Seeking Help with Male Enhancement Struggle

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Resilientgirl

Well-known member
Hello all,I have just joined this forum after almost a year of struggling with my body. I just seem that I cant come to peace with it. I have been reading many of the posts on here and found it very helpful to cope through the hard time I Am going through. This is going to be a long story but I will try to make it short. IT has all started when I decided one day to try an over counter male enhancement product. I got it of the shelf from a gas station (Extenze). I was just curious if these things would work and to what extent. I was not suffering any ED at that time. IT might seem off topic but as you go through my post you will see how it is all connected. I am a 26 years old and have had a good life before I tried that pill. The day I took it I had the most horrible panic attack in my life. I have never experienced it before and never knew what panic attacks are. I Was rushed to the ER and an EKG has not revealed any sign of heart problem. They ran a blood work for troponin, CK etc and they came back normal. Ever since that day and panic attack started to hit me. I have had very high heart rate, dizziness, depression you name it I thought it was my heart going to fail on me. I went to a cardiologist and did a stress test, ECG and all normal. I was given propranolol a beta blocker to reduce my heart rate it helped a bit but I only took it for a week. I dont want medication because I knew its me who is causing all these symptoms and if I was able to put my mind in relaxing mood i would get over it. I managed to get over it and then I joined a gym and started excercising. the minute I get on the tread mill I Start to panic and my heart rate would shoot u again but I knew that nothig is wrong with me so I Was able to relax. However, something else had started to make me worry. one day I was laying in bed and started to have a very bad pain in my left leg like a charley horse but never cramped. I thought it was a blood clot so I went and got an ultrasound everything was normal. I then started to experience very bad pain in both of my legs I could not stand on them for too long and I Started to look at my leg and this is when I saw my twitching. My twitching are not severe. They are small and sometime I Can feel them but most of the time I cant feel them but I Can see them. I Went to a neurologist who performed a clinical exam and and did not see anything serious and he said I Dont have anything serious. I asked him if I Can get an MRI for brain, cervical and lumbar. everythig came back normal. Of course I did not believe him so i went back to him and he gave me an EMG. it came back normal. I was relaxed and decided to move on with my life. This whole thing had cost me my job. I was terminated from my job because I was always absent. one morning I Decided to take my bike and work out and here was the bad news. I could not do it for longer than a mile. Previously I used to cycle alot and never get tired. The minute I would get on my bike my tigh get sore quickly and i could not do it for longer anymore and after I finish I would have a weird feeling in both of my legs. it is hard to explain but like a heavy feeling. I Was not sure if this is wekaness of just muscle fatigue.I Went back to the same neurologist who has over 20 years eperience and a 7 years experience with neuromuscular disease and explain to him. he was very upset that I Am doubting his knowledge and gave me another clinical exam which was normal. he then asked me to get a blood work that include aldolase, lymn, CK, ANA, they all came back normal.at this point I am starting to lose my relationship with the girl I love. but I Cant help it. I know everything came aback normal but why I Cnt excercise like I used to, why I have muscle fatigue and why my muscle get tired easily. is this a clinica weakness or what. I went on treadmill I Was able to run for few but when I Get off the treadmill I felt my leg going to give up on me. they were heavy and hard to walk on like you are walking on water. very light. I dont kow how I Can describe it. has anyone experience the feeling of light leg and cant work out like they used to do before.??? That what scaring me not the twitching. I could care less about twitching but my legs dont feel the same anymore. They feel weak but yet can run stairs, stand on toes but they get fatigued easily and I feel they are so light and going to give up on me.I have lost my job over this, almost losing the girl I love because she thinks I am making it all up for attention but the truth is these symptoms are true and I am weaker than before. For example I can lift same amount as before but I Get shaky legs and tired feeling. IS that clinical weakness. ? I cant ride my bike as much as i used to becuase my tigh get very sore and I want to stop is that clinical weakness. After all these test I have done can I rule out ALS ?I want to thank each and everyone of you in advance for reading my long post and please get back to me with some feedback. I am losing everything because I Seem to get stuck with this disease ***. Kind Regards
 
