Late 2018I made the biggest mistake of my life, to take a drug prescribed to me by my doctor. That drug was Finasteride. I was 22 and my hairline had started to recede, I noticed more hairs than normal in the shower, panicked and hopped on finasteride without giving it much thought or research. I've always been the type of guy with a "**** it she'll be right" attitude. I wasn't even aware of the severity of the side effects or that there was an entire syndrome of permanent debilitating side effects caused by this drug.

7 weeks into treatment I didn't feel quite right.My sex drive was severely diminishedand I just felt more lethargic and weaker than usual. I decided to stop the finasteride after doing some research and concluding it was more than likely the finasteride that was contributing to my symptoms. This is when all hell broke loose.

For the next week or two after quitting I was hyperandrogenic - I felt amazing, I felt like superman, insane sex drive, non stop random erections, great confidence - I wish I could have felt like this permanently, I suppose this is how bodybuilders feel on steroids.I then experienced a severe crash. Extreme brainfog, debilitating fatigue and lethargy,limp dick, no sex drive- I just wanted to stay home in bed and sleep all day because of how debilitating the fatigue was.My testicles also atrophied severelyat this point. I was also experiencing severe amounts of stress and anxiety because of the whole situation. My symptoms were severe and every facet of my life was impacted. It was like a light switch and my life has never been the same. Just writing this post triggers some PTSD in me. Those who have PFS can relate to what I'm saying - the first weeks / months after crashing were truly the depths of hell, an experience I would not wish on my worst enemy.

Two years laterI have made amazing progress towards recovery. Many of my severe symptoms are resolved. Recovery is very slow and it takes a lot of patience. However unfortunatelyI still experience many of the signs of androgen deficiencylike fatigue, zero sex drive or libido, testicular atrophy, etc, (despite having good T levels), so I plan to try TRT very soon to see how I feel with elevated androgen levels.

My theory is during the hyperandrogenic stage our body is flooded with DHT during what i coin the "DHT rebound". The body then overcompensates to the extremely androgenic state by downregulating the HPTA, androgen receptor expression and neurosteroid synthesis. I suspect this induces a state of androgen resistance and consequently we need more testosterone to saturate the receptors and illicit a normal response, hence my driver to experiment with TRT. I also plan to experiment with progesterone and low dose fluxetine for their positive effect on neurosteroids and allopregnanlone.

The top contributors to my recovery thus far:

Eliminating all stress entirely from my life. Easier said than done I know, but stress is the #1 killer. If you are stuck in that wired stressed state it will be impossible to recover period.

Sleep. Your body heals itself while you sleep. Getting good high quality sleep every single night is crucial to recovering.

Echoing the first point, you want to focus on keeping your body calm and relaxed - parasympathetic nervous system. This is the state your body heals in.

Some other tips:

Do not look for health in supplements

Practice gratitude and gratefulness regularly

Avoid forums and recovery sites, these are helpful for info but it will only fuel your anxiety and depression

Sorry for the mess of a post. I was reading some posts on r/tressless claiming that PFS is just a delusional disorder and nothing but mental illness. This really offended me, the torture and hell I have been through due to drug induced bodily damage, as I said I would not wish it on my worst enemy. Anyway, it motivated me to share my experience here, I don't want to be attacking people on these forums for sharing a different view than me, but I thought if I could share my experience it may just help someone out or help give someone the information they need to not start finasteride.

If you are reading this and considering going on finasteride, my message to you is simple. This is the most harmful, debilitating and destructive drugs towards men on the planet. You are playing russian roulette with your health.

Stay strong PFSers