4 and a half months without recovery. suicidal.

Member Stories
#1

  1. Where are you from (country)?
    Kuwait

  2. 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

  3. What is your current age, height, weight?
    24 5.5 (65kg?)

  4. Do you exercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise?
    3 days a week, heavy weight lifting

  5. What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
    normal

  6. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
    I took finasteride for 1 month, followed by 2 years of dutasteride for hair loss

  7. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
    Finasteride 1 month
    Dutasteride 2 years

  8. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
    21 years old

  9. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
    23

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

  11. What type of Finasteride did you use – Propecia, Proscar, Fincar or other generic?
    Avodart, and Proscar

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

Not sure what the dosage was for proscar but I used to cut them in quarters I think.

Avodart I started with 0.5 mg daily, I upped it to 1mg daily for one month at one point. In the last few months before I quit I was taking it every other day instead of daily.

  1. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
    first week
    same with dutasteride

  2. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

diminished labido
weak erections
sometimes hard to achieve orgasam
Have gotten worse after quitting.
after quitting I also now have.
low semen

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
[x] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm (sometimes its harder, sometimes its ok)
[ ] 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
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x] Suicidal Thoughts (this isn’t from dutasteride, but rather the fact that I have to live with these side effects for possibly years without any solutions)

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
[x] Prostate pain (had it for a few days, then never happened again)
[ ] 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)

  1. What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

So far im trying to find someone that is willing to treat me. Ive seen a few doctors but they have simply brushed me off.

  1. 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)?

I have only tests after quitting. the doctor that I have seen said that my hormones are all normal.

  1. Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience with Finasteride?

  2. Tell us your story, in your own words, about your Finasteride usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

Hello guys, I think I have the same problem. I used dutasteride for 2 years and stopped taking it about 4 and a half months ago. but I still have sexual side effects. diminished labido, erectile disfunction, and lowered semen.

my doctor gave me a hormone test and everything according to him was in the normal range. all the doctors im seeing are brushing me off telling me its in my head. they gave me cialis and told me to use it for one month to rule out psychological bias.

I started using it today, even on 5mg of cialis I still have trouble maintaining an erection all though it is easier. labido and semen are still the same.

Ive read about other people with my condition, it seems most never recover and the ones that do take literally decades to get better. I simply cant live with that. Ive decided im going to end my life next year if I don’t get better. not even joking about it.

I would like some help as I really don’t know what to do right now. Im trying to find doctors that will take me more seriously. and figure out what’s wrong. I have my test results with me. if anyone can help me in any way please contact me.

#2

Hey guys,

I dont know what to do. no one really belives me.

im 24 I’ve taken Dutasteride for 2 years since I was 21 and stopped at 23 last december. Its been almost 5 months now that I stopped.

My dick still doesn’t work. its actually a lot worse then when I was on the drug. on the drug I could actually get strong erections although it was harder. now Its really hard to get erections at all. I think my penis has shrunk a little, I have very little labido, and very little semen coming out when I ejaculate. I have also lost morning erections and spontaneous erections.

before any of this, my dick was completely find and I never had problems with it. seriously my whole life I never lost an erection until I took this stuff. even when mentally I wasn’t feeling it I could still achieve erections very easily.

Ive realized that my life has been fucked now. Ive told my doctor about this problem and he literally said it was impossible and basically brushed me off. Ive seen 2 doctors already with the same response. Ive told my family about the issue and they said its all in my head.

the only people who believe me are my girlfriend and close friend. im starting to wonder if they’re going to stop believing me as well.

I don’t think I can live like this man… I ve been thinking about suicide a lot, ever since the realization hit me that I might be fucked for life. I don’t want to live with this man… I didn’t do anything to anyone I didn’t deserve this. I really think that by next year If I don’t end up recovering I will be calling it quits and ending my life.

#3

Hey brother. I’m sorry your going through this.

Your used to going to a Dr and getting help for something. But with PFS the truth is if your Dr believe you are not it doesn’t matter. I’ve found Dr’s that don’t believe me and ones that do, it doesn’t matter because theres nothing they can do for to help you. In fact the Dr’s that do believe me and tried to help me have done more damage because all they’re doing is trial and error and guessing what it is that will help and that has led to further permanent damage and made my condition worse. Your not going to find a magic pill from a Dr to make you all better.

After 4 months off the drug your probably still doing everything you used to do. You can’t. Your literally fighting for your life now. The best piece of advice I can give you is to stop drinking any kind of alcohol. Your body can not handle that any more. Alcohol, drugs, and medications now will likey influence your hormones. Don’t drink caffeine. Don’t masturbate. Eat unprocessed foods as much as you can and do all those things immediately. Make an effort into doing those things like your fighting for your life because you are.

Its amazing that you have a girlfriend that is there supporting you. Don’t take that for granted. Cherish that and even if your feeling suicidal try and make the best of your time your with her.

These are the things I wish I could have told myself when this whole thing started for me. Best of luck.

#4

Hang in there.

Been the same place as you. Probably even worse.

My problems started 2010. Luckily I can say that I’m almost fully recovered today.

My advice: Don’t masturbate, sleep at least 8 hours at night. Exercise regularly but don’t overdo it. Your body can’t handle that. Eat healthy. Be patient - you WILL get better but it will take longer that you would like.

There are no doctors that can help you so don’t waste your time. Patience is only key.

#5

Finasteride / Dutasteride causes suicidal thoughts be aware, is not only your situation is some hormones playing with your thoughts. Hormones comes first then thoughts!!!

#6

The only reason i am suicidal is because my family and friends dont beleive me. If they beleived me and supported me i would not be depressed.

Its fucking debilitating having a fucked up body, then to have people call you crazy and not beleive you is UNBEARABLE.

I hope you get better mate.

1 Like
#7

Some get better in time so keep waiting. I think you should wait at least 5 years before thinking of ending it. Some get better in this time. You may be lucky. Take care of youreslf as best as possible.

#8

I’ve read that Dutasteride has a lot longer half-life than Fin as well, so this may be part of the problem. Either way, stay strong brother. Relax and abstain from masturbating, that’s what’s helped me the most so far.