Hi there, It sure sounds like BFS, and at your age, BFS is the most likely culprit for your symptoms. The weakness you are describing is NOT clinical weakness, which, by definition is measurable and significant and readily identified on exam by a skilled professional. Just because you "feel" weak and are unable to perform at your previous level of function, that is not clinical weakness. Please believe that. There are quite a few of us, (myself included,) who could barely walk, drive, dress, bathe, or feed ourselves, yet we did NOT have clinical weakness on exam. Self-perception of symptoms is powerful, indeed, and I assure you, I fell down multiple times and needed a lot of personal assistance in the most severe of my BFS seasons. Yet, my neuro never found anything he was interested or impressed with. Know that clinical weakness means you can't function, period. "BFS in a nutshell" summarizes the difference so nicely, and I strongly recommend you read that as often as necessary until it sinks in. Clinical weakness wouldn't mean that you are slow, fatigued, or feel like your legs are heavy; they simply wouldn't move, at all. It is also important to realize that NMD's don't typically present with wide-spread, generalized weakness, but rather; one limb, one body part, one side of the body, or one specific spot on both sides. I found your story interesting, because my husband's BFS started right after he'd been prescribed a steroid-blocker for male-pattern baldness. The medication was helping, and he was even growing hair back, but he suddenly felt weakness in both of his shoulders. He even had a significantly elevated CPK (10,000,) but his emg was negative, as was the remainder of his neuro work-up. It wasn't long before he developed hot spots, then wide-spread fasciculations, and soon, he was dx'ed with BFS. Needless to say, his doctor discontinued the baldness medication, and he still looks is handsome self, but with a bit less hair. :D) Please know that your story isn't any different from the rest of ours. Welcome to the forum. :) Blessings, Sue
 
Thank you very much for responding back to me. I am sorry to hear about what you have gone through I know it's not easy. I am wondering does these symptom get any better and if they do is there anything I can do to make it feel better.
 
My story is very similar to your story. I started having only sensory symptoms in July 2011. I was an avid runner for 17 years every day. Twitches started in September. Had EMGs, every blood test you mentioned, etc over months. I couldn't run anymore and sometimes thought i couldn't walk, or so i thought i couldn't. It was real. I went through physical therapy last December and slowly began my road back. PT and SSRI and i'm back. THis morning i ran 3 miles in 23:40. I can't explain what happened to me other than i knew I had MND and it was very real to me. However, i saw 5 neurologist, including Cleveland Clinic, and none of them thought I had a serious condition despite what i was experiencing. I also lost 10 lbs which is a lot fo rme as i was 150lbs when this started. I felt your words personally because what you said is what i went through. I remember the ALS specialist at the Cleveland Clinic telling me to start running again in October 2011. I thought she was insane. I could barely walk. THese guys see this stuff and know what we are going through. THe problem is most don't have the time or patience to articulate what we are dealing with. IMO, this is some sort of pyschosomatic reaction coupled with depression that basically takes your body hostage to get your attention. I've lived through this for long enough now to fully appreciate it. I will say this, my life is so much better now than befor this happened. I am truly grateful for every day now. In the end, this may have been the blessing that i have needed all along.
 
My story is very similar to your story. I started having only sensory symptoms in July 2011. I was an avid runner for 17 years every day. Twitches started in September. Had EMGs, every blood test you mentioned, etc over months. I couldn't run anymore and sometimes thought i couldn't walk, or so i thought i couldn't. It was real. I went through physical therapy last December and slowly began my road back. PT and SSRI and i'm back. THis morning i ran 3 miles in 23:40. I can't explain what happened to me other than i knew I had MND and it was very real to me. However, i saw 5 neurologist, including Cleveland Clinic, and none of them thought I had a serious condition despite what i was experiencing. I also lost 10 lbs which is a lot fo rme as i was 150lbs when this started. I felt your words personally because what you said is what i went through. I remember the ALS specialist at the Cleveland Clinic telling me to start running again in October 2011. I thought she was insane. I could barely walk. THese guys see this stuff and know what we are going through. THe problem is most don't have the time or patience to articulate what we are dealing with. IMO, this is some sort of pyschosomatic reaction coupled with depression that basically takes your body hostage to get your attention. I've lived through this for long enough now to fully appreciate it. I will say this, my life is so much better now than befor this happened. I am truly grateful for every day now. In the end, this may have been the blessing that i have needed all along.
 
