8 replies to this topic

[jlrj]

First of all, i'm new here. Hello everyone.

Little background : 21 yo. Long-time cannabis smoker (5year). Stopped 3 weeks ago.
Finasteride user (1mg day for hair) (3year). Stopped in december.

I decided to take care of my health because I was becoming afraid of the long-term effects of my choices.

My finasteride use had been more consistent in the last year. Before that, I was not really serious with it. (Always forgot to take it. Sometimes stopped for months)

My cannabis use always followed the same pattern. 2-3 months used. Followed by guilt and stop for 2-3 months.

During the summer of 2005, I began to notice several problems that I didn't have before.

Gradually worsening premature ejaculation. (I didn't have the problem before. Used to have sex for 30 minutes wo problems. Now, I can't control myself at all)
Gradually worsening inability to calm down. Always stressed. No matter what I do, I always feel that "kind of pressure" in the abdomen.
Pain in testicles.
Pain in lower back.
Some difficulties keeping erection.

During the fall I became worried and did some research. Found that finasteride may be really bad. Decided to stop for good in december.
Then, I read about Cannabis and thought that it might be part of the problem too. So decided to stop for good.

But, the problems do not seem to go away.

Then I found this site which state that I may have to say goodbye to my sexual life because it seems that Cannabis + Finasteride fry sexual organs.
They say that I may have some success restoring function by using their "herbal products".

Before spending lots of money on questionable products, according to questionable claims, I wanted to ask people who seems to know more than I do and
who probably are able to see scams for what they are.

Here are the articles :

http://www.actionlov...tra/hailoss.htm (about hairloss with a section on finasteride)
http://www.actionlov...a/marijuana.htm (About marijuana)

Some of the things that bother me.

He says that finasteride destroy the Alpha-reductase enzyme gene. I thought it was supposed to react with the enzyme. Not eliminate the gene expression.
He says that now that the damage is done, nothing can repair it. He stays pretty evasive about the fact that his herbal products could perhaps repair it.

He states that cannabis chemicals cross the blood-brain barrier and then stays inside the nervous system and mimick serotonin which prevent the body
from going into parasympathetic mode. He says that there can be no reuptake because hemodilation occurs only in the parasympathetic. Then, he says
that his herbs can fix that. A kind of detoxify herbal mix.

He says that premature ejaculation is caused by fight-or-flight reflex which must be caused by cannabis and/or over-masturbation/over-ejaculation.

Anyway, what do you all think about that. Is this science or crap. Is there any chance that thse products have any effects.

If not, do you have any nutritional or supplements (Keep in mind that I'm on a limited budget) that might help me get out of my problems.

Thanks!

JLRJ

[mitkat]

Some of the herbs looks decent, some don't show any ingredient listings...this always raises a red flag, combined with names like "moodmax". You could easily buy no doubt better quality herbs (5-HTP, as they mention) somewhere else, at great quality and inexpensive. Actionlove.com has some weird and interesting stories, but it's a lot of sales, and not much truth. Some pretty kinky shit, though.

As for marijuana use, I've heard of it giving some people sexual disinterest, and some mild sexual problems. On the other hand, 5 years of smoking weed is nothing compared to some people. I don't anymore, and it's good you stopped (too many health benefits to mention), but I doubt these side effects are permanent or even related to that habit for certain. They don't sound like any problems I've ever heard of - minor sexual problems, yes, but the back pain, everything else - seems very odd. If you were really sensitive to it, you'd of known years ago.

What is your diet and exercise routine like? Do you currently take any supplements? Please elaborate.

[jlrj]

Well I've always been kinda contradictory as the diet is concerned.

When I smoked, I ate like crap.

When I didn't smoke, I was always trying to have the best diet possible. The one that I tried the most is paleo diet.

As I was smoking recently, I was in fact eating like crap.

But now, I'm trying to eat better. Eating lots of vegetables, nuts and seeds. Also poultry and fish. Try to stay away from beef until I find
some organic because of the hormones and antibiotics.

Supplements : Omega 3 and Vitamin B both from Jamieson Labs.

Trying to cut caffeine. Used to be heavy coffee drinker. Tried with tea. Now, only herbal teas. Bought Saint-John Wort herbal tea today.
Maybe I drink too much herbal tea. At least 6 cup a day. (Does it count for total water? Or should I try to drink plain water?)
No alcohol. Never liked it anyway.

I also drink a lot of V8 vegetable cocktail. Will soon try the one with less sodium.

Some probiotic organic yogourt. Will try kefir. No other milk product. Milk and cheese make me fart.

Trying to cut sugar too. I must say it is really difficult to stay away from the morning muffin. And the damn cookies at my parents house.

85% Lindt chocolate. (I love it so much)

Not staying away from starch, as plain sugar is difficult enough.

Oh and 1 table spoon ground flax seed morning and evening in a glass of water.

I don't take lots of supplements as I prefer to eat whole food instead. But I'm willing to try some if they're not too expensive and they can really help me. (Like 5-htp ?)

Also, what do you think about the thing about gene destruction by finasteride. Does it really target the particular gene and eliminate it? I thought that
it was not something that current medications could do?

Anyway, thanks.

[jlrj]

Oh and what about that :

http://www.ncbi.nlm....2&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm....9&dopt=Abstract

I mean, it must not be very good. How to reverse that. Return prostate to normal functionning or at least almost-normal.

[mitkat]

Smoking almost always = eating crap [lol]. Just comes with the territory.

I did some research on finasteride (as I don't know that much about it besides it's purpose), and the firs gene destruction links I could google were...what do you know...actionlove.com! Whatever pubmed has to say I would take more seriously anyways. Hopefully someone else will chime in on that who knows more about it, and how to return prostate to normal.

Your diet looks pretty good. I find kefir to be great as a probiotic, plus it's just tasty business. I drink 8 glasses of water a day on top of whatever tea I drink (usually one pot of white tea after dinner). If you eat whole foods, you're in a superior position, but you should also be taking a multi-vitamin. I would suggest AOR's ortho-core. Oh, and I despise the low-sodium V8 [thumb]

I just assumed that you may not be eating very well, no offence

[jlrj]

Well you assumed well. I've been eating that way for 2 weeks.

Anyway, Actionlove seems to be crap. I don't think that current medication can target specific part of the genome.
They just seem to like to make sales using people's fears.

I'll try to drink more water.

I'll consider a multi. But ordering from the states is problematic as it seems that NAFTA doesn't really exist. I pay something like 20-25% customs.
I imagine that you do not consider pharmacy multis to be good?

[jlrj]

Ortho-Core is a canadian vitamin!

[mitkat]

Ortho-Core is a canadian vitamin!

Yes it is, AOR www.aor.ca has a huge list of products that they make, and all are of the upmost quality. I'm assuming you're from Canada, because you mention having to import from the states (not that Canadians are the only ones). If you are - globalvitamins.ca is a great source for AOR products.