7 weeks post use - Trying to keep calm

Member Stories
#1

  1. How did you find this forum? Via searching propecia issue

  2. What is your current age, height, weight? 31, 5.9, 72KGs

  3. Do you exercise regularly? If so, what type of exercise? Frequent cardiovascular and weight training

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

  5. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)? Hair Loss

  6. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)? 2 years 4 months

  7. How old were you when you started Finasteride? 29

  8. How old were you when you quit? 31

  9. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold Turkey

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

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

  12. How long into your use of Finasteride did you notice the onset of side effects? 2 years 1 month

  13. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Erectile Disfunction via self stimulation and foreplay/ sex

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[x] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[x] 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
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] 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)

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

  2. 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)?

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

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

HISTORY
Building a picture of the year so far I’ve experienced some common side effects but I’m open minded that these may be attributed to other issues in my life at the time.

My problems (may have) started 5 months ago in March this year. I’d slept with an ex (from years ago) twice over the course of a weekend and did not enjoy the moment. Most notable was little orgasm and decreased semen.

At the time I was out of work, had finished a long term abusive relationship and was receiving counseling as I’d been diagnosed as severely depressed. My libido was significantly lower at the time (to be expected considering) but obviously high enough for me to happily take part in intercourse.

After that libido dropped more. I dated a few girls but had no sexual urges. I eventually found one I liked dating and wanted to sleep with her so I’m assuming my libido was not a typical example of what users of propecia who experience problems have.

During April I got a job and in May moved from my parents, was dating a gorgeous girl (the one I liked) and all personal issues were on the mend. I was still receiving therepy for depression and have been up to 2 weeks ago, things have steadily improved. It was between April and May that I experienced a major bout of Insomnia and sleep deprivation. With even the powerful sleep tranqs I couldn’t sleep. I put this down to the major changes that were happening in my life, as no matter how positive things were, its change and change = stress. When I went on holiday in the last week of May I was totally relaxed and although I drank an awful lot and had late nights I was getting around 7 hours sleep per night. As hoped the holiday had seemed to have reset my sleep clock. I remember getting a spontaneous erection on the beech. I slept with someone on holiday (the girl i was dating had just broken things off) and I had remember experiencing no orgasm and very reduced ejaculate. At that point though I’d been drinking 10 hours and was surprised I’d even gained an erection as I normally cannot perform when drunk.

The girl who broke things off before holiday I’m now seeing again and this is where I I experienced issues and decided I’d give propecia a break and see what happened. I lost morning erections ( I think) but most notable before that was weaker erections when masturbating. Thinking back I cant remember other than the holiday how many spontaneous erections I’d had this year if any, they’re something one takes for granted.

The girl i was dating wanted to take things very steady but what got me searching issues was when I that when I eventually did sleep with her I went to put a condom on and lost the erection. This has never happened to me before and I couldn’t get another one. On another occasion I completely ran out of energy.

Things picked up two weeks after stopping use and then have steadily declined.

Where I am now
I’m now 7 weeks post use.

I’ve on occasion had no morning erections.
Except one occasion last week where I got 50% erect I’ve had no spontaneous erections.
Gaining an erection by masturbating is increasingly difficult day by day and I achieve no more than 50 - 60% erect.
I had a passionate moment with my girlfriend today and as has been for the past 5 days I only got 40% erect, I now avoid sex.
I have a raging libido this has increased and I have never failed to produce seminal fluid even if not in a passionate situation. She just gets me going so much.
I’ve noticed over the weekend that morning erections are hard but when I notice them they disappear, if I stimulate it, it goes.
4 days ago my testicles began to ache, size has not changed (although bigger in AM as opposed to PM) they feel full and sensitive. The pain was most notable on Thursday, somewhat less on Friday, Barely notable until the evening yesterday and even less today.

The only issue I’ve ever noticed with Semen is that its been extremely lumpy and jelly like and somewhat yellowish this has got thinner and more watery but more toward a way that its been like pre-fin.

My hair is falling out somewhat more than usual (Propecia never stopped it, only slowed the hairloss down) I take this as a good sign.

Hair growth in other areas of my body continues to be quick

I feel like I have high testosterone, I’m raging in the gym and set personal bests on almost weekly basis.

