1.5 years after oral finasteride..

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?) Google search

What is your current age, height, weight? 26, 5’7”, 145 lbs

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Finasteride, RU, Minoxidil

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 1mg finasteride every day

What condition was being treated with the drug? Androgenic alopecia

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? Approx 1 month

Date when you started the drug? Dec 2023

Date when you quit the drug? Jan 2024

Age when you quit? 25

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 5 days

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Itching/burning scalp, diffuse shedding and miniaturization of scalp/facial hair

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
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] 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

[X] Other (please explain) burning and sensitive scalp, diffuse, rapid hair loss all over head and face

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Ketoconazole, Rosemary oil, selsun blue shampoo

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)? No hormonal changes in blood tests

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.

Hello all,
In late 2023 I noticed my thinning crown in my wedding photo. Being a vain, naive young man I decided to try oral finasteride after seeing all these amazing posts on the Tressless subreddit and watching a few videos from that haircafe guy.

I started fin 1mg every day for about a month and developed severe sexual and cognitive side effects— low libido, anhedonia, ED, itching nipples etc. I immediately quit the drug and these sides stopped after a few weeks…

But what hasn’t stopped is this constant, agonizing burning sensation all over my head. Over the past 1.5 yrs I’ve been dealing with it. I’ve lost a ton of scalp hair (not that I care anymore—balding is totally normal and I never should’ve tried to fight it) as well as eyebrow, eyelash, facial and even nose hair. I won’t lie, seeing my thick, dark eyebrows thin and lose their pigment has triggered some serious dysmorphia and makes me feel quite depressed.

I understand this forum is all about PFS, and thankfully it appears that I’ve dodged that, but does anybody know/understand why these symptoms won’t go away? My only guess is that my androgen receptors over expressed or something to compensate for the DHT suppression and now they won’t go back to normal.

If anyone can offer insights I’d greatly appreciate it.

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