Hello everybody.
First I will start with the questionnaire:
-
Where are you from (country)? CANADA
-
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?
28, 6 FOOT 2, 190 PDS -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
I WAS WHILE ON PROPECIA, NOT REALLY AFER STOPPING, STARTING AGAIN -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
HEALTHY DIET BUT PRETTY NORMAL -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
HAIR LOSS -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
JUST UNDER A MONTH -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
28 YRS OLD, MAY 11TH, 2017 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
28, JUNE 7TH, 2017 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
COLD TURKEY -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
PROPECIA -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1 MG… GOT SIDES. WENT TO 0.5 MG… STILL SIDES. DECIDED TO GO BACK TO 1MG AND TRY FOR A MONTH. STILL SIDES. TRIED .125 FOR A COUPLE DAYS… STILL SIDES SO QUIT. -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
RIGHT FROM THE GET GO -
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION. LOW LIBIDO. NO SPONTANEOUS ERECTIONS. RARELY GET MORNING WOOD. HARDER TO GET AN ERECTION. SMALLER TESTICLES FOR SURE. NOT AS POWERFUL EJACULATION. POOR SLEEP. NOT AS MENTALLY SHARP.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[X] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[X] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[X] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X] Testicular Pain
[X] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[X] 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
[X] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[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?
ACUPUNCTURE. EXERCISE AND EAT HEALTHY. NO ALCOHOL - If you have pre or post-Finasteride bloodtests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (pls post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?
NO PRE BLOOD TESTS BUT HAVE HAD POST BLOOD TESTS - Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
DONT TAKE IT. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. - Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I started taking Propecia on May 11th, 2017. I got sides effects almost immediately. Decreased erection quality, low libido, i gained weight for sure/bloated, very hard to get erections in the first place due to low libido. I could only get them through manual stimulation. Emotionally flat. Ejaculation volume was almost none existent a couple days after first pill and this kind of recovered to a watery ejaculate but not very creamy at all and still way lower volume. Genital numbness. I did not feel as sharp mentally. Orgasms were not as good.
For the most part… It is hard to measure side effects sometimes. Pretty much, I tried propecia for a month and the sides were not worth it so I quit. While on fin I was paranoid wanking like 5 times every day. I could still get off but things just werent the same. I have also masterbated a lot… at least 2-5 times daily when I am single and erections were never a problem. The propecia definitely was making things a lot worse downstairs in terms of erection and orgasm quality… as well as the ability to get turned on just by thinking about the act.
Since quitting. Like 10 days after quitting I felt quite a bit better. Got some spontaneous erections at work. Morning wood returned. Erections were really good and I wanked it one night 5 times. Then things totally went south and the next 2 weeks were really bad. Just as bad as when on the propecia.
About a month later (4 weeks) Things started to get a little better but still not even close to the same. I decided to go see a doctor and get some things checked out. I got a Urologist referral. A req to get some tests done. I also started acupuncture at this point.
Acupuncture seemed to help and after doing the first treatment I woke up with a morning erection. Not as strong as I remember but still pretty good and I was able to wank in bed without porn for the first time in a long time.
Here we are 7 weeks after stopping propecia. I was on it for one month. My erections are ok… I’d say about 80% pre fin however it is still hard to get them. Only manual stimulation works. At night and in the morning sometimes I have like a little erection… like a semi hard one. Nothing compared to pre-fin where sometimes it would wake me up and often in the mornings I could not get on with my day without taking care of my morning wood or having sex with my then girlfriend. Mentally things feel like they are improving. Ejaculate quality has improved but still not as good as pre-fin. Testicles to me still feel shrunken up and not as full and large as before. My libido is low still and I don’t have near the desire I used to have for sex.
I got my first set of tests back and these are the results.
FSH: 0.9 IU/L(Low) Range = 1.4-18.1
LH: 1.6 IU/L Range = (1.5-9.3)
TSH: 1.93 mlU/L Range = 0.35-5.00
Estradiol: 87 pmol/L Range = 0-146
Prolactin 8.9 ug/L Range = 2.6-18.1
Testosterone 10.4 nmol/L Range = 5.8 - 28
Sex Binding Globulin 19 nmol/L Range = 13-71
Free Androgen Index 54.7 Range = 14.8-94.8
Albumin 39 g/L Range = 35-50
So I have low FSH and bottom of reference range LH. My testosterone levels to me seem low but my GP says they are in the range. From what I have read a guy my age should be way higher and when you convert to ng/dL I am at 300 which is right at the bottom of the range.
Things seem to be getting a little bit better but nothing close to pre-fin state. I am almost 2 months off the drug now. Looking for some answers at this point.
I am awaiting a penile ultrasound and my first appointment with the urologist. Can anyone provide some insight. Thanks.