Last night I woke in the night due and noted a nocturnal erection (was 50% max).

Questions

Can I get blood tests done in the UK as suggested on this forum - Where do I go?
I’ve seen hormone testing by saliva that promises results in 24 hours, is testing via saliva reliable?
Is it likely I could deteriorate further, say to “crash” or is this unlikely after 7 weeks?
Is there any correlation between how effective propecia was in treatment and the severity of the sides users have experienced? This is a question I’ve not seen asked on this forum yet

I’m off to the docs tomorrow to discuss my issues further and hopefully get some viagra but this isn’t going to fix my problems.

I’m well open to that fact that it could be coincidence and induced by mental issues but I’m open to all possibilities as some of my issues are that off post fin and not just plain ED.

Sorry for the long post I wanted to give all the info I could. If my condition is due to an effect of this horrible drug then I promise to assist fellow members as much I can by providing as much information as possible about my situation as it progresses through time and hopefully my recovery.

#2

I have read papers on siliva testing that stated they reliably showed the free hormone levels which does not always match the total blood levels.

Who knows if u could get worse. Wait and see.

If you are healthy, why would you have ED for no reason?

#3

I’m purely going off the psychological factors.

I had a major stressful breakup at the turn of the year. The last time I performed really well was with her on new years eve.

3 months later with someone else I didn’t perform so well and things have steadily go worse from there.

I had major depression at the start of the year, no job, breakup, self esteem issues and living wi my parents at 31 became too much. I’ve come out of that now and despite what’s going on now, most days I’m happy go lucky.

I am to some degree nervy around my new girlfriend though and these issues are only compounding that. I guess I am open to the fact that this could be an overhang from depression.

Regardless, I’ve ordered hormone testing kit today and this measures free testosterone too. I’ve also ordered a separate one for DHT.

#4

make sure you test free cortisol too. Most people here have low body temps and cortisol issues.

my opinion is that if testosterone is not functioning at normal catabolic hormones must be downregulated. And low cortisol explains many of our problems.

#5

[quote=“vincentv”]
And low cortisol explains many of our problems.[/]

I’m getting testing for free cortisol.

I have a question though, can high cortisol also not cause similar issues? Forgive me if I’m incorrect as this stuff is all new to me and I have a lot to learn.

#6

Low and high cortisol have quite different effects.

There area few symptoms that overlap. You can check out addisons disease for info on too low cortisol and cushings disease for too high cortisol. From what I know people here do not have cushing disease symptoms and those that have the worst side effects have the worst cortisol results. Some people have ok cortisol results and they are usually the guys with mostly lost libido.

Some have problems sleeping. this could be too high cortisol at night. But I have found that other hormones can affect the sleep too…

A simple test of your body temp will help you determine if you have probs with cortisol and thyroid. Test thought the day if you are always too low. You are pretty much bound to have messed up cortisol or thyroid hormones.

#7

If you want to get these hormones tested you can get them done at your local GP.

You may have to persuade them to do certain tests though, mine was very reluctant to test me for Estradiol as this specific lab only did male tests if it was needed.

DHT
Free Test
Total Test
LH
FSH
Cortisol
Estradiol
SHBG
TSH
T3
T4
Progesterone
Prolactin

These are a few I can think of from the top of my head.
If you life in a decent area you can get blood test results within a few days…

I’m sure the guys on here will be happy to explain what all these hormones mean if you don’t know.

I would suspect at an early stage you will have high E2, low DHT and low Free T…post results once you get them. I wouldn’t focus too much on just the DHT.

GL

#8

One year on and I’m pleased that my side effects aren’t as bad as what some unfortunate people have described on this site.

I last wrote on here when I was 7 weeks in to cessation and decided to take a sabbatical from the forum as I was literally driving myself crazy with the constant searching of threads gaining hope from the success stories when I was feeling positive and sheer panic when from reading the worst case examples when I was down about things.

Simple thing first – Have things improved? Yes, but progress is slow.

After I left this forum I decided to take positive action and try as much to focus only on the positives, get the diet healthy, carry on with weight training and running, get plenty of sleep. And as a reverse of what most people did cut all supplementation of HGW, Macca and Tribulus. I thought I’d get my body on a natural level playing field before I did anything drastic.