Thank you both for the great support you have provided me. I am happy that you both are back stronger healthier and better than before. I will get back to the gym and work on myself again. I might want to start slowly since I feel that my legs are going to give up on me. deep inside me I know I have nothing serious and everything I am going through is caused by BFS and anxiety is making it worse.Just quick question for acct: you said that you went through exactly the same I am going through my question is how did you get back on the treadmill? did you ignore your leg symptom and decide to run or did you start walking first ? it is just my leg bother me so much that I dont want to work out because I am afraid that at one point I will fall from the treadmil. I cant overcome that fear. Even when I am walking I am thinking when I Am going to fall.
 
I started very slowly. I went to physical therapy where they taught me flexability and strengthening exercises. I started on the stationary bike. Then i went to the eliptical machine. After a couple of months, i tried running again. it took a while but now i am back to my old routine. I run three days a week and do eliptical three times. i do the eliptical now more because im getting older and it is easier on the joints. don't try and get back all at once. start slow and get some confidence. i still have bad days but everytime i have doubts, i take myself to the gym and say, if i had MND, could i do that?
 
I am sorry to have come across this way. I love life and I believe that God can only take my life away. I don't know you but all I know is that you sound very smart. God bless you and I will keep you updated. I pray for you to get better.
 
Hi Tiredofbs,You bought yohimbe root (Extenze) at a gas station!!? Man, maybe BFS is God's way of telling you to be satisfied with the wiener He gave you...On a more positive note, at least you have a probable root cause for your twitching and associated symptoms. If you can get your anxiety in check, there is every possibility that your BFS will resolve itself in time.And when it does, stay away from the 'male enhancement' products. If you weren't born with the schlong of a donkey, there's nothing in the world that's going to change that! ;)
 
Connect the dots - lets see...its started after taking an enlargement pill side effects of that said pill = twitchingdoes als start after taking an enlargement pill ? nohave you poisoned yourself with something you bought from a gas station? v. likely.Apparently your chosen enchancing pill has had a number of lawsuits taken out against it due to its ineffectivness.Lesson learned - before trying to impersonate Ron Jeremy, check the side effects. I'd rather be seepi27's size (hung like a door mouse, so his wife tells me ;) ), than have a lifetime of self inflicted twitching.
 
I know I messed up. I am a pharmacist and I don't take drugs at all. I know side effects are bad. I never suffered ED I only took it because I was curious. It was a big mistake. I know I got poisoned from it. It did not start my twitching. It triggered panic attack which I have never experienced. I was having fast heart beat cold hot chills for 6 month. Them my panic attaxk went away but twitching started. That's hi it all started. I only took one pill but will never do it again. After Thst pill my life has changed. My T level dropped so badly. It really harmed my system. I wanted to share it Soo noone do my mistake. No need to be mean guys please.
 
No intention to be mean, just some light hearted humor, which is hard to find in these parts...although it may have been misplaced.my apologies.
 
Hello all,I have decided to put my fear behind me and move on with my life. I have managed to do it for three weeks. Since my last neuro visit I was assured that I dont have ALS and I believe the doctor. I was just wondering if this look like atrophy. I Was doing half calf rise when i notice a dent on both of my knees-thigh. they are in both but my right is more shown. please copy the URL into your browser and let me know if this is what atrophy look like. I feel embarrassed to go back to my neuro and show him.I only can see it when I raide my leg at 90 degree angle. another word the leg from knee down is parallel to the ground. and my thigh are perpendicular . does that make sense lol but when I bend my knee the atrophy is gone. I am curious what it is. or maybe it has been there but never checked. please get back to me
 

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