal Area: some days I experiment pain/burning in perianal area (prostatitis? urinary issue? mental stress which concentrates there?).


My Exams

Visits
I see many andrologists and endocrinologists. Almost all of them said that mine is a phsicological problem. In any case I've not received an aswer to my problem that sounds meaningful to me. They said that Finasteride of 2019 cannot cause effects one year later (even if they agreed that it should have not be prescribed to a 30 years guy), while Serenoa of September 2020 cannot cause these side effects at all.

Exam
I had a magnetic resonance of the pelvic area, ultrasound to penis, scrotum, prostate and urinary apparatus and in all cases seem to be all ok.

I'm waiting for gut microbiota test results.

Hormonal panel (I write down here only the main, if you ask for other I'll add):

1. Testosterone
Strange values. Tested 3 times in 3 different labs (different range values).
29 September (last day of Serenoa): 733 ng/dL (16-753);
7 October: 344 ng/dL (249-836);
21 November: 238 ng/dL (197-670).

2. Free Testosterone
7 October: 9.98 pg/mL (1.00-28.28);
21 November: 13.65 pg/mL (15-50).

3. DHT
7 October: 483 pg/mL (250-990);
21 November: 549 pg/mL (250-990).

4. FSH
29 September: 4.5 mUI/mL (0.7-10.8)
21 November: 5.8 mUI/mL (1.4-18.1)

5. LH
29 September: 3.2 mUI/mL (1.2-10.6)
21 November: 2.0 mUI/mL (1.5-9.3)

6. DHEA-S
17 October: 456 ug/dL (34-570)
21 November: 384 ug/dL (34-570)

7. SHBG
17 October: 43.63 nmol/L (16-80.5)

8. Cortisol
7 October: 22.8 ug/dL (6.2-19.4);
21 November: 23.2 ug/dL (5.27-22.4).

9. 17 Beta Estradiol
7 October: 17.3 pg/mL (27.1-52.2);
21 November: 15.25 pg/mL (11.8-39.8).


What I'm taking

Melatonin 2mg, retard release (Circadin) for insomnia.
Vitamin D trying to free/un-tie some testosterone.

Not taking Cialis 5mg, even if diffent andrologists have prescribed it to me. It may be helpful at least at the beginning? To be honest I fear that it doesn't work: since in this situation I think to PDE5 as the last chance, finding out that they don't work would sink my humor: It's like I prefer to not discover.


My Story

In october/november 2019 I took for 60days 5mg of finasteride (Proscar), for a supposed prostatitis, prescribed by an idiot urologist. No side effect at all. Also after quitting it, I was horny as always and able to get an erection just with texting to a girl during quarantine or flirting verbally with a girl in the sea this August. I wasn't aware at all of its side effect, I trusted in the consultant prescription.

In September 2020 I was having some burning in perianal area and I thought it was my prostate. So I took some pills of saw palmetto/serenoa repens, which I usually used in these cases in the past with no side effects.
I took them for 26 days. I started to note some symptoms on 20 September. In particular I needed more time to get an erection with a girl and I lost it during the third shot (first two went well) and stop the sex.
One week later I have to masturbate for a sperm exam and it remains totally flaccid.
In the next weeks I’ve never been able to make it up anymore.

In October I had no erections at all. I developed the Insomnia I described above.

In November I start to have some erections. In some cases it was quite spontaneous (no fap, nor particular stimulation). I get back the ability to masturbate every now and then.

In December the situation it's rollercasting, but has not returned to the total death of October. By the way I developed the Physical pain I described above. In particular the Lower Abdomen Pain is frightening me a lot (even now I'm typing I feel pain).

I can also admit that there's a psychological aspect and in fact I'm seeing a terapist trained in EMDR. I can also admit that this 2020 has been a difficult year I am at home since february and except for August and September, my life has been a confiment in my bedroom where I smartworking.
By the way I'm pretty sure that the whole thing isn't psychological and the Hormonal values and the pain/feeling I feel are quite objective.
Until 3 months ago I was able to have erection in any condition and whenever I wanted. Never had a defaillance with a girl and always to fuck 3 times in a row. Everything has always worked very well down there. Now I feel like it has betrayed me!

Fortunately I've not developed other major mental issue than Insomnia.

I’m trying to staying calm but the thought that my life is ruined and that I’ll never have a relationship is always in my mind.

Unfortunately I don’t have any relationship right now, so I cannot test my response with other sex. One month ago I had some petting with a girl. I had erections (maybe not good/hard as one time), but I had severe premature ejaculation, jerking off in my underwear without particular stimulation; after one hour we petted again and I was close to shoot again super quickly, so I desisted...

Surfed on PH in October and November but it doesn't help so much. I read there about CdNuts Protocol even if CdNuts is ostracized there (don't know why, they said he is a crook and his protocol is scam: to me, after reading this forum, CdNuts seems a good person). I found out this forum by chance yesterday in a reddit thread and I liked its approach.

So, here I am...


What to Do
What can I do? Do some other exams?

Take Cialis 5mg doctors prescribed to me? Daily or at least when needed with a girl?

I may start the protocol, despite the following doubts:

1. Fasting: I weigh only 57 kg for 1.74 mt. I'm already skinny and cannot get weigh (I tried in different way). I think I can't afford a fasting without seriously compromising my health;

2. Diet: the diet is very strict. I already had a gluten free diet on March-July 2020, substituting gluten with rice. Here in Italy we eat pasta, pizza, bread, a lot. It's quite difficult and may become socially excluding. The same thing for alchool. I want to heal, but I want also a normal life back. At 31 I cannot afford to not going out/party with friends for my life. No cheat allowed sometimes?

3. Supplements and Pump: 21 supplements for testosterone are all necessary? They seem to much and also difficult to get all and to follow the regime; the same for the other daily supplements or the pump of the dick. Don't want to become a pill or pump addicted for my life! Moreover I don't understand the doses of the supplements.

4. Masturbation: I've never been an olympic fapper, but I used to masturbate 3-5 times a weeks (also in order to last more with a girl). Not used so much porn, much more my imagination. It sounds quite unnatural to me to not fap anymore, in particular because I've not a girlfriend right now. I fear I increase my mental separation from my dick.

For sure many other doubts will come. For now, thank you all and in particular to cdNuts for this forum!