Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from (country)?
USA
How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
Search
What is your current age, height, weight?
22, 5’ 8"
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Finasteride
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg
What condition was being treated with the drug?
balding
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
Was prescribed fin at 18 years old (4 years ago), never took it regularly until about 1 and a half years ago when I started taking it everyday.
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
see above
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
22 yr old, Dec 2019,
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
Around december 2019. However, there were possibly some warning signs earlier than that which I will discuss.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
Sexual
[ xxxx] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ xxxx] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ x] Loss of Morning Erections
[ x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ x] Confusion
[ x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ x] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[ ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ x] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
In the last two months or so I have begun working out rigorously and attempted to maintain a clean diet.
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
Have not had any blood tests. Please comment if you recommend that I do and what tests specifically. What should I look for?
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I was prescribed the drug during the summer of 2015. However, I never took it regularly and would only buy it when I had the money. Starting around Spring of 2018 I started taking the drug regularly, i.e. every day. I remember reading about a stat that 2% of men experience symptoms (which I thought was a small percentage probably attributed to hypochondriacs) and my doctor assured me that I shouldn’t have any worries.
I don’t remember noticing any significant changes until november or december of 2019. Looking back however I want to point this out. After coming out of a relationship (in which I had no performance issues) I started hooking up with other girls. The first time I noticed I couldn’t perform was early spring of 2019 which I attribute to the alcohol/drugs in my system. In march of 2019, again I couldn’t perform with a very attractive girl even though I had felt that most of the alcohol had left my system. I don’t know if that is attributed to the booze or the finasteride. Same thing happened throughout the summer. Finally in, October/November 2019 I was hooking up with a girl and felt absolutely nothing down below. Finally in early december (roughly) I started to feel the following:
-realized that I had no desire to jack off or have sex and hadn’t had that desire for over a week.
-Had repetitive suicidal thoughts that eventually became a daily occurrence. These suicidal thoughts made no sense to me as I had just graduated and found a good job.
-generally numbness of the penis
-I felt like I couldn’t remember both short term or long term memories
-Possibly had/have penis shrinkage but I don’t truly know about that one
I will mention this as well. I no longer really get morning wood or do I get erect randomly over the course of the day. I haven’t since at least a week before quitting finasteride. I have gotten morning wood maybe 1-2 times in the last month and a half. However, I remember having morning wood regularly over the course of the summer and even had a wet dream during the summer. So these symptoms didn’t come on until late fall/early winter.
All of these symptoms listed occurred around early december or maybe slightly before. None have gotten better in the last month and a half since I quit. I don’t think they have gotten significantly worse either but I’m not sure. Once I realized that this was occurring I ditched the finasteride right away so it is hard for me to go back and evaluate the difference between now and my last few days on fin.
Happy to answer any questions and grateful for any advice on how to move forward, treatment advice, or any other advice for that matter.