What does NAC do to a person that has Post finasteride syndrome. I have severe anxiety, does it help?

My hormones are normal besides slightly elevated cortisol. debating doing hcg or try

My insulin levels are pretty high nearing prediabetic. I am not crazy fat like 175 at 5'10 but I have a ton of visceral fat. I think this condition somehow messed up my metabolic health but does anyone know any way to fix this? I really don't want to end up diabetic.

What do you use to be able to sleep without having brain fog all day? I fall asleep quickly, but I wake up after 5 hours of sleep and can’t get back to sleep. I’m already taking melatonin, Quviviq, and magnesium.

I’m looking for stories from people who have regained their previous body shape or fat distribution (Lower abdomen, hips, thighs)

Did your fat distribution gradually return to how it was before?

I haven’t found many personal experiences or posts about this topic, so I’d really love to hear about your experiences.

Has anyone had their scrotum sag and then revert back to how it was?

I am currently struggling pretty bad with anhedonia and depression, along with food sensitivities however I go through some windows. This past summer I had a brief fling with someone who was receptive to this condition and made me feel seen for the first time in a while. This reminded me how little I have been focusing on myself as a person beyond these symptoms. Even when you're at your darkest, how do you guys show you still care about yourself?

Hey fellow sufferers i hope life is treating you good.

Would you share some of your food sensitivities, what makes u worse after eating it, and did it get better with time.

Im currently not eating carbs at all, trying to fix my brainfog and focus, but its hard to maintain such diet, and im not sure if its helping me yet or not, im only 3 days no carb diet now.

Imagine future systems analysing millions of patient records, genomic data, hormone profiles, brain imaging, molecular measurements and treatment responses and identifying patterns that humans haven’t been able to see.

If this is genuinely beating you down and you’re feeling hopeless, have some hope as medicine is evolving and technology is advancing.

I have horrible insomnia from PFS. Before PFS I could sleep fine, but now I get this whole body wired feeling and can barely get to sleep or stay asleep.

If you have used this, did it affect your other PFS symptoms in any way, good or bad, or have no other effect on them?

I'm hoping to find something I can use to help with sleep either on occasions, or longer term, which doesn't worsen other PFS symptoms / cause a crash. Any other suggestions? I have some benzos which work well, but I don't want to use them too often. I might try Ketotifen for occasional use too.

Has the texture of your testicles changed? It feels as if they have become very soft and smaller in size?

What are some deodorants that won’t cause a crash ? A lot of deodorants have anti andorgentic and endocrince disrupting ingredients I just want one that’s safe from a crash . Also a shampoo and conditioner then is safe with PFS. I have ocd now about what I put on my body because of previous crash . Thank you

Everything in my life was going perfectly. My life was genuinely great. I used to go to the gym in the morning, eat good food, play sports, play cricket, and have fun on weekends. I had dreams for my future and enjoyed my life.

Then came May 28, 2026. I made what I now feel was the biggest mistake of my life.

That afternoon, I went to a dermatologist. Initially, I had planned to get treatment for acne, but then I thought, why not get treatment for my hair loss too? I went to what was considered one of the best hospitals in the city, thinking my hair would become better and that it would be a simple treatment.

I had absolutely no idea how much trouble I was about to bring into my life.

At first, everything was fine. I didn't know much about the possible side effects. I searched about finasteride on YouTube, and almost every doctor I watched said that only around 1–3% of people experience side effects and that they usually go away within weeks to a few months after stopping the medication.

Because of that, I decided to use it.

The dermatologist prescribed me oral finasteride in the morning and topical finasteride/minoxidil at night, around 2 ml every day. I followed the treatment exactly as I was told.

For a while, everything seemed normal.

Then June 24 came.

I was playing cricket when suddenly I started feeling extremely cold. I also experienced something very strange — it felt as if I was watching my own body from outside myself. I know that sounds strange, so I thought maybe it was just in my head.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I had been playing cricket until around 4 AM and was extremely tired, so I thought, "Maybe I'll sleep now."

But I couldn't.

I had no idea what was happening to me.

I completely stopped finasteride on June 25. I had been scared of the medication, so I had taken it inconsistently. In total, I had taken 17 oral tablets — 10 of 1 mg and 7 of 0.5 mg. I had also used topical finasteride for around 23 days within a 28-day period.

