5 pills 5 months off

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?)
Reddit
What is your current age, height, weight? 23 175lbs

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.)?
1mg 5 days
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Recedibg hairline
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
5 days
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug?
22
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
22
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, ed 2 weeks later, brain fog 1-2 months later

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Libido
Erection quality

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
[x ] 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
[ x] 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
[ ] 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

[ x] Other (please explain)
Bodyhair thinned out, some loss

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

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)? N/a

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
No
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Took 5 pills and noticed blue balls type pain, quit immediately. Had a wet dream that same night. 2 weeks later I get libido/erection problems and sleep problems. Although I still got some morning wood. I had this weird pain in my left testicle that would shoot up to my abdomen. Never had watery semen or shriveled penis. Maybe for around a week it was shriveled. 2 months later libido improves but I get bad brain fog that lasts a long time. Still kinda feel it 5 months later. Right now I sleep pretty good, get morning wood, bodyhair seems to be improving. Left testicle pain seems to be going away with time I barely notice it now. My main concern is my libido and erections. It seems that I dont get turned on by porn like I used to. I can still jack off and get an erection but its not the same. Weird this is when I jack off my dick gets kinda numb. It only started happening recently. I dont know if it has anything to do with fin at this point but it does worry me seeing that a lot of people report numbness. This seems milf but I hope I can get back to normal its been a good months.

Im 23, I took 5 pills and stopped right away when my balls started aching like crazy. I even had a wet dream during the ball ache. After a few days it went away then 2 weeks later I get libido/ed problems. Sleep was also bad. I also noticed my facial, chest and stomach hair thinned out and some fell off. Also my left testicle had pain. Its hard to explain but the pain starts from my testicle and goes into my abdomen. It hurt the most when I sat or laid down. Drinking alcohol also caused pain. 2 months pass and I get some libido. Ive had 2 instances where I almost had a wet dream. I still kept and still keep getting morning wood. Also I get hit with brain fog really bad. It lasts for weeks. I dont know if im psyching myself out right now but its either that or brain fog. I Never had depression or anxiety, only felt those when I read horror stories. I never had watery semen or a shriveled penis. 5 months later all these side effects got better. I sleep good, bodyhair is not 100% but I am noticing slow improvement. Libido is lower than pre fin, I can get erect but the horniness I used to feel is not there yet. I can get an erection using imagination. No effects on muscle or anything else really. Maybe a little brain fog not sure. Does anyone know the recovery tome frame? Is 3-6 months or longer? After how long do you know if you have PFS permanently?

Thanks for keeping us updated about your situation @Jayko !

Anecdotally, people seem to have a lot of improvements the first few months. But if you peruse the forum, you’ll see posts from people who recovered after multiple years as well. More research is needed to understand how this happening.

Since it’s still pretty early for you, I’d recommend to avoid hormones or supplements for now, and just focus on putting your body in a good position to heal. Getting anxiety under control seems important (especially anxiety about worsening symptoms), since it helps with sleep and general health.