I also employed some of the techniques a councillor taught me in therepy for other methods. This is called Cognative Behavioural Therepy (CBT) and teaches you techniques to changebthe way you think and react. I’d recommend the book CBT for dummies for anyone who wants to know more. Maintaining a positive mind is half the battle won. I do believe that you some make the mistake of thinking that propecia has caused depression when infact it caused the other side effects e.g. sexual and this in turn caused the depression. That’s not to say that this applies to everyone but its just a theory I have for some.

I’d entered a relationship at the time of cessation and she had a very high sex drive so this was a major panic for me although I eventually plucked up the courage to tell her of my issues as I was avoiding sex and this caused an issue in it self. Luckily she’s been very understanding and supportive and one positive of this mess is the fact that her support has been a contributing factor in me knowing that this is someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I highly recommend people talk to their partners / loved ones if any of these dreaded side effects are affecting you.
I got some hormone checks. I spent around £300 on this as my doctor just wouldn’t hear my concerns and thought my problems were all psychological and referred me to a psychosexual councillor. Here’s the results of my tests done in Sept 2012.

“Your testosterone (T) result from this sample is perfectly acceptable, being just above the upper limit of the reference range.
Your oestradiol level is also somewhat above the upper limit of the reference range. This is not unusual given the high T as it provides plenty of substrate for aromatisation. If you wish to reduce your oestradiol level you can use gentle aerobic exercise to reduce fat levels. This only really works if you are overweight (with fatty tissue, not muscle). This is because fat is rich in the enzyme aromatase which converts testosterone to oestradiol. Remember to have your Doctor approve any exercise program that you may wish to undertake.

Your DHEA level was elevated above the upper limit of the standard reference range. The elevation was not so high as to cause concern. DHEA is an upstream precursor of testosterone and can be converted intracellularly to testosterone where it used within those cells (intracrine conversion). As such, it can contribute to the bodies total androgen pool and yet would not be reflected in an increased serum or salivary tesosterone level.

Two of the four assays of cortisol were beneath the lower limit of the reference range. There was also little evidence of a normal diurnal rhythm for cortisol production. The usual morning peak in cortisol was not evident. Taken together these findings are suggestive of exposure to extreme and /or prolonged stress. We recommend that you reduce stress as much as possible by ensuring sufficient rest, allowing enough time for journeys, following good dietary and sleep patterns etc. The best source for further information on stress reduction lies in the book Adrenal Fatigue by James L Wilson. We have no affiliation with the author but do regard most of what he writes as beneficial. We do disagree with him on the use of glandular extracts which we regard as ineffective. In general though his advice re stress reduction is of merit. “
I also had my DHT checked and this was in excess of the upper limit.

Here’s where I am today ~
My hair is falling out steadily
Seamen has returned to normal consistency and volume
Feeling has returned, I enjoy sex and enjoy comeing
I still have minimal libido
Spontaneous errections have never returned
Morning and nocturnal erections did return although In the last 2 weeks I have not experienced either of these. I expect this is just a bad patch I’m going through.
In spring this year my girlfriend fell pregnant very easily so I know my fertility is fine.
After experiencing testicular pain in the first 8 weeks and shrinkage they have returned to normal size.
I’ve lost around an inch of my penis this has not returned
Sexual performance can be erratic, I’ll go through a period of not getting an erection / losing one mid sex to having a couple of months of performing fine although my refaction period has never improved to what it once was (I suspect this is due to reduced libido)
Excessive alcohol / lack of sleep etc still affects me sexually for a few days so I have to be careful to do all things in moderation.

At the moment I am in the midst of a bad patch but severity of the bad patches reduces as time goes on. Saying that the loss of morning and nocturnal erections is a little worrying.
I’m going to get my hormones checked again soon and see where my cortisol is as I’m wondering if this is the source of the issues.

The battle goes on and I hope I do get back to where I was. Theres plenty to be positive about. If anyone would like me to put something together on CBT techniques to help with peoples thinking then I’m more than happy to although it will never be as good as the book itself.