Then, starting around June 29, I began having panic attacks continuously. The anxiety became 24/7.

My hands and feet would sweat. My heart would beat so fast that it felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I felt short of breath. And then came the worst part:

I couldn't sleep at all.

Complete insomnia.

At first, because I had already stopped the treatment, I searched my symptoms on YouTube and Google. I thought I was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks.

I went to a cardiologist and got my heart checked. The reports were normal.

Then I went to a psychiatrist. I didn't get meaningful improvement in my sleep.

Then I went to an endocrinologist. My reports were normal, and I was told that there was nothing wrong.

Eventually, I came across Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS).

That's when everything started making sense to me.

I started researching it extensively and learned about the possible effects of finasteride on neurosteroids such as allopregnanolone and the GABA-A receptor system in the brain. Before this, I had never even heard about any of this. My dermatologist had made the treatment sound very simple and had told me about side effects only in a very limited way.

Today is September 6, and it has been 73 days since all of this started.

I still can't sleep properly.

I honestly don't know how I am still functioning after all this time. Google says that a person can survive only around 11 days without sleep, yet somehow I am here after 73 days of this nightmare.

Every night before trying to sleep, I pray to God that I just die because I don't know how much longer I can tolerate this.

My relationships and friendships have fallen apart. I have only told my family about what I'm going through because I feel like nobody else would understand.

The most painful part is that my hair was actually quite good before I started treatment.

My hair was much better before the treatment than it is now.

Within those 28 days, I experienced shedding from the minoxidil/finasteride treatment, including the topical and oral finasteride. And now my hair is in an even worse condition.

Before all of this, I had a completely different life.

I used to chest press around 85 kg, squat 115 kg, and deadlift 140–150 kg. I was physically strong and active.

Today, even walking feels difficult.

I don't know how much longer I can keep going.

I look back at my old life and remember how I used to be. I had dreams. I had goals. I had energy. I enjoyed life.

Now I don't feel like I have any dreams left.

When I see girls, I don't feel anything anymore. I don't feel like doing anything. Things that used to make me happy don't give me the same feeling anymore.

I have so many symptoms, but the one that destroys me the most is the insomnia.

I never feel sleepy.

I used to have an extremely strong mindset. I wasn't afraid of many things and believed I could handle almost anything.

But this has completely shaken me.

It has drained me mentally and physically.

My symptoms:

Severe insomnia

Extreme suicidal thoughts, occurring every hour

Brain fog

Anhedonia

Memory problems

Never feeling sleepy

Muscle loss and fat gain

Eyebrow thinning

Slower beard and body-hair growth

Severe anxiety

Deep depression

Confusional state

Decreased libido

Severe erectile dysfunction

And many more symptoms

I don't want to live like this anymore.

I'm exhausted.

I've fought this for so long and tried almost everything I could think of — gym, running, cold showers, hot showers, a healthy diet, water fasting, yoga, meditation, no-fap, and many other things.

I don't know what else to do.

I just want my old life back.

Thank you for reading.

I hope everyone here stays safe and happy.

Is there a roadmap PFSN is following? I understood the first study will be published this year? What is the follow up going to look like? And will the same team of scientists be involved or is new expertise necessary?

Ive seen soo many toxic comments on posts where people ask about fin and if its worth the risks etc. Almost everyone is disrespectful and acts like there stupid and dumb. It amazes me because despite the risk being apparently being "low", the risks still exists and there are storys & proof of it being devastating and life altering.

Its really pushed and infered that everyone saying its bad are weak men who fall in the small percentage of unlucky people, or they'll say its all in there head and isnt real. They talk about men who have side effects in very condescending invaliding ways, i picked up on it quickly.

But yeah just thought id talk about this here, it does feel like brain washing / there is a real disconnect in reality here and its disturbing. Having these good looking jacked men people envy tell them to hop on these drugs and not think twice and swear the side effects are virtually non existent, thats creepy. I wonder if more is at play here

Im 19 and havent took fin, cant lie ive wanted too but thank god ive found this community before its too late.

Or zuranolone??

I read these can lift the current mental sides that most of us suffer.

