A Dandy turned into a monster....my story

  1. Where are you from (country)?

Canada

  1. 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

  1. What is your current age, height, weight?

36, 5’8 1/2 , 140 pounds

  1. Do you excercise regularly? If so, what type of excercise?

No exercise since 3 month…

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

Less meat as possible, lots of fruits and vegetables…mostly alcaline diet since 4 months

  1. Why did you take Finasteride (hair loss, BPH, other)?

Hair loss

  1. For how long did you take Finasteride (weeks/months/years)?

30 days

  1. How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start Finasteride?

35 , 4 august 2009

  1. How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit?

36, 3 September 2009

  1. How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?

Cold turkey

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

Propecia

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

1 mg/day

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

2 days

  1. What side effects did you experience while on the drug that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

Put an X beside all that apply:

Sexual
[X] 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 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
[X ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[X ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[X ] Depression / Melancholy

Physical
[X ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[X ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[ ] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[X ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[X] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[X] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[X] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Increased hair loss
[X] Frequent urination
[X] 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?

Acupunture

  1. 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)?

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

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

[b]In July 2009 i notice my hair was thinner. And when i passed my hand into my wet hair some many where left in my hands. Not only on top but i could pull hairs easly everywhere on my scalp. And i noticed my hair was thinner everywhere.
Not like a normal pattern of men going bald. So at first i tought it was a lack of some vitamin or iron in my body…or due to a really really bad way of eating. I was drinking pepsi like crazy, red bulls,eating a lot of sugar, and eating a lot of acid food. So i tried to eat good and to buy supplements…Biotine, Zink , Brewer’s yeast. But after 2 weeks it was not better and my hair was still going off easily and i noticed it more and more on my head…that they where less…everywhere.

Then, i tought i had maybe tyroid disfunction so i went to see a generalist to take blood tests. And by the same occasion i asked him to get a reference to seea dermatologist. I took bloodtest that where normal.

And i saw the dermatologist. He checked me and told me , maybe you have a effluvium tellogen cuz your hair lost doesent follow a standart pattern…

i did a fasting retreat in may so he said this can cause a sudden hair lost and i saw my mother in law in the hospital nearly dead so i got a big sadness.

He also said it can also be genetic…my father lost his hair at 18…but me i was 35 and showed really no sign of baldness before so i tought i was saved…so Dermatologist said i will give you the best things on the market. He prescribed me Propecia and Minoxidil. And also told me to use Nizoral shampoo cuz i had a lot of dandruffs.

I started this with a lots of hopes cuz i trusted him. But after 2 days i noticed lost of libido and erections. After 2 weeks i started so become weak. And i started to have really really dry eyes and exema urticaria on the corner of my eyes. I also noticed my eyes cannot open fully they are like always little bit closed like i have a PTOSIS. So i could not wear contact lenses anymore. My face was also kind of burning sensation.

One week after i quitted all. So i am off since Almost 3 weeks now. I get erection again in morning. But my skin is really damaged. my pores are permanetly open and i get pimples that go aways really really slow and tend to leave scars. I notice my penis has a slight decoloration at the base of the gland…kind of brownish stain. And my eyes cannot tolerate sun anymore and they are always red , dry and little bit closed. I went to see optometrist who saw no Ptosis but i will see him again for confirmation soon and maybe see a Ophtalmologist.

the red spots of urticaria on the corner of my eyes dont go away.

I am trying now to let time pass for recovery as i know time can do good…with my new good eating habits. But i am really worried that i have permanent damages on my face. I used to look really young for my age and now i look at my face every morning many times in mirror. and notice my eyes get worst everyday and wrinkled. and i only sleep on my back with my head up cuz otherwise i wake up in morning with some marks on my face that i fear will turn into permanent wrinkles.

I am seing a acupunture doctor now…it seems to help me…so i will continue with this.

For my hair now i use chinese medicine called HE Shou Wu…my hair lost seemed to have stopped. But now i am really stressed cuz i feel like i putted poison in my body that will leave permanent damage. And i feel like i am kind of paranoid with ym body noticing every things that i tought where not there before like moles , pimples etc…

hard times for me now…as i work in entertainement business where looks counts a lot…i lost of lot of weight cuz i was depressed and now i shaved my hair bald and i need to wear glasses. people notice i look sick and weak and i look really different. this made me loose a lot of work contracts…

i would like to know is there something i was do more to help my recovery?

i thank you from my heart for you to have taken time to read my story and i apologise for my bad english. as english is not even my second language.

[/b]

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Next time you visit an opthamologist, print and bring the following studies with you:

propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=659

Read FAQ at top of site – propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7

Get bloodwork per list therein.

Go from there.

merci so much

if you go to hairlosshelp.com/forums they have a forum there for totalis type loss