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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?)
Google search “propecia side effects”. Doctor warned me about the side effects of Propecia and recommended that I research them on my own -
What is your current age, height, weight?
young thirties, tall, slender build (do not want to give out exact identifying information) -
Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?
yes - running, weight lifting, etc -
What type of diet do you eat (vegetarian, meat eater, raw, fast-food/organic healthy)?
meat eater, pretty normal diet -
Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?
hair loss -
For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?
7.5 years -
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?
early twenties, September 2000 -
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
late twenties, December 2007 -
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/day -
How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects?
about 7 years after starting -
What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
-low libido
-erectile dysfunction
-emotional flatness
-dry skin
-wrinkled skin on penis
Put an X beside all that apply:
Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfullness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Depression / Melancholy
Physical
[x] 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
[ ] 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?
I have tried many supplements including Acetyl L Carnitine, L-Arginine, Horney Goat Weed, Tongkat Ali, Tribulus, Nettle Root, DIM, Vitamin D3 -
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)?
Have done post-fin blood tests. Will post results in “Blood Tests” section. -
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.
I started taking Propecia in September of 2000. Unlike many others on here, it took 7 years before I had any major problems. I had an extremely high libido before taking Propecia, and this continued to be the case for years afterwards. The only difference I noticed early on was that my ability to sustain an erection was slightly decreased. Besides that, I had no side effects for years.
Interestingly, about 4 years after I started taking it, I had a doctor warn me about the side effects and he encouraged me to look into this myself. I got on the internet to research the topic and that is how I originally found this forum. At the time I concluded that the people here were just a bunch of hypochondriacs, and I went on taking Propecia with no concern at all. If I had taken the warnings seriously at the time and quit back then, maybe it would have been soon enough that I would have been ok. But hindsight is 20/20.
Then finally in 2007 I started to see the side effects. I began to notice that my libido was not the same anymore, and then when I entered a relationship towards the end of that year, I realized that I had erectile dysfunction to the point where I could not have sex without Viagra. I came back on this forum and started reading the studies, and realized that Propecia was the cause of my problems. I quit taking it cold turkey around December 2007. Things only got worse, and I have never recovered.
My syptoms include:
- low libido (sometimes even non-existent). I used to think about sex constantly and have an extremely high libido. Now I never feel that I NEED to have sex, and think about sex much less
- erectile dysfunction
- dry skin and scalp. I used to have oily skin and now it’s very dry.
- emotional flatness. I used to have an extremely bad temper all my life, but now I hardly ever get mad at all. But I also feel emotionally blunted when it comes to positive emotions and I don’t get pumped up and excited like I used to. Particularly, listenting to my favorite rock songs doesn’t pump me up the way it used to
- hair doesn’t fall out any more
- wrinkles on penis
For a while after I quit, I had hoped that in time things would get better on it’s own. I came to realize that is not the case, and I have been reading this forum quite a bit for the past half year. I read through every single article in the medical research section and read through every single theory.
I have gotten my blood tests done fairly recently (which I will post shortly), and took part in Dr. Irwig’s study.