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)? Russia/Israel
How did you find this forum? Google search - was looking for recovery from PFS
What is your current age, height, weight? 45 YO, 6’0, 170 lbs
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? First I used Propecia for about 6 months - developed PFS, got rid of it after 10 years and starter using topical Dutasteride - this is what really screwed my life
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? Propecia 1 mg/day. Dutasteride - I a couple of sprays per day for about 3-4 weeks
What condition was being treated with the drug? Androgenic alopecia
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 6 months for Propecia, 3-4 weeks Dutasteride
Date when you started the drug?
Date when you quit the drug? 2009 - Propecia, 2022 - Dutasteride
Age when you quit? 41
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? With Dutasteride it happened within 3 weeks.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
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
[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
[X] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[X] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[X] Confusion
[X] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[X] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[] Slurring of Speech
[X] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[X] 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
[X] Weight Gain
[X] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[X] Prostate pain
[X] 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
[X] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[X] Other (please explain) The worst part is that I got horrible insomnia for many years, coupled with restless leg syndrome - which basically keeps me awake. I never get deep state of sleep any longer. I kinda drift between being awake and very shallow sleep - which makes it impossible to have a normal night rest.
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
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)?
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
Hi everyone,
About 20 years ago I relocated to the US for work, where I lived for around four years. During that time I started losing my hair and was prescribed Propecia (finasteride).
Even though I had read about the possible side effects in the patient information leaflet, I decided to give it a try because it said the side effects were rare and would go away after stopping the medication.
About two months after starting finasteride, my libido completely disappeared. I stopped taking it immediately. Shortly afterward, I developed severe insomnia and restless leg syndrome. Depression followed later.
At the time, I didn’t realize that the insomnia and depression could be related to finasteride. I only made the connection years later, after all of the symptoms eventually disappeared together.
Ten years later
About 10 years later, I developed some unrelated health issues that none of the doctors I saw could resolve. A friend suggested trying water fasting.
My first experience was terrible. I did a 7-day water fast at home, and my symptoms became much worse. I could barely sleep—maybe one hour per day. After I ended the fast, I returned to my usual “normal”: no libido and poor sleep.
My second attempt
The second time, I went to a retreat that offered an intensive detox program based on Ayurveda and Panchakarma principles. It was essentially a form of fasting combined with regular castor oil intake.
Interestingly, by the second day, all of my symptoms had disappeared. My sleep improved dramatically, and my restless leg syndrome was completely gone. Despite eating very little, I actually felt quite good.
The program lasted 13 days.
Unfortunately, about 3–4 days after returning home, the insomnia and other symptoms gradually came back.
Dry fasting
About six months later, I decided to try the most extreme fasting method: dry fasting (no food and no water).
My goal was 11 days, but I managed to complete only six. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done.
Please note that I did this at a specialized retreat under professional supervision.
After those six days, all of my symptoms disappeared completely.
My libido returned. I felt like I was 18 again.
Women I had never paid attention to suddenly became sexually attractive again.
My mood improved dramatically.
My energy came back.
I became much more social.
My restless leg syndrome disappeared.
My sleep returned to normal.
However, there was one downside.
I started shedding hair again.
Ironically, after only a few months of taking finasteride years earlier, my hair had completely regrown, and I had kept a full head of hair for many years even after stopping the medication.
My personal theory
I have no proof that this is what happened, but this is the conclusion I came to based on my own experience.
I suspect that, in my case, something related to finasteride (or whatever process it triggered) persisted in my body and was somehow being reabsorbed instead of fully eliminated.
The reason I think this is because:
Water fasting made my symptoms much worse.
Fasting combined with castor oil made them disappear.
Dry fasting also completely resolved my symptoms.
My theory is that castor oil, which is not absorbed by the body, coats the intestines and may reduce reabsorption of certain substances. During dry fasting, digestion also slows down significantly. Again, this is only my personal speculation, and I may be completely wrong.
The only thing I can say with certainty is that these two fasting methods worked for me.
In total, I fasted for 19 days (13 days with the castor oil program and 6 days of dry fasting)
Later on this year - in order to stop shedding hair - i started using topical Dutasteride solution hoping it will not affect me in the same way, but I was wrong - it actually made things even worse, but I will elaborate on that in a different topic.
Hope my story helps someone - please, feel free to PM should you have any questions.