I am currently on holiday. I know people will not believe me no matter what I write here, but I will at least try. I am having more tests done and will post all the results next week. All the reports are in Czech so I will have to translate them and others here will likely accuse me of manipulation, but you can use online tools/dictionaries to confirm my translation. Also, the blood/urine tests do not lie. My free testosterone is very high (testosterone is within range) and I need to have my DHT tested (this is not a standard procedure). It will likely also be very high as for the other guys affected.
First of all, there you have the package insert warnings from Switzerland and the Czech Republic:
https://compendium.ch/mpro/mnr/21877/html/de?Platform=Desktop
Which clearly says "Als systemische Nebenwirkungen wurden sehr selten sexuelle Dysfunktionen beobachtet."
Meaning: "Very rarely, sexual dysfunctions were observed as systemic side effects."
The same applies to the Czech/Slovak package insert which lists sexual dysfunction as a side effect. Among the very rare side effects it lists:
"sexuální poruchy"
Meaning: "sexual dysfunctions"
http://www.neocapil.cz/images/neocapil_850275_07_sk.pdf
The diagnosis is clear. Minoxidil suppresses androgen receptors and their functions, which are then unable to bind androgens - that is DHT and testosterone, which results in these hormones circulating in your blood and having nowhere to bind. After a while, the liver produces more SHBG, which takes up to several months and binds the free testosterone/DHT. Still, there might be an excess of both of these. The doctors believe it does exactly the thing described in this article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4039155/
What the package inserts do not say is that the dysfunction often persists long after stopping treatment (it has been 45 days and I have not gotten any better) and possibly may be permanent is some extreme cases (which I hope is not my case).
The progression of the symptoms I had was the following:
1) puffy face due to water retention (3 days before stopping/resolved)
2) lightheadedness/severe eye irritation (2 days before stopping/resolved)
3) a mild libido shift (less than 2 days before stopping/has gotten far worse)
4) 0 libido, very low ejaculate volume (like 1/5th of normal), 90% genital numbness and decreased ability to get an erection, hardly can feel the orgasm if I can reach it, which I sometimes can't (1 day after stopping/no change)
5) several days of severe testicular pain (about 3 days after stopping/resolved but reoccured later for a brief period of time)
6) very strong tingling/throbbing/pulsating feeling in my penis and testicles (since 7 days after stopping/still continues without a change in intensity or duration but there are changes in the intensity during the day)
7) swollen lymph nodes in the neck, difficulty swallowing (since 3 weeks after stopping treatment)
Before you suggests it is all psychological, I would wish it to be, but it is not. I have symptoms, origin of which can in no way be psychological. I have never used any other medication (propecia, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin, antidepressants). Not even vitamins or minerals, simply nothing. Also, I used the minoxidil 5% liquid exactly as prescribed/directed. I did not overdose and did not put it on wet scalp. I have contacted 3 other men who are suffering from this after using minoxidil only, they can confirm and possibly will share their medical reports.
Minoxidil appears to interfere with exactly the same pathways/functions 5ARII inhibitors do except it does not block DHT itself, only the receptors. The symptoms, however, are just as severe.
