Re: Pssd question for the peanut gallery how many of…
u/drwillpowers
r/DrWillPowers2026-07-31T18:27:19Z
Dr Will Powers’ own statements and theorizing
Summary (paraphrased)
In his PSSD hormone-exposure survey thread, Powers states that stinging nettle is a weak 5ARI which could push someone near the threshold over it, citing saw-palmetto cases. The problem, he argues, is not unique to finasteride but to the individual's androgen-metabolism system: many drugs can shut down an already-overburdened clearance highway and cause "gridlock." He notes his patients' absurd metabolite levels are measurable, and muses that even a surgery-related testosterone spike combined with 5AR blockade could theoretically trigger the syndrome with the right genes.
Key points (paraphrased)
- Nettle and saw palmetto as weak 5ARIs; threshold-push triggers in susceptible individuals.
- Gridlock model: any drug can close an already-overburdened clearance highway.
- Trigger set extends beyond finasteride to individual system fragility.
- Absurd metabolite levels as measurable confirmation of the pile-up.
- Unusual onset acknowledged and fitted to the model rather than dismissed.
Why it’s in the corpus
Widens the trigger set beyond finasteride and states the gridlock model generally. The nettle/surgery onset case shows the model's claimed ability to absorb atypical presentations.
Context — the post Powers was replying toVerbatim third-party text, shown for context only — not Powers’ statement. Usernames removed.ShowHide
Powers' comment replies to [username removed] (Middle East, five years of PFS), who shared an unusual onset story: stinging nettle tea days before varicocele surgery, with full PFS symptoms emerging after the surgery — without ever taking finasteride.
(Parent context recovered from the r.genit.al mirror on 2026-10-09; Powers' comment text itself is from John's user-provided export.)
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