17 year old story (need help)

Member Stories
#1

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)?
US
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?)
Reddit (tressless)
What is your current age, height, weight?
17, 5’10, 120
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.)?
1 mg a day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Male pattern baldness
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
A month and a half
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
17, September 8 2019
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
17, October 21 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?
A few days before quitting so a little over a month
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Low libido, erectile dysfunction
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
[ ] 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?
None
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)?
Never took a blood test
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 foolishly convinced my parents to let me take the drug after having it prescribed. I felt decent for a while but then started to have lower libido and struggles to get an erection. I also started to feel tenderness in my nipples so I quit cold turkey a little over two weeks ago. Everything went back to normal a few days after, great erections, high libido, no pains. However about 5 days ago I got a random short period of blurriness and confusion. I brushed it off, but it kept coming back everyday, with each day the length increasing. I started to feel a bit of general fogginess but nothing awful. Yesterday it was so bad I had to leave school. I felt fine for a while until I decided to masturbate. I realized I had purple veins but brushed it off. After ejaculating, my penis hurt and has felt numb since. I also had a panic attack soon after. I felt foggy and dumb, my head was throbbing, and my muscles felt weak. I woke up with a slight headache this morning and the same symptoms. Do I have PFS or is this my body adjusting? I read that sides can take months to go away, but I only had lower libido and possible gyno when I quit. I’ve read that there’s a 2 week period of good health before a crash, which was just like my time frame.
I’m scared that I ruined my life at just 17. Any advice would help.

5 Likes
#2

Try to keep your stress to a minimum and avoid any significant lifestyle changes. You should be fine, you just need to give it some time.

For assurance regarding anything, I always try to look at things from a statistical perspective, and the odds most certainly are in your favor. Please don’t ever touch Finasteride or any other antiandrogenic substance, natural or synthetic, from this point forward.

7 Likes
#3

Thanks for the answer. Do you think I have PFS and it’ll go away? Or something else is happening? I forgot to mention I started feeling tenderness in my nipples again.

#4

I don’t think so, the fact that you’re asking is a good sign in itself. When I first came down with this, I was just 18. If I were you, I’d just give it a few weeks. Odds are, this will be a distant bad dream for you.

1 Like
#5

That makes me feel a whole lot better. Should I expect my feelings to get a bit worse before getting better?
And if you don’t mind me asking, was your experience similar?
Sorry for all of the questions, I’m just shaken up by this whole thing. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me though.

#6

Expect things to swing around, sometimes they’ll get better, sometimes they’ll get worse. You probably don’t have PFS and your endocrine system is just having a bad time with Finasteride (which happens sometimes and those people recover over time).

My experience was absolutely horrific in the beginning. I had near constant thoughts of suicide that were so intrusive and there was basically no reprieve from it. The fact that you’re not experiencing that is a really good sign.

#7

I’m really sorry you had to go through that…
Are you feeling any better since?

#8

Don’t worry about me, my experience (along with that of many others here) is the exception, not the norm. It does not happen often, and you are probably not in the same boat as us. Give it some time, I think you’re going to be alright.

#9

I’ll echo what @borax has said and say you should remain optimistic that this will resolve itself for you as you’ve only just discontinued your use of the drug. We advise to wait until at least three months have passed since cessation of an anti androgenic substance before one considers themselves to have this condition. The statistics say that there’s a good chance you will improve or recover and you have only just ceased use of the drug. Take care as best you can during this period and perhaps inform your parents that the drug you tried has made you feel unwell.

1 Like
#10

I had calmed myself down a few hours ago after being home alone. I just went to see my girlfriend and I couldn’t show any emotion. My vision felt weird and my mind felt fried. I think I’m screwed. Another panic attack.

#11

hey mate i went through a similar situation as you when i was 18 (i’m 26 now), took about 12 1mg pills over 12 days and had fairly severe symptoms panic attacks, completely impotent etc. I recovered after about a month and somehow rationalised to myself that it was all in my head. I’ve retried fin two other times at lower doses but ended up quitting due to mild side effects, stupid me has done it again except this time i haven’t slept for 3 days and the sides are pretty serious, safe to say i’m pretty nervous. Chances are we’ll both recover, stay strong message me if you need someone to talk to.

2 Likes
#12

I suggest to cut out all the carbs and sugar my friend. But do your own research and own decision about it. Im saying what works for me and others that i have talked with. This diet will put you in Ketosis and it reduces the inflammation in your body which caused by Fin. Other than that trying supplements in early stages is dangerous. And avoid stress alltogether.

2 Likes
#13

Slight update: it’s been two days, and I can say some things may feel slightly better. I was able to gain a slight erection a couple days ago, and overall anxiety/depressive moods seem to be lower. Not to mention the cold feeling of my penis is gone. Also able to get rid of brain fog completely for a few hours if I use an anti-anxiety organic pill my mom gives me. I feel basically PFS free with it for about 3 hours, until it wears off. Not sure if it’s a good idea to continue to take it, but it definitely helps me get through the day.

1 Like
#14

If the anti anxiety pills have an anti androgenic effect I would suggest you do not continue with them.

Two things:
1)People often find that anti androgenic substances can sometimes temporarily help to alleviate symptoms.

  1. Anti androgenic substances can cause a worsening of existing symptoms and trigger new symptoms.

We have seen that with both supplements and particular foods (normally consumed in exaggerated quantities).

I know this is extremely alarming and worrying but as noted a few times above, the odds are very much in your favour. Note that the majority of people will not end up with long term symptoms and that even those who do often see improvement with time.

I suggest you acknowledge that you have a problem with 5ar inhibitors and avoid them at all cost.

I also suggest you don’t take any advice to do anything that sounds weird. Don’t starve yourself, don’t eat a particular food in ridiculous quantities, don’t buy lots of supplements.

2 Likes
#15

Hi Greek, thanks for the comment.
I don’t think the pill is anti-androgenetic. My mom said it’s organic and on the box it says used to great motion sickness and anxiety. Do you still think I shouldn’t use it?

#16

It’s not going to say “warning! Anti androgens inside!” To give you an idea, Saw Palmetto is often included in “mens” supplements. We have seen people here have very bad reactions to Saw Palmetto - it’s extracted from the berries of a palm. I’m sure you can get organic saw palmetto.

Feel free to post what the tablets are and the ingredients.

5 Likes
#18

Quick update
My mental sides seem to be gone… no noticeable brain fog or any of the like. Libido also seems to be increasing a bit. I can get an erection if I try and I have some sexual thoughts. My penis still seems smaller and thinner though and doesn’t get random erections. Also, i think it’s starting to curve to the left. Any thoughts??

2 Likes
#19

The skin on the left side where it’s bending is also noticeably lighter in color than the rest.

#20

Those are great signs. Give it some time and everything should normalize.

#21

What do you think about the curve?