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)? UK
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
What is your current age, height, weight? 26, ~6FT
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.)? Don’t really remember one a day, maybe 2, whatever was recommended.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Hair Loss
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?End of September to mid June or July the next year, so like 9-10 months
Date when you started the drug? 23 September 2016
Date when you quit the drug? June/July 2017
Age when you quit? 21
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Tapered off for like 2 weeks, one week I just took it every other day, then I took like 2 or so dosages with three days apart and stoppe.
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? May - My erections just started to feel a bit weird, not real side effects, I just made a rule if I notice anything out of the ordinary I would stop just in case, and decided that feeling a little off could be the start of something else so best to stop.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Pretty much just erectile dysfunction, I felt fine after a week or so off the drug (never heard of pfs) so thought I was out the woods, then I started to get a numb feeling down there and a loss of sex drive all off a sudden, when that eventually went away I have been unable to maintain a normal erection.
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
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X ] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[X ] 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? Viagara, Goats Weed
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)? I have not had a test
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
I have had erectile dysnfunction for so long now, after experiencing this I have managed to avoid all the other symptons, but have not recovered in the 5 years this has affected me. It did take me a bit too drum up the courage to go and see a doctor, after visiting he just told me there was nothing that he could do that it was psychological, and that side effects won’t persist that long (it was about 18 months after I quit) I definitely should have tried to see somebody else, but it really felt demoralizing and pointless.
I have actively tried to stay away from drugs, since its using them which got me into this mess, but I haven’t recovered and it remains stagnant in the years or so I have experienced this issue. I do not having morning erections, or spontaneous ones anymore, I can still get horny, not like I used to. My penis is just incredibly droopy it won’t stand up on its own, it isn’t that hard, and it only stands up a little bit not full length if I am laying down on my back.
I have masturbating with Viagra to see if that would improve it, but it made no difference, and I did try goat’s weed for about 3 months which didn’t really do anything. I tried most of this stuff around the 2 year mark, and then just sort of stopped a lot of people have reported it naturally getting better, which for me I thought perhaps its best to leave it, but it has been about 5 years now, and I really just fear it will not improve.
I have had general ball ache as a symptom for years, but this has gone away now, it wasn’t anything major, but my left ball would and sometimes both would just ache every now and then.