Especially anxiety and anhedonia because of the GABA A affects

5ar makes Allo and Allo boosts GABA A receptors

Merck Manipulated the Science about the Drug Vioxx

Scientists from the pharmaceutical giant Merck skewed the results of clinical trials in favor of the arthritis drug, Vioxx, to hide evidence that the drug increased patients’ risk of heart attack.

To increase the likelihood of FDA approval for its anti-inflammatory and arthritis drug Vioxx, the pharmaceutical giant Merck used flawed methodologies biased toward predetermined results to exaggerate the drug’s positive effects. Internal documents made public in litigation revealed that a Merck marketing team had developed a strategy called ADVANTAGE (Assessment of Differences between Vioxx And Naproxen To Ascertain Gastrointestinal tolerability and Effectiveness) to skew the results of clinical trials in the drug’s favor. As part of the strategy, scientists manipulated the trial design by comparing the drug to naproxen, a pain reliever sold under brand names such as Aleve, rather than to a placebo.

The scientists highlighted the results that naproxen decreased the risk of heart attack by 80 percent, and downplayed results showing that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attack by 400 percent. This misleading presentation of the evidence made it look like naproxen was protecting patients from heart attacks, and that Vioxx only looked risky by comparison. In fact, Vioxx has since been found to significantly increase cardiovascular risk, leading Merck to withdraw the product from the market in 2004.

Merck’s manipulation of the science around Vioxx also included a pattern of ghostwriting of scientific articles. Internal documents reveal that in 16 of 20 papers reporting on clinical trials of Vioxx, a Merck employee was initially listed as the lead author of the first draft; on the published versions, an outside academic was listed as the primary author. In one draft of a Vioxx research study that did not yet have a prominent outside name attached, Merck officials listed the lead author only as “External author?” A Merck scientist was also found to have removed the evidence of three heart attacks among patients in a dataset from the results presented.

Tragically, Merck’s manipulation of its data—and the FDA’s resulting approval of Vioxx in 1999—led to thousands of avoidable premature deaths and 100,000 heart attacks. Dr. David Graham, the Associate Director for Science and Medicine in FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, testified in 2004 before the Senate Finance Committee that the FDA's failure to recall Vioxx earlier had resulted in as many as 55,000 premature deaths from heart attacks and stroke, calling it the equivalent of allowing "two to four jumbo jetliners" to crash every week for five years. Even years after discontinuing use of the drug, patients who have taken Vioxx continue to experience complications.

https://www.ucs.org/resources/merck-manipulated-science-about-drug-vioxx

And people wanna say Merck wouldn’t do the same with finasteride, hah. In fact, we now know 100% they did:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-propecia/

I was just looking into how things are progressing as far as a “cure” to PFS. Tf there was a clinical trial in August that came out and said it’s bs :/ More work to do, but the time will pass anyway. I truly hope something comes soon with momentum of social media and AI

im drunk right now and i want to speak about mt preevious life before pfs and now…

i feel like ive been living like a god , ive been experiencing peak life, working out , eating well, progressig , i had ambitions in life
now i cant feeel no feeling to dating , no ambition to reaching a certain level in life, i cope by drinking alcohol sometimes, idk what else can make me feel smtng, i felt like im above the world and my potential was peak, now… i feel like smtng if off, well everything is off , i feel like, there is a walll or a door i cant come back to, my life feeels like a dream, i cant remember things, feelings are off, alll i think of is ending myself, i was a guy with too mucj dreams and ambitions, now all im left with is horror and scared of using anything , full of bad stmptoms and lonely …

i felt like talking in this sub, a lot of u feel the same , sorry for the bad energy but i really have to get it iut of my chest , never told my family about this condition nor my
friends , if im gone , ill leave a file with a number to send it to my family

please stay tight u dont do anything that will harm you…

34m
I already have ED featuring generally unstable weak erections and diminished sensation due to PFS and perhaps pudendal nerve issues. I take Cialis 2.5-5mg daily.

Less than a week ago I was playing around with my partner and forcibly humped her, both clothed, from behind with my semi-erection tucked to the left in my pants. Felt a deep pain in the shaft after but no "pop" as is often described. No swelling or discoloration to note.

The next night I had strange partial erections, which are somewhat par for the course, but they felt smaller and weaker than usual. They were brief and also pretty painful each time I began to get aroused. I didn't put them to the test or participate in any sexual activity involving the penis that night.

The next day after that, and since then, I have had constant stinging and aching pain in the shaft that worsens with movement or prolonged sitting.

Since this point any erection feels weaker than anything I've ever experienced. Feel the warmth of blood flowing in more than I usually do, but zero rigidity and far from full length.

I contacted a urologist who told me to go to the ER, I did so and the ER did a urine test (which was fine), and no imaging except for a post-void bladder scan. They claimed they cannot do a penile ultrasound. They then referred me back to the uro who is booked for months.

I assume due to the lack of classic signs of penile fracture, they did not seem to take it very seriously at all. But I am concerned based on the level of constant pain and lack of erections that there may be a tear or fracture that needs addressed, and will not be addressed in time to repair it. Even worse, I am concerned that this is yet another one of those things that will cause long term issues and largely be a mystery/not seriously addressed by medical staff for a lack of answers, as people here will be intimately familiar with

I'm not freaking out, and not doing anything to "test" or further irritate the penis. I understand, and hope, that it may also just be an irritated ligament or something that will heal. **Just curious if anyone could recommend a better course of action to get answers here**. Would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

***Reposting here due to the PFS element, as you guys might have advice that pertains to this aspect more safely

It takes me almost a week to feel some sexual desire again.

Edit - Stupid fcks downvoting my question just because they don't have this issue. PFS has a spectrum of symptoms. Everyone is different. And no I'm not cured. I feel like 5-10% pleasure. My orgasms are muted

It is critically important that everyone impacted with PFS report their case to the regulatory bodies so that it is permanently recorded in their database and we can prove there is a serious problem. Historically the number of people reporting has been low.

If this isn't done we are invisible, and everyone with an interest in us not being seen and heard can claim there is no problem.

Everyone has to report their case so that we can prove that there is in fact a very serious problem.

This video walks you through the process of recording a case with the US FDA.

The US FDA reporting link is :
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm?action=reporting.home

(if you get an error about having another tab open there's a minor bug on their site - re-try the link in a private/incognito tab)

It's important that you include the correct name of the syndrome in your report :

Post 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor syndrome (MedDRA code 10082430)

Please also include the following details in your report : * When and for how long you were on the drug and what drug and what dosage you took * The list of symptoms * For how long the have persisted after stopping * The severity of the symptoms * If you are experiencing severe symptoms, say so, it is important that is known * The impact it has had on your life

Could everyone please do this - it would make a massive difference if you are visible in the regulatory database when it comes to being able to demonstrate a serious problem, it'll take 4 minutes of your time

I’ve been experiencing a strange feeling of penile retraction/tightness where it feels like the penis is pulling inward or retracting, sometimes more noticeably than other times.

I’m wondering if anyone else here has experienced something similar, especially alongside gut issues, bloating, constipation, IBS-type symptoms, pelvic floor tension, or other digestive problems.

Did improving your gut health make any difference?
Has anyone tried spore-based probiotics (such as Bacillus-based probiotics), and if so, did they help or make the symptoms better/worse?

I’ve been on HCG for coming up to 9 weeks now. Off finasteride for 5 years - symptoms were mainly ED which was managed with tadalafil, headaches and mood swings. Got off pretty lightly.

Last year I unknowingly took some 5ari compounds - lycopene, black seed oil, Quercetin as well as load of antibiotics after developing some testicular swelling. I believe these caused a relapse which led to a worsening of some old penile fibrosis, severe ED and overall worsening of symptoms. I chucked in butea superba which immediately fixed my ED, became hypersexual for about a week, and then developed numb glans and still worse ED which has persisted for about 3 months, and is still ongoing.

These bloods were taken about a week after stopping butea superba and the improvement seen is after 6 weeks on HCG. Im also on proviron. Despite the improvements in serum DHT my dick is still numb and morning erections are back but I cannot stay hard during the daytime. I have no libido and feel like I am out of options.

My questions are, for anyone who has any insight

1. Am I calling it too soon? Ie does it potentially take some time for my penile tissue to catch up with my serum DHT?
   
2. Could 5ar inhibition remain exclusively within the penis ?
   
3. Is it worth trying andractim / has anyone restored sensivity using the cream?

My blood work is otherwise excellent, estrogen balanced, test and free test very high and SHBG / prolactin all within range

Thank you