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)?
United States
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?)
YouTube
What is your current age, height, weight?
39y/o, 6’2", 185 lbs
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.)?
1.25 mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug?
Alopecia
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
9 years
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? I took Propecia for a couple months when I was 21 and then again when I was about 30 years old.
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?
39
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
7 years but looking back I noticed a few things were different in my body almost immediately.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Severe maintenance insomnia (I can’t sleep in), no libido, ED, prostate problems, constipation, brain fog, loss of ambition/excitement/motivation, anxiety attacks, panic attacks.
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
[X] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[X] Loss of Morning Erections
[X] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] 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
[X] 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
[X] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[X] Muscle Weakness
[X] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[X] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[X] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] 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?
I’m at the beginning of this journey.
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)?
NA
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
I was unaware of Finasteride side effects. I always thought that it was a very safe medication, rarely even reporting it on medical history forms or when asked by physicians. The “nocebo” wasn’t a thing for me because I wasn’t aware of side effects. It wasn’t until I noticed my libido to near zero that I began to question. In a nutshell, I feel like a shell of the person that I was once. Maybe it’s because I’m a decade older but this doesn’t feel natural.
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I started taking daily 1.25mg Finasteride (5mg tablets cut into four) while I was in grad school. My hairline was thinning and I needed to take action! I was considering a hair transplant, the physician wrote me a prescription for Finasteride, I decided against the surgery due to cost but the doctors office has continued to refill the Finasteride until this very day!
Looking back over the last decade I noticed some very distinct changes happening around the time I started taking the pill. First, constipation became a real issue almost immediately after I started. Sometimes I would poop like once per week! Yeah, it was bad. Unfortunately, I never connected the dots 
This has led to issues that plague me to this day, namely HEMORRHOIDS! Second, insomnia presented itself for the first time in my life. Never before had I ever experienced problems falling asleep. During the last 9 years it isn’t totally uncommon for me to get zero sleep in a night. Presently, I cannot sleep in. 3-5 hours of sleep per night happens on most nights. Again, I failed to connect the dots. Other obvious things that jump out to me during this time period are mental fog, lack of concentration, not remembering (during the course of a conversation) if I had said something to someone out loud or just thought it. It sounds ridiculous saying it but it’s true.
The most troubling thing over the last 18 months has been a gradual and unnatural loss of libido…more than would be expected for someone my age. I consistently eat well and exercise regularly so this was unexpected. My libido is currently at near zero. Fortunately, my fiance has been very understanding. We are in the third trimester of pregnancy and I was horrified to read about the potential fetal genital defects that can occur. I was aware that a pregnant woman should not touch the Finasteride (and I took extra precaution to make sure that she didn’t) but I was unaware of the potential to expose her through my semen. Luckily, I guess, we haven’t been having much sex recently due to my libido so I’m very hopeful that our unborn son won’t experience any issues (chriptorchidism). As a side note, I noticed libido issues approximately a year before we found out we were pregnant. I didn’t address the problem then because I was so embarrassed and thought that this was something temporary and would just pass.
I’m at the beginning of this journey. As I previously mentioned, I feel like a shell of the person I once was. I hope to get that mental sharpness, tenacity and zeal for life back that has been missing for so many years. Never in a million years would I have thought that this could all be caused by a hair pill! I’m looking forward to learning from all of you!
