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Where are you from (country)?
U.S.A. -
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?)
hairlosshelp.com -
What is your current age, height, weight?
21, 6’0, 155lbs -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
no -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
A regular American diet, nothing special -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
extremely aggressive hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
6 months -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
20 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
21 -
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey -
What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
generic -
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
1mg/day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
4 months, give or take -
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
All the problems started while I was on the drug, and they have not gone away. I did not notice a change in symptom characteristics after stopping the drug. Fortunately my case seems very different than anyone from this forum that I have read. I have noticed this: I get a urge to have sex/masturbate every other day, I followed this pattern for months without a change. Every OTHER day, not ever twice in a row. It was like I have a day long refractory period because I have no desire whatsoever on that day after. I also experience no feeling during orgasm, although I feel relatively normal during sex before orgasm with no erection problems that I notice. Sometimes I get a ache in my right testicle during/after sex. The thing about the testicle ache is it that when it happens, I feel NOTHING during orgasm. It’s a surefire indicator that I will not feel my orgasm. But sometimes when the testicular ache is not present, I get a little bit of a normal feeling. Sometimes I have a orgasm without any feeling, but without any testicular ache. But when the I do have a testicular ache, I have never felt the orgasm. Just a little correlation I’ve noticed there.
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive (only on day after sex)
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[x] 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
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
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What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
None. I will never take another drug that alters my hormones as long as I live. -
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)?
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Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?
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Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Pretty much all of my story is under question 13. It is now 4-5 months after stopping the drug, and I think I have noticed slight improvement in the quality of orgasms, but about 40-50% of the time it just falls flat on it’s face and I feel nothing accompanied by an ache in my right testicle. I have not had a normal orgasm since about 3-4 months into the finasteride usage. And I still get no desire two days in a row, it takes an entire day for me to recover and get a urge again. This pattern has been followed for months, except for just last week when I decided to hold it for 4 days. I noticed nothing different when I ejaculated, just a very very slight feeling, which was a lot more than normal at least. Now I’m back to the every other day pattern. I find the every other day pattern very disturbing, because it’s like I have a day long refractory period.
I do want to say that the orgasms went from being 100% absent, to about 30% present. I stopped taking finasteride in late September/Early October and I remember that everytime I ejaculated I felt nothing at all. Now I get some feeling sometimes, but it’s nowhere near normal. But that does indicate improvement. I noticed the improvement starting in January I believe, as little of an improvement that it is.
If anyone has any questions for me or wants to clarify anything, please ask away. I will be watching this thread as long as it is active.
If anyone believes that I may not be an actual PFS sufferer, please let me know because that will make me feel better. Please keep in mind though, not being able to feel my orgasms since July of 2011 is HUGE deal though, so please tell me why you think I will recover, if that is